Thats right, only a fraction. But they are still important units that cant leave their posts. And Putin knows what we have available, what NATO has available. This is a NATO matter, not an "American" one. Its in their backyard and any decisions must be made by NATO and not just America.
Look at it this way. Nations, especially unfriendly ones, speak in symbols, in abstracts. Russia going into this wretched helpless country was a "symbol". The fact that Yank USAF planes and USN ships are delivering supplies instead of commercial ones is also a "symbol". And its a warning.
We fought and stood up to an Empire far worse then Putins Russia and we did it on every continent in the world. I spent 4 years on ground zero myself and none of thats going to change. But that doesnt mean we are going to act precipitously and start a major war without just reason. And Putin stopping where he did was also a symbol, as was the fact neither of us raised our DEFCON levels.
No problem. Are you old enough to join? Are you a veteran? How about a child you can donate to your great crusade? PS, we "need" the freaking oil coming out of the Persian Gulf. I guess you didnt know that till now.
..... We cant sacrafice our kids without just reason. Americas, or NATOs, safety or vital interests must be in serious threat.
When those buildings came down we were under serious threat. When Saddam wanted to control 1/2 the worlds oil we were under serious threat to our vital interests. When Saddam said "screw you" again we were under serious threat. Georgia's provinces, at this stage of the game, just doesnt cut to that level. In fact, its not even close.
I aint "hideing" behind anything and dont get stupid. Im only one of many veterans in this game so big deal. My point is I dont believe you. And right now your just getting computer game rediculous. I would in no way allow my kid to go to Georgia to fight for those reasons and I wouldnt support a President who did.
Unlike you I know something of what Im talking about. What good is "over the horizen" When the fighter your looking for has the radar return of a fly, and has 2 missiles hitting you long before you even know hes there? Or when the enemy AWACS sees you from 3 horizens away? Or when your command staff and foward fighter base was taken out by opening night strikes and your central radar command is a smoking ruin? Your army cant move or be resupplied cause the bridges are blown out?
What good is a tank laser when the Yanks are shooting off artillary with warheads that seek and detroy tanks on their own? Or when the tank that kills you is on the other side of a mountain and his shell rides the laser designating you by the infantryman hideing 1,000 yrds away?
So you may "harbor doubts" but I bet the Russians dont.
There's some things' in here that looked contradictory to me. For example...Georgia, even though it has appealed to NATO for membership, isn't a member yet. The troops' they contributed to Iraq are not for a NATO coalition; It's for one that the U.S. has set up. Therefore, how could it be any matter BUT an american one right now? I see what you mean by the usage of the U.S. military to move in humanitarian aid. That could be construed as simply not having any commercial/civilian means available, to either reach the location, or be willing to go into a combat zone, however.
I'm not convinced that even the old USSR was any worse than the current regime in Russia, simply because of the fact that although he had to step down from the Presidency, Vladimir Putin was able to sidestep his countries' constitution and democratically elected gov't. and created a position for himself that allowed him to remain effectively in power. Letting him expand, and bring back all of those nations' under his influence, would be a very bad idea, IMHO. These actions' will also bring nations' like Iran under his wing, which, if you are worried about Middle-Eastern oil, is more than going to offset anything we have accomplished in Iraq. The Russian's could aid the Iranians' in they're nuclear ambitions, which could mean ALOT more trouble for us than any threat even Al-Queada poses. "We" don't really need their oil. The U.S. chooses' to remain tied to petroleum, mainly because of a large interest that certain sectors of our own economy have in it. The electric power grids' in the U.S. could have been run off of safe Nuclear power for the past few decades, which would have dramatically reduced our dependence on oil from the Middle East. Yet, we choose to let ourselves be dependent, strategically vulnerable. Why? Because a dollar in a politician's pocket speaks' a louder voice than any 10 U.S. citizens. Europe, which includes the NATO nations which we are sworn by treaty to come to their aid, are under threat of an Energy crisis if the pipelines' running through Georgia are compromised. So, if you look at it from the aspect of needing energy...This isn't only for Georgia, but for our allies, too. While not a direct threat to the U.S. itself, It is better to keep your allies' as allies, rather than to let them drift over to the "other" side of the fence.
Under-estimating ones' enemies has led to more than one lost battle, or lost war. Overestimation can be a killer, too, although we have been able to do well in some of the recent conflicts, and the technology seemed to perform as expected. But I stand by this argument; It would be a harsher war than what has been occuring these last two decades, for we haven't seen the full capabilities' of the Russian Military yet; Chechnya and Bosnia were more of a police action, where the Russian's did not have to deploy their full capability (What they did deploy was deadly enough indeed) and if you noticed in this latest incursion into Georgia, the 58th Army, and the 19th Motor-Rifle Division in particular, of the Russian Army seemed to have an awful lot of out-dated equipment (notice the suprisingly high number of T-62's.) It doesn't take long, or very much reading, to get a grasp of what modern weapons' can do. The internet is full of this info...It's not terribly diffucult to pick up a book and read about it. This allows' people that might otherwise not have any idea as to what is going on, to be able to develop an informed opinion that can stand in debate.
BTW, no, I haven't ever been in our Armed Forces. I could not show you a DD-214. and my oldest son is only 13. I'm not gonna hide behind an internet persona on this. But I am a citizen of the United States of America, and as such, I will try to uphold any future calling my country makes of me, and God willing, It's for a good cause.
I didn't mean this as a slander or a barb at you, Rich...I answered your question...well, honestly, because there are WAY too many people on the net today who are clever enough, and willing, to masquerade as something they aren't. No matter how much info you put input into a personality/occupational profile, The internet still makes everything impossible to either verify or disprove. To give an example, look at the PETA board raids' that members' here have participated in, basically claiming to be people they aren't. We have people on this board even now, who's military service has come under suspicion...Simply because unlike meeting someone face-to-face, the glaring rectangle of the LCD monitor only gives' you enough insight as to who someone is, as to what they type on it.
BTW, Ty for your time served.
