July 17, 2007
"Nyet, that's just what we wanted you to think!"
Posted by pete at July 17, 2007 11:05 PMEver read any General Sir John Hackett?
I don't know where I picked up a copy of The Third World War when I was in junior high, but I can say it played a big part in the development of my Cold War era paranoia (which was also shaped by Dr. Strangelove, Testament, and Eddie Albert's nightmares in Dreamscape). It was also oddly comforting, in that the bulk of the conflict is conventional (Soviet forces move into Yugoslavia, the US counters, and the Warsaw Pact reacts by invading Western Europe) and takes place mostly in West Germany, Scandinavia, and Turkey. The only nukes fall on Birmingham, England (sorry, Brummies) and Minsk, USSR, which - combined with the relative ease of the West's victory, was probably overly optimistic.
What prompted this little nostalgia trip? This story:
President Vladimir Putin's announcement over the weekend that Russia will suspend participation in a major European arms control treaty finally got the West's attention.
The Kremlin said the decision was forced by security concerns, but it was seen as less about fears of military confrontation and more about a resurgent Russia's desire to show the West that its interests cannot be ignored.
For years, the Kremlin has voiced its frustration that no NATO members have ratified the updated treaty, which limits the number of tanks, aircraft and other conventional weapons in Europe. After Putin threatened in April to suspend Russia's participation, a meeting was held in Vienna, Austria in June, but no progress was made on breaking the impasse.
[...]
Under Putin, Russia has been reasserting itself as a global power and challenging what it sees as U.S. domination. Washington's plans to build a missile shield in Central Europe have angered Russia, which is bitter over NATO's expansion into the former Soviet bloc.But Russia's suspension of its participation in the treaty does not reflect any intention for a major buildup of heavy weaponry in European Russia, military experts said. It has neither the need nor the resources, they said.
Uh huh. Maybe I'll revisit that idea of a 30cm concrete shielded "clubhouse" in the backyard anyway, just in case.
I picked this book up used and read it some time before August 1985. Really had me worried for a while. Still have the copy somewhere. Can’t remember if I read it before or after seeing the movie Red Dawn. Sure it was Hollywood formulaic, but the scenes of enemy paratroopers was very spooky.