Putin will cut the rail link north. The US forces may have to fight their way to Karachi. Hussein Obama has put up a billboard saying: THE US IS WEAK.
Well they should not be handed over to the enemy Pakistan, as was suggested in the Washington Post recently. MRAPs could be used for US & NATO Afghan airbase defences, for example, they could be incorporated into the perimeter defences - especially useful in that role would be MRAPs which had rotating machine guns on top, either fired remotely from within the vehicle or mounted in a rotating turret for the machine gunner. For a 40 mile perimeter defence around one air base you'd need 200+ firing positions and any additional MRAPs which look the part but don't work can serve as dummy targets to confuse the attackers who will be firing at them. Perimeter defences plan for a military base Click for LARGER image So you could either permanently semi-bury the MRAPs on top of a tower, somewhat like this Or you could build 200+ ramps where you could drive the MRAPs from underground bomb shelters / bunkers (where they would normally be in case of a surprise nuclear bomb attack from Pakistan) to the top of firing towers where they would be driven to in order to repel an attack from the Taliban. MRAPs could be used to shuttle troops to and from perimeter defences and provide protection from incoming mortars, rockets. There is simply no end to the use they could be made of. The real problem we have is that our military is run by fools, "muppets" you might say. If the US has a problem with Pakistan ... if no-one else at the Department of Defense can help .. and if Chuck Hagel can find them ... maybe they can hire .. the Muppet Show! Introducing the Obamas' new nominee for Secretary of Defense .. NATO's real A-team - the AfPak Mission The AfPak Mission links Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/AfpakMission Forum http://scot.tk/forum/viewforum.php?f=26 Twitter http://twitter.com/AfPakMission Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/afpakmission/ Blog http://afpakmission.wordpress.com/
A Putin or Russia who is misbehaving in Crimea and the Ukraine is still a better ally than the enemy Pakistan which is sponsoring Al Qaeda and the Taliban. So whether we need Russia's permission to use their rail to withdraw to the north, or to defend the rear in the case of a fighting exit to the south, or to supply an occupying force in Afghanistan, better to keep the disagreement about Crimea and Ukraine in proportion and encourage Russia to join us in war against the Jihadi enemies of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia which Russia suffers attacks from too.
Let me tell you something that I KNOW to be a fact. The WORLD has not seen the United States Military perform all out operations since WWII. There is not a single Nation on the face of Planet Earth that want's to see this happen or be the focus of such a concentrated U.S. Military attack. We are fully capable of attacking and destroying and putting ANY ENEMY FORCE out of operation just using conventional weapons and we don't even need troops on the ground. A few of these Non-Nuclear Systems are the RODS OF GOD Weapons system....the Hypersonic Munitions Deliver System and of course the Free Electron Laser...FEL....the Microwave Emissions Beam...MEB and a variety of Particle Beam Weapons and as well the U.S. has working and operational Non-Nuclear EMP Devices...Electromagnetic Pulse Devices which come in a number of sizes and two smaller ones can fit in the internal bomb bays of the F/A-22 Raptor as well larger ones can be carried to target by B-1B's, B-2's, B-52H's and a number of other Aircraft. An EMP delivered by a F/A-22 or B-2 would give an enemy ZERO WARNING and as these devices when detonated will completely render an entire area Electronically Inert...which means....NOTHING WILL WORK!!! No electricity...no cars..no communication...no weapon systems....NOTHING WOULD WORK. We could fly over an entire country at night and they would not even know we were coming or know we were dropping EMP's and the Enemy or Terrorist Groups would wake up the next morning only to find out their Tanks and Computers or even their Toyota Pickups....which are used by Terrorists and we call them TECHNICAL'S....and the Terrorist Networks...CELL PHONES....COMPUTERS....NONE OF IT WOULD WORK. We could fly over advancing Russian Forces and render all their vehicles and equipment USELESS without harming a single person. Putin better hope he doesn't P!$$ US OFF! AboveAlpha..
This is very true, and something very few people seem to be aware of. WWII was indeed the last "Total War" the United States was involved in. it is also the last time we dedicated every aspect of our nation over to fighting and winning a war. And if anybody wants to know what that would mean, let's make some comparisong, shall we? The US population in 1940 was 132 million. The estimated US population in 2014 is 317 million. At it's height in 1945, the US military amassed over 12 million people. In 2014, the US military is around 3.2 million. In 1945, the US GDP was $2.2 trillion. In 2014, the US GDP is $16.3 trillion. In 1945, the US Army had 74 Infantry Divisions. In 2014, the US Army has 18 Infantry Divisions. In 1945, the Marine Corps had 6 Infantry Divisions (all active duty). In 2014, the Marine Corps has 3 Infantry Divisions (and 1 Reserve Division). In 1945, the US had 28 aircraft carriers (and that only counts "true carriers" of the CV, CVA, and CVL - none of the dozens of "Escort Carriers" and "Auxiliary Carriers"). In 2014, the US has 11 aircraft carriers. And all this is just a start. Now picture the US ramping up to then exceeding those WWII numbers by a scale equal to the increased production and manpower of the nation today compared to 1945. Then people wonder why I think it is stupid to try to involve the lack of a "declaration of war" in a conflict. Those individuals have no idea what an act would do and mean to the nation, requiring a change to the very foundation of the country for the duration of the conflict.
Before Bush and his band of war profiteering scumbags destroyed Iraq, there was no Al Qaeda anywhere in Iraq. It's a shame that all of those US soldiers lost their lives in Bush's turd hunt. To try and hang anything going on in Iraq on Obama is absurd. Get a grip champ.
So you do not know what the Final Solution was. And you claim others are not dealing with reality, jeeeez.
If he was, he was laying low and not making much trouble for anyone. Saddam would have crushed him like a tin can. Are you trying to infer that Iraq was somehow responsible for 911? Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA and the Mossad, used to create chaos around the region to keep the cash cow alive for the war profiteers.
Because we were not persuing the war there since Dubya put Afganistan (the real war on terror) on the back burner.
OK you've just gone off the rails. There is a section for conspiracy nonsense and this section isn't it.
Well yeah, Fallujah was napalmed to the ground and then ground troops moved in to occupy what remained. Bush did a lot of good in Afganistan, but his Iraq adventure should be considered on par with the 1898 invasion of Cuba on false pretenses, here the sinking of Maine whose boiler either blew up, or more likely it struck a mine since it sailed into Havana Harbour, and it was widely recognized the Harbour was mined since there was a civil/independence war raging. The Spanish war vessels then eagerly rescued all Maine survivors, but the motto stuck - Remember the Maine? The hell with Spain! Propaganda does its wonders. In Cuba at least the outcome was positive - an independent or semi-independent Cuba. In Iraq?
Wow, are you off base here. To begin with, Iraq had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, but the Saddam regime. Secondly, al-Qaeda was in Iraq. However, it was operating against the Ba'ath Party. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (remember him, the former leader of "al-Qaeda in Iraq"?) was active in Iraq since 2002 (primarily in the Kurdish regions of Northern Iraq) after going there for medical treatment after being injured in Afghanistan.
Oh, he was. There is no question of that. And Saddam had much more important things going on then a small group trying to band together small opposition groups. Like the upcoming US led attack against his country. As for the rest, that is Conspiracy Theory fodder, not something to even try to bring up in a rational debate.
Nice data. Yes...this is something that many members have no idea about. Every now and then I get some member talking about how the U.S. Military was BEATEN in Afghanistan or Iraq...which is an absolutely ABSURD statement. The U.S. Military goes WAY out of it's way to avoid civilian casualties and the same cannot be said of any other Military in the world. As an example during the invasion of Iraq when Insurgents were spread out through Fallujah the Marines decided to go AROUND that city and come back after the rest of Iraq was taken over by the U.S. Military. The REASON? An all out U.S. Marine Corps. attack upon Fallujah would have resulted not only in the deaths of all Insurgents but would have also killed a large number of Iraqi CIVILIAN'S that these COWARD INSURGENTS were basically using as HUMAN SHIELDS. A U.S. Marine Corps. Division is going to use Artillery, Aircraft, Choppers, Rockets, Abram's M1A2 Tanks, Bradley's, Striker's, Drones, Snipers and Infantry. This is a FACT....there does not exist a Military Force on the face of Planet Earth outside a Nuclear Attack that can withstand an Attack by a U.S. Marine Corps. Mechanized Division....PERIOD!!! Now I was involved in a Consultant Role right after 9/11 and I can say that right after 9/11 the People of the United States and it's Leadership went into a state of TEMPORARY INSANITY. There were 5 Military Options on the Table and thankfully #1...the LEAST DESTRUCTIVE of all 5 plans was selected. If members knew what plans #2 through #5 involved they would have a PANIC ATTACK!!! Any one of these other plans would have changed the face of the Planet and the Middle East would NOT exist as it does now. Some members have said...."Well...Russia or China would do this or that and the U.S. would NEVER do such a thing!" WRONG!!! The level of U.S. Military Capability at the time existed at a level that if an order to enact one of those other plans was chosen not Russia or China or any other Nation would want anything to do with getting involved with such a ALL IN....U.S. Military Operation. We had and have even more now to a much greater degree NON-NUCLEAR WEAPONS of such strength we are capable of rendering entire NATIONS to waste and rendering the Military Forces of multiple nations completely inert within hours. As example one plan was specific to what the United States would do if North Korea was to Invade South Korea and how we could respond QUICKLY without using Nuclear Weapons. Two particular weapon systems would be employed one being RODS OF GOD...another being the HYPERSONIC MUNITIONS DELIVERY SYSTEM. Rods of GOD is basically a Telephone Pole sized Tungsten Steel Encased Depleted Uranium Core Missile with a Rocket Motor on the end of it. These Telephone Pole sized Missiles Grouped in numbers of 8 to 16 that have no warhead are in ORBIT. When used a single ROD will have it's Rocket Motor turned on and it will position it for reentry to a target of our choosing. This ROD then will streak toward a target on Earth at velocities between 20,000 MPH and 28,000 MPH. When the ROD impacts the Earth at such high velocities this large mass Depleted Uranium encased in Tungsten Steel Pole transfers the created potential energy...as Mass X ACCELERATION = FORCE....thus impact of this ROD equals the amount of Energy created by a NUCLEAR WEAPON. The Hypersonic Munition Delivery System works on a similar concept except such a system uses a CONVENTIONAL WARHEAD which can either be Air Launched from a B-52H or B-1B...or Ground Launched and achieves low orbit and then reenters and slams into any target on Earth and does so at a High Velocity along with a Conventional Warhead Explosion. Now there is a LOT MORE....but the point is that NO COUNTRY wants to see or be the target of an ALL OUT U.S. MILITARY OPERATION as even what I have been talking about would be limited but IMAGINE what would happen if the UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED....as what if a 9/11 happened AGAIN? I have seen some of the U.S. Military Contingency Plans specific to any 9/11 type terrorist attack happening again and I can tell you with 100% CERTAINTY that if such an attack was directed from a Middle Eastern Nation or Group the U.S. Military would be directed to SOLVE THIS PROBLEM ONCE AND FOR ALL. After 9/11 THAT was what could have happened if plans #2 through #5 were ordered but they were not thankfully. But if this ever happened again....the U.S. Population would be SCREAMING FOR BLOOD....and such a Plan as #4 or #5 which really are plans that would change the face of the Planet...would without a doubt be ordered. Countries like Iran have very smart and aware Military Leaders who do NOT fall under the IDIOCY of the Old Islamic Religious Guard as the Ayatollah's do not seem to understand that as of RIGHT NOW....every move they make and every single additional part of the NPT they break just puts them closer to the end of the gun barrel. Saudi Arabia even though an Ally would basically become a U.S. Military Protectorate. Syria....well Assad could kiss his ass goodbye....Jordan an ally would become an additional extremely large U.S. Military CENTCOM Base...Iraq would become our Gas Station....same with Kuwait....we would simply send 4 Mechanized Divisions directly into Lebanon and YEMEN...LOL!! Well...YEMEN....would probably CEASE TO EXIST. B-1B's....B-2's and B-52H's would bomb a swath using IR-Seeking Sub-munitions that go inert if they do not explode thus legal under the Cluster Ban Treaty...which WE did not sign anyways....about 500 to 700 miles long and 30 miles wide on either side of the Pakistan/Afghanistan Boarder at the beginning of Spring when Al-Qaeda and Taliban cross back over from Pakistan where they spend the winter back to Afghanistan where they spend spring, summer and fall....and these munitions dropped at night in a Carpet Bombing type run are not like the old Linebacker Vietnam era operation....as these munitions explode over targets and directly seek vehicles and personal. People have NO IDEA just how large a Military Response the U.S. would have if another 9/11 occurred...and let's ALL hope to GOD some idiots don't attempt it. The result would be too terrible to contemplate. AboveAlpha
Taxcutter says: No. The scumbags at Fallujah were not on a par with the stosstruppen at Belleau Wood or the Japanese on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, or Iwo Jima.
He said that!!??? LOL!!! You are right!!! Those insurgents in Fallujah WERE SCUM BAGS!!! I cannot for the life of me understand why some members don't either know or understand WHY we allowed them to stay in Fallujah until later when we came back. WE DIDN'T WANT A BLOODBATH ON OUR HANDS!!! AboveAlpha
This is because most people stupidly try to approach military questions and war as if it was simply some other political consideration. And that is why they consistently fail. Now I am well aware that we could not build up a "WWII sized" military as fast as we did in WWII, but we could do a lot if we had the determination to do so. As I already stated, we have 11 carriers in active service today. But if we wanted to, that could jump to 17 within 6-9 months. Simply reactivate the USS Enterprise, and the 5 Kitty Hawk class carriers (they are all sitting in mothballs at this time). That is a huge increase in capability. And we have other assets that could be brought up also, like 2 LHA "baby flattops" and other ships. To me one of the biggest mistakes ever made over the last 25 years was the horrific "fire sale" of military assets that are considered "excess". Bases closed forever, ships scrapped or sunk, aircraft destroyed, it is idiotic in the extreme. While I have no doubt that we could bring the military back to even a Cold War level (let alone WWII), the cost would be astronomical simply because we no longer have the most important infrastructure to support them. Bases. However, if the question is "could we afford to do so", the answer is undoubtedly yes. If we had to, we could indeed build a military that would put that of WWII to shame. With our GDP and population, we could fill over 150 Army Divisions, and 12 Marine Divisions, with room to spare. In fact, I bet we could create around double that many, and be no worse off then we were in WWII. Why? for a simple fact that few ever seem to consider. The US Army and Marines during WWII were a men's only - white only club! This is obviously not the case today. Which means a pool of people that could be called up that almost doubles the number possible. Out of those 74 US divisions in WWII, only 2 were "Colored Divisions". And females were only in the "Auxiliary" units, far fewer then are eligible to serve today. I would not say "any other military", not by a long shot. NATO follows the same guidelines, and both Russia and China also would try to restrict casualties to the military and not civilian populations (for political reasons). But in a "total war", I can see every country (including the US) in not caring much about civilian casualties, just like in WWII. Oh, it will still be a consideration, just not as much of one as it is now. Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, Gulf War I and II, Afghanistan, all of these were fought with strict guidelines to reduce civilian casualties as much as possible. Therefore only a fraction of the US power was ever brought to bear in those conflicts. Try to imagine North Vietnam if the US had decided to "move north" with 10 divisions of Infantry and 2 tank divisions. The US could have, but made the political choice not to. Actually, this would be the Army. The Corps does not have a single Bradley, nor any Strykers. Those all belong to the Army. What the Marines have are LAVs and AMPHTRACS (one Battalion of each per Division). The vast majority of each Division is still good old fashioned foot infantry. One thing the world is aware of after WWII is that the US can create an amazingly huge military in a very short amount of time. In 1941, the US military had 1.8 million people in uniform. By the end of the war, that had skyrocketed to over 12.2 million. And the US could probably field a military in the range of 35+ million if it decided to today. A number large enough to make anybody think twice. Iran is aware it is not a real military player in the world. It prefers being like Venezuela and Cuba, a political spoiler. If any of those nations decided to really try a military conflict with the US, they know their governments lifespan would be measured in months. So they keep the tensions under control, and refuse to let things get to tense. Actually, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE would be the "gas stations", Iraq still lacks the infrastructure to be of much use in that capacity. Most of their oil is still exported in the form of crude oil, because they lack the refining and distribution capabilities. But most of the Middle East would stand behind the US. And the others that would not would be easily neutralized. I would bet dollars to doughnuts they would all declare themselves neutral if they were not allied. Because if Israel could destroy the military of multiple nations on several occasions, they are aware of what the US would do. ****** And all of this is really just a little research, knowing history, and extrapolating what would happen in the future. And all of these are things I love doing. And if anybody questions my numbers, I welcome them to research this for themselves. The US military at the end of 1945 was 12.2 million. Only 901,896 were black, and they were almost exclusively in the Quartermaster Corps (truck drivers and stevedores), or cooks. Only 33,000 were of Japanese descent. Only 360,000 were female (and not a single one was in a combat role). That would not be the case in a future war.
Taxcutter says: IMO, a good Andrew Jackson/FDR bloodbath (for the scumbags) was entirely in order. Make Fallujah a roach motel. Scumbags go in but they don't come out.
Actually your wrong about this but I can see why you would say the Marines don't use Bradley's or Strykers. The Marine Corps. uses M7 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, called a B-FIST for forward observation recon vehicles and just started doing this and a few Marine Corps. units have just been given Strykers....as these Strykers are part of the Marine Corps. LAV program. LINK....https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s...ykers-1st-BCT-4th-ID-switches-mission;450;299 AboveAlpha
Oh...and Shroom....you are right about what countries would be used as Gas Stations NOW....but in the event of the Plans #4 and #5....Iraq would be quickly converted to our GAS STATION due to it's centralized location. Kuwait, Qatar and UAE would be too far away for running operations in Pakistan. AboveAlpha
