They will sink the ships

Russian President Vladimir Putin is clearly ready to call NATO’s bluff:

Speaking at his annual ‘Direct Line’ call-in show, Putin revealed that a US strategic airplane took off from an airfield on the island of Crete and flew towards Russia on the morning before HMS Defender entered Russian waters.

However, despite the provocation, the two NATO members do not want a conflict, and it is not true to say that the world is now standing on the brink of a world war, he said.

“Even if we had sunk that ship, it would still be hard to imagine that the world would be on the brink of World War III,” the president said. “Because those who are doing this know that they can’t get out of this war victorious. That’s a very important thing.”

The president also pondered the exact reasons for the British provocation, noting that matters discussed at his recent summit with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, in Geneva might offer an explanation.

“Why was it necessary to make such a provocation? For what?” he asked. “To show that they have no respect for the choice of the Crimeans to join Russia?”

The danger is that the neocons who are slavering for war with Russia, Iran, and Syria don’t care at all if the USA can win the war or not. They’ll happily fight the Russians to the very last drop of European blood and they’re dumb enough to try to bluff while holding a pair of fours.