It sends a very clear message to the opponent that you’re backing the side that they’re attacking, and you do not approve of their actions. And that they’d better really consider that and seriously think twice before escalating, because then they might not be just facing the side you’re supporting, but also facing you.
You’re not yet in direct conflict with them, but you’re letting them know that their opponent has your support and won’t be nearly as easy as they thought. Maybe they should just reconsider the whole thing?
And, while you’re not directly fighting them yet, if they step over the line, well, that could be a really bad idea. So they better check themselves before they wreck themselves.
Part of America’s war strategy is to be very open and clear about all the cool toys we have. Essentially “you may hit our frigate with a regular missile, but then a giant missile that literally contains four giant samurai swords will hit your boat and sink it. We’ll launch it from space just for fun.” The goal is to intimidate people from attacking because USA will respond with overwhelming force.
In the case of Ukraine, telling Russia we’re sending even more cool toys to our ally is in hopes they’ll wise up and pull out. That hasn’t worked yet but we’re also not sharing specific deployment details.
It’s not stupid at all. It forces the enemy to have to consider if they have the means to continue the war. It can force them to abandon or delay plans because a capability they did not anticipate is coming to the battlefield. It signals to our allies that we are committed to their defense which in turn makes it more likely that they’ll be committed to ours.
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