I honestly think the whole thing will result in a diplomatic stalemate, with the West (in general) supporting Kosovos indipendence and the East condeming it- however, I cant see any real miltiary conflict resulting from this, just another partially recognised state has been born. putting a load of Marines in Kosovo may however be a step in the wrong direction, as Kosovo had said that it is commited to peace and upholding human rights.

If it aint broke dont fix it, even if it may not be perfect.

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'A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like a Cheetah.'
Ronald Reagan

And I'd just like to say thanks ever so much for all the help in sorting us out.

Yes, I have held an Assault Rifle, M16 as a matter of fact (alot better than the AK's!)

Armchair Commando, well maybe, but how is this relevant? Soldiers sign up to be at the disgression of the Civilian Government, you Russians seem to have trouble getting a hang of that.

We don't have to convince our Military to do anything, they get the word from the Government and they act. Pretty decisive, no?

It seems you Russians forget when the Serbians commited large scale Genocide against the Kosovars. Yes, the Kosovars responded with Genocide as well, but it was not too the scale of Serbia's atrocity.

Serbia is a joke. No control in the country, so little control in fact they can't even prevent a province from breaking away. That act in itself shows how weak and pathteic Serbia is. Russia do us a favour, stop the sabre rattling, doesn't work on us.

__________________
'May no obstacles arise on the path of enlightenment!
May the enlightened intention of Those Gone to Bliss, past, present and future, be realised,
May I neither be bewildered in migratory existence
Nor I lulled by the solitary quiescence [of nirvana]!
But may I liberate beings throughout the expanse of space!'

- Tibetan Book of the Dead by Padmasambhava

Kosovo will need protecting. Marines are perfect, it has a Rapid Reaction Force that can get anywhere in the world in 72 hours with troops coming every hour after that.

Putin needs to save Russia face on this one. If Putin pulls the Gas and Oil contracts to W.Europe into question then he'll have made a terrible mistake.....

__________________
'May no obstacles arise on the path of enlightenment!
May the enlightened intention of Those Gone to Bliss, past, present and future, be realised,
May I neither be bewildered in migratory existence
Nor I lulled by the solitary quiescence [of nirvana]!
But may I liberate beings throughout the expanse of space!'

- Tibetan Book of the Dead by Padmasambhava

I missed the "or else" portion of your post. What exactly is Russia going to do about it besides talk?


Not even close.

No, Russia is not going to stick it's neck out for Kosovo if push comes to shove. They arent going to commit suicide (real or economic) just so that Serbia can continue to oppress Kosovo.

They are pragmatists. And thats the weakness of pragmatism you see...you have no balls.



You forgot to put "backs" in quotes.

Russia can "back" them all they want. But ultimately it will mean nothing, because Russia will never confront us over Kosovo.



Russia is already in it's place IMO.

The reality is that we are both economically and militarily more powerful than Russian. Even if it was JUST the US that supported Kosovo independence, Russia could do nothing to stop us. But it's not just us...it is NATO as well.

Sorry Russia. Looks like you will have to find a way to live with it. If it makes you feel better, you could make empty threats the same way the PRC does about Taiwan.



Wont happen.

That threat might mean something from a non-democracy. I could believe that a dictator would use nukes over something as trivial as Kosovo. But a democracy? Not a chance. They stand to gain nothing and lose everything. Russians are (sadly) not idealists. So they will cave.

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My Political Blog (Last post Feb 14) - My MySpace Page

Better, you said? You, perhaps mean - "cool-looking".
No, we did not forget. Further, we wanna spit upon those Kosovars.
Time will show.

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EU : Portable Stereo AM/FM Radio Cassette Recorder
CIS (Russia) : АМ/ЧМ Stereo Magnitola
US : Boombox (Ghettoblaster)

So what is Russia going to do about it? Pout? Make empty threats? Should we be quaking in fear at the latest Russian "resolution" condemning Kosovo?

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My Political Blog (Last post Feb 14) - My MySpace Page

I think our Russian friends think we will cower at their threats.....

This is not the case, let us be clear. Why do the Russians so vehemently defend the Serbians? The Genocidal maniacs who show no remorse for the suffering they caused upon the Kosovar's.

__________________
'May no obstacles arise on the path of enlightenment!
May the enlightened intention of Those Gone to Bliss, past, present and future, be realised,
May I neither be bewildered in migratory existence
Nor I lulled by the solitary quiescence [of nirvana]!
But may I liberate beings throughout the expanse of space!'

- Tibetan Book of the Dead by Padmasambhava

Just a small question: Where do you propose we clone these 20,000 marines?

Last time I checked the Army and Marines were tied up with two fights already. We don't have the troops to spare for another hurricane here at home, let along another foreign war.

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sputterman: "Aiding the enemy? If the truth aids the enemy then we are in the wrong war."

Can you read a map ? Russia is not "small crap hole". It is a large " crap hole" and becoming a dangerous crap hole becasue of energy money. How are you going to "take Russia out" ? Are you going to use the CAP Civil Aikr Patrol and Girl Scouts since the Bushnyks have our military with the reserves and national guard tied up in Bagdagistan!

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"I was born at night, but it was not last night night"