War

[Serenity]

Serenity, i keep on eye on old text /prophecies and other on news,  there's nothing to be excited about .

Personally, I don't take much stock in prophecies or predictions. I know the attitude of our strike fighters is one of excitement over having faced an enemy for so long but being caged. They feel as if the leashes are being dropped, and we are finally letting slip the dogs of war.

[GScholz]

Don't shoot at the Russians... It will end badly.

[Serenity]

Don't shoot at the Russians... It will end badly.

In this case, it appears they shot first...

[GScholz]

See Rule #4

[bustr]

This whole thing is stupidly small minded and something that only makes sense geopoliticaly for outsiders if ISIS is really the target. Otherwise you do enough reading about Bashar, and you get the impression he is using the whole event to fulfill some personal vendettas. And Russia is looking the other way.

This 2012 article from the BBC is pretty good covering the general "whys?" of Russia's participation.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18616191


This demographic map of Syria is a good indication of what Bashar is really up to. He like the rest of the world needs ISIS gone, but the map shows much of his father's motivations and now his. That area above the two pink Kurdish areas in Turkey is all Kurdish which makes it easy for the resistance to keep supplied and Bashar is fighting the resistance and ISIS. The white area is one of the most arid deserts in the world, the Hamad. The colored portions of the map also describe the inhabitable regions of Syria. It's a clusterflop that will become a bigger clusterbellyflop once ISIS is wiped out and Bashar gets back to what he was doing before ISIS so rudely interrupted him.

[Delirium]

To quote the ready room this morning, "Fights on, b******!"

I'll tell you, our Strike IPs are all REALLY excited to get back to the fleet and try to chalk up some kills themselves...

While I applaud your enthusiasm, world wars are started for far less.

As Sun Tzu said, "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

[GScholz]

In this case, it appears they shot first...

It was a Syrian Su-22, not Russian. A plane type that hasn't been in Russian service since the fall of the Soviet Union.

[Serenity]

It was a Syrian Su-22, not Russian. A plane type that hasn't been in Russian service since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Yes, however, if the reports are to be believed, the US first attempted to deconflict the situation with Russia. When that failed, and the Russian-allied aircraft continued the attack, THEN it was destroyed.

[GScholz]

Shoot down all the Syrian jets you want, but don't shoot at the Russians, it will end badly (what is the American interest in the Syrian civil war anyway?). We're talking about a nation that considers chemical weapons "conventional" and used chemical weapons in previous regional conflicts like in Chechnya. And they still have enough nukes to destroy the world several times over.

[Devil 505]

See Rule #14

[Serenity]

Shoot down all the Syrian jets you want, but don't shoot at the Russians, it will end badly (what is the American interest in the Syrian civil war anyway?). We're talking about a nation that considers chemical weapons "conventional" and used chemical weapons in previous regional conflicts like in Chechnya. And they still have enough nukes to destroy the world several times over.

So, now that the Russians have announced they will be targeting American aircraft, what do you propose we do if they take an active shot at us?

[GScholz]

Simple! Don't violate the airspace of the sovereign nation known as Syria.


The capital of Chechnya after the Russians were through...

[Serenity]

Simple! Don't violate the airspace of the sovereign nation known as Syria.


The capital of Chechnya after the Russians were through...

(Image removed from quote.)

So... your answer is to back down in fear? Where do you draw the line?

[Skuzzy]

Simple! Don't violate the airspace of the sovereign nation known as Syria.


The capital of Chechnya after the Russians were through...

(Image removed from quote.)

So... your answer is to back down in fear? Where do you draw the line?

I agree with GS.  They dropped a bomb on our guys, we retaliated.  It's all even right now.  Let's keep it that way.  It is not about backing down.  It is about being reasonable in the face of conflict.  That is my two bits.

[Serenity]

I agree with GS.  They dropped a bomb on our guys, we retaliated.  It's all even right now.  Let's keep it that way.  It is not about backing down.  It is about being reasonable in the face of conflict.  That is my two bits.

I'm not saying we should go on a forward crusade. Our stance was black and white. We listed our allies, we flew operations supporting them. When weapons were dropped on them, we attempted to deconflict prior to shooting. My stance is, as you said, we're even, and we should continue our operations, as we have been doing, barring aggressive actions from enemies.

GS is advocating we CEASE our standing operations in support of forces we support against ISIS. THAT would be backing down out of fear.