Bluffing Comment

Kosher, I think you don’t understand the concept of bluffing until you are forced into action. Think of it more like brinksmanship. Putin was, and is, essentially saying, do this, or I will do that. NATO’s response is, we would prefer you not do that, but we are not doing this. The suggestion by Putin is the bluff, the pressure, the brink. The response by NATO is calling the bluff or not. Giving in to Putin’s demand off the top gives Putin the incentive to keep going forward until it is too costly. NATO’s position is to make it too costly now. The “bluff” is to demand the goods without paying. So, the bluff, as it were, does not have to be limited to Ukraine. It can extend to all democracies if he can figure out a way to bring pressure.

The concept of bluffing is not limited to how a bluff works in a game. In a game, it is limited to two options. In geo-politics, the options are limitless. In poker, you can’t say, give me the pot, not give me your car, now give me your family, now give me your house…etc. Those things have to be in the pot. The game has parameters. This military bluff is ONLY limited by what the opponents will allow him to take. You are using too narrow of a definition of bluffing to understand what is actually happening.

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