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Reply With Quote*** groan ***
You are trying to egg me on!Originally Posted by xerxes
US is no fool. If they can expand the NATO, inspite of promises, then the sky is the limit.
Does that give you the desired orgasm?)
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
*** groan ***
Chimo
Ehhhh SomewhatYou are trying to egg me on!
US is no fool. If they can expand the NATO, inspite of promises, then the sky is the limit.
Does that give you the desired orgasm?....
If we contrast the rapid progress of this mischievous discovery of gunpowder with the slow and laborious advances of reason, science, and the arts of peace, a philosopher, according to his temper, will laugh or weep at the folly of mankind. - Edward Gibbon
We do have reserves, we never ran out of them. What we've done is a unit rotation to keep units fresh. We never committed all our troops, press stories be dammed.
The Army has 10 divisions 2 independent brigades, and 3 armored cavalry regiments (2 active 1 opfor) plus 28 National Guard combat brigades in 8 divisions not counting SOC units. Right now in Iraq we have 1 division and 7 brigades and in Afghanistan we have even less, plus we have the USMC which IIRC is 3 divisions with a fourth as a reserve formation.
Zraver,
Is it true that back in the Vietnam war, the US reserve in the States was down to only 82nd Airborne Division.
I am guessing late 60s, when MACV was over 600,000 men.
If we contrast the rapid progress of this mischievous discovery of gunpowder with the slow and laborious advances of reason, science, and the arts of peace, a philosopher, according to his temper, will laugh or weep at the folly of mankind. - Edward Gibbon
What stopped you from using them?
Or were you plumb scared of Russia?
Or that you thought that the assurance to that lunatic (yes lunatic since I cannot believe that he could be so stupid as to take on Russia or was he a religious nut who hallucinated that he was David?) were all bogus?
Last edited by Ray; 13 Aug 08, at 22:04.
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
In Georgia? Common sense I would think. Taking on a major nuclear power in their backyard when they have a tremendous logistical advantage is probably not the smartest move.
Right!
Therefore, reserves or no reserves, you had to just lump it!
But if you wanted to do something about it, you would position your forces in greater strength so that Russia would be equally worried about the nuclear threat!
And you would know it (Russian shenanigans) since intelligence is no big deal for the US, even though the US wails about it not being their when they are on the losing side. If the US intelligence and its infrastructure is not functional, then God is but a myth!
No bedtime stories please!
So, there is no excuses!
Last edited by Ray; 13 Aug 08, at 22:18.
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
IMHO, the balance of power hasn't shifted yet. It takes time. Quite a lot of time. But Russia is on the track. I believe Russia is likely to ready for political (only poilitical, hopefully) revenge. The reasons are well explained in the article the author refers.
That is where the danger lies.
Nations competing for supremacy!
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
Partly true, in light of Russia's ambitions to rule in the post-Soviet arena.
On the other hand, Russians are very much scared by NATO extension. Not counting the emotional outcry by some of the post-USSR countries, there is a good reason to ask the West about the true reasons for NATO getting closer and closer to the Russian borders.
Intelligence is not omnipotent. We can discuss potential actions, but in the end, analyst are human and they make mistakes or miss things. From what I have read, US intel was not surprised at the conflict, only the speed at which it developed.
According to the President Bush's National Security Council Briefing in Beijing on Monday, which I posted in the SO crisis section earlier, the only advance warning the US had regarding the Russian invasion was the deployment of the SS-21 SRBM's into Georgian territory. The months previous had seen high levels of tension with both sporadic artillery exchanges and some small scale attacks on Georgian and SO forces. So a change in the disposition of forces was almost indistinguishable.
The Balance of power has not changed, but maybe there has been a perceptible change in the balance of forces (military, political and psychological factors). Georgia will probably distance itself from the US, as Georgia will seek to avoid future Russian pressure and the US will seek to disassociate from such an unpredictable ally such as Saakashvili.
On the other hand, the invasion may just provide the wake up call for the other Eastern European nations demanded from the US and Western Europe when they looked over their shoulders with concern at Russia's growing assertiveness. The Eastern Europeans will probably become more cohesive as well as insistent on the issue of a possibly irredentist Russia. They will also demand more guarantees from the US and NATO against Russian pressures.
In the end, as I have always believed, the Georgia crisis will bring about a status quo of buffer zones between NATO and the Russian near abroad. The Russians knew that an invasion of Georgia had low risks for NATO/ US intervention due to distance and the lack of alliance agreements; had the situation been otherwise, they would not have provoked such a dangerous crisis. The Russians will not try to provoke the West to consolidate against it by provoking another invasion- which one more such invasion may provoke. They don't have the resources or manpower to invade and occupy all the new republics, but it can keep them under its influence. But small powers and weak states have always sought to enhance their influence by trying to manipulate large powers- most of the small republics will stick to that tradition. Russia will not gain dominance of the region, the former Republics according to the axioms of politics would see to that.
What's there to gain for us if we help out Georgia in military terms?
Russia is far more useful to us than Georgia is. Russia supplies our European allies with energy and controls (real or covert) Iran's nuclear future.
What does Georgia give us?
Sorry to say this, but Georgia simply isn't important to our national security. It's great if we have it. No big loss if we don't.
Small nation...big nation...guess which one is more important?
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
Again excuses!
Fine I will agree, the US intelligence agencies with all their money and equipment is a damn useless one and stupid at that too!
And a total disgrace and a let down!
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
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