Topic: Don't you know there's a war on? (Read 72921 times)

Mongrel · « **Reply #800 on:** September 15, 2013, 06:09:15 AM »

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/11/16/taliban_accidentally_ccs_everybody_on_its_mailing_list?wpisrc=obnetwork

pfflol

Mongrel · « **Reply #801 on:** September 22, 2013, 08:58:05 AM »

Another Gary Brecher unlock, good for another 1 day & 20 hours as of this posting.

It's an almost crazy coincidence, as this was posted one day before the Nairobi attack.

Jihad vs. the Shopping Mall

Mongrel · « **Reply #802 on:** September 26, 2013, 05:36:00 AM »

Mongrel · « **Reply #803 on:** October 24, 2013, 05:59:32 AM »

http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-david-petreauss-bitch-in-the-90s-and-i-hated-every-second-of-it

The comments are the usual brand of internet awful, but one interesting thing I noted is the high volume of purportedly ex and current military comments along the lines of "What did you expect! That's the army, you fucking pussy! You don't like it, leave!"

Which would be more-or-less understandable, if it wasn't for the fact that they all miss the point about how not a single lick of what went on had anything even remotely to do with actually winning a real war anywhere on god's green earth.

Granted, that stuff is hardly new for armies anywhere or any time. Those few armies where the front-line soldiers and "middle manager" officers are mostly genuinely interested in winning wars are the truly fearsome machines of history.

Brentai · « **Reply #804 on:** October 24, 2013, 06:57:57 AM »

If it's not your own way it's easy to forget how valued and respected the act of ass–kissing is in most of our culture. Our dominant religion is entirely based around it.

Most soldiers, if they're being honest, don't join up to defend the country's citizens - at least half of whom they truly hate - but to serve their country , that is, to submit to whatever master their society gives them. Humility and servitude is a good and proper way of life for a lot of people. I think most of the comments here are actually JEALOUS that the writer drew such a gloriously sorry lot.

Mongrel · « **Reply #805 on:** October 24, 2013, 08:23:36 AM »

Man, at first I read that as "ass-kicking" and was all "Waaaaaiiiiit a minute here".

Mongrel · « **Reply #806 on:** October 24, 2013, 08:26:58 AM »

The incredibly high chance of having a moron as a commanding officer with no recourse to you whatsoever is probably the single biggest reason I never remotely considered joining the military in any form. And in spite of the fact that by all accounts our armed forced are quite a bit better about that compared to you folks or the British.

People think I have a problem with authority. I only have a problem with stupid authority (this is most authority, yes).

Mongrel · « **Reply #807 on:** October 29, 2013, 01:02:46 PM »

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/pakistan-family-drone-victim-testimony-congress

Büge · « **Reply #808 on:** November 05, 2013, 01:16:26 AM »

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/cia-doctors-torture-suspected-terrorists-9-11

Mongrel · « **Reply #809 on:** December 02, 2013, 07:43:58 AM »

Another reminder of just many different factions are in Syria: Buzzfeed article on Kurdish women fighters fighting against Al-Quaeda-backed forces in Syria

Mongrel · « **Reply #810 on:** December 12, 2013, 03:50:57 AM »

http://projects.wsj.com/lobotomyfiles/

Brentai · « **Reply #811 on:** January 14, 2014, 03:15:53 PM »

There is still a war on.

Joxam · « **Reply #812 on:** January 14, 2014, 03:17:49 PM »

Is this thing on?

Mongrel · « **Reply #813 on:** January 14, 2014, 04:13:40 PM »

You can't post here! This is the War Thread!

Mongrel · « **Reply #814 on:** January 14, 2014, 04:17:40 PM »

Anway, here's what I was gonna post.

Apparently Robert Gates's memoir is helluva interesting.

Brentai · « **Reply #815 on:** January 14, 2014, 05:49:21 PM »

Quote

“The president doesn’t trust his commander, can’t stand Karzai, doesn’t believe in his own strategy, and doesn’t consider the war to be his.”

So he's... exactly what he appears to be on the face of things, when everybody in the world believes him to be the opposite. Huh.

Royal☭ · « **Reply #816 on:** January 14, 2014, 11:38:35 PM »

"I'm really good at killing,", says President who keeps a kill list.

For what it's worth, saying "doesn't consider the war to be his" is pretty facetious. Obama is the president and expanded the US forces in Afghanistan in 2009. He maintains the drone program and has expanded it into other countries. And the NSA has been growing under leaps and bounds under his command. It sounds less like "Maybe Obama isn't the war mongering he looks like" and more "Robert Gates is a high-level toady"

Of course, either interpretation of Obama puts him in the classical Bush analysis of "Is he evil or just incompetent" and the true answer of "Both are awful with the same results"

Thad · « **Reply #817 on:** January 16, 2014, 02:04:09 AM »

Quote from: Royal☭ on January 14, 2014, 11:38:35 PM

"I'm really good at killing,", says President who keeps a kill list.

For what it's worth, saying "doesn't consider the war to be his" is pretty facetious. Obama is the president and expanded the US forces in Afghanistan in 2009. He maintains the drone program and has expanded it into other countries. And the NSA has been growing under leaps and bounds under his command.

Well, there's an argument to be made that he's really just continuing what the last guy did.

Which is small fucking comfort but absolutely the most important lesson everybody on either partisan side needs to learn here: if it's not okay when the other guy does it, then it's not okay when your guy does it, and vice-versa; and even if you trust the guy in charge now, the other party could be back in control in a couple of years.

(Maybe. Demographics at this point strongly suggest that the President will continue to be a Democrat, the House will continue to be Republican, and the Senate will continue to be split, probably for quite some time. But I think the larger point that you can't trust any of 'em is probably a good one for people to learn. Course, there's the argument to be made that that leads to voter apathy and makes things even worse, so hey, whole new set of problems.)

Royal☭ · « **Reply #818 on:** January 16, 2014, 02:57:33 AM »

I think "Can't trust any of 'em" is the wrong lesson, and it should be pushed that "Their interest do not relate to our interests," and to continually push for political action in more than just electoral politics.

The greatest advantage I can see to having Democrats in power is that people are actually talking about economic issues. When Republicans are in power, all energy is focused on defeating Republicans.

Mongrel · « **Reply #819 on:** January 16, 2014, 04:47:39 AM »

Quote from: Thad on January 16, 2014, 02:04:09 AM

But I think the larger point that you can't trust any of 'em is probably a good one for people to learn. Course, there's the argument to be made that that leads to voter apathy and makes things even worse, so hey, whole new set of problems.)

There's no argument to be made. That's what's already happening. That's what has already happened.

A democratic government is the form of government which is BY FAR most dependant on the confidence of the governed to function. It is exquisitely vulnerable to crises of confidence. I'd say you guys have been sliding in to just such a crisis for a while, arguably for about forty years come August 9th, but maybe a little while longer. The exact date is unimportant.

Clawing back from such a slide will take heroic efforts. Short of a miserable crisis, I would say you would have to have a fucking brilliant two-term president who made restoring confidence in government his primary political aim, over and above anything else. Now, I didn't say it would require MULTIPLE such presidents (that's when you know you're really in the shit), but from a distance, man, things don't look so good for you guys.

News:

Author Topic: Don't you know there's a war on? (Read 72921 times)