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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#181776: Apr 7th 2017 at 12:54:45 PM

[up] Naturally not....the US warned Russia beforehand. This is just theatre.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#181777: Apr 7th 2017 at 12:58:38 PM

I think the most insufferable part of this whole incident is the "FUCK YEAH, SAINT MATTIS!" idiocy I see from my military friends. It's like, calm your tits, idiots, we did barely any real damage for the ordinance used, tensions are running higher than ever, Assad is still in power, he's perfectly capable of deploying more chemical weapons, and the war is still going on.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#181778: Apr 7th 2017 at 12:59:03 PM

I somehow doubt that the EU countries will be pleased. From an European pov the US is largely responsible for the refugee crisis, since it destabilized the Middle East by launching an unlawful attack on Iraq

A military campaign that absolutely no European powers supported (either tacitly by giving the US access to its military bases or explicitly by contributing forces to the overall invasion), and a destabilization that absolutely was not compounded by a UN-sanctioned, NATO-led intervention in Afghanistan with the same nebulous purposes.

Also, while both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are contributors to the current unrest in the Middle East, that is kinda depriving the people of Syria, Egypt et al. their agency in this whole affair. People didn't take to the streets in Egypt or Syria or Yemen or anywhere else in the Middle East purely because of some destabilization caused in Iraq and Afghanistan, they did it for a thousand different reasons. There's a non-insigificant component of the Syrian Civil War that can be levied on droughts caused by climate change, for example.

We're in this shit, too. We latched our future to the US, and we don't get to wash our hands off European contributions to destablilization just because it's become inconvenient.

edited 7th Apr '17 1:00:28 PM by math792d

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#181779: Apr 7th 2017 at 1:07:46 PM

Just to let you guys that was 94 million dollars worth of missiles used for theatre. You could've easily cured the homeless problem in my city for that much.

Oh and here's an interview by Obama for why he didn't get involved in Syria just for all the people that want to invade Syria:

Tldr;

-Nothing but a large invasion force would remove Assad. They would need to "sustain" that force = occupy the country long-term.

-The problem of who would govern the country hasn't been solved, making the above option pointless.

- Risk of escalation due to Russian/Iranian involvement, which would make the above option pointless.

-Iraq and Afghanistan were unresolved, meaning the US would have had to support three fragile countries with no solution.

-None of the above made sense for the US national interest, despite his personal sympathy for the people of Syria.

-Refugee policy was best way to help.

edited 7th Apr '17 1:08:08 PM by MadSkillz

Zarastro Since: Sep, 2010
#181780: Apr 7th 2017 at 1:09:28 PM

[up][up]

Afghanistan has little relavence for the situation in Syria/Iraq though which is pretty much the biggest mess right now. And the Iraq war directly set in motion the rise of IS and thus the majority of the refugees we have right now. Not to mention that if we had invested all of our ressources in Afghanistan, the situation might look a lot better over there as well.

[up] Yet another reason why I miss Obama.

edited 7th Apr '17 1:10:53 PM by Zarastro

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#181781: Apr 7th 2017 at 1:42:19 PM

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/warplanes-from-syrian-base-hit-by-us-just-carried-out-airstrikes-in-homs/

Warplanes from Syrian base hit by US just carried out airstrikes in Homs

Just the thing to make Trump look impotent and flare up his ego into doing something stupid...

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#181782: Apr 7th 2017 at 1:43:45 PM

[up][up][up]

Yep, all valid points. That said, I still can't help but find myself mostly ambivalent over the missile launches, especially since they turned out to be overly-theatrical.

On the plus side, you had a minimal loss of life (the grunts on the ground aren't generally the ones deciding to deploy chemical weapons, after all), minimal damage in an active warzone with extremist elements, and it serves as a "Hey! Knock that shit off!" to the Assad regime regarding the usage of chemical weaponry - whether it's effective or not remains to be seen. After all, we are officially aligned (begrudgingly) with the Syrian government, if only because we see it as Better the Devil You Know.

That said, this is all from the same asshole that advocated we target the families of terrorists, so I can't help but think this is more the work of the military wing than the Commander-in-Chief himself, similar to the Yemen debacle.

edited 7th Apr '17 1:46:17 PM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#181783: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:18:05 PM

Well the motto of the military wing is pretty loony:

Restraint? Why are you so concerned with saving their lives? The whole idea is to kill the bastards. At the end of the war if there are two Americans and one Russian left alive, we win!

- General Thomas S Power at the height of the Cold War

It's a miracle we survived the Cold War.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#181784: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:20:31 PM

Bearing in mind that Power was considered nuts even among his peer group.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#181786: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:23:54 PM

What to say of the man who inspired General Ripper in Doctor Strangelove?

Inter arma enim silent leges
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#181787: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:25:34 PM

I always make a point to have a song for every situation, and since we are threatened with a Cold War part two, here's some Tom Lehrer for you all.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YDFqoReof6A

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#181788: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:26:40 PM

BTW the Pentagon calling Trump "Florida Man" is a reference to the "Florida Man " meme:

The meme was originally popularized by the Twitter feed @_FloridaMan in February 2013, which quoted news headlines which began with "Florida man" such as "Florida man run over by van after dog pushes accelerator" or "Police arrest Florida man for drunken joy ride on motorized scooter at Wal-Mart." The feed refers to Florida Man as the "World's Worst Superhero

Florida Man is an Internet meme that became popular in 2013. The meme typically consists of linking to news stories and articles about unusual or strange crime or events occurring in Florida, particularly those where the headline refers to the subject as "Florida Man" calling attention to Florida's apparent notoriety for strange and unusual activity. Miami New Times noted that freedom of information laws in Florida make it easier for journalists to obtain information about arrests from the police than in other states and that this is responsible for the large number of news articles

edited 7th Apr '17 2:26:52 PM by MadSkillz

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#181789: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:31:13 PM

Trump is the world's worst superhero😂

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#181790: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:34:11 PM

Oh, the GOP's sending Pence, Cruz and Ryan to help at the special house election.

The one in Kansas-04, not the one in Georgia-06.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#181791: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:34:31 PM

Tomahawk makers' stock has risen after the attacks

Military industrial complex: Good, goooood. Feed me, America!

Bat178 Since: May, 2011
#181792: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:36:22 PM

Looks like things are going really badly for Bannon at the White House: https://twitter.com/KatyTurNBC/status/850437215738114048

Good.

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#181793: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:36:50 PM

What to say of the man who inspired General Ripper in Doctor Strangelove?

I forget, was that Curtis 'Bombs Away' Le May or Douglas 'Let's Nuke China, What Could Possibly Go Wrong' Mac Arthur? note 

edited 7th Apr '17 2:38:08 PM by math792d

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
PolarPhantom Since: Jun, 2012
#181794: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:51:02 PM

Are we gonna get blown up?

I don't want to get blown up!

I'm British!

I don't have anything to do with some orange bastard blowing up some other bastard and pissing off some other bastard!

I can take some solace in how much this whole thing is blowing up in Putin's face.

I just wish it weren't blowing up in all our faces.

...I'm honestly scared.

Bat178 Since: May, 2011
#181795: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:52:49 PM

[up] You are more likely to get blown up by the Spanish over Gibraltar than by the Americans or Russians.

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#181796: Apr 7th 2017 at 2:55:41 PM

[up]

Well, the Spanish, the French, the Germans, the Italians, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Belgians, most of Scandinavia and possibly Ireland...

edited 7th Apr '17 2:56:19 PM by math792d

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
PolarPhantom Since: Jun, 2012
#181797: Apr 7th 2017 at 3:00:33 PM

I forgot about Spain with all the crap going on.

I don't like the world right now.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#181798: Apr 7th 2017 at 3:03:04 PM

Raytheon does have some cool products beyond weapons, and its only natural that they, as the suppliers of in demand stuff like cruise missiles, would go up. There's nothing dirty going on there.

[up]The chance of a violent flare between London and Madrid is almost nil, and the Syria situation shouldn't escalate too far (this was was just Trump waving around his dick tomahawks). I'd be more worried about internal issues in the UK, and the upcoming economic hit Brexit is going cause.

edited 7th Apr '17 3:24:35 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#181800: Apr 7th 2017 at 3:06:22 PM

I hate to ask, but what the hell's going on in Spain?


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