UK Trident vote today

[Giancarlo]

Open question to the floor:

- All of NATO has abandoned nuclear weapons, but other nuclear powers haven't.
- Russia attacks and invades a NATO country. It seems to be 'fact' that nuclear weapons are not a deterrent to the invasion decision. NATO responds with conventional force.
- Would Russia consider using a tactical nuclear weapon against the conventional forces? Would NATO's lack of nuclear weapons affect the decision?

No, no and no. Russia isn't going to attack. Putin is tough and a bit misguided, but he isn't stupid.

[Bereta_Eder]

BTW, why should Yanks care about Newcastle over Tallinn?

maybe once but not anymore.

The ongoing mongreling has superceded the "we are english" mindset.
Which makes dinner and mad monk sad.

Kinda cool. Still a needless artificial country, like canada (at least, you're better)

[Dinner]

Oh and dinner doesn't give a **** about peace.

He just wants unrest so he can keep the US arms industry going. NATO is the framework.

**** him. Lowlest of the low.

Wait... I "want to keep US Army industry going" and that is why I want the European part of NATO to carry more of the defense budget load so the US can spend less?

Do you even try to make sense?

[The Mad Monk]

Open question to the floor:

- All of NATO has abandoned nuclear weapons, but other nuclear powers haven't.
- Russia attacks and invades a NATO country. It seems to be 'fact' that nuclear weapons are not a deterrent to the invasion decision. NATO responds with conventional force.
- Would Russia consider using a tactical nuclear weapon against the conventional forces? Would NATO's lack of nuclear weapons affect the decision?

Yes yes, and yes.

No, no and no. Russia isn't going to attack. Putin is tough and a bit misguided, but he isn't stupid.

Yes, yes, and I don't see a third question mark.

[Bereta_Eder]

Wait... I "want to keep US Army industry going" and that is why I want the European part of NATO to carry more of the defense budget load so the US can spend less?

Do you even try to make sense?

The US wants to trigger russia in order to kill people

fact

now the US is also the biggest arms sales pimp and NATO has specific requisitives. even poor countries like albania and bulgaria have to fork it over, for the US benefit


**** you all over

there are humungus european nations that don't give a **** about your agenda

(peculiarly enough if putin snuggles with erdogan we will be best cutie bunny friends. we already are despite your stinking presence)

there's a sad corelation that nations with similar trends tend to bond.
Turkey has been exluded from europe irrevocably. Russia unfortunately shares some democratic defficiencies. Germany just looks after her ass and has neither the geopolitical expertise, potency let alone, will).

It kind of leads itself

btw not even the communist party of greece is as fervently in favor of drastic greek debt reduction ASAP as is washngton.

ts, you shouldn't encourage poor economic management

(of course the reasons are others one of which is that you currently go your last sane days with obama at the helm) not that you love the current greek gov. you hate its guts. our disdain is more of an aesthetical statement. you are largely indifferent

but geopolitical pragmatism for stability

[Ben Kenobi]

- All of NATO has abandoned nuclear weapons, but other nuclear powers haven't.
- Russia attacks and invades a NATO country. It seems to be 'fact' that nuclear weapons are not a deterrent to the invasion decision. NATO responds with conventional force.
- Would Russia consider using a tactical nuclear weapon against the conventional forces? Would NATO's lack of nuclear weapons affect the decision?

Yes, obviously.

[Bereta_Eder]

anyway we will know in august.
hopefully putin will not make the mistake of aligning with a crumbling dictatorship.
this will create the impression that europe is encircled by dictatorships and the effects will not be good for noone

[Bereta_Eder]

putin has a good thing going with the UK leaving the EU and has not made any serious geopolitical blunders yet.
we are firlmy entrenched in western structures and institutions and a friendly relation with russia, steaming from a mutual respect of our peoples, is also an asset.
don't go **** it up by aligning with erdogan

[Dinner]

" The US wants to trigger russia in order to kill people"

Ok, you are officially to dumb to live. I need only wait for you to drown in your own drool as this will be nature taking its course.

[Bereta_Eder]

said the willful puppet

[Dinner]

Seek help, man. Just seek help!

[Bereta_Eder]

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Trident it a trgicomedy of politics.

UK can afford £200bn on this program, which is effectively a subsidy of US nuclear weapons program, but cannot afford £800m (annually, so £200bn is worth some 250 years of it) for education of people who will be employed by the NHS.

Without US help, Trident is useless, and if someone took US out UK could sit and watch, thinking how to utilize the weaponry or to blind target.

However, it feels good to pay tribute for the big daddy US, similarly how it felt good for them to posture making **** up, next to an obvious US trainwreck in Iraq/middle east.

It's not cheap to be the 51st state.

[notyoueither]

putin of course being a comic book villain and not a rational actor.



if it happened, which it won't, so...

Of course not, because it is entirely unknown in history for the unexpected to happen. Oh wait...

It is precisely because most people who come to rule countries are rational that deterence works as a defence. Of course, you need something to deter with.

[Bereta_Eder]

farts and staying in your corner is probably enough for putin