What to do?

Well there are effective measures that could be taken but it would require total unanimity on the part of China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, the U.S. and the UNSC. This would require some face-saving on the part of certain governments so it will not happen. The specific actions required would have to include tough economic and trade sanctions.

Sauron

SOC

Russia and the U.S. have tested their missiles many times. Was it common practice for either of them to route their tests over the others territory even when the altitude was higher?

Sauron

Ah the anti-U.S. derangement syndrome strikes again.

Kim Ding Dong is pissed that the mad Mullahs are getting all the attention lately so he fires off his main missile after a month of non stop raving about imaginary U.S. invasions and it turns out to be a dud but it isn’t he who looks stupid, it is the U.S.

Well there we go, but at the end of the day you still have to face the fact that the Russian military was run out of Afghanistan and almost run out of Chechnya and botched a number of rescue attempts. You don’t have to take my word for it. Those specific facts speak for themselves.

Actually, now that the issue of sweeping claims and hard evidence has been raised, I feel free to note that the history of the last 60 or so years would suggest that the Russians have demonstrated a tallent for bad judgement in political, social, economic and military matters as evident by their current situation, which if it were not for a fortuitous rise in oil prices, would be much worse for the average Russian than it is now. Standard of living and all that stuff.

China and India’s thurst for oil has more to do with Russia’s current prospects than the Russian government or the Russian military.

Regards

Sauron

You have to wonder about the wisdom of thinking that it’s perfectly fine to have a lunatic possessing nuclear weapons but some here are supportive of it.

What is even harder to understand, is the attitude of South Korea, China and Russia. What do they have to gain by having this threat in their neigbourhood other than the fact that it irritates the U.S. and Japan?

There is a theory that to one degree or another, they all suffer from the U.S. derangement syndrome which in it’s mildest form is, to blame the U.S. for everything – what it does and what it does not do. That way you never have to take responsibility for your own flaws. (this behavour even crops up in Canada occasionally).

It was easier to understand this condition back in the good old days when China, Russia and one-half of Korea were all communist dictatorships. At least they had that in common. It’s harder to understand now that they are just a mixed bag of run of the mill fascits.

Russia is more concerned about the price of oil and how much it can screw it’s european customers as well as making threats about sending the Russian ‘special forces’ into Iraq on a revenge mission now that the U.S/U.K. has done all the heavy lifting.

China is a tradition ally of North Korea but it must be nervous about where this continuing support will lead given that the ‘Dear Leader’ is a fruit cake. Perhaps China is using the two Koreas as a bagining tool with the U.S. over China’s goal to invade Taiwan.

South Korea is harder to understand given that if it was not for the U.S. they would be hungry and six inches shorter from a poor diet, living in a slave state. One can only wonder if, given the way it has pandered to the North of late, if the North was to say surrender or we will attack you and use nuclear weapons, they would simply roll over and submit without a fight.

Sauron

Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to simply pull all it’s forces put of South Korea and say to the South Koreans, you deal with North Korea as best you can. Sort it out with the Russians, China and Japan and let us know how you make out.

That isn’t going to happen, but there is no way to make a satisfactory deal with a lunatic and Russia and China are currently more interested in seeing the U.S. waste time and energy than getting tough with Kim Ding Dong even if it is in their own interests to do so.

Sauron

Well at least we have established that the Russian SF are part of the Russian military. Beyond that it would appear that any attempt to make reasonable comments about the situation the Russian SF would face in Iraq, is obviously pointless.

Sauron

Request from Worthyone
They have performed poorly have they, please…explain…..

Anyway would Russian special forces not qualify as part of the Russian military. This thread is titled Putin orders Russian special forces into Iraq.

As to my suggestion that the Russians lack the skill and the weapons mix necessary, it was made in the context of the situation in Iraq where the Russians have had no combat or special ops experience and selling weapons decades ago dosn’t qualify.

Given the experience the U.S. and the UK has had in tracking down and killing or capturing specific terrorist leadership or groups, it takes more than just sending in teams with small arms. It would require some kind of base from which to operate, supplies, air and ground transport, surveilance capabilities (UAVs?), cooperation from the new Iraq government, local knowledge and contacts that are willing to help, local intel, language skills, etc, and a lot of time. It would be a major enterprise to track down and kill even one small terrorist group independent from the coalition forces that have all the experience. Iraq is a big place. Their best bet would be to work directly with U.S./U.K. forces and that would require a level of cooperation, learning and humility I suspect the Russians don’t have.

Sauron