Americans abandoned my men, says 42 Cdo CO

[USARMY_]

Give The USA one or two more decades of more advancement, then nobody stands a chance.

Human Wave meet MOAB.

[El Prez]

then nobody stands a chance

I was, in common with other members of the forum, going to ignore this further inanity; however, it occurred to me, you being a missile tech and man of the world that unfortunately your comment is possibly true. In two more decades your forces will have the capability to knock down/shoot down/gun down any allies and continue as if nothing has happened.

[The JaCkAl]

America = destruction...

They produce 25% of the worlds pollution, and do they f*ck have 25% of the worlds population. J W Bush is a red neck with no regard for the environment, he has cut by 60-80% the funding for renewable energy sources. you don't need to develope any weapons any more we're f*cked as it is, thanks to the Yanks.

Kyoto (excuse the spelling) agreement, that's all I got to say.

[USARMY_]

Jackal, I quick lesson in mathematics

6 billon people (world population)/250 million (US population)=.0416(100)= 4.16%

So despite the fact that the USA only constitutes 4.16% of the people on earth we produce and Gross more than the rest the of the world combined. We weld more influence and power than any other country in the history of the world. Wow we must be really dumb people!

You may not like us, but that's okay. Your government does what it's told like any lap dog should.

:usa

[El Prez]

Did anybody else shudder watching the US forces handling those looters in Baghdad? Help your man to his feet, poke him in the back with your weapon and holler, "WALK", a confused Arab looks around in dismay. Then keep one's weapon stuck in his back. Clever. NOT.
Meanwhile further south, the POWs handed over to the US for safekeeping have made a similar assesment of their captors abilities and decide to leg it, but failed.
Obviously prisoner handling did not loom large in the forward planning for this little shenanigan by the US Military.
The nervousness of the troops was also noticeable, sending all the wrong signals to the enquiring minds watching the goings on. They contrasted very starkly with the professional calm of the UK troops, used to working amongst a civilian population in confined spaces.

[may18]

Jackal, I quick lesson in mathematics

6 billon people (world population)/250 million (US population)=.0416(100)= 4.16%

So despite the fact that the USA only constitutes 4.16% of the people on earth we produce and Gross more than the rest the of the world combined. We weld more influence and power than any other country in the history of the world. Wow we must be really dumb people!

You may not like us, but that's okay. Your government does what it's told like any lap dog should.

:usa

Blair isnt bushes lap dog, he is his GUIDE dog

[USARMY_]

El Prez

[The JaCkAl]

USARMY. It's not that I don't like Americains, my grandfather was in the US airforce. It's just I don't agree with there attitudes. And if you read what I wrote I said they produce 25% of the worlds pollution and they "don't " have 25% of the world population.

[voodoo sprout]

On The US generally: overall they are like most other countries on Earth, they only care about themselves. However, unlike everyone else, they actually have the power to work to this end without being blocked by other people.
Speaking economically, they are a major source of trade, so for a country to actively block it would be incredibly damaging to themselves, while having little to no effect on th US itself. American business is a huge investor overseas, if countries annoy them too much they risk losing that; they may be happy to see the back of McDonalds, but once they realise they're not getting taxes from it anymore they won't be smiling.
In military terms, no-one, even combined, can effecitively stand up to the US. Even China is significantly more powerful than America, but not nearly powerful enough to scare it into obedience. This is what has given the US the power to ignore the UN and arab opinion and go straight into Iraq and start calling Syria rude names without someone telling them to back off. Simply put, they don't need anyone to like them.
And this is why we see things like Kyoto, where Bush without trying to sound diplomatic, said he's protecting American interests. After trying to say there isn't any proof for climate change of course . The same goes with his support for extracting oil from Alaska, and the distinct lack of interest in renewbale fuels. But mor immediately, potentially damaging policies such as the national missile defence (if it protects the US's allies as well, why is it only "national"?), and the plans for expanding the supply and use of nuclear weapons. Unlike with North Korea or Arab states, America doesn't have anyone who has the power to stop them doing what ever they please.

And El Prez, I've been disgusted with the ignorance US commanders seem to have when it comes to the hearts and minds in Iraq. The most obvious has probably been raising the US flag on Iraqi soil, but overall they don't seem to now what hearts and minds are, other than targets. Even the smallest of lessons can be taken from the British troops down in the Basra area. Move in small groups, talk to people and be friendly. Take your helmets off, and get out of your vehicles etc. It almost seems that they haven't thought that if you win peoples support, you don't need that armour etc because people don't want to shoot you any more. Personally I'd like to see a number of British advisors, even units, sent up to Baghdad to show the American troops how to do it, as they really don't seem to know themselves. Unless of course they're not bothering with hearts and minds because once they've pulled out and installed a puppet government, it doesn't matter how much the Iraqis hate them?

Edited for spelling - I'll get the hang of it before long, don't worry!

[El Prez]

Which is what is happening in Afghanistan, if you listen to some commentators. The Americans blitzed through, pulled out, and chaos in a barrel descends.

[USARMY_]

Voodoo Sprout, that's the most accurate thing I've ever read on this post, congratulations!

And as far as Britt’s doing the peace keeping in Baghdad, yes....

[may18]

with the rivalry shown here, i found this article i read in the telgraph quite iineresting

_____
Let the infighting begin: British and US rivalry resumes
By John Keegan, Defence Editor
(Filed: 17/04/2003)


Now that the fighting is over, supporters of our soldiers are beginning to ask how the respective contingents did. The Americans captured Baghdad. Does that mean that the American army is better than the British?


A US marine guards an Iraqi power plant
War arouses highly competitive emotions, between allies and also between armies and within armies. No doubt the American 3rd Infantry Division and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are secretly contriving uncomplimentary remarks about each other at this very moment. Soldiers are like that. They quickly forget whatever hatred they had for the enemy. A rival organisation getting above itself, on the other hand, is not a matter to be forgotten lightly. There will already be British anti-American gibes, American anti-British gibes. What do they signify? Mainly, slight nuances of difference.

In fact, the two armies are quite like each other and the American marine units are in some essential respects more like any British regiment than they are like an American army unit. Senior marine non-commissioned officers, for example, are accorded the same respect and responsibility as their British equivalents; regimental spirit is similar and so is unit identity. Ask a US marine to which unit he belongs and he will say "3rd Battalion, 1st Marines", for example, as automatically as a British soldier will say "2nd Greenjackets". Because battalions are small enough for all who belong to know each other, that sort of unit identity is crucial to combat performance. It makes marine battalions very formidable indeed.

It is a mistake, however, to think that American marine units are superior to American army units, in the way that they notably were during the Second World War. The American army is not only highly efficient, as British officers admiringly testify, it is also a terrifyingly effective fighting force.

That has partly to do with its equipment, which is superior in every category to that of other armies. It has also to do with its personnel, who are highly motivated and well trained.

If the American and British armies do differ, it is most noticeable at the personal level.

British soldiers join the army for the military experience, which often runs in the family. They choose particular regiments, which have very great importance, usually because of a strong regional connection. Many join for "boy service" (now also "girl service"), which is a period of training before adult enlistment.

Either way, they rapidly acquire an air of worldly experience, an effect produced by the army's folk culture of frequent campaigning, overseas travel and imperial experience. That background explains why the British, as opposed to the more insular Americans, seem to fall naturally into "hearts and minds" operations. They are often picking up threads their grandfathers laid down.

American servicemen and women, by comparison, seem young. Though they have to be 18 to enlist, few have been away from home or outside their immediate home area. Some, particularly those from the South, a traditional recruiting ground, will have a military connection.

It was noticeable that Private Jessica Lynch, from the very military state of West Virginia, has a brother in the army and a sister who wants to join.

Recent immigrants, however, another common group, usually lack a military connection. They see the service as a means of joining the American mainstream, a path blacks took in the 1950s with marked success.

Enlistment provides work, particularly in regions where work is scarce. Overwhelmingly, however, the motive to join is to get an education. The government pays college tuition to former service people with four years of active duty. Jessica Lynch wants to be a teacher and joined up for that reason.

There is a marked cultural difference between American and British army officers (marines much less so). The British notoriously exhibit an unhurried and amateur manner, while Americans are formal and conscious of rank. The British officer's tendency to wear odd clothes and use Christian names to other officers strikes Americans as unserious.

The differences, however, do not run as deep as might seem. Officer training in both armies is intense and prolonged. Moreover, though the British may privately mock American earnestness, the sheer efficiency of everything the US army does has made its impression. The British are particularly impressed by American logistics, which deliver necessities where and when required, and their mastery of advanced equipment.

Despite their similarities, the armies will probably each bring away from the action a fund of stories that emphasise their differences and do each other discredit.

Most will be quite harmless and for internal consumption only. Soldiers preen themselves by running others down. It is a very human instinct. Fundamentally, Americans and British know they are on the same side.

______

[Sisyphus]

USArmy

You said "we must be really dumb people". Well, in a certain sense, yes. Isn't Ca. having problems with electricity suppy? LA with massive air pollution?
Oh, and weren't you the guys who refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement?

US-led consumerism will result in the world being stripped of all it's natural assets. What's gonna happen when you run out of oil? What, Americans might actually have to walk somewhere!

Your policies are unsustainable. OK, you'll be dead before the real suffering starts, but some of us have grandchildren who will feel the effects of American greed and your me-me-me, gimme-gimme-gimme philosophy

Blair has taken a lot of stick for being, allegedly, Bush's lap-dog. However, I think he's a man of principle and, importantly, some intellect. You've got to admit Bush is, or comes over as, a complete fool. Did he actually ever graduate from college? He got where he is because of:
a) money
b) daddy was president once
c) people in the US appear not to be able to count.
d) despite excellent US technology in many fields, they can't fix 'chads'

[Sisyphus]

It was interesting to hear Col Howe say that 8 months of planning had been ruined by the choppers not landing.

What a pity 8 hours of planning hadn't been giving to what to do once victory was achieved. What's going on over there now is a joke. If the US/UK want to maintain any credibility in the Middle East, they'd better get their act sorted out, like yesterday!

[Cream]

i know this is a bit of a late reply but bugga it,
first off i want to say Americans are an elite fighting force which nobody can say they aint. Anouther thing which upset me here "British Pride"

as USARMY sed "We weld more influence and power than any other country in the history of the world"

im sorry but have u ever heard of the Britsh empire