US shoots down Syrian Jet, situation remains close to fucked

[Raw Shark]

I'm willing to let Putin or China take up that role if they want to. You want to be Team [Whatever], World Police? Knock yourself the fuck out. I want my money spent in America Fuck Yeah. We had a good run, but you can't be #1 forever. Russia, or China, or maybe India or fuck it, Uzbekistan or somebody is next in line, and good for them. We have all kinds of problems that we need to fix here.

[Thanas]

Fuck Turkey, Israel, and especially the Iraquis (nothing personal, just in the political sense). We need to stop trying to be the world's cop and quit the foreign adventures. For all the money we spend blowing shit up overseas, we could have universal healthcare here at home.

"I will not send ten thousand American boys to Asia to do a job that ten thousand Asian boys should be doing themselves." --Lyndon B. Johnson

Then shouldn't it just be "fuck the US" for massively destabilising the area through levelling Iraq?

"You broke it, you fix it" is not a phrase the US has ever liked to hear.

[The Romulan Republic]

To be fair, most of those who hold the US responsible for breaking it have no desire to see the US fix it, nor would trust the US to do so.

Hell, I wouldn't trust the US to do so, certainly not under the current cluster fuck of a government we have.

[ray245]

To be fair, most of those who hold the US responsible for breaking it have no desire to see the US fix it, nor would trust the US to do so.

Hell, I wouldn't trust the US to do so, certainly not under the current cluster fuck of a government we have.

Although I think the US certainly owes places like Iraq financial obligations.

[The Romulan Republic]

Eh, I'd be for providing more humanitarian and economic assistance in any case. Those who have money and refuse to help those in need are assholes. And while we certainly have a great many expenses at home, the percentage of our budget that we spend on foreign aid is pitiful.

[jwl]

Had we not fought them when we did, I dare say we might have had to when they finished conquering Iraq and invaded Turkey, or Israel.

Fuck Turkey, Israel, and especially the Iraquis (nothing personal, just in the political sense). We need to stop trying to be the world's cop and quit the foreign adventures. For all the money we spend blowing shit up overseas, we could have universal healthcare here at home.

"I will not send ten thousand American boys to Asia to do a job that ten thousand Asian boys should be doing themselves." --Lyndon B. Johnson

Besides all the NATO stuff, Israel and Turkey are nuclear states. I don't think it is terribly likely that Isis would ever successfully invade them, but if they did, we would be in a lot of trouble.

[The Romulan Republic]

Turkey doesn't have nuclear weapons.

The list of nuclear-armed countries, I believe, is:

America.
Russia.
China.
Britain.
France.
India.
Pakistan.
North Korea.
Israel (not officially confirmed, but generally assumed to be the case).

Or at least based on what I read when I researched this topic back in high school.

[Thanas]

To be fair, most of those who hold the US responsible for breaking it have no desire to see the US fix it, nor would trust the US to do so.

Hell, I wouldn't trust the US to do so, certainly not under the current cluster fuck of a government we have.

Oh I would certainly trust the US to do so, providing they make a real effort and not try to do it on the cheap as always.

[Raw Shark]

providing they make a real effort and not try to do it on the cheap as always.

Good luck with that. America, Fuck Yeah!

Actually at this point, it's become, "America, fuck you," but kind of moot, now. Speaking as a local, I kind of hope somebody sets us in place. Y'know, with no casualties and all.

[The Romulan Republic]

To be fair, most of those who hold the US responsible for breaking it have no desire to see the US fix it, nor would trust the US to do so.

Hell, I wouldn't trust the US to do so, certainly not under the current cluster fuck of a government we have.

Oh I would certainly trust the US to do so, providing they make a real effort and not try to do it on the cheap as always.

America has the capability, yes.

It does not currently have, and arguably it has not for some time had, the leadership or political culture to do so.

This dates back, as I'm sure you know well, to before Trump, but Trump certainly drives the point home. Would you honestly trust the future of any country, or any decision of consequence, in his tiny, narcissistic hands?

[jwl]

Turkey doesn't have nuclear weapons.

The list of nuclear-armed countries, I believe, is:

America.
Russia.
China.
Britain.
France.
India.
Pakistan.
North Korea.
Israel (not officially confirmed, but generally assumed to be the case).

Or at least based on what I read when I researched this topic back in high school.

Turkey isn't a nuclear power in its own right, but it has a nuclear weapons sharing deal with the US.

[ray245]

To be fair, most of those who hold the US responsible for breaking it have no desire to see the US fix it, nor would trust the US to do so.

Hell, I wouldn't trust the US to do so, certainly not under the current cluster fuck of a government we have.

Oh I would certainly trust the US to do so, providing they make a real effort and not try to do it on the cheap as always.

America has the capability, yes.

It does not currently have, and arguably it has not for some time had, the leadership or political culture to do so.

This dates back, as I'm sure you know well, to before Trump, but Trump certainly drives the point home. Would you honestly trust the future of any country, or any decision of consequence, in his tiny, narcissistic hands?

American's development aid for the rest of the world has become a little lacking since the end of the cold war. America during the cold war knew that had to spend a little bit of effort to keep states on their side.

Now? They can't even install functional dictators.

[Lonestar]

Turkey isn't a nuclear power in its own right, but it has a nuclear weapons sharing deal with the US.

...how do you think that works out, exactly? Because you're acting as if the sharing agreement means they can use nukes without US say so. They can't.

[jwl]

Turkey isn't a nuclear power in its own right, but it has a nuclear weapons sharing deal with the US.

...how do you think that works out, exactly? Because you're acting as if the sharing agreement means they can use nukes without US say so. They can't.

Well yeah, but the nukes are physically in Turkey and I'm not 100% confident that ISIS wouldn't be able to bypass the US blocks on it if they controlled Turkey. If nothing else, I imagine the blocks would be on the computer hardware, so they might just rip out the old hardware and replace it with their own.

[K. A. Pital]

Now? They can't even install functional dictators.

They never had a great track record with that. US-sponsored dictators in Asia like Sukharto and Marcos did little to move their countries out of crushing poverty and overall shittiness.

[Beowulf]

Turkey isn't a nuclear power in its own right, but it has a nuclear weapons sharing deal with the US.

...how do you think that works out, exactly? Because you're acting as if the sharing agreement means they can use nukes without US say so. They can't.

Well yeah, but the nukes are physically in Turkey and I'm not 100% confident that ISIS wouldn't be able to bypass the US blocks on it if they controlled Turkey. If nothing else, I imagine the blocks would be on the computer hardware, so they might just rip out the old hardware and replace it with their own.

If the guards seriously thought that the nukes would no longer be under US control, they could slap a chunk of explosive to the case of each, and turn them into radioactive debris. They're in bunkers, so it probably won't result in much radioactive release.

This assumes that the US isn't able to just ship the cores (or entire physics package) out.

[Elheru Aran]

This assumes that the US isn't able to just ship the cores (or entire physics package) out.

No kidding. I guarantee that these are probably among the very first items earmarked for emergency evacuation in the case of hostile forces getting too close to American bases in the area, probably before a pretty good chunk of actual soldiers... they aren't just going to sit tight and hope that, gee, nothing bad should happen.

[ray245]

Now? They can't even install functional dictators.

They never had a great track record with that. US-sponsored dictators in Asia like Sukharto and Marcos did little to move their countries out of crushing poverty and overall shittiness.

But at the least some of their dictators like Sukharto was unchallenged for most of his reign. Now? The leaders they backed in the Middle East have problems securing their rules.