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The Voice of Labor posted:*finland meekly raises its hand* And all it took was Samuli Torssonen and P-Fleet travelling back in time.
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Dec 17, 2023 10:45
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The cancer chipping away at America's ability to efficiently wage war and enforce its geopolitical dominance in the face of adversity has been slowly taking root for decades and should've been undeniable after the failure of the War on Terror during what was sold as a new era of unrivaled American supremacy on the world stage - ideologically, politically, but especially militarily - but I suppose clapping like a seal at whatever epic new warplane is being rolled out is also an option.
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Dec 17, 2023 10:50
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It's what happens when you put profits above people killing
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Dec 17, 2023 10:54
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Look, you can't just BUILD a
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Dec 17, 2023 10:55
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Dutch news trying to explain what is going on with the Houthis attacking ships by citing a Dutch “Arabist”, whatever the gently caress that is supposed to be, who helpfully explains the Houthis (certainly never calling them Ansar Allah) claim they are doing it out of solidarity with the Palestinians but he doesn’t believe that to be true because the Houthis are busy with their own war so the real explanation is that they are an Iranian proxy following Iranian orders. Nothing is even said about Irans motives for this. Just a wonderful look into the deranged mind of the RBIO.
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Dec 17, 2023 10:56
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I understood that it's a process that's been happening for some time but I didn't realize just how bad the situation is. In retrospect the recalling of troops from Afghanistan was a signal I missed and thinking about how frothing mad everyone was that it happened makes me think even the people at the levers don't really get how bad it is.
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Dec 17, 2023 10:56
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The US’ military being hollowed out is not a bad situation, it is by far the best geopolitical development of my lifetime.
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Dec 17, 2023 10:58
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Remember when they were fleeing in such terror they took off a cargo plane that had people holding on to the outside. Really are the biggest loving cowards. DTA.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:00
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Stinky Wizzleteats posted:It's what happens when you put profits above people killing It's what happens when Neoliberalism digs in and your bourgeoisie is making money primarily through scams, debt extraction and financial fairy dust rather than manufacturing, distributing and selling things, and most real production is outsourced to the other side of the globe. China has an actual industrial capacity while American businessmen are stacking Benjamins by ripping each other off.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:01
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Oh yeah don't mistake my tone as grief. The US absolutely needs to die
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Dec 17, 2023 11:01
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Crazypoops posted:even the people at the levers don't really get how bad it is. They think they still have the cold war army of the 1970s plus all the sci-fi bells and whistles from star trek. Every opponent is a stone age moron who has never heard of mail order or China.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:06
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Sancho Banana posted:It's what happens when Neoliberalism digs in and your bourgeoisie is making money primarily through scams, debt extraction and financial fairy dust rather than manufacturing, distributing and selling things, and most real production is outsourced to the other side of the globe. Good summary
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Dec 17, 2023 11:07
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WhiskeyWhiskers posted:Remember when they were fleeing in such terror they took off a cargo plane that had people holding on to the outside. Really are the biggest loving cowards. DTA. best part was the 10K burgerbrains still blowing up civvies when the guys actually holding the defensive perimeter all that time was the taliban
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Dec 17, 2023 11:09
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Orange Devil posted:Dutch news trying to explain what is going on with the Houthis attacking ships by citing a Dutch “Arabist”, whatever the gently caress that is supposed to be, who helpfully explains the Houthis (certainly never calling them Ansar Allah) claim they are doing it out of solidarity with the Palestinians but he doesn’t believe that to be true because the Houthis are busy with their own war so the real explanation is that they are an Iranian proxy following Iranian orders. Nothing is even said about Irans motives for this. There's been a year long ceasefire in Yemen. They don't have anything else distracting them right now. Is being an "Arabist" like being a "Middle East expert," but instead of reacting to current events you don't understand you base all of your analyses on college textbook material?
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Dec 17, 2023 11:10
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When the US soldiers abducted a baby and didn't let the mother through? Then when stateside tried to adopt the baby even though it had relatives in the US that wanted custody.
WhiskeyWhiskers has issued a correction as of 11:15 on Dec 17, 2023 |
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Dec 17, 2023 11:12
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I think pop culture has given Western people an idea that technology is a far greater force multiplier than it is, so you don't need tedious industrial effort to win wars. Just roll out the big tech and watch it smash a bunch of disheartened drafted Iraqis trying to retreat in their tanks. Every war will be Desert Storm. No, don't pay attention to literally every other conflict fought by the US since WW2. No Western aligned nation can do 20th century warfare and their grift industries didn't produce an alternative. The rot has been there all along which is why the US has always failed against significant resistance. They excel at mayhem but not warfare. There are just more people calling their bluff. It's funny to remember how cheap and barely working the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was despite those being basically unopposed and that was before twenty more years of corruption and deindustrialization. No one knew then but that America was probably the high-water mark for the post WW2 empire  Hopefully Iran and its allies don't fall for our bullshit anymore.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:17
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FuzzySlippers posted:I think pop culture has given Western people an idea that technology is a far greater force multiplier than it is, so you don't need tedious industrial effort to win wars. Just roll out the big tech and watch it smash a bunch of disheartened drafted Iraqis trying to retreat in their tanks. Every war will be Desert Storm. No, don't pay attention to literally every other conflict fought by the US since WW2. its even funnier that they blew all their remaining load in ukraine only because the americans didn't want germans to buy russian gas directly
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Dec 17, 2023 11:21
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FuzzySlippers posted:I think pop culture has given Western people an idea that technology is a far greater force multiplier than it is, so you don't need tedious industrial effort to win wars. Just roll out the big tech and watch it smash a bunch of disheartened drafted Iraqis trying to retreat in their tanks. Every war will be Desert Storm. No, don't pay attention to literally every other conflict fought by the US since WW2. Well, it IS up until it isn't. Developed nations having a monopoly on cruise missiles & etc., was an overwhelming strategic advantage. It literally meant we could hit and they couldn't hit back. Even when it came to all those wars we lost, our victims didn't have the ability to send a strategic bomber to do a reverse Linebacker on Los Angeles. Under current conditions, they effectively still don't have that capability - but the strategic picture for the US military is still effectively checked. There's no proven method for countering a missile swarm. So long as the US was removed from any consequences by an entire hemisphere, starting wars was a simple matter of will.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:24
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Pener Kropoopkin posted:Well, it IS up until it isn't. Developed nations having a monopoly on cruise missiles & etc., was an overwhelming strategic advantage. It literally meant we could hit and they couldn't hit back. Even when it came to all those wars we lost, our victims didn't have the ability to send a strategic bomber to do a reverse Linebacker on Los Angeles. Under current conditions, they effectively still don't have that capability - but the strategic picture for the US military is still effectively checked. There's no proven method for countering a missile swarm. plz expand developing nations don't have cruise missiles but have what in their stead?
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Dec 17, 2023 11:31
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Aljazeera did an interview with the former IRGC General Qassem Soleimani's former assistant:- ======================================== https://www.aljazeera.net/politics/...A9-%D9%86%D8%AA Assistant General Qassem Soleimani to Al Jazeera Net: For these reasons, the Gaza tunnels will remain a nightmare for Israel How do you evaluate the course of events of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” so far, and which of its two sides achieved victory on the ground? What is happening in Gaza is nothing but the resistance and bravery of a defenseless people who believe in their cause in the face of the global military arsenal, as we see that the allies of the “Zionist entity”, especially the United States, Britain and some members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), are rushing to provide their latest military armament to bring the Palestinian resistance to its knees. Which humiliated the occupation and its supporters, and has the upper hand in the ongoing battle. We believe that despite the "Israeli entity"'s continued killing of women and children and its persistence in targeting infrastructure to displace the population of the besieged Gaza Strip, the resistance still has the upper hand in the battle. On the other hand, the “occupying entity” and its Western allies behind it, in turn, have the upper hand in violating human rights, committing massacres against civilians and patients, and using various types of internationally prohibited weapons against a defenseless people. We believe that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle exposed the fragility of the “Israeli entity,” failed the media war led by Western and Hebrew media tycoons, and demonstrated the ability and determination of the Palestinian people to liberate their lands from the filth of the occupation. The battle also brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront of developments in the world, and was able to attract and influence global public opinion and shift it towards the Palestinian issue. On the other hand, the Israeli side has not achieved any of its declared goals so far. How does the second round of the battle differ from the ground operation that preceded the temporary humanitarian truce? What distinguishes the second round of the battle is the worsening Israeli madness in targeting civilians and infrastructure, to record an achievement on the ground, but to no avail, and this is what confirms its failure and acceptance of defeat so far. The resumption of Israeli bombing after the humanitarian truce is the best evidence that the occupation leaders acknowledge defeat, and that they see blind and indiscriminate bombing as a way to destroy the Strip, perhaps offering its scorched earth an achievement, while neither humanitarian logic nor military norms consider the bombing of civilians to be evidence of victory. Rather, it is evidence of failure and defeat. Why was the Israeli government forced to resume the battle even though it knew that the price would be high? The "Zionist entity" committed a grave mistake by resuming the aggression against Gaza, thinking that its military arsenal would turn the tide of the battle in its favor, but it did not learn from the American experience in its invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. The Israeli leadership is also clinging to continuing the aggression to find an honorable way out for it, by delivering painful blows to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). This is something that has not and will not be achieved on Earth. Because their owners have the upper hand in the street wars and gang wars that take place in their lands, and they know best about its paths. The nature of classic battles is completely different from guerrilla warfare, and this is what the Israeli side did not take into account before launching a ground operation in Gaza. In an indication of the confusion of the Israeli army in its ongoing operation in Gaza and the collapse of its morale, statistics indicate that 20% of the occupation’s losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line and a front line. What is the importance of the battle losing a front line, which facilitates the targeting of Israeli forces and military vehicles from zero distance? The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line, which increases the chances of the landowners targeting the invading forces. Over the decades, the Palestinian resistance has worked to arm all of Gaza and create fortifications underground and above it, especially in places owned by the resistance, and here the resistance fighters are using these fortifications to target enemy forces from zero distance. We know very well that as the battle continues, zero-range targeting of Israeli forces will increase, because the Israeli army waging a guerrilla war in Gaza is no less dangerous than entering a mine field with explosives. In your opinion, to what extent can the Israeli leadership tolerate the high rate of casualties among its forces, including senior officers? The "Zionist entity" is not accustomed to long-term battles, and the Israeli leadership is subjected to tremendous pressure to end the battle. We believe that the passage of time is not in Israel’s favor, and that if the war continues for another month, the Israeli army will leave Gaza carrying the tails of defeat and shame, because with the passage of time, the pressure of Israeli public opinion will increase, especially the families of the prisoners on the one hand, and Western support for Tel Aviv will decline. On the other hand. Since the first day of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Israel has threatened to destroy the tunnel network in Gaza, and it appears that it intends to flood it with seawater. Do you see this as a possible plan? The occupation revealed only the smallest of the tunnel networks in Gaza because it is not a unified network, and part of what was found was a trap that caused the occupation forces to lose lives, making them not dare to enter it. The "Israeli entity" cannot flood it with water because it knows that its prisoners are sitting there, and that a number of them who were released by Hamas confirmed this. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does this, the repercussions will be dire for him. However, we believe that he is unable to submerge it completely with water; Because it was built on parts and not a unified network, and the resistance prepared to separate it and divide it into smaller parts, and therefore there is no fear for it and it will remain a nightmare for the occupation. The other point I would like to point out is that the resistance axis, which planned with the Palestinians to build more than 400 kilometers of tunnels under an area of land that did not exceed 40 square kilometers, took various possible “scenarios” into consideration. These scenarios include flooding the tunnels with water, pumping toxic gas into them, or blowing up parts of them. Therefore, the Palestinian side in the tunnels knows very well how to deal with all possible challenges. What is your reading of the Houthis fighting naval battles against Israeli ships and ships heading to the occupied territories, and what is its impact on the course of the battle? The Yemeni Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) took upon itself the task of supporting Gaza, based on Islamic teachings calling for supporting the oppressed. It pledged to prevent ships heading to the “Zionist entity” from navigating in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. This decision will put additional pressure on Israel, especially in The field of securing ships heading to the occupied Palestinian territories. We suggest to the Houthis not only to confiscate the cargo of ships heading to Israel, but also to confiscate the ships carrying those goods if their origin or cargo is from Islamic countries. How do you view the Islamic Republic’s warning to the United States that it will face exceptional problems if it wants to form an international force to protect navigation in the Red Sea? Is Tehran actually capable of implementing these threats? The Iranian position is clear in this area. We oppose the formation of any international coalition in our region, and we believe that the Western side’s insistence on forming such a force will raise the number of targets for the Yemeni Navy to conduct military exercises at sea and near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. As for Tehran, it had previously opposed the formation of such an alliance under the pretext of ensuring maritime navigation in Gulf waters, and the project failed through political and operational opposition. We say this time, it is the same warning, and it is the same determination and choices. I would like to draw the attention of those who doubt Iran's ability to implement its threats to the downing of the American Global Hawk drone, which was shot down by the Revolutionary Guard in 2019 after it entered Iranian airspace.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:34
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'the dutch arabist' sounds like an incredibly racist circus act
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Dec 17, 2023 11:45
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Pener Kropoopkin posted:Well, it IS up until it isn't. Developed nations having a monopoly on cruise missiles & etc., was an overwhelming strategic advantage. It literally meant we could hit and they couldn't hit back. Even when it came to all those wars we lost, our victims didn't have the ability to send a strategic bomber to do a reverse Linebacker on Los Angeles. Under current conditions, they effectively still don't have that capability - but the strategic picture for the US military is still effectively checked. There's no proven method for countering a missile swarm. I think even that tech advantage mostly just helped the US bluff extremely well. They could bomb with impunity for a bit to 'send a message' and then warn they'd continue until whatever demands were met. Other countries would often fold, but it was a bluff because for decades the US hasn't had the capability to keep the missiles coming for long. So, the cruise missiles didn't give them the capacity to reduce Iran to rubble without consequence, but they could certainly flex on occasion. There were plenty of quiet warnings that US capabilities were really being stretched just bombing weddings all over the region during the GWoT. The military really should've expected everything to break completely if the balloon ever went up but presumably that wasn't good for careers. carcinofuck posted:plz expand Ansarallah seem to have the capacity build a variety of cruise missile-ish weapons and even ICBMs despite all they have endured (there is definitely some from Iran and expertise, but they seem pretty competent on their own too). If such a bombed out country can do it presumably most countries could also given enough effort and desire. I presume this is largely because once upon a time you needed things like expensive export controlled gps units for military purposes, but now you can just order even better stuff off aliexpress with free shipping nbd.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:48
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boo boo bear posted:'arabist' sounds like an incredibly racist circus act An expert crossbow marksman
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Dec 17, 2023 11:48
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carcinofuck posted:plz expand I don’t really understand your question. if developing nations lack strategic weapons then they just don’t have that capability. They’d have arsenals that are either purely defensive or which could only ever be used in wars on their neighbors. the proliferation of strategic weapons like cruise missiles among developing countries (specifically, those antagonistic to the US) is recent to this century. the US started the war on terror as the undisputed master of the world, and 20 years later we’ve been reduced to a mere superpower as everybody else played catchup. China, Russia, and the DPRK are even more advance than us when it comes to hypersonic weapons.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:49
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Soon we will simply be a pooperpower (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 17, 2023 11:51
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carcinofuck posted:plz expand i think pener is saying the global south can defend themselves, but can't attack the glowing red core in the US war machine because of the technology gap to cover the distance. this means losing doesn't cost the US much so they feel free to start new wars.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:51
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A big component of this though is that US objectives require a continued presence in the Middle East in order to secure whatever it is they think they're fighting for, and those targets have become increasingly vulnerable. No, Iran can't hit Dallas, but they can absolutely mess up US bases in Iraq and disrupt US actions in Syria. America is throwing good money after bad trying to hold on to their assets and it's gutting the American social safety net as spending is so loving lopsided.
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Dec 17, 2023 11:55
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America is a cheatcode country so it has been insulated from consequence for centuries (the ACW doesn't count) simply due to geography. Being able to hit the US across oceans with weapons that don't light up a big kick me sign like an ICBM are presumably a long way away. Before that enemies can certainly rain fire on absolutely everything else America cares about from allies to foreign bases. Even if missiles aren't dropping on the MidWest at some point America will get the loving point and gently caress off to their big safe country.
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Dec 17, 2023 12:01
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crepeface posted:i think pener is saying the global south can defend themselves, but can't attack the glowing red core in the US war machine because of the technology gap to cover the distance. this means losing doesn't cost the US much so they feel free to start new wars. This was the dynamic up until about the Trump admin, just to be clear. Trump had several incidents where he got extremely bellicose only to back down at the threat of an actual war. It wasn’t just because Trump is averse to adversity, it’s because the military guys who could reach his ear were telling him just how limited our capabilities actually are and what the consequences would be. by contrast, from the Gulf War to the war on ISIS nobody could really stop us from starting poo poo when we really wanted.
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Dec 17, 2023 12:01
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FuzzySlippers posted:America is a cheatcode country so it has been insulated from consequence for centuries (the ACW doesn't count) simply due to geography. Not true, what about that one time 211 years ago?
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Dec 17, 2023 12:07
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crepeface posted:i think pener is saying the global south can defend themselves, but can't attack the glowing red core in the US war machine because of the technology gap to cover the distance. this means losing doesn't cost the US much so they feel free to start new wars. I just meant what is the best stuff that developing countries have but fuzzy already answered it.
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Dec 17, 2023 12:10
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Sancho Banana posted:Not true, what about that one time 211 years ago? oh I thought about that date for a sec before I pluralized century. We’ll get the last laugh when the final act of the US before it dissolves is to nuke Canada (sorry FF) and London as late revenge for burning down the White House as our own version of the Samson option
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Dec 17, 2023 12:14
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boo boo bear posted:'the dutch arabist' sounds like an incredibly racist circus act His best friend is a Sinologist.
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Dec 17, 2023 12:16
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Al-Saqr posted:how is that possible when the vast majority of the whites are holding stupid opinions like that hamas did the rapes or whatever thats really strange 18-24 years are the most online and thus exposed to Israeli crimes every day. the older the cohorts get, the more they rely on imperial propaganda to get their “news” from
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Dec 17, 2023 12:18
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Pener Kropoopkin posted:This was the dynamic up until about the Trump admin, just to be clear. Trump had several incidents where he got extremely bellicose only to back down at the threat of an actual war. It wasn’t just because Trump is averse to adversity, it’s because the military guys who could reach his ear were telling him just how limited our capabilities actually are and what the consequences would be. So why is it that Biden is engaging in these wars when Trump didn't? I assume that the military men are still telling him the same thing, but that Joe is that much more enmeshed in both the belief in American military might and in the institutional momentum to go along with it?
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Dec 17, 2023 12:18
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gradenko_2000 posted:So why is it that Biden is engaging in these wars when Trump didn't? I assume that the military men are still telling him the same thing, but that Joe is that much more enmeshed in both the belief in American military might and in the institutional momentum to go along with it? I meant to bring this up, but Biden hasn’t “started” “new wars” in the same way Trump did. this administration is operating under the same dynamic. it may look like Biden is starting poo poo with Palestine, but this is Israel’s war that we willingly joined. in the grand scheme it’s another conflict we inherited from the policies of past administrations.
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Dec 17, 2023 12:23
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I don't know much about this organization, but they've obtained this footage supposedly showing that Egypt is reinforcing the border with Gaza. https://twitter.com/Sinaifhr/status/1736075564752982154?t=sW8zrNAGR8vC4h0iYX8Sng&s=19
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Dec 17, 2023 12:26
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Al-Saqr posted:Aljazeera did an interview with the former IRGC General Qassem Soleimani's former assistant:- interesting stuff and he at least confirms the idea that the tunnels are not threatened by whatever cartoon poo poo IDF wants to try. I wonder how connected he is to the current decision makers over there. The commentary vibe is that Hamas is winning and all developments have favored them which if he's privy to councils suggests Iran isn't expecting to go thundering in anytime soon. I was curious about quote:We suggest to the Houthis not only to confiscate the cargo of ships heading to Israel, but also to confiscate the ships carrying those goods if their origin or cargo is from Islamic countries. Why the specificity of Islamic countries? Is the idea they should just sink other ships or leave them alone to not widen the international response?
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Dec 17, 2023 12:31
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^ is that not just to punish Islamic countries who are still trading with Israel? Yo Sancho so they've kept the released hostages quiet so far? Any of them directly comment on how they were treated?
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Dec 17, 2023 12:31
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carcinofuck posted:Yo Sancho so they've kept the released hostages quiet so far? Any of them directly comment on how they were treated? A bunch of them have spoken/given interviews so far, they kept a lid on them for a while but it was obviously going to burst eventually. The worst thing any of them said about their treatment during captivity was that food had to be rationed out more and more as time went on (unsurprising) and that medical treatment was sometimes subpar, like this one hostage who had her wound stitched without anesthetic. Considering the total siege being imposed on Gaza and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities by the IDF, it seems fair to say that the blame for both of those isn't with Hamas. The only other somewhat unsavory things were needing to ask to be taken to the bathroom, or sometimes being told to stay quiet. I haven't seen any hostage testify about being tortured in Gaza or anything like Israeli media has been fantasizing about. That same lady also said that her kids were given paper and coloring pens to play with. E: Remember, when you see information about the hostages' treatment in Gaza, be very wary of who is saying it, both the outlet and the person being quoted. Sancho Banana has issued a correction as of 12:52 on Dec 17, 2023 |
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Dec 17, 2023 12:41
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