General Discussions

[LP]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_S...fghanistan

20 years later we didn't hear about any of it being a failure 2 months in.

I'm not sure the comparison is valid.

I suppose we could argue casualties in Allied forces in Afghanistan / Iraq, even though always too many, were pretty low by comparison. I don't recall swatches of Allied commanders being caught or killed, nor do I remember the Allies sending conscripts to their death by the hundreds or thousands in the early stages. If we want to use the Afghan / Iraq scenario as a comparison, in Putin's case the early rate of casualty and leadership loss seems unsustainable.

Despite the claims in some media segments, I do not specifically recall the Allies deliberately targeting operational hospitals, civilian apartment blocks or civilian train and bus transport, or flattening whole residential suburbs for no apparent good reason. Nor do I recall the Allies directly or indirectly threatening the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or bombing / shelling nuclear power facilities in Iraq.

I note that many of the Allied casualties in Iraq / Afghan were delivered courtesy of Putin supplied munitions.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Russia are also occupied in Syria where they are propping up the Assad Government and bombing rebels and the odd hospital and civilian targets.
They have been there since 2015 and I guess Oil is at the core of their interest and denying the USA any chance to influence outcomes in that area.

[Thryleon]

I'm not sure the comparison is valid.

I suppose we could argue casualties in Allied forces in Afghanistan / Iraq, even though always too many, were pretty low by comparison. I don't recall swatches of Allied commanders being caught or killed, nor do I remember the Allies sending conscripts to their death by the hundreds or thousands in the early stages. If we want to use the Afghan / Iraq scenario as a comparison, in Putin's case the early rate of casualty and leadership loss seems unsustainable.

Despite the claims in some media segments, I do not specifically recall the Allies deliberately targeting operational hospitals, civilian apartment blocks or civilian train and bus transport, or flattening whole residential suburbs for no apparent good reason. Nor do I recall the Allies directly or indirectly threatening the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or bombing / shelling nuclear power facilities in Iraq.

I note that many of the Allied casualties in Iraq / Afghan were delivered courtesy of Putin supplied munitions.

LP its not about comparing outcomes or even circumstances.  War is bloody and merciless and you can guarantee that war crimes were committed you just never heard about them.

One of our most decorated is only on trial now.

That was also an allied war.  USA with great Britain involved against what was in essence a bunch of camel herders.

[LP]

That was also an allied war.  USA with great Britain involved against what was in essence a bunch of camel herders.

Camel herders with Kalashnikovs and RPGs.

It's interesting, the current Russian predicament is basically a function of the Russian lack of foot soldiers and special forces supporting the Calvary. You can't target foot soldiers with Howitzers and Drones, it doesn't work they are too small and too quick to disperse.

When exposed we put our own war criminals on trial, they won't have to be hunted down by foreign forces.

[Thryleon]

It still took 20 years and despite the change of government Afghanistan wound up exactly where they started though with the Taliban government in place.

The point being there are no good guys and bad guys.  Just a bunch of nations pushing their interests using small nations as pawns. 

[DJC]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_S...fghanistan

20 years later we didn't hear about any of it being a failure 2 months in.

Comparing apples with eggs Thry.

The invasion of Iraq is probably closer but the Iraqi armed forces were larger and better equipped than Ukraine’s.  The significant difference is that Saddam’s forces weren’t re-equipped with sophisticated weaponry but resistance had completely collapsed before that could happen anyway.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Putin has upped the stakes in Ukraine by introducing his ace in the pack nuclear weapon the Sarmat 2, with its high tech defense decoy system its difficult to intercept and Vlad seems to be wanting to deploy it soon so he can have some leverage over NATO and get the Ukraine war back on his terms. Been reports of Vlad suffering from Parkinsons and other health issues, if I was the west I'd be assisting the internal Russian opposition and military who dont want this war escalating to remove Vlad before he decides he has been backed into a corner and has nothing to lose. Think he put the brakes on one of his kids leaving Russia so i reckon he might be light on for supportive family and friends and lunatics with nothing to lose or care about become extra dangerous.

https://au.yahoo.com/news/russia-warns-d...05858.html

[capcom]

And we now see the folly in the EUs use of Russian energy.  Average prices in the UK expected to hit $6000 per annum sometime in 2022. 

[ElwoodBlues1]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/russian-tv-hos...05108.html

The Iron Doll is one scary woman, be good value for our AFLW team with that evil stare......
I thought Putin was the only nutter in Russia who wanted war but that 60 minutes crew with their ideas on WW3 and heaven etc  show how delusional the thinking is in Russia and that old style cold war propaganda is alive and well.

[capcom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHylQRVN2Qs