The US Hamster Wheel

[Boac]

which would have assured Turkey a seat in NATO ????

[Boac]

Now that Putin has taken the mantle of 'Middle East Controller', what does the team think will happen to Incirlik Airbase?

[Undried Plum]

I would guess that the risk/reward ratio of keeping four dozen nuke bombs there must be looking a bit silly.

[BenThere]

Now that Putin has taken the mantle of 'Middle East Controller', what does the team think will happen to Incirlik Airbase?

My preference would be to close it and move the assets to a friendlier host in the region. Cyprus, Ukraine, and Israel come to mind, all of them eager for a US military presence. I think the US could get out of Europe and NATO altogether if Portugal, a steadfast ally, wanted to have us expand our storage and facilitate expansion of operations and bases in the Azores and the mainland. Turkey has rejected its NATO and US alliance under its current regime. A post-Brexit UK could continue to be a key ally but that remains to be determined.

Putin can have all the involvement he wants in Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq. It's a thankless and fruitless effort to try to keep the peace there, as the US has learned.

[Bob]

Just a bit of Fun, Bent

image001.png (294.13 KiB) Viewed 236 times

[Boac]

Looks as if hell is going to freeze over https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -ice-rinks

[ian16th]

Then there is the little matter of the Bear in Africa

[Boac]

Ah well, Humpty might as well pull all the US troops back from SA as well now.....

He needs to get that wall around the USA up more quickly.

[TheGreenGoblin]

I would guess that the risk/reward ratio of keeping four dozen nuke bombs there must be looking a bit silly.

Wasn't it the presence of US nuclear missiles in Turkey that kicked off the USSR's decision to place nuclear missiles in Cuba which kicked off that "minor" crisis back in the day?

[TheGreenGoblin]

Then there is the little matter of the Bear in Africa

Well, from what I hear, Waterkloof has seen them come and go over the years, from Callaghan's Comet, to the US B1 lady pilot who nearly augured in there a decade ago to the Gupta's private jets and now the Russians!

[TheGreenGoblin]

Photo taken by Jean-Pierre Oehlerking



USAF Lancer at Watekloof in 2002.

[ian16th]

Hard Rain1.JPG

USAF Lancer at Watekloof in 2002.

I was there!
I went aboard it.

[TheGreenGoblin]

I was there!
I went aboard it.

The US are generally pretty good like that. I was reading that such privileges will not be accorded by the Russians when they visit!

Russian visit to Waterkloof

This is simply a friendly visit to reaffirm the diplomatic ties held by both country’s military organisations

That sentence gave me pause for an ironic chuckle...

[ian16th]

I was there!
I went aboard it.

The US are generally pretty good like that. I was reading that such privileges will not be accorded by the Russians when they visit!

They let me climb up the ladder unaccompanied and there was nobody else inside of the a/c!
I could have committed sabotage with my Swiss Army pocket knife!

It was stinking hot in there, reminiscent of working on Canberra's in 'ot and dusty places.
I had to get out sooner than I wanted.

[TheGreenGoblin]

It was stinking hot in there, reminiscent of working on Canberra's in 'ot and dusty places.
I had to get out sooner than I wanted.

On that basis I guess you would have appreciated the gate guardian at Waterkloof.

I like the weather stone, you know the old joke. If the stone is wet it is raining, if it is dry it is hot and dusty and if it isn't there then there has been a tornado!

[Boac]

"Big success on the Turkey/Syria Border. Safe Zone created! Ceasefire has held and combat missions have ended. Kurds are safe and have worked very nicely with us. Captured ISIS prisoners secured. I will be making a statement at 11:00 A.M. from the White House. Thank you!"

Needs to change last bit to add, "Thank you, Vlad! Couldn't have done it without you"

[TheGreenGoblin]

Trump truly is Vlad's useful idiot!

The president’s increasingly risible attempts to paint himself as a victim are alienating even his most loyal supporters

The almighty ought to be busy in Syria right now, so this unusually orange challenge rightly falls into the lap of Republicans like Kinzinger himself.

Like a fatberg blocking the sewers of Capitol Hill, Trump’s sense of victimhood and love of lying is creating unbearable pressure in a system designed to flush away an extraordinary volume of political waste material.

So Republicans were talking about Trump’s self-styled lynching instead of defending Trump from the blockbuster impeachment evidence of his current ambassador to Ukraine.

[Boac]

Eventually folk like Ben will realise that Humpty has destroyed the 'Great' USA and turned it into a feeble, limp dick military power that not only gets bone spurs when it looks as if they would have to serve their country, but wets its nappy (that's a 'Diaper', Ben) when it gets close to launching an attack and slinks away in darkness from a war zone. I now do not think the (?temporary?) loss of the USA from NATO will have much effect in real terms since they obviously could not be relied on by anybody. Israel ...?

Well done, USA. Macbeth, Act 5, scene 5, lines 16–27 in a nutshell (note 'nut').

[boing]

BOAC
You do get carried away !
Regardless of the leadership problems the US still has the most powerful military in the World. Simply because the political leadership is having an interesting time does not mean that all that hardware and trained personnel have evaporated overnight. The subs. are still on station, the carriers are still active, the tankers are still ready. And what of the airpower? Well the last I remember the F35s being supplied to NATO countries can be switched off by the US at any time they wish. Perhaps those purchases were not a good idea after all.

[Boac]

Oh dear, boing - I had to laugh:

"Regardless of the leadership problems the US still has the most powerful military in the World. Simply because the political leadership is having an interesting time...."

The "most powerful military in the World." (debatable) is only as good as its commanders. With Flopsy Bunny in charge...........they must be VERY confused.