• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Hard Power and Soft Power

PhrogPhlyer said:
Are you able to respond at all without another personal attack?
As I've stated before, I have never, and will never attack an individual here.
I don't get what your beef is.
I will repeat again, that for me, and maybe for me only, I do not find this thread satisfying.
So I've attempted to move on.
And for that I get maligned and trolled.
Please, just respond to the thread TOPIC.
Click to expand...
You've repeatedly come on this thread to express that you are clutching your pearls over the direction it's going with terms like 'academic', 'intellectual', 'emotional', 'political' arguments should/shouldn't be made.

Just ignore it if you think responses are personal. They're not though.
 
Spekkio said:
It's a failure.

Also, we need to take a lesson from Israel. Putin and his oligarchs, Xi and his party supporters should all be dead via exploding cell phone headshots by now.

When people oppose you, you don't get involved in entrenched warfare. You use your technological superiority to assasinate their leaders and lines of succession.

That's not our doctrine... but it needs to be. Bibi understands things that we don't.

We need to conduct international relations the same way that Pedro Martinez pitched. If you fuck with us, we throw at your head. But every President since Reagan is in love with detente.
Click to expand...
🤨Change of heart? I remember back in September in the "Europe under Extreme Duress" thread in discussing about Israel and their killing terrorism leaders, you said that their doing such was bad policy, that it would only strengthen the terrorists' will to fight. I disagreed and argued if terrorists, or even a head of state, are directing actions to commit terrorism against your people, you have every right to kill them, because they are not engaging in formal war adhering to the laws of war.

However, now you are saying re: Putin, Xi, etc...kill 'em all, which actually I'd have to disagree with because neither one of those guys is conducting military actions to engage in terrorism on Americans. But just curious, why the sudden change of heart? Also not criticizing if you've changed your mind.
 
Random8145 said:
🤨Change of heart? I remember back in September in the "Europe under Extreme Duress" thread in discussing about Israel and their killing terrorism leaders, you said that their doing such was bad policy, that it would only strengthen the terrorists' will to fight. I disagreed and argued if terrorists, or even a head of state, are directing actions to commit terrorism against your people, you have every right to kill them, because they are not engaging in formal war adhering to the laws of war.

However, now you are saying re: Putin, Xi, etc...kill 'em all, which actually I'd have to disagree with because neither one of those guys is conducting military actions to engage in terrorism on Americans. But just curious, why the sudden change of heart? Also not criticizing if you've changed your mind.
Click to expand...

I can’t speak for him, but my thought since the beginning of Israel’s current war on Hezbollah/Hamas/everyone, is that they made a strategic error in involving their conventional military. Use Mossad, execute reverse terrorism, with targeted assassinations. Literally a war only using things like pager/cellphone bombs. PR disaster for Hamas, and probably equally effective to get to the point we are at now, where they basically no longer exist due to massive fatalities and casualties.
 
Random8145 said:
🤨Change of heart? I remember back in September in the "Europe under Extreme Duress" thread in discussing about Israel and their killing terrorism leaders, you said that their doing such was bad policy, that it would only strengthen the terrorists' will to fight. I disagreed and argued if terrorists, or even a head of state, are directing actions to commit terrorism against your people, you have every right to kill them, because they are not engaging in formal war adhering to the laws of war.

However, now you are saying re: Putin, Xi, etc...kill 'em all, which actually I'd have to disagree with because neither one of those guys is conducting military actions to engage in terrorism on Americans. But just curious, why the sudden change of heart? Also not criticizing if you've changed your mind.
Click to expand...
Israel's methods worked better than I thought, and as I read more about it I think that Netanyahu has a better understanding of the nature of his enemies than we do.

Ultimately, people value their lives and position of power more than anything else. Our doctrine focuses on defeating other militaries and we often consider political leadership off-limits. It's not gentlemenly and who do you replace the leader with?

That might be a big mistake in modern warfare.

Putin will not stop. Any peace agreement he makes with Ukraine will be temporary. He also wants the caucusus. The only influence we have over him is to get him to wait for another administration.

When Napoleon wanted all of Europe, everyone understood that he needed to go away.

There's risk that Russia retaliates, but it won't substantially change American policy the way it would disrupt authoritarian governments. That's why the President gets paid the big bucks.
 
Last edited:
MIDNJAC said:
I think both of you are really great helicopter pilots
Click to expand...
Well of course. Makes me feel sorry for our runway bound brethren.

8363093-scaled.jpg
 
taxi1 said:
Honestly, if senior leadership spent their time killing each other while the rest of us got on with our lives, that might not be so bad.
Click to expand...
If we had a President that I thought could take Putin in a fistfight, I would endorse that idea. Maybe we could put them all in a cage match and televise the whole thing. No stand-ins allowed.

On the main thread:
The past few months have solidified me in the position that DJT and his cronies are very bad for our country. I am a proponent of limited government scope and fiscal responsibility, and broad access to education that enables individual agency and contribution to society. I was no fan of the Biden administration either- Afghanistan was an unforgivable tragedy.

With that in mind, I not only disagree with what this administration is doing, but how they are doing it. Their approach is intentionally cruel, chaotic, lacks nuance, and is of- at best- dubious legality under the Constitution. They punch down at people who have no recourse, flagrantly disregard the opinions of the courts, and Congress grows weaker by the minute.

POTUS has declared himself immune to all laws, and has brought in a known drug user who believes humanity is doomed, buys into eugenics, and has numerous conflicts of interest as a government contractor. As a government contractor myself, I am amazed that angle has not been brought up more publicly- it is a virtual certainty that laws have been broken.

E Pluribus Unum has been turned into Ad Hominem Impetum.

That many educated Americans seem to be rationalizing and defending this is something I find disheartening. Perhaps our lives have grown too comfortable. All of that may be changing.

I don’t expect to sway anyone’s opinion, since that seems increasingly unlikely in today’s emotionally driven mania. Just sharing my position.
 
Last edited:
Griz882 said:
So, not cut off.
Click to expand...
Good article on goings (not) on in Africa.


NAIROBI — President Donald Trump’s sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign assistance has threatened programs intended to counter al-Shabab bombmakers, contain the spread of al-Qaeda across West Africa and secure Islamic State prisoners in the Middle East, according to U.S. officials and aid workers.


…Of particular concern is the Anti Terrorism Assistance program, which the United States spent $264 million on in 2023 to improve the capacity of allies to respond to extremist threats. Other programs counter transnational organized crime and narcotics and strengthen local law enforcement. Almost all are now suspended.

…Contractors responsible for building and maintaining bases for U.S.-trained Somali special forces, known as Danab, left so abruptly that U.S. soldiers had to scramble to pick up the slack, he said. Nearly 400 Danab graduates were left outside an American military base with no provision for food, fuel or electricity.


Another private contractor, which conducts medevacs for wounded Somali soldiers, had personnel in a remote combat zone when the stop-work order came down, the U.S. defense official said. It was unclear if they would be reimbursed for the return flight or any subsequent medevacs.

…In the coastal nation of Benin, a historically strong democracy menaced by al-Qaeda-linked militants, a multiyear program to train the army for counterterrorism operations has been put on hold, according to a senior U.S. military official. The country is reeling from deadly and complex attacks, including a Jan. 8 assault on a military post that killed around 30 soldiers.


“It is the worst possible timing to pause,” said Aneliese Bernard, a former State Department adviser who now runs Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a private firm that works with the U.S. military’s civil affairs team in Benin. “It is hugely disruptive to the government’s ability to repel terrorist attacks.”
…American influence in the Sahel was largely confined to humanitarian initiatives through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Most of that work is also on hold now as Trump tries to dismantle USAID.


“When you take that away, our ability to shape the environment is gone,” said the senior military official. “And if nature abhors a vacuum, we know that predator nations will dive in.”

Mind-bogglingly stupid own-goal. From the article, indeed…

Few involved in foreign assistance take issue with the claim that the system needs reform. “I agree with Trump and wish my government had the balls to stop the foreign aid and focus on our people,” said the security expert who has worked extensively in Somalia. “But why not give everyone 90 days to plead their cases on an individual basis and if they cannot, then stop the money?”
 
Last edited:
taxi1 said:
Good article on goings (not) on in Africa.


NAIROBI — President Donald Trump’s sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign assistance has threatened programs intended to counter al-Shabab bombmakers, contain the spread of al-Qaeda across West Africa and secure Islamic State prisoners in the Middle East, according to U.S. officials and aid workers.

…Of particular concern is the Anti Terrorism Assistance program, which the United States spent $264 million on in 2023 to improve the capacity of allies to respond to extremist threats. Other programs counter transnational organized crime and narcotics and strengthen local law enforcement. Almost all are now suspended.
…Contractors responsible for building and maintaining bases for U.S.-trained Somali special forces, known as Danab, left so abruptly that U.S. soldiers had to scramble to pick up the slack, he said. Nearly 400 Danab graduates were left outside an American military base with no provision for food, fuel or electricity.


Another private contractor, which conducts medevacs for wounded Somali soldiers, had personnel in a remote combat zone when the stop-work order came down, the U.S. defense official said. It was unclear if they would be reimbursed for the return flight or any subsequent medevacs.
…In the coastal nation of Benin, a historically strong democracy menaced by al-Qaeda-linked militants, a multiyear program to train the army for counterterrorism operations has been put on hold, according to a senior U.S. military official. The country is reeling from deadly and complex attacks, including a Jan. 8 assault on a military post that killed around 30 soldiers.


“It is the worst possible timing to pause,” said Aneliese Bernard, a former State Department adviser who now runs Strategic Stabilization Advisors, a private firm that works with the U.S. military’s civil affairs team in Benin. “It is hugely disruptive to the government’s ability to repel terrorist attacks.”
…American influence in the Sahel was largely confined to humanitarian initiatives through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Most of that work is also on hold now as Trump tries to dismantle USAID.


“When you take that away, our ability to shape the environment is gone,” said the senior military official. “And if nature abhors a vacuum, we know that predator nations will dive in.”

Mind-bogglingly stupid own-goal. From the article, indeed…

Few involved in foreign assistance take issue with the claim that the system needs reform. “I agree with Trump and wish my government had the balls to stop the foreign aid and focus on our people,” said the security expert who has worked extensively in Somalia. “But why not give everyone 90 days to plead their cases on an individual basis and if they cannot, then stop the money?”
Click to expand...
Yes, terrible, I agree. Now, why is no one noticing that USAID is so poorly run that their forward contingency planning only reaches out to one week! Sounds like an agency in need of a reset.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top