# Let's say Russia launches a full-scale invasion of all Ukraine. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633 "2014-07-20T23:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/41 "2014-07-25T07:27:00Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Then what’s the point? Simply to be an annoyance? never heard of Gandhi, have you? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/42 "2014-07-25T08:14:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > never heard of Gandhi, have you? The non-violent tactics of Gandhi or King only work against an opponent who has chosen to exercise some level of restraint. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/43 "2014-07-25T11:49:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The non-violent tactics of Gandhi or King only work against an opponent who has chosen to exercise some level of restraint. Define “work”. Also “[restraint](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qissa_Khwani_Bazaar_massacre)” ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/44 "2014-07-25T13:49:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > never heard of Gandhi, have you? You seriously think that’s a good comparison, do you? Britain was economically devastated in the mid-1940s, was exhausted from fighting the Nazis & Japanese, and was gearing up to fight a Cold War against the Soviets. They were not in a particularly good position to fight a war in a country of half a billion people. Whatever the merits of Gandhian non-violence, India isn’t a good test case for anything, because it caught the British empire at an exceptionally weak point in time. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/45 "2014-07-25T14:07:10Z")
> [@tonyfop](#): > > Voted “Other”. Ukraine is not NATO, and we do not owe them defense. However, Ukraine borders several NATO countries. I think that moving large, combat ready forces to those countries to back up the crippling sanctions we should impose would send the message that naked aggression will not be tolerated. > > And, on another note, I still have 7 years left on my Fleet Reserve time before I officially retire from the Navy. I wonder what my odds of being recalled to Active Duty would be in an all out war with Russia. Depends on how you define ‘recalled’. Are you recalled when you get notification? If by email, I’d say the odds are pretty good. If by snail mail…I’d say the odds are very low. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/46 "2014-07-25T14:38:54Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > You seriously think that’s a good comparison, do you? > > Britain was economically devastated in the mid-1940s, was exhausted from fighting the Nazis & Japanese, and was gearing up to fight a Cold War against the Soviets. They were not in a particularly good position to fight a war in a country of half a billion people. Whatever the merits of Gandhian non-violence, India isn’t a good test case for anything, because it caught the British empire at an exceptionally weak point in time. …and Russia’s doing so well…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/47 "2014-07-25T14:49:10Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …and Russia’s doing so well…:dubious: Ukraine’s on Russia’s doorstep. Very different from UK distance to India. Ukraine has a significantly smaller population than Russia. India had a vastly larger population than the UK. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/48 "2014-07-25T14:52:16Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Ukraine’s on Russia’s doorstep. Very different from UK distance to India. US military bases are in Europe, right on Ukraine’s doorstep too. > [@](#): > > Ukraine has a significantly smaller population than Russia. India had a vastly larger population than the UK. Irrelevant, I didn’t say anything about Ukrainians standing in lines. I said US military. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/49 "2014-07-25T19:09:21Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Define “work”. Also “[restraint](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qissa_Khwani_Bazaar_massacre)” Gandhi’s tactics worked because they were being used against a society that considered something like the massacres at Amritsar and Peshawar to be wrong. They turned not only Indian but British public opinion against the occupation of India. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/50 "2014-07-25T19:21:34Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > That, or just quit interfering. Perfect answer! for once let the West mind it’s own business. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/51 "2014-07-26T06:50:31Z")
> [@MrsTime](#): > > Perfect answer! for once let the West mind it’s own business. Ukraine is its own business, or much more so than, say, Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/52 "2014-07-26T07:10:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …and Russia’s doing so well…:dubious: Russia’s certainly doing a lot better than fifteen or twenty years ago, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in a stronger position now than Britain was two years after WWII. In any case, I suspect that the Russian army couldn’t care less about a ‘human chain’ :rolleyes: of unarmed military personnel, and will just briefly stop to cart them off to prison before continuing on their advance. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/53 "2014-07-27T18:05:26Z")
So Russia couldn’t care less about carting thousands of American military off to prison…OK. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633/54 "2014-07-27T21:32:08Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > So Russia couldn’t care less about carting thousands of American military off to prison…OK. Admittedly, they do find it easier to just shoot down the airliners before they land, no matter what country they are over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-say-russia-launches-a-full-scale-invasion-of-all-ukraine/693633.md?page=2)