Well so is India…shouldn’t we be more worried about a nation with an aircraft carrier, a highly advanced fighter (the MKI), a large and powerful army and the need for the same resources as both China and the US??? :confused:

Ok, hopefully I can be the voice of a little logic here. Kfadrat, I think I understand what u are saying and can see u have a good point, the Syrian army…if the s*** hits the fan, will be fighting to defend it’s homeland and thus be highly motivated. They won’t just disappear like a certain other army that like literally vanished. Ok, I apologise to anyway if they take this as meaning I am comparing the IDF to the Germans of the Second World War, I know the whole Nazi/Jew thing still gets people irrate. However, does anyone remember the mentality of the Germans after the Soviets fell back in Operation Barborossa —spelling check please ——, ze Germans made rapid progress…until they came to a little place called “Stalingrad”. There they met an army that was willing to fight for something they believed in, and look what happened.
We are too often comparing a possible future conflict with past history, where Israel defeated Syrian armies that didn’t really agree with what they were being told to do and had no motivation. If Israel invaded Syria, they would be fighting an army that would literally be fighting for survival…not just to please their bosses in Damascus. There would also be intense street fighting, comparable to “Stalingrad” and as Chechnya and Iraq has proved, sending tanks into large city streets even with the infantry is rather nasty work. Imagine Israel trying to take Damascus while fighting a determined enemy 😮

I wish people would stop pointing fingers at China based on Tom Clancy novels and Cold War politics. U guys do realise that just because a nation is a dictatorship doesn’t really mean its a bad guy? Spain was under a dictator for a while—u know, Spain, the NATO member that was a good guy ——and just because it is communist doesn’t mean they are plotting the downfall of western civilisation, rather vice versa. So China needs oil, so does the “wonderful and glorious” US of A and so far who has invaded or threatened to invade the oil rich Arab states, I don’t see Chinese troops in Baghdad do u??? 😡
Get ur head around one little fact, the US is the ONLY nation to make a point of threatening to invade ANYONE (Taiwan/Shaiwan…give it a rest already)!
If ANYONE is to start a war in the Far East they will do so to spread so called democracy and the American way…oh yeah, and to get oil which it needs just as much as the highly aggressive Chinese who haven’t invaded anyone since 1979.
As far as Aussie Raptors are concerned, yes spend loads of cash on really hightech aircraft in order to play wargames with the Kiwis…money well spent so what are u waiting for??? :rolleyes:

Hey SOC, just a question. I know the US is not offically Israel’s ally, but Israel is probably the most stable in the region. So what the hell are u guys doing supplying Egypt, a potential aggressor of Israel, with Apaches, F-16s, frigates and M1 Abrams MBT’s? :confused:
Yes I know Egypt has changed a lot in recent years but there is a chance, regardless of how slight, that history could repeat itself. I mean I’m not saying u have a poor taste in friends or anything but look what happened to Iran :rolleyes:

Well, Kfadrat I admire ur passion but as much as I hate agreeing with the Yanks he is talking sense. Ur talking about potentially entering a war of attrition with one of the most highly trained and well equipped air forces, armies and navies in the world. I’m not saying ur countrymen will just swept aside, I can imagine ur guys will put up a fight, but in the end do u really have the military power to take on Israel?

Helldiver, maybe u can clear something up for me? I mean no offense by this but I was always under the impression that the Liberty incident was a setup? Conspiracy theorists have claimed (yes I know what ur probably thinking…”Oh God, he believes conspiracy theorists” but hear me out) that the Liberty was being used by hawks in the Pantagon to start WWIII. The idea was the IDF would sink the Liberty, there would be no survivours…hence the sinking of the lifeboats as u said… and the Israeli’s and Americans could make up a story about the ship being sunk by the Egyptians leading to an American declaration of war and dragging the Soviet Union in to defend its ally in the region at the time.
Also, the fact that the ship was named Liberty would be used to rouse public support for the war. Do u believe this or any other theory or are u pointing the finger squarely at Tel Aviv??? :confused:

Nick, I have heard this story. Apparently one of their amabssadors…think it was to Syria…was kidnapped and like u said a part of his ear was sent to the emabssy. In response, Spetznaz kidnapped one of the guards where the ambassador was being held. His head was delivered in a basket with a message reading simply “You have 36 hours”, exactly 36 hours later the ambassador was released. I love Russian negotiations :diablo:

I wouldn’t be surprised is the Russians have been in Iraq for a while now, for just such contingencies and to keep an eye on people and groups with links to Chechnya or other trouble spots along the border. If dead bodies of senior militants in Iraq start turning up unexpectedly then we shall know why, I doubt we will see or hear anything in public though. Lot of unsung hero work 😎

U know what Phantom, all I can say is it’s nice to finally meet an American that I can agree with 😉