costard
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Posts posted by costard
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To throw the cat in amongst the pigeons - maybe the idea is to formalise militias, and establish some sort of arms control mechanism?
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chuckles - thanks mate.
I hope you and yours continue to do well too.
I think "speak softly and carry a big stick" probably covers the Russian diplomatic efforts.
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By replacing them with other large contracts and a different set of political appointees, obviously.
Too true. The hope is that the replacements do a better job of maintaining National Security - not too hard to do given the abject failure of the current arrangement.
I'd expect the new arrangement to demand people fight for a flag, as opposed to fighting for money, if it is to have any chance of success. Otherwise you're likely to end up with an even bigger mess. Baby with the bathwater and all that - I realise that the vast majority of the people currently undertaking to secure National Security do so precisely because they believe in and love their country. These people are the reason you're not totally in the **** at present.
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Abbott
If the general had said "We will nuke your missile defense base" I would have expected a great deal more in the way of an emotional response from the western public (including me). As it is, he merely pointed out the strategic reply demanded of the Russians in response to the installation of the facility.
The Missile Defense Shield is as much an offensive weapon system as defensive, in that it increases the probability of survival for the operators of the system. Russia doesn't have a similar system (or it hasn't yet been discovered) and has been deliberately excluded from the program when it has asked to be included. Russia has no alternative but to see itself as placed in the enemy camp by the owners and operators of the system. To do otherwise is to ignore a significant strategic threat.
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Sounds like a legislative tool for facillitating the demise of some very large contracts and for getting rid of a whole clique of political appointees.
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found at military photos net:
Smaragdadler, thank you very much for posting this. I've been experiencing a number of "I'm so confused" moments lately, this article has helped greatly.
cheers
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Allowing a threat of a nuclear strike against Poland has greatly damaged him.
The statement of the bleeding obvious
"your anti-missile installation will become a nuclear target"
is not the same as,
"if you install the anti-missile system, we will nuke you."
I can appreciate that the western press uses sophist arguments to generate an emotional response from it target audience; I suspect the leadership of the west has been consistantly underating the intelligence of its voting citizens for about six years now. I look forward to the results of the [computerised] election in the US this year. Interesting times indeed.
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If George did start this off then doesn't that make Putin an American lackey for doing his bidding?
Sure, but Vlad retains moral ascendency. And George's protestations of purity and truth stink like a twelve day old corpse.
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Sure, and I'd vote for a leader who was complicit in sacrificing members of his own populace (my relatives, in fact) to suit the workings of a hypocritical and borderline criminal superpower.
The Abbott claims Russia got played - Poland joined up to the missile defense shield thingy. Well, I guess a few hundred lives in Georgia was worth that.
Putin has publicly stated that he believes the whole episode as put on for the benefit of the Republican candidate facing election this year in the US. I can believe that the Russian intelligence crew outperforms the US (and has done since the western move to outsourcing - the paradigm shift was one of distribution of profit, quality and motivation to quality left to take care of themselves.)
France, Germany and Italy have all stated that they wish to deny Georgia and Ukraine access to NATO - and given the behaviour of Geoergia, it isn't hard to see why. How the hell would these countries get their populaces to support a war with Russia, started by a political moron.
gotta go to work, apologies for the incomplete rant.
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JasonC - you do us wrong, mistaking our ignorance and limited communication abilities for malicious spite and arrogant tantrumming. Have mercy on us, lead these incompetents to the light, I beg you.
At the sophist point of the argument, the idea of an "premature" deployment being somewhat equivalent to an "unprepared" deployment would give the [soviet] tactic validity - the really interesting bit is in the mechanics of "forcing" your opponent to be unprepared.
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How's Iran feeling at the moment? In regards to its naval capability, I mean.
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Man, the no politics is a hard one to avoid.
Let us assume there is a free and fair election in Pakistan - hohoho
The Pakistanis live just down the road from the Talibani - they've had plenty of opportunity to see the progress made by a state run by the Taliban. There are plenty more educated (able to read) people in Pakistan, more people with a direct stake in the country's liquid assets - as the article points out with its reference to a growing middle class. That middle class has also proved to itself that its systems of law actually can work.
Given the choice, I'd expect the majority of the Pakistani populace to deny their government the mandate of allying with the Taliban.
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In the period of the war, for an army of how many? (I lack grogness, I know, its a failing)
For crimes like being asleep whilst at post? Rape, looting - what other crimes go with the unleashing of violence in men?
120 000 sounds about right.
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With that irrational and meaningless statement Russia has become absurd. You know its funny, Poland has been hemming and hawing about taking action on the missiles for a long time. Now everyone gets what they wanted, except Russia, who got played. Russia gets to renegotiate borders as a consolation prize.
nice one... :cool:
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Russia has signed the peace deal, with a proviso that certain security provisions be met. I see on the BBC map that there is a military base and an airbase south of Tblisi - have these been dismantled yet?
volfrahm,
obvious? for what reason would they buy into the losing side of a fait accompli? If they do buy in (and cash is far less readily available these days, and getting to be more so) what can the Western democracies say to their voting populace to convince them that it'd be money well spent?
I can't see that military supply can be maintained into Georgia without Russian agreement - at least not until Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are all well and truly pacified.
Not likely.
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Kip, where is the call for conscription in the West? Is anyone seriously contemplating it?
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No news for a week Major Tum, but I'm sure he's still keen. He's playing it too smart just to abandon the tourney.
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Ssgt
and their performance dismal, and it could not be helped with some delivery of additional Javelins alone.Not when the problem was the efficiency of the Russian AA. But even then, what did he [the Georgian president] think they could do, drag a deeply suspicious western public into another war, this one with Russia? He really doesn't understand a democratic system. The people who fight vote. And if they vote not to fight, they don't.
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G'day BD6Field. Good to have you here - and there.
I was wondering if any parallel could be drawn with Yugoslavia - a major power took unilateral action against a neighbouring aggressor, the whole fight over in two days: but the people haven't come out.
It would seem to me that the president must go - this is the biggest cockup he's likely to be allowed to make and keep his life. And even then...
I'm sorry - who was it bemoaning the evident lack of social development of the human race? Mate, the goal of competent governance is the curbing of the worst excesses, the challenge is having the society grow under you.
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RCMP,
Accuracy in modelling can be taken too far - if your buddy really wants the WWII experience he should somehow allow himself the possibility of being killed, maimed, bored, bullied, shouted at, bitten by insects, etc. The point is, this is a game. A highly detailed, 3 dimensional, rewind and replay game. The ballistics are Newtonian (good enough for me, perhaps your buddy would prefer some quantum level of calculation there), the colours and sounds are those able to be produced on a home PC, the data are as good as can be found.
The end result has to be an enjoyable time had by the player - hardly a realistic model of a WW2 veteran - or the software producer starves. Of course there will discrepancies. If your buddy doesn't like the game, good on him for having an opinion. In mine, he disses a magnificent creation.
oh, and what John says...
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Terrified, in fact. And the footage of him diving for cover when the planes went overhead is instructive as to his character too.
I see BP has closed off its pipeline in the region (BBC 13/8/08) - this is possibly a continuation of the scrap between it and the Russia.:confused:
I can't see anyone maintaining supply into Georgia, except the Russians. And I can't see the US having any success at all with the Iran mess if they get Russia offside. It looks like the neo-cons have overplayed their hand (again, what a surprise) - support for a inept regime in return for a share of the oil wealth, fantasies and promises of the US riding to the rescue prompting a particularly stupid course of action on the part of the Georgians.
I don't know if I have this correct - Stalin shipped a large part of the Ossetian populace to Siberia in return for their support of the Nazis in WWII, the replacement populace being mostly ethnic Russians. With their return, a recipe for conflict and the provision of the justification (for the Russians) to move in with the military?
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Terrified, in fact. And the footage of him diving for cover when the planes went overhead is instructive as to his character too.
I see BP has closed off its pipeline in the region (BBC 13/8/08) - this is possibly a continuation of the scrap between it and the Russia.
I can't see anyone maintaining supply into Georgia, except the Russians. And I can't see the US having any success at all with the Iran mess if they get Russia offside. It looks like the neo-cons have overplayed their hand (again, what a surprise) - support for a inept regime in return for a share of the oil wealth, fantasies and promises of the US riding to the rescue prompting a particularly stupid course of action on the part of the Georgians.
I don't know if I have this correct - Stalin shipped a large part of the Ossetian populace to Siberia in return for their support of the Nazis in WWII, the replacement populace being mostly ethnic Russians. With their return, a recipe for conflict and the provision of the justification (for the Russians) to move in with the military?
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Thanks Abbott - I'm not sure H&J would care to agree.
I do think that we (Oz) should have offered Vlad a job having a go at running this country whilst sitting around waiting for his four years to pass; the guy seems to like the challenges of his profession - and is capable of rising to them. Unlike Junior.
Oh, and thanks John - I'll go take a squiz.
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Thanks Moon. Helpful as ever.
Out of the Dust III - Official tread
in Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord
Posted
Mikado, any luck with MW? I haven't heard from him for quite some time now.
redbear - sad for me too. I suspect Sly is enjoying his battle against me altogether too much...