I’ve literally seen people post things like, “I hope we do go to war so we can kill as many of you people as possible.”

Trolling or not, I think statements like that are very immature and irresponsible. Was it ever moderated?

Personal opinions are personal opinions, and in my opinion, some people (so-called “desktop warriors,” “armchair generals” etc.) seem to have a very distant relationship with reality. It’s quite easy to sit safely and comfortably at home in front of your computer while using the internet to rant about e.g. armed conflicts without taking the time to reflect about what it really means to those involved.

I’ve made statements in the past which to some may seem to fit into this category. I realise this and I try to be open to constructive feedback which may help me improve my self-knowledge. In context with public statements I feel it’s important to be aware of and respect certain limits. Statements like the one Meat listed seem well beyond these limits.

Any political reasons why the Saudi’s can’t do this ? There are hardly short of air assets…………………………….

And what about Egypt, Libya, South Africa…

Trouble on the horizon:

Military action in another oil-rich Muslim country almost four years after the Iraq invasion would be risky. But some officials in Washington and London suggest that it might be the only way to deal with the situation in the western Sudanese region. Between 100,000 and 400,000 people have died there through famine and slaughter and 2.5m more have fled their homes since 2003.

…

Opposition from the US military is said to be strong. Analysts and diplomats are also sceptical the US and UK will conclude that military intervention against Khartoum’s wishes would rescue a complex situation.

Armed action would also risk destroying a separate North-South agreement that ended decades of civil war last year.

China, which consumes almost two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports, is said to be concerned that its image is being tarnished by its close association with Khartoum. But envoys doubt that Beijing would back any UN plan that might affect its oil purchases.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/aa7683f2-8a1f-11db-ae27-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=4e612cca-6707-11da-a650-0000779e2340.html

The UNSC has discussed the possibility of a no-fly zone at least once before. Apparently they figured that an operation like that would get too complicated and/or inconvenient.

The situation in Darfur needs to be dealt with. The responsibility for the continuing development of the crisis may lie with several parties involved, but it should be getting more and more clear that the Sudanese government along with the Janjaweed should be addressed in other ways. The diplomatic line seems to be so unstable and ineffective.

I hope this recent line of thought will reach implementation. I believe that a military intervention may help to solve a part of the problem, at least temporarily. A massive civilian aid effort is extremely important. Just make sure to avoid the mistakes made in Bosnia and Kosovo (although I reckon that one of the international community’s biggest mistakes in Bosnia has already been made – guess which one).

Ignoring harsh international criticism, Israel has vowed to continue the overflights, claiming they were needed to monitor alleged arms smuggling by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Taking place in close proximity of UNIFIL positions? How do recce operations used to monitor Hezbollah activity justify the way IDF/AF aircraft (allegedly) buzz UNIFIL ground units? I might be missing something here, but the sound of things make me think that something is not right (gee..). At least one of them is the fact that Israel continues to give a hoot about UN resolutions. I don’t know how the Hezbollah is acting right now, but I certainly don’t see any reason to trust them either, considering their previous actions against Israeli civilian targets.

Any aircraft, whether it’s Hezbollah, IDF/AF or other, should be engaged (defensively?) if the situation requires it to be done.

well spend one winter in the army and you begun hate snow…. 😀 :diablo:

Normally you have to get used to it anyway. I don’t like to freeze, especially not when I know that I won’t be able to get warm again in a long while. It’s important to be positive about it, though. Snow does have its benefits.

A couple of years later one of the crewchiefs wanted to name his B-1 Low Level Devil with a Warner Brother’s Tasmanian Devil on it. It was denied because it might be construed as satanic. Nevermind that that we already had a jet named Hungry Devil.

I was under the impression that several units in the USAF and USN (and USMC?) have names and insignia related to devils? Was this a strictly local thing?

Same will do your F-16’s if you update them…
BTW is NoAF still operating F-5’s?

Part of the current F-16A fleet has completed M3 updates. I’m not familiar with the current status of the programme, though.

The RNoAF used to operate a small number of F-5A/Bs to aid testing and development of the NSM (Nytt Sjomaalsmissil; New Anti-Ship Missile). The jets were stationed at Rygge Air Station. Actually I know very little about this, the test flights might still be going on, for all I know.

As for my time in the US Air Force, I was always told our mission was to kill people and blow stuff up.

Then perhaps you missed out on something important. Most USAF personnel I’ve communicated with have expressed sentiments and moral principles which are completely different from yours.

As for not caring about the Arab body count. All I see on the news is them chanting “Death to America!” “Death to Israel!” and burn our flag and ram planes into buildings.

What you see on the news is not necessarily representative of the Arab world as a whole. Much of the media is caught in its own habit; focusing on events which can be made into sensations spurring attention and feelings. Sober, balanced, unbiased and objective news reporting isn’t the biggest business in the world today.

So why should I care when we bomb and kill them?

If you don’t think it’s important to differentiate between fighting personnel and unarmed civilians, then perhaps you share some of the same moral principles as the bulk of terrorists.

Now, I don’t mean to act as a forum police. I don’t mean to say whether your opinions are “right” or “wrong.” I just want you to know that I disagree with some of what you’ve expressed so far.