Some countries (the US) never learn from history

[London Boy]

I'm indulging in a bit of provocative lateral "what-if" thinking.

The US and Israel have started rattling sabres again this time towards Iran because they're afeared that Iran's uranium enriching programme is intended for the manufacture of nuclear warheads for missiles, so the US and Israel feel that they would be justified in a pre-emptive strike to prevent said missiles being made.
Hhmmm....then I thought, well surely the US must see the irony inherent in that logic and it isn't going to escape many people's minds that perhaps the Japanese in 1941 were also justified in their pre-emptive strike agaist Pearl Harbour to prevent themselves from being attacked by nuclear weapons. That is to say of course, if they even knew that Oppenheimer was working on them, which I doubt. But it would be a beautiful irony wouldn't it.
Either way it didn't work because the US, as we all know, dropped two A bombs on the Japanese.

And just as that attack only added to the USA's resolve to enter the war, a joint Israeli-US pre-emptive strike on Iran would only make the Iranians even more determined to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and presumably to launch attacks against the USA.

Seems to me that the US hasn't learned from the historical mistakes of others.

[jabcrosshook]

They have learnt, they missed the beginning of the first two world wars, since then they've decided to start the rest.

[Wholley]

Seems to me that the US hasn't learned from the historical mistakes of others.

I'm going to assume you mean the British?

[Hyperlithe]

I thought he meant the Japanese...

[sneaky beaky]

I spent two years with the Americans. They will not learn from anybody because they think they are the "Bees Knees".
As far as they are concerned - nobody can teach them anything because they know it all - and they do have superior technology, which is probably the only thing they do have.

They do not have common dog f**k and are totally reliant on orders from superior officers. They do not have any sense of individual initiative!

Their forces are more restricted by tradition and "elf and safety", than ours are ever are.

Sneaky

[Paratrooper01]

I think a strike and/or war with Iran would be a very real and very scary situation for the world. I for one as a serving member of the army wouldn't fair our odds too well against them, even with the US at our side.

The US however are 10 years ahead of us in terms of military technology and mindset. I see their troops walking about Kandahar and Bastion and their appearance is much more professional than ours. Their mindset towards operations is such that they wont fanny around with the job in hand. They do whatever is necessary, however aggressive it looks. The Afghan people are very sneaky and very clever. They know how to play the game as they have been doing so for hundreds of years. I think especially in Afghanistan at the moment we need to adopt an American stance on how to conduct operations, especially within our specialist units as many peoples hands are tied leaving us in a situation where we have to let the enemy go after capturing them. A sickening feeling im sure you will all agree.

airborne out.

[Alfa]

The US however are 10 years ahead of us in terms of military technology and mindset. I see their troops walking about Kandahar and Bastion and their appearance is much more professional than ours. Their mindset towards operations is such that they wont fanny around with the job in hand.

Does that include Para Reg too?

[Artist]

The US however are 10 years ahead of us in terms of military technology and mindset. I see their troops walking about Kandahar and Bastion and their appearance is much more professional than ours. Their mindset towards operations is such that they wont fanny around with the job in hand.

Does that include Para Reg too?

Sorry but I disagree ref the their mindset. Whenever I met members of the USMC (Uncle Sams Misguided Children) The majority came across to me as in deep need of a maturity gene, as they were so gullible to our mindset.

A case in point. Me and some of my Oppos met this Yank Marine in Portmouth who had had a tattoo done on the inside of his top lip. It should have said "FU*k You But in point of fact said UOY KCUF The tattooist had done it via a mirror hence the arse about face spelling.

My but he was a disgruntled young lad so he was!

Artist

[colmurph]

I spent two years with the Americans. They will not learn from anybody because they think they are the "Bees Knees".
As far as they are concerned - nobody can teach them anything because they know it all - and they do have superior technology, which is probably the only thing they do have.

They do not have common dog f**k and are totally reliant on orders from superior officers. They do not have any sense of individual initiative!

Their forces are more restricted by tradition and "elf and safety", than ours are ever are.

Sneaky

What kind of a unit did you spend 2 years with, a basic training company?

[Wholley]

What kind of a unit did you spend 2 years with, a basic training company?

Careful colmurph,the British have nothing better to do than bait the US.
Which is about all they can do.
Their still smarting about losing the colonies along with the war of 1812

INCOMING!!!!!!!

[anglo-saxon]

Their still smarting about losing the colonies along with the war of 1812

You still pretending to be an American?


Firstly, as far as Britiain is concerned, the War of 1812 would be more of a Napolionic issue than a North American one, the one you alude to being rather insignificant at the time compared to the much larger issues involved in managing the biggest empire the world has ever seen (over a quarter of the surface of the earth! Far bigger in fact than the Mongol empire, and bigger than the Roman, Macedonian, Ottoman, and all Persian empires put together) The undisputed and foremost global power of its time, no less, once the wee Corsican was out the way!!

No, the Brits were far more interested in the richer jewels. I very much doubt that anyone on UK streets these days (or ever) would equate "1812" with the skirmish to which you refer.

And we lost the North American of 1812 war did we? I think not! Who burned whose capitol? British soldiers (actually, they were mostly Scottish regulars and Metis militia) marched down Pensylvania Ave, entered the White House, ate the banquit therein laid out for 40, then burned down that building and the Capitol Building (among others). Doesn't sound like the Brits were on the defensive to me.

As for New Orleans, that defeat was probably indeed a far-sighted decision to simply let it go, given the utter sess pool it was to turn in to (and remain). Murder capitol of the U.S, no less, and welcome to it you are!

During the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war in 1815, the British made no concessions whatsoever. They simply packed it in and left the colonials to it. There were simply bigger fish to fry elsewere (or should I say "frogs"?). Plus of course the sugar thing was getting hairy and that valuable commodity (as valuable then as oil is today) needed to be protected. And anyway, we had Canada (far superior prize), India, most of Africa, etc, etc., etc.

Mind you, if you count Maceys, Harley Davidson, and Coca Cola, I suppose you could say the Yanks once had an empire too (bless 'em)! Last I looked (about 9-O'clock this evening on thenews), things were in rough shape there, though.

[Wholley]

You still pretending to be an American?

I see your still pretending to be British,ya West coast Canuck.Eh!

[anglo-saxon]

Paulie: A bit of a shyte week here, what with burying some young lads again (our HQ flags have been at half mast almost constantly in the last month and the new policy here now is to lower them only for the day of the funeral - used to be 30 days after, but it was considered bad for morale as the flags would have ben perpetually down. Nevertheless, they've been down a lot lately!!). Plus a difficult week at work, trying to co-ord several projects at once, with a staff that is fracgmented due to oprational tours, compassionate leave, sickness, etc. What a shyte-show! 'Scuse my rambling, I'm on can number six of the Strongbow solution!

Anyway, nowt wrong with America, mate, 'cept it's full of those damned Americans! Actually, as said elsewhere, me and the family were down in Orlando in July and had a dceent time. We were treated very well indeed and I met some excellent people. The digs are all in good fun as you know. Canucks don't really "get" that sort of sense of humour, so it's refreshing whne someone takes the pi$$ here. The good thing is there are lots of ex-pats here and when you hear the accent in the shops or wherever, and you gently take the proverbial, you usually get a little back or at least a smile and a "where the hell are you from then?" It's all good!

Yeah, you're probably right , mate. The longer I live away from Blighty, the more English I am inclined to feel. CanadianI might be (afetr all, it has provided a wonderful place for me and Melanie (the Mrs) to raise our boys, but there's part of me that longs for England. Stil, there are little areas around here that are so English it's not even funny. Quaint little villages with tiny single lane roads going through them. Always pleasant to ride through or stop in for a coffee while out on the bike.

But enough rambling. Where's Hackedoff? As much as I can't believe I'm saying this, I actually miss that miserable old git!

[owdun]

Hackdoff has thinned out,reckon he's too good for the likes of us now that he's boss of RMAWA.



Owdun.

[sportbilly42]

He might well be lording it around Oz with his RMAWA hat on, but he hasn't transferred his discussion board banter (madness?) from here straight onto their Discussion Board
http://rmawa.proboards98.com/index.cgi? ... &thread=15
That place is a tumbleweed zone.... Mind you I s'pose the Aussies have got better things to do than sit in front of PCs