Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/03/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 3/7/03 animal wrote: >Second the USA became a economic and military powerhouse because of all the >outside effort and people that was poured into it. >Regarding the military bit though one has to realise that ultimately it is >not superior to any other of the five permanent members. >Each has the ability to obliterate any other within 12 minutes. Excuse me until I stop laughing. With the exception of the British there is no nation on earth which has the ability to project power in the same was as the United States. In fact any European country (the UK aside) is closer to being a third-world than to the United States. The ability to fight effectively at any time of day or night, control the air space, control the sea, provide high-quality crypto to officers in the field, real-time intelligence gather, long distance logistic support: the combination of these is beyond the grasp of any other nation...at this time. Even if you took NATO, shucked off the US component, it wouldn't be any different. That's not brag, it's just fact. It's also why we should NOT go to war in Iraq. And ultimately the difference is that while any single other nation MIGHT be able to get a snap shot off to do significant damage to the US, only the US could take out the other four simultaneously in spite of our build-down in strategic weapons. No other nation on earth could threaten Iraq as we are doing. (Another reason not to be doing it.) Adam Bridge - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html