Comments by "yop yop" (@yopyop3241) on "America's Cold War Missiles Return to Germany, Thanks to Russia || Peter Zeihan" video.

@joearceneaux9854 “Allies” that don’t trust each other at all.
1
The INF Treaty was between Russia and the US. As a non-signatory, the biggest beneficiary was China. Russia and the US were forbidden by the treaty from having medium range missiles; China had no such restrictions. When Russia pulled out of the INF, that obviously released the US from its side of the obligation. Instead of being the only big military power with intermediate range missiles, China is now one of three. And it is thanks to Russia for being the first to withdraw from the treaty. You know how China is proud of having missiles to target Guam, Japan, and Australia while the US, Japan, and Australia lacked equivalent systems to point back at China? The reason for the Chinese advantage was the INF Treaty. That advantage is gone now.
1
@FernandoAntonioCanu The reason intermediate range missiles stopped being deployed by the US and it’s allies is because of the INF Treaty. When Russia pulled out of the treaty, the US stopped being bound by the treaty, and the US and its allies began to deploy intermediate range missiles again. The Ukraine war is largely irrelevant here. It’s the end of the treaty that matters. The war undoubtedly spurred the US and its allies to deploy more intermediate range missiles than they otherwise would have, but that’s the “how many” question. The “yes/no”decision is entirely a result of Russia’s action, and the “yes/no” question is the point of the video.
1
The JASSM-ER and Rapid Dragon would have been off-limits if the INF treaty were still in effect. Note that the JASSM-ER can be launched from the very edge of the combat range of any Chinese fighter. (Maybe from beyond the range, if the systems’ capabilities are other than what is publicly claimed. One side tends to exaggerate, while the other side tends to underplay….)
1