[sto_hristo]

Pre-WW1: USA was happily supporting allies in the their fight against Mr. Evil. But Mr. Evil sunk an American ship. WW1 started and soon after Mr. Evil died.

Pre-WW2: USA was happily supporting allies in the their fight against Mr. Evil. But Mr. Evil sunk an American ship. WW2 started and soon after Mr. Evil died.

Pre-WW3: It's where we are now. Can you skip the sinking of the ship detail and just go kill Mr. Evil so that life can continue normally? Please.

[ishjoh]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualt...

World War I - 116,516

World War II - 405,399

This was only military deaths, at the time no major bombing of US cities occurred, the closest was the ships destroyed in Pearl Harbor. There are no guarantees that Russia wouldn't start bombing US cities in an all out war, in fact it is quite likely. There is also no telling what China would do. If China were to become involved and join the Russian side after a lengthy battle between the US and Russia, it would essentially play the role that the US did in world war 1 and 2.

There are heavy costs for engaging in a war with an advanced military.

[belltaco]

Mr. Evil having a shit ton of nuclear weapons this time(even more than the US) changes the equation quite a bit.

[sto_hristo]

How far can Putin push the nuclear leverage until it's not leverage anymore?

[Koshkin]

Except a ship has already sunk.

[arroz]

Russian not American. Anyway not gonna happen this time because nukes