russia/ georgia

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by saden1

Well, this is more serious:



If I was Poland I would return those missiles and try to make peace with the Russians...god knows no one in this country or Europe cares about you.

Sabre rattling at it's best. What else is Russia supposed to say? "No big deal. We like having neighboring countries with missile launching and intercepting capabilities." How would you react if your neighbor chains up 3 or 4 pitbulls right up against your property, just in case you decide to break in and steal his Patrick Ramsey rookie card collection. You'll probably say: "If one of those dogs sh*ts in my yard, I'm filling it full of lead." But, you're not going to kill the dogs unless provoked. You've made it clear to your neighbor that you're not intimidated and will react with appropriate measures. Insanely simple analogy but I have a limited imagination.

For the record, I think the missile defense shield is a bad move. Russia's equivalent of NORAD will detect a launch by an interceptor missile, calculate it's course and have a projected area of impact in about 1 minute. All it takes is for one missile of ours to malfunction and, instead of hitting a rogue state's incoming missile, winds up heading eastward into russian territory. That's when it starts getting a little hairy. Better have a good diplomat on hand, like Ben Affleck's character Jack Ryan in The Sum Of All Fears.

Speaking of which, I can't help but marvel at Tom Clancy's nostradamus-like ability to write a fictitional story and watch parts of it unfold in real life. In Debt of Honor he has a Japanese airline pilot attack the Capitol building during a State of the Union address, which is reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks. In Red Storm Rising, Russia attacks it's southern oil rich neighbors in order to combat an attack by terrorists on their own major oil refinery. Not exactly the same... but still.