Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
Mr. Burning wrote: More likely there was a thought that this would be another beautiful revolution where supportive platitudes from various western governments could be transformed into positive spin and 'didnt we do gud'. The mobile phones would receive messages of support from the white house and outside ten downing street, stout defence against bullets and tanks, chlorine.
I'm sorry, I must have missed the first "beautiful" revolution...to which country are you referring to?
Libya: a clusterfeth, now a hopelessly divided lawless anarchy with numerous militias, an ISIS foothold in the country and a lame duck but internationally recognized unity government that lacks influence over large parts of the country.
Egypt: a clusterfeth, now an oppressive military regime after the Islamist revolution was in turn overthrown.
Turkey: a clusterfeth, a failed military coup allowed the oppressive Islamist regime to tighten its grip on power and boost popular support for its Islamist.
Ukraine: a clusterfeth, a bloody overthrow of the corrupt, oligarchic but democratically legitimate government, met with an equally bloody counter uprising, now embroiled in an on-off civil war with numerous foreign powers sticking their noses in whether overtly or covertly.
Nevermind learning from history, our leaders can't even learn from their own recent experience, they keep repeating the same mistakes.
Mr. Burning wrote: More likely there was a thought that this would be another beautiful revolution where supportive platitudes from various western governments could be transformed into positive spin and 'didnt we do gud'. The mobile phones would receive messages of support from the white house and outside ten downing street, stout defence against bullets and tanks, chlorine.
I'm sorry, I must have missed the first "beautiful" revolution...to which country are you referring to?
Libya: a clusterfeth, now a hopelessly divided lawless anarchy with numerous militias, an ISIS foothold in the country and a lame duck but internationally recognized unity government that lacks influence over large parts of the country.
Egypt: a clusterfeth, now an oppressive military regime after the Islamist revolution was in turn overthrown.
Turkey: a clusterfeth, a failed military coup allowed the oppressive Islamist regime to tighten its grip on power and boost popular support for its Islamist.
Ukraine: a clusterfeth, a bloody overthrow of the corrupt, oligarchic but democratically legitimate government, met with an equally bloody counter uprising, now embroiled in an on-off civil war with numerous foreign powers sticking their noses in whether overtly or covertly.
Nevermind learning from history, our leaders can't even learn from their own recent experience, they keep repeating the same mistakes.
Sorry I should have added some 'moticons
Still, Egypt went alright.......
Yeah, after the Islamist revolutionaries were overthrown by counter-revolutionaries.
Yeah, after the Islamist revolutionaries were overthrown by counter-revolutionaries.
Yes, US control of an Egyptian puppet was restored over the bodies of hundreds of protestors.
Personally I'm still mixed on if this was good or not. Mubarak was a tyrant but the Muslim Brotherhood was not an improvement. . Sisi is so deep in the US' pocket from that military aid package that was released that it's unlikely that Egypt will be actually an independent country again for some time, but he's liberal and well liked enough publicly that genuine reform may actually occur.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/10/10 15:12:39
Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet. - Nagao Kagetora
So, I saw this pic on the BBC's site regarding the seizure of Dabiq from IS.
Now, one may ask why this is interesting. Looking at this dude's rifle, it appears to be an AKM with US made Magpul furniture.
This is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. First, the Magpul furniture is relatively new (it's only been available for a little over a year IIRC) and, AFAIK, primarily a US Civilian product, I'm not aware of any military arsenals using this furniture. It's interesting to see it in the field like that, not sure how it ended up there, US civilian aftermarket parts would seem to be a weird item to provide as aid. I would assume it's a refit of some sort procured from back channels and not originally produced with that furniture, but I could be wrong.
Second, it seems to be a wonderful metaphor for just how...weird the whole Syrian thing has become, a Russian designed rifle, from an unknown producer, with US furniture and parts, wielded by a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel fighting against the Islamic State and the Assad government.
IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.
New Heavy Gear Log! Also...Grey Knights! The correct pronunciation is Imperial Guard and Stormtroopers, "Astra Militarum" and "Tempestus Scions" are something you'll find at Hogwarts.
Viceland is doing a thing on the Islamic state. They're focusing on the the kids brainwashed by their parents who are out there. They're the ones I really feel sorry for. I think most of them must be dead by now.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/10/27 19:26:51
Well it was either given to them to fight Assad by the Americans, stolen from the Iraqi stockpiles (American again) or stolen from Syrian stocks (Russian).
Moving on, ISIL is keeping civilians in Mosul to keep the US from bombing the city itself. Tens of thousands according to the UN, and the ones that aren't playing human shield are being shot. Its going to be interesting to see if the Iraqi army can actually liberate a city without going all red army on them.
feeder wrote: Frazz's mind is like a wiener dog in a rabbit warren. Dark, twisting tunnels, and full of the certainty that just around the next bend will be the quarry he seeks.
Co'tor Shas wrote: I thought the Abrahms wasn't sold to other countries?
Yeah, I thought that, too.
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?)
feeder wrote: Frazz's mind is like a wiener dog in a rabbit warren. Dark, twisting tunnels, and full of the certainty that just around the next bend will be the quarry he seeks.
Co'tor Shas wrote: I thought the Abrahms wasn't sold to other countries?
Don't believe that. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait and Australia have them. Peru is looking at 'acquiring' them. The exact means by which some of these transfers happened were technically not 'sales' but frequently involved some form of 'trade'. Personally, if I was going to buy American though, I'd go with the M60A3 SLEP. It's well, frankly a lot more bang for the buck, costing about a fifth the Abrams price tag for superior performance in most areas, particularly urban. (I love high transverse speeds.)
Damn, Ninja'd.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/10/28 23:15:27
Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet. - Nagao Kagetora
Co'tor Shas wrote: I thought the Abrahms wasn't sold to other countries?
Don't believe that. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait and Australia have them. Peru is looking at 'acquiring' them. The exact means by which some of these transfers happened were technically not 'sales' but frequently involved some form of 'trade'. Personally, if I was going to buy American though, I'd go with the M60A3 SLEP. It's well, frankly a lot more bang for the buck, costing about a fifth the Abrams price tag for superior performance in most areas, particularly urban. (I love high transverse speeds.)
Co'tor Shas wrote: I thought the Abrahms wasn't sold to other countries?
Don't believe that. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait and Australia have them. Peru is looking at 'acquiring' them. The exact means by which some of these transfers happened were technically not 'sales' but frequently involved some form of 'trade'. Personally, if I was going to buy American though, I'd go with the M60A3 SLEP. It's well, frankly a lot more bang for the buck, costing about a fifth the Abrams price tag for superior performance in most areas, particularly urban. (I love high transverse speeds.)
Damn, Ninja'd.
Does Turkey still run the M60?
Yes. They've lost a handful of them in recent months to wire guided missiles.
One thing to note about the Abrams provided to other countries, they usually are missing some components of US tanks, like depleted uranium lines in their armor and some other stuff.
IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.
New Heavy Gear Log! Also...Grey Knights! The correct pronunciation is Imperial Guard and Stormtroopers, "Astra Militarum" and "Tempestus Scions" are something you'll find at Hogwarts.
I don't want to think about what it would do to the ability of that turret to rotate and function for long periods of time however
IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.
New Heavy Gear Log! Also...Grey Knights! The correct pronunciation is Imperial Guard and Stormtroopers, "Astra Militarum" and "Tempestus Scions" are something you'll find at Hogwarts.
Mordant 92nd 'Acid Dogs'
The Lost and Damned
Inquisition
3100+
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?) 
