Originally Posted by
Less Hair
There must be a reason why they only attack regionally piece by piece and not by big style major war.
Salami slicing. Little bit here, little bit there, all without scaring the horses.
Not a million miles from the Pastor Niemoller poem
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
Look at the european nations now - most desperately rationalising why an invasion of Ukraine is not an existential threat to themselves (or by extension, NATO). A major war makes it more difficult to put the SEP (Someone Else's Problem) glasses on.