"Clemenceau said war was too important to be left to the generals. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians," he says, a cigar smoking in his mouth.

This is the opinion of Brigadier General Jack D Ripper, the main antagonist of the 1964 black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. 

This year marked the 60th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's film, which is about a mad US general who orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. , triggering a hurried effort by the government to prevent global catastrophe.¹

When Dr Strangelove was released, reviewers described it as "impossible on a dozen counts". But some say its events speak eerily to our current condition: the reckless brinkmanshipFollowing a risky policy to the edge of safety and stopping just before something really bad happens. of the man with his finger on the button, and a world where one miscalculation could annihilate us all instantly.

On Wednesday, Russian president Vladimir PutinRussia's ruler since 2000. He is a strong opponent of the West. told a group of senior officials at Russia's security council that he would change the country's nuclear policy to allow Russia to use nuclear weapons if attacked by any state using conventional weapons.

The escalation comes amid Ukraine's incursionSudden or brief invasion. into Russia's KurskA city in western Russia. In 2024, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise assault and took over parts of the region, as part of the Russia-Ukraine war which began in 2022. region, as Russia continues to advance in eastern Ukraine.

Putin also issued a thinly-veiled threat to the western powers that have been supporting Ukraine's military, stating that any nuclear power supporting another country's attack on Russia would be considered a participant in aggression.

For some, the announcement seems a dramatic escalation in Putin's nuclear threats. But others say all the threats are starting to wear thin, as more of Moscow's "red lines" are crossed without serious consequences. They think his warnings are mere bluster to keep western powers from challenging his ambitions in Ukraine and beyond.

Could Putin pull the trigger?

Yes: Putin is a madman who wants nothing more than the total destruction of the western world. We must navigate relations extremely carefully.

No: The West has been crossing Putin's lines for years. We have received threat after threat of nuclear destruction. It is time to ignore the bluster and stand by the people of Ukraine and issue them with all the support that they need to win this war.

Or... We should be fearing the prospect of Iran's nuclear capacity, not Russia. That is the real threat to human existence, and something we should lend all of our attention to.