Russia is playing a transparent game when it announces it will target the Pentagon and Camp David - among others - because the US is going to allow medium range missiles to move into Europe. I used to be stationed at Frances E. Warren in Cheyenne Wyoming. There are a lot of missiles in the ground around there and they were targeted by the Russians. We know that because 60 Minutes did an interview with the Russians at one of their missile sites and asked them where the particular missile they were looking at was targeted. The General looked up and said "Frances E. Warren Air Force Base". We always knew we were a target, but having someone point it out is more personal.
Does anyone doubt that Russians target the Pentagon? Why announce it? This game allows Putin to make this kind of threat without doing much of anything else. Free deterrence. Pressure on Europe to not allow missiles in their countries.
What we found after the Cold War was over was that the Russians did not have as many missiles as we thought, and they weren't as reliable as we might have believed. The problem with that kind of bluff is that it makes believing them again more difficult.
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