pcola Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Anybody got time to kill and feel like doing some interesting reading? It will probably open the your eyes into some realities that you haven't given too much thought. First, read this Congressional Research Service Report for Congress on the security issues facing Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Read between the lines. Next, read this recent article from The Atlantic. Read between the lines. My opinion only, the real reason we are in Afghanistan is a convenient excuse to keep a foothold in the region so that we can keep tabs on Pakistan's nukes. From the Atlantic article: “The single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short-term, medium-term, and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon,” President Obama said last year at an international nuclear-security meeting in Washington. Al-Qaeda, Obama said, is “trying to secure a nuclear weapon—a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using.” The articles paint a pretty bleak picture about the security of Pakistan's nukes, from many different perspectives. The US needs a significant presence in the region so that we can: A) legitimize having the resources on hand to continue to develop and maintain SA on the state of their weapons, and; B) legitimize having enough combat power at the ready to react in the event the security of one of their nukes is compromised. I don't see this changing. We are not at any time in the near future going to take any steps to de-weaponize Pakistan, so I don't see us giving up our regional foothold. Do we care about fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan? To a certain extent, but IMO probably not enough to justify the resource expenditure. Can we afford to let Pakistan's nuclear arsenal go unchecked? Absolutely not, at any expense. For these reasons, we will continue to fight and throw money into that hole known as Afghanistan, and we will continue to put up with Pakistan's blatant backstabbing, double talking, and terrorist supporting. Discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Man, I don't even want to think about the impact of terrorists using a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world. It would create a fucking free for all like the world has never seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearedHot Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Man, I don't even want to think about the impact of terrorists using a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world. It would create a fucking free for all like the world has never seen. Pandefuckingmonium! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jughead Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Man, I don't even want to think about the impact of terrorists using a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world. It would create a fucking free for all like the world has never seen. Obviously correct and cannot be overstated... which, unfortunately (and equally obviously) is precisely why every terrorist & wanna-be terrorist have sought and will continue to seek to obtain and use them.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 For a MA class I just read 7 Deadly Scenarios. Not bad read...not super academic and I don't agree with all the author's premises, but thought provoking. Loose Pakistani nukes was scenario #1; no good can come of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 My opinion only, the real reason we are in Afghanistan is a convenient excuse to keep a foothold in the region so that we can keep tabs on Pakistan's nukes. IMO, we went to Iraq for similar reasons (Iran, Syria, Yemen, HOA). Iraq is the "Heart of the Caliphate," and strategically placed to make or break a "Terrorist States of the Middle East" alliance. We'll see how it goes in the next few months, both in Iraq and Afghanistan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Maybe saying these are the reasons we went to Afghanistan and Iraq is an exaggeration. We went to Afghanistan because they were housing the assholes who attacked us on 9/11. We went to Iraq because we thought Saddam had WMDs. Maybe better to say we're lingering in Afghanistan is to keep an eye on their neighbors. WRT to Iraq, I don't think we're either lingering much longer than necessary and we already had plenty of bases in the region (Turkey, Kuwait, UAE, etc.), so that one doesn't follow the logic quite as neatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperWSO Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Anybody got time to kill and feel like doing some interesting reading? Words, words words For these reasons, we will continue to fight and throw money into that hole known as Afghanistan, and we will continue to put up with Pakistan's blatant backstabbing, double talking, and terrorist supporting. Discuss. Quick solution. "Hey India, Pakistan just called you fat. I think the said your mom was a slut too. Are you going to put up with that? They've been giving Kashmir the eye all night." After they get done, Afghanistan won't need electricity, they will be able to read at night using the glow from the east. Shovel the big pieces back into the crater and go back to worrying about Iran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) WRT to Iraq, I don't think we're either lingering much longer than necessary and we already had plenty of bases in the region (Turkey, Kuwait, UAE, etc.), so that one doesn't follow the logic quite as neatly. Agreed, we've lost our will (and SOFA) in Iraq. Bases worked to contain Saddam. However, the spread of terrorism in the region (Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, possibly Iraq) obviously wasn't stunted by our regional presence. Iran's proxy war (Hamas and Hezbollah) with Israel also indicated that despite us "being there," Middle East terrorism was growing and spreading. IMO, WMD was reasonably palatable to the American public as cause to remove Saddam and take control of strategically central Iraq. Or not... Notice how Condi, Cheney, Rummy all have different perspectives on what we were doing and what the end state was in Iraq? Something tells me members of the Bush Administration weren't all on the same page, ultimately projecting a "quagmire." Not until the surge did Bush really take the reins in Iraq. Edited November 8, 2011 by Pancake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy2181 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I've heard something like this being talked about for a while now.... We invaded Iraq because we couldn't invade Iran. We invaded Afghanistan because we couldn't invade Pakistan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoleIt Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I've heard something like this being talked about for a while now.... We invaded Iraq because we couldn't invade Iran. We invaded Afghanistan because we couldn't invade Pakistan. Why couldn't we invade Iran? Curious...It's not like their military is any better than Iraqs. Only reason I can think of is public opinion/support... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy2181 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Why couldn't we invade Iran? Curious...It's not like their military is any better than Iraqs. Only reason I can think of is public opinion/support... Well...I'm sure we can invade any country. Reasons for attack Iraq versus Iran...10 yrs of no-fly zones (meaning we were actually flying over that country before we invaded it), 10 yrs of an embargo, Iraq is a smaller country, military & intelligence was actively engaged in Iraq for those ten years, Kurdish allies in the North. We could have invaded either country but the plans were in place already for an Iraq invasion. I'm not saying it is the reason. All I said was that I have heard theories saying we invaded one country to get to its neighbor. Edited November 8, 2011 by flyboy2181 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Why couldn't we invade Iran? Curious...It's not like their military is any better than Iraqs. Only reason I can think of is public opinion/support... Russia and China. Invading Iran had (has) greater consequences than invading Iraq. In Mar '03, the US already had forces, prolific sanctions and support from Middle East neighbors to contain Saddam. Besides sanctions, attacking Iran would have meant a significant shift in forces (from eastern to western Afghanistan/cross Iraq to get to Iran), a three-to-five front battle (Afghanistan, Iran, sympathetic Iraqis, the rest of the Middle East, insurgents), and a near-direct affront to Russia and China, causing who-knows-what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afnav Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 For a MA class I just read 7 Deadly Scenarios. Not bad read...not super academic and I don't agree with all the author's premises, but thought provoking. Loose Pakistani nukes was scenario #1; no good can come of it. '2' on the book. I found it in the base library, so I would think most would carry it. The 'Islamic terrorist bomb' is one of them, and a very thought-provoking concept on deterrence theory. In this scenario, with a certain type of president, I think my former job as a strike adviser would be very, very busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Figured this was as good a place as any. BL: U.S. helos fly into Pakistan, end up killing 25 government troops. They are pissed. Now kicking us out of an airbase on their side of the boarder. Story here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Dog Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 (edited) Good read. I still think my buddy had it right when he said: "All we need to do is build hot robot women that ###### like wild animals, and airdrop them into every shit-hole in the world. Because its easy to go crazy, when all you have to ###### are goats." But whoever is making them has got to hurry up and get a better looking prototype than this: Edited November 26, 2011 by BigBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soultrain Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Good read. I still think my buddy had it right when he said: "All we need to do is build hot robot women that ###### like wild animals, and airdrop them into every shit-hole in the world. Because its easy to go crazy, when all you have to ###### are goats." But whoever is making them has got to hurry up and get a better looking prototype than this: DARPA...are you listening? Perhaps they could be weaponized with Fem-Bot sweater cannons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CAVEMAN Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) Figured this was as good a place as any. BL: U.S. helos fly into Pakistan, end up killing 25 government troops. They are pissed. Now kicking us out of an airbase on their side of the boarder. Story here. If I were Obama, I would seize and capitalize on this opportunity to begin drastic withdrawal with a Strategic /Tactical plan in place to occupy that region for the next 100 years. This supposedly "Long War" strategy will have drone attacks at its very core. Watching RESTREPO again tonight.....yeah, let get out of that sh!t hole Edited November 27, 2011 by CAVEMAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 This probably won't help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawman Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Well on the plus side for the Paki's. With all the trucks sitting parked at the border and waiting they'll be much easier to pilfer through. Get out of my ######ing Tricons you god damn filthy rats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForgotPassword Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Why couldn't we invade Iran? Curious...It's not like their military is any better than Iraqs. Only reason I can think of is public opinion/support... Their military is better than the former Iraqi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hueypilot812 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Interesting how most of the media isn't really looking into the reports that they fired on the Afghans who then called in the air support...I kinda had a feeling something like that might have happened. It's unusual that we'd just go in there guns blazing without knowing who we were zapping...not that it's impossible, but I wondered if maybe the strike wasn't as accidental as the media is portraying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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