You can always tell armed conflict's in the offing when you see economic illiterate

[Rich]

Well, we're clearly the decisive power so we'll act decisively at the right moments. In fact, I'd have to check but I reckon we've been doing that already for some time.

One thing about so called "Mad Dog" Mattis; he does not throw his men's lives away cheaply. As I said the other week, keep an eye on these lads:

Who are they? Pirates?

[redgunamo]

Who are they? Pirates?

Of a sort, yes.

http://www.awimb.com/showthread.php?...ghlight=carter

[redgunamo]

I would certainly say she's limp of wrist if she went through the idiotic business of asking for Parliament's consent. A sitting Prime Minister does not require Parliament's say-so for taking military action. It's a dangerous precedent that's been set in recent years and it needs to stop.

It seems the Donald may have caught Mrs May with her knickers down #FusionGPS

[World's End Stella]

I think we've pretty much decided it's not really our business anymore; these foreign military engagements are a tougher sell nowadays and the Donald was elected, in part, to do an awful lot less of it.

I reckon we let the locals handle things. For example, today's Saudi military man is completely unrecognisable from the spoiled, lazy, feckless bunch I dealt with in Desert Storm. They're ready.

I agree

Even this latest Assad atrocity I find it difficult to get worked up about. Is killing innocent people with chemical weapons *really* that different than with bombs?

Not to mention that some of the people taking the moral high ground on this spent years dropping napalm on people who wanted to reunify their country.

I don't see a compelling reason for launching into Assad at this point if I'm honest.

[Burney]

I agree

Even this latest Assad atrocity I find it difficult to get worked up about. Is killing innocent people with chemical weapons *really* that different than with bombs?

Not to mention that some of the people taking the moral high ground on this spent years dropping napalm on people who wanted to reunify their country.

I don't see a compelling reason for launching into Assad at this point if I'm honest.

If you mean Vietnam, that is a quite extraordinary interpretation of the Soviet-backed communist invasion of a sovereign state. Presumably you regard the Korean War in the same way?

[Sir C]

If you mean Vietnam, that is a quite extraordinary interpretation of the Soviet-backed communist invasion of a sovereign state. Presumably you regard the Korean War in the same way?

Yes, the average inhabitant of Saigon would be fascinated in hearing WES's view of this matter; and they'd do it STILL refusing to call their city Ho Chi Minh...

[Burney]

Yes, the average inhabitant of Saigon would be fascinated in hearing WES's view of this matter; and they'd do it STILL refusing to call their city Ho Chi Minh...

Nonsense. They were all yearning for liberation by the North Vietnamese Army. That's why 2 million of them left the place by any means they could (including risking death on entirely unseaworthy vessels) following the 'liberation'.

[SWv2]

I have one main concern about this potential conflict which I would like to raise.

It is not in any way going to impact on this summer's World Cup now is it??

[World's End Stella]

If you mean Vietnam, that is a quite extraordinary interpretation of the Soviet-backed communist invasion of a sovereign state. Presumably you regard the Korean War in the same way?

'Soviet-backed communist invasion' - well, that's how the Americans saw it. The North Vietnamese and their supporters in South Vietnam rather differed. And the reality is that the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese people were either pro-VC or if forced to choose between the Americans and their puppet government (which is exactly what Diem was) would have chosen the VC simply because they were Vietnamese.

There's a reason the Americans lost, Burney, and it has nothing to do with their military strategy.

[Sir C]

I have one main concern about this potential conflict which I would like to raise.

It is not in any way going to impact on this summer's World Cup now is it??

By June or July it's all going to be over one way or another, sw.

I suspect that here on the mainland a few survivors will be living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. No doubt you lot will still be swarming across the 'Irish' sea to ponce off our welfare system and dig our canals, but whatever, none of us are going to be watching football.