by James Rickards
Daily Reckoning
By now, you probably understand the situation on the Russia-Ukraine border. Close to 100,000 Russian troops have been deployed along Ukraine’s eastern border.
Will Putin invade? What would be the U.S. and NATO response? Those are the $64,000 questions. The answers have massive implications for the economy, markets and potentially civilization itself. That’s not hyperbole.
Russia is the largest nuclear war power on Earth, with about 4,500 warheads. Besides its intercontinental missiles, Russia has intercontinental nuclear bombers and ballistic missile submarines that it can park just off U.S. coasts.
Does the U.S. really want to risk a military confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, a country that the U.S. has never considered a vital strategic interest? The experts seem to think any confrontation would be contained. But wars are unpredictable and are a lot easier to start than to stop.