Geo politics inside

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 03/22/2014 at 18:03 • Filed to: None

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After the latest show, Russia put on this week. How stable is the world balance and peace, now?

I think that EU, as Russia's closest neighbor(forget about the Alaska thingy), and as its biggest client for natural gas and other resources, has the duty to discourage any hostile Russian actions. The US can't do it all alone. The EU needs to take steps towards some kind of federalization, and towards a unified military, capable of making Putin to not even think about challenging it, because it is obvious that this guy doesn't give a fuck about Europe's economical sanctions. He knows that a lot of the money he gets from Europe for the raw resources, he and his oligarchs, pay back to Europe when they buy expensive European goods, like German luxury cars, Italian supercars, French wines, British soccer clubs etc.

So he knows that the economic sanctions won't be too harsh. And just this week, VAG announced that they won't change the plans to keep investing in Russia.

And like in that Polandball comic, European countries will become easy targets if they don't show that they're still powerful, not only economically, but militarily too, with a highly technologized and highly trained, unified military.

Speaking of geopolitics and war and stuff. I don't think that Norway and Denmark made a smart move, buying into the F35 project.

You know the saying, don't keep all your eggs into the same basket , so presuming that the F-35 would have some hidden flaws, in a future conflict, Sweden, along with Norway, Denmark and Finland(I've heard that they are looking for a replacement for their F18 fleet) could form some sort of backup, Viking squadrons , equipped with different, but still NATO compatible, SAAB fighter jets.

Especially with the rumors about a stealth version being in development.

Could look like this.

Skif6996 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 18:14

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Weren't all the F-35's grounded? The fuselages and wings were developing cracks, if I remember correctly. So much for "future" flaws.

coqui70 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 18:19

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Damn right the Europeans need to get their ass in gear ... the fact is they've gone way too far into the metrosexual "diplomacy fixes everything" mode. Let's get another Thatcher going (without the total disregard for social issues) and release the hell-hounds of the Highlands Regiment, along with some of them crazy 60's nuke-brandishing Frenchmen. while you're at it Europe let the Germans beef up their Landswehr and Luftwaffe into the awesome machines of destruction they need to be ... as a former US Army tanker I'd gladly fight along side a pissed-off panzer commander against those commie-wanna-be-again bastards any day!

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Skif6996 03/22/2014 at 18:19

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Exactly that's why I said that it isn't a good idea to keep all the eggs into one basket, developing high tech warplanes is a complex and difficult job. So it's better from both the strategic and the scientific point of view to have multiple jets inside the NATO Air Force.

duurtlang > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 18:57

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European countries will become easy targets if they don't show that they're still powerful, not only economically, but militarily too, with a highly technologized and highly trained, unified military.

Do you honestly believe this? Russia, China or the US will overrun Europe if European countries don't have an almighty military? Really? Besides, European countries already have highly technological and highly trained militaries. It's the lower tech brute force stuff, like tanks, that are less common.

I'd like a unified European military though. It'll make things more efficient and more effective. Still though, if there would be a referendum about military spending I'd vote for a spending cut.

Dunnik > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 19:10

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Canada backed out of the F-35 project. So we keep flying the CF-18 . Some of those airframes date back to 1982. Best option at this point would be to order up some Super Hornets and be done with it. We can always buy a 5th gen later.

Regarding Euro defense, it's very telling that Sweden - Sweden! - is considering joining NATO. They've been neutral in general European conflicts since, what, the Thirty Years War ? Clearly they think their policy of armed neutrality isn't as effective a deterrent anymore. So what's next, Switzerland?

But this is the same old game of the Balance of Power that's been going on for centuries. If one Power - Russia, Germany, France - starts to throw its prodigious weight around in Europe, the rest of Europe will band together to re-balance the scales. The results are never pretty. Putin is many things, but I don't think he's stupid, the crafty KGB sonofabitch. He surely realizes he's tipping the balance, and what the consequences are.

Kailand09 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 19:22

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I haven't read most of your post for times' sake but really basing off your first sentence, my opinion is follows...

Russia is pushing it's boundaries to see what they can get away with, sure. Mostly, however, they just want access to a warm water sea port. After that, I heavily doubt they will push further. With NATO, pretty much the entire world will be against them. Putin would be very stupid to try anything more.

It would be suicide to try anything, and Putin is pretty smart. I think he's just going from some Russian propaganda and keeping control of that port. I don't feel WWIII or anything crazy like that are coming.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > duurtlang 03/22/2014 at 20:04

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Well, obviously the comic is a bit exaggerated like most Polandball comics, but it is one thing to only have the diplomatic card and it is another to have both the diplomatic and the military cards. It gives European diplomats the feeling that they can talk from equal positions with countries with countries that have huge military power and nukes(i.e. US, China, Russia etc.) For example, during this crisis in the East, a unified EU army would've been able to respond by sending troops to the eastern boarder of the Union to increase security in the area and by organizing some war games in the area or publishing a test with some new weapon.

And like you said, an unified military wouldn't only offer a higher efficiency when it comes to costs and logistics, but would be more flexible in anticipating and distributing the Union's needs for vehicles and troops, and would better direct military R&D projects. The EADS is a sign a nice step forward and a powerful rival to US companies, like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and others.

That concept plane is a nice example what integration and cooperation can do. I wonder if they will keep the shape, for production.

Skif6996 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 03/22/2014 at 20:22

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Totally agree.