It's war. Part II

[Dinner]

Lonestar, just because it occasionally has happened before doesn't mean it is standard run of the mill stuff like you've claimed.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Lonestar, just because it occasionally has happened before doesn't mean it is standard run of the mill stuff like you've claimed.

It's very common. For example, France only has one Aircraft carrier so when it's in the yards they practice on American big decks.

This isn't hard to wrap your head around dude. You are hearing hoofbeats and thinking "Zebras", not "Horses".

And it was common enough that it happened twice on my middle deployment, when we were not in war zones.

I bet you think Japanese Helos landing on American Amphibs represents an imminent invasion of Manchuria, don't you?

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Zenn-La


Haha, that is like Canada attacking the United States tomorrow, riding into America in Canadian tanks (Zamboni's), wearing goalie mask & armed with hockey sticks.

Plan A is busted.

We'll have to use Plan 9.

[Pekka]

So what's happening now?

Anyways, I think Putin is the strongest leader in the world right now, has been for few years. There's no strong Euro leaders in the world at the moment, on political field that is. Not sure about that Merkel, but she doesn't carry any real weight.

I think Bush is incompetent for a true leader, I think McCain will be incompetent, he is just losing the ball, probably due to his age, I think he would have been good if he got the win in GOP race earlier against Dubya. Now I think the time has really caught up on him, and he isn't natural strong leader either. A great officer, but not a great leader. Obama is IMO a good one, but perhaps a bit too early. Perhaps a bit unexperienced. More Kennedy type, but not strong enough for these proxy things, at least not yet. More like a motivational speaker, too compromising.

So I don't see US having a strong leader in a while, leaving Putin as the only strong one on individual level.

Of course that doesn't matter too much, but I still think he is definitely the strongest leader. I don't think the West is making the right play here. It's way too random and not unified. That is, you've got Baltic leaders and Polish leader going to Georgia, showing support. Semantically, it's a nice gesture, and Russia won't do anything about it except rhetorics. We're quite used to it, and many times when these folks say that you should shut up or you'll be in trouble, it's not even always officiated by Kremlin. It actually can be just someone getting a bit fired up and using the old rhetorics they have been used to earlier, but it carries no real weight, but the media of course makes it a bigger deal. This is what you have to understand about Russian politics, or you'll be lost in the woods and can't see. Kremlin is sort of tight, but not that tight. If someone gets truly out of line, you call Kremlin, and they'll say well, that dude is speaking on his own behalf, and that it's not the policy or a statement of Russia. Then after a while, the heat goes down, and business as usual continues.

So Baltics and Poland knows this of course, so I think they just rather show support to Georgia and stand up a bit since it leads to nothing really, it's more semantics, a bit points in the international community, but that's mostly it. But it still isn't unified, we have different views and random actions like that. EU won't do ****, that's for sure. NATO might support with arms and so forth, but I doubt more is done.

Putin knows it, so I think that's why there's a bit more louder rhetorics used, and me thinks it's mostly directed at Russians themselves to feel good about it. Georgian president seems extremely incompetent, saying weird stuff and then retracting most of it later on, makes me wonder if he himself knows where the Russian troops are or are not.

[FrostyBoy]

Nah, Putin is not strong, he's just got balls, like most Russians.

But like Bush said, this is the 21st Century, showing how big your balls are is just childish nowadays.

[Pekka]

Yeah, childish for sure. I still think Putin is strong, compared to others that is.

[Heraclitus]

In any case do you think Southern Ossetia is the last territorial demand which Russia will make in Europe?

[Pekka]

Probably not.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Pekka
Probably not.

Yeah speaking from past experience they seldom are.

[Pekka]

I think I might have missed it.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Heraclitus


Did you get the reference?

I did, but do you want to write a blank cheque?

Hur, hur. Get the reference?

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Pekka
I think I might have missed it.

Don't worry it was a shameless Godwin.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by notyoueither


I did, but do you want to write a blank cheque?

Hur, hur. Get the reference?

Actually I do.

[notyoueither]

Cool.

Which do you think is more applicable?

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Cool.

Yours.


In any case I never claimed I like to post reasonable stuff.