gearhog

Your opinion is duly noted.

That's an interesting thought. /s

Lame and weak. I haven't posted under the username gearpig in going on 6 years, right around the time you arrived here. You're obviously posting under a sock-puppet account because you're afraid to engage using your primary account. "Rules Based International Order" LOL. And you accuse me of repeating talking points. You don't have an original thought or phrase that hasn't been gleaned from a political talk show. Hypocrite.

Sorry, busy rolling hay this week. Of course I am. "Universal scientific truth" is just a redundant way of saying "truth". I think you have developed your own personal truth, which (let's be honest) is just a collection of narratives you've been told to defend. Again, what good would you be as a soldier if you didn't espouse the "current thing?" You're currently in a contractual obligation. That obligation requires that you see things a certain way to be good at your job. You simply couldn't be good at your job if you allowed yourself the luxury of a non-biased objective perspective. You're a good soldier. The best kind. I no longer have any such obligation to military or civilian leadership. If I were in your position, I'd probably be vigorously defending my choices, and likely be better at it than you are. 😄 Aid and comfort to the enemy, eh? By arguing about Russia in a thread about the Chinese on forum which, (again, let's be honset) isn't exactly the most-visited website? I appreciate the promotion of my importance in your delusion of grandeur, but I'm aiding the enemy about as much as you're harming it here. Someone posted something around here about the Chinese being on the verge of collapse. Russia is having the very same internal domestic problems. Economic woes, population collapse, etc. Russia was doing perfectly fine digging their own grave. Again, in the course of two years they've been unable to project their military power more than a couple hundred kms into their own front yard. And this is the major geopolitical threat you feared was going to steamroll the European continent? As you well know, irrational fear is still an extremely effective propaganda tool to motivate people to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Did you take the shots because you believe in it, or were fearful of what you were told would happen if you didn't? You seem like the type of person that could justify most anything with an ounce of fear. Not good. Oh, really? What would those arguments be? List them. I could give you a dozen and you would simply say that they're all Russian disinformation and propaganda. It's an easy out. You're no different than anyone at MSNBC. Deliver the approved perspective while simultaneously shouting "MISINFORMATION! DISINFORMATION! MALINFORATION!" at everything contradictory. It's weak and transparent, but the funny thing is: you actually seem to believe it. It's the same projection we see from your side on nearly every issue. Accuse others of doing the very same thing you are. And when you say I "puff up and scream about the First Amendment", you seem to be mocking it. Honest question: Do you believe I should be restricted from saying the things I'm saying here because you've deemed them false propaganda and giving "aid and comfort to the enemy"? Lawman, as a gesture of good faith, allow me to disseminate some anti-Russian information from an official Ukrainian outlet to demonstrate that I'm not wholly opposed to promoting your side of the argument. https://twitter.com/SarahAshtonLV/status/1691105018215317504?s=20

Ok. I’m a little surprised. Not quite the admission I was hoping for, but I sincerely respect your movement in that direction. Solid effort. I don’t believe I’ve ever argued anything about masks, but whatever. I’ll not bring up it again. Of course, we remain far apart the other things you mentioned. It won’t be me that convinces you to change your position on those, but I have full confidence that “time”will, again, just as it did here. Problem being, you’ll be late. However, I will be there to say, “I told you so.” 🙂 cheers

Not necessarily. Any minor expression of regret or acknowledgement that perhaps you were caught up in the mass hysteria, as many good people were, would completely absolve you in my mind. Until then, when I see your screen name, I see the guy that he wanted to pull the plug on people in the hospital. I'm morally obligated to say something. You believe the world is round. If a Russian also believes the world is round, does that mean it isn't? That's been your entire defense this whole time. That if someone from Russia espouses a similar narrative, then that narrative automatically becomes Russian propaganda or a lie. One can be critical of his own government without being a Russian sympathizer. Allow me to make it abundantly clear to you: In my mind, Russia is a terrible country. They don't have the freedoms we have enjoyed. Russia's economic prosperity is in sharp decline. Putin is corrupt. Putin jails his political opponents. Russia has invaded multiple foreign countries recently. Why would I want to sympathize with the official propaganda narratives a country like that? There would be absolutely no benefit whatsoever for me to promote those narratives. I don't want to live under Russian rule. I want Russia, as a system of government, to fail. That doesn't mean I'm willing to excuse the leadership of my own country, the United States of America, for engaging in the same behaviors to counter them. I don't want US to become Russia, just to fight Russia. The first time I touched AFG soil was in 2001 and the last was 2018. I invested a lot of my time and career there. So when I recall my experiences there, it's not just to score debate points. To watch it fail miserably in the end just so that our leadership can begin the process of entangling the US in yet another foreign conflict only a few short months later, where we will send even more vast amounts of treasure, and ultimately American lives isn't something I am required to do quietly as much as you would like for me to. I'm going to say what I believe and let the chips fall where they may. That's the nature of free speech and what I want to preserve. That's what made us better than the USSR/Russia. If you want to more adequately silence my dissent, do so with substance, not dismissal. As you tout the capabilities of the Russian propaganda machine to reach deep into the hearts and minds of veterans and what not to manipulate them according to their will, do you honestly... honestly... believe that the US does not also have that capability ten-fold, and aggressively using it around the world? Unbelievably Naive. You have the basis for a decent argument to be made. But you ruin it with ridiculousness like this. You just fabricated a straw man from silliness that no one here has brought up... just so you can make a spectacle of yourself swatting down bullshit that you, yourself, created. It's dumb. It's childish.

😄 Don't interrupt us while we're enjoying ourselves. This thread alone has probably generated an incredible amount of revenue for the forum based on the number of pop-ups and ads in the margins. Just trying to help.

Nah, I'm just someone that disagrees with you. I've had plenty of civil disagreements with good people in good faith on this forum on a variety of issues. As I've said, I've been here a long time. Over 20 years now. I've seen literally hundreds of other people, like yourself, come and go. Show up, try to debate, and some get nasty about it and often just go away. Absolutely I am. I've explained why I believe the things I believe numerous times, over and over again. I've given you detailed information that contradicts your position and you never address the specifics. I want to hear why you believe Russia pulled up to NATO borders, why you believe the 2014 coup wasn't foreign interference. But you're not really interested in any of that. You know full well I can poke holes in every one of your arguments. Instead, your position relies on denigrating me and my service, not my arguments. From my time here, I recognize the type of person that does that, because I've seen you a hundred times. I'm engaging you because if I give you enough rope, you'll hand yourself with it. Who is exploiting me and exactly how are they doing it? Yet another question you'll ignore. It's a claim that sounds good in your own mind, but you're not willing to substantiate it or follow up. Counter-culture movement? Racial social movement? CSIS? Illuminati? WTF are you even talking about? You're just spouting stream of consciousness crazy nonsense and act as though you've scored he game winning point. Who are the specific outside influences in your vague references and what exactly are they attempting to distract us from? Once again, crickets. But! But! You'll accuse me of being brainwashed while simultaneously regurgitating and vehemently defending every single government approved mainstream narrative on every current issue as if you were writing headlines for MSNBC. Take a look in the mirror. NPC. Honest question: We've been at this for a while now. Have you seen me once attempt to devalue yours or anyone else's service to score a debate point? That's a fair question. I'm pretty careful, but perhaps I did unintentionally. Of course you'll attempt to denigrate mine (I don't care), but to say you don't care about any old veterans' real imagined experiences over there, to refer to fallen soldiers as "Poor Dead Grunts", it demonstrates your character. I debate people a lot, but rarely ones who say such things. I'd feel genuinely bad about engaging this debate with most others operating in good faith on the forum. But here, I feel there's no real harm done.

But not quite as passionate as you are about murdering unvaccinated hospital patients, am I right?

You mean the ones you claim I'm receiving from the Kremlin's GRU US Veteran Mind Control Program? Give me a sec. I've got poor 5G reception in my secret Russian agent hideout. ... Oh yeah, they want me to ask you specifically about your claim that the Russians "pulled up" to the NATO border. Wanna expand on that? Putin himself wants to know how many "Poor Dead Grunts" you're willing to sacrifice to fight an imaginary threat that you also believe can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Hold, getting another signal. Xi Xinping wants to know if you're current on your boosters.

Weak. Quitter. 😄

Agreed. I'll apologize on behalf of Lawman for his derailment of the thread. 😄

Huh. You know... you got me to wondering. Surprise! LOLOL

Apparently the one you're in because... here you are, J. Edgar. 😆 High on McCarthyism, in high heels, with your panties in a twist and seeing Red agents everywhere. Funny that a critique of US government foreign policy triggers your paranoid delusions of the critic being a Russian sympathizer. I'll give you credit, though. You did say that history repeats itself. In your lunacy, you believe that I've been brainwashed by Sputnik and "the GRU" and targeted by the Kremlin. Insane. It's the same sort of wack-job idiocy that justifies unfounded witch hunts, hearings, investigations, and interrogations. You don't answer any legitimate questions, just act all indignant and call it disinformation. You're supremely qualified to be the next Rachael Maddow. I've already told you, multiple times, I want Russia to fail. Putin can eat shit. He shouldn't have invaded. But I'm not Russian, I don't speak Russian, I don't know any Russians. My critques, nor yours, of Russia matters in the least. What I do know for a fact, is the leadership of the country that I do live in, are also shitbags attempting to ruin a great nation. My opinion of the US matters more than my opinion of Russia. Do you actually think once we defeat Russia, the people you've supported will relinquish the power you've given them, and we'll live in peace, harmony, freedom and democracy? The current system relies on the expansion of power and resources to survive and is no less corrupt than anywhere else. How have you not noticed that your attention is continuously directed toward boogeymen while your freedoms continue to be eroded and the quality of life of the average American continues to be diminished. Gullible and Naive. That's how.

Are you autistic? It should be apparent by now that I’ve formed a hypothesis about your character and I would like for you to prove it by openly saying something dumb. It’s amazing that you would continue to do just that. Zero self-awareness. Thanks for the reply. I’ll give you a full response later today and yet another opportunity to, once again, denigrate the service of not me, but other fellow vets.

In yet another article about the rampant corruption in the Ukrainian military, the New York Times says the losses on the Ukr side top 150,000. I wonder what the real number is. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/europe/ukraine-fires-recruitment-chiefs.html

Yes.. And? ... This is the part of your argument where you would actually do that. Just saying that a counter-point exists out there somewhere isn't actually an argument in itself. You actually have to make one. So the way you argue that our expenditure of lives and treasue in Iraq was essential to the national interests of the US... is to claim that the streets of Baghdad are safer than many cities in the US. Now that's f'n brilliant. LOL Lawman: "I don't like your anecdotal war stories and anecdotes aren't valid with regard to strategic policy." Also Lawman: "Let me dispute your position with my own someone else's anecdotal war stories." You know what does? Referring to person Y as "Some Poor Dead Grunt". Ya think maybe you might have committed an unintentional human error and maybe used some language that you didn't carefully consider? It happens. Or do you stand by it? So is Russia a: A) major geopolitical threat to the United States B) paper tiger suffereing tremendous losses at the hands of a smaller country next door Choose one. Grab some popcorn. Let's watch Russia pull up to the NATO border in this time lapse video. https://twitter.com/Sprinter99800/status/1687012096246943744?s=20

I was a C-130E pilot at the time. There was absolutely nothing unique about my experiences, and I implied as much in the post prior. I did countless HR movements and MEDEVACs as did any other crew. This one was memorable and I'll tell you why. I don't care if you like my perspective, but I am always willing to listen to an opposing explanation. You know I've written on the matter quite a bit. You've had every opportunity to present an alternative viewpoint. Instead, all I am getting from you is "You're parroting Russian disinformation!" You may want everyone to deep throat and cradle the same government approved narrative you do, but I think it's important to continuously challenge it. I get it though... you're going to deploy soon. If you were to entertain any questions as to the validity or purpose, I suppose it would have detrimental effects. I did the same. I tried not to think about all the BS I saw because it made my deployments easier. But now that I've retired, I'm free to honestly reflect on it, in spite of your disapproval. Classy. I specifically remember Matt because after the deployment, his family had written my crew a very nice letter. Turns out his brother, now General Mark "Buzz" August, was my first instructor when I arrived at my first operational unit. One of, if not the, best C-130 pilots I've ever flown with. Someone I always admired and considered a friend. I realize the life of that "poor dead grunt" holds no importance in the mind of a strategic thinking stone-hearted killer like yourself, but as I plainly stated before, the threshold for conflict should be higher than it is to prevent the loss of life like his. But please, continue. The more you talk, the more you reveal.

You're repeating the same argument in a sarcasm font. Not even trying. That's the second time today you've made a feeble attempt to diminish my service just to prop up your opinion in an internet debate. Lots of people here served in GWOT for a "hot minute" and have their own opinions derived from experience. Scoffing at anyone's service probably isn't giving you the credibility you think it does. It may even be giving others an insight into your character that you may not want exposed.

What you're consistently engaging in is a logical fallacy called Hypothesis Contrary to Fact or Speculative Fallacy. To say that if you were the Supreme Allied Commander, you would have done things differently in WWII and less lives would have been lost is an impossible claim to support. To say that not funding and compelling Ukraine to fight Russia would result in a greater tragedy is equally silly. This conflict didn't being in 2022 as you would like to frame it. I'm sure you've seen the posts here regarding the events in 2014. Do your own research. The Russian/Ukraine economic package was a threat to the West, so the Ukrainian government was overthrown and replaced with this one. This is about wealth, power, and influence, not an existential threat to the US, or even the West. The difference in our positions is I can assess the facts of the present actual situation and say that the actions and decisions have resulted in provable undesirable outcomes. Your position is based purely on speculation and belief of what might have been if we failed to pay Ukrainian leadership to send its citizens to the slaughter. So when you bring up that one time you did your Hero mission to Poland, don't forget those low-cost lives you're protecting. And you go on to claim that "we" are not losing any lives. Who is "we"? US citizens? NATO member citizens? Our allies the Ukrainians? Last I checked, there are significant losses on both sides. I've asked this before and haven't gotten much in the way of an answer. Why do you tout the relatively low cost of war but fail to mention the tens of thousands of Ukrainians being force fed into the meat grinder for your benefit? I'd think you'd garner more respect if you openly advocated for fighting your own battles. To brag that some other poor sucker did so you don't have to seems in bad taste.

FIFY.

LOL. As soon as I posted, I predicted you would armchair General the decisions of those actually living at the time. Of course you would have invaded earlier after consulting your WWII history books. So ridiculous. Your third paragraph isn't written clearly. I know you're being critical, but it doesn't make any sense to me. Sorry. EDIT: I think I may have deciphered some of it. I think you're saying the deaths of all of our people in Iraq was worth it because it avoided a larger conflict later on. Perhaps one where all that yellow cake was processed into nuclear weapons that Sadaam would have used to destroy the world. Also, we're preventing a wider conflict by funding a war that's weakening Russia faster than it's weakening Ukraine as evidenced by Russia's near collapse since this argument was made 2 years ago. We're avoiding escalation and improving our influence around the globe. Sort of like arguing your last COVID episode would have been "so much worse" if you hadn't gotten your shot or the Afghanistan surge prevented over a dozen 9/11s. Hard to argue against that. You make some great points.

That's a straw man argument. No one said or pretended there's been a time without any human conflict. You seem to be saying any conflict is acceptable because that's simply how the sausage gets made. Don't you see the irony in prefacing that with calling any other position "bold faced ignorance brought from a position of insulated relaxation"? I gotta give you credit, however. That's the strangest insult I've ever been given here, and many attempts have been made. You seem to be an astute student of history. Maybe review what you're calling an autocratic land-grab to avoid any appearances of ignorance or irony. I'm sure most of us here have seen the (if I may substitute) "freedom and democracy" getting made. One of my many memories is Capt Matt August. Three helos landed behind our Herc one night in Baghdad. His buddies carried him up the ramp and placed him into the HR container. The sight of 12-15 Army dudes, all arms around someone else's shoulders, crying standing there with my crew and I,while a Chaplain shouted his impromptu memorial service and prayers above the noise of the GTC (APU) is a memory I won't forget. I'm sure It didn't seem like a "little brush fire" to those who knew him and I would be hesitant to dismiss it as such. I just spent a day at the new WWII museum in New Orleans last Saturday. Absolutely fanastic. Highly recommended. It was good to be reminded how much resistance there was to enter the war until the pre-conditions crossed a relatively high threshold. And it when they did, it was a monumental effort of which the entire country was behind, designed to achieve a quick and decisive victory. I'm not a peacenik against all war. My contention is our current pre-conditions and thresholds for engaging, or continuing to engage, in foreign conflicts are often too low or for the wrong reasons, not that there shouldn't be any conflict.

Sorta makes you wonder if there's any middle ground between being isolationist and being continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for 20 plus years.

Pour three fingers of peated Scotch and give a listen.