Re: [MERCS] Weapons available [FH]

> Take a look at the terrain (was the US to invade
> through Czecheslovakia and East Germany?  Or through
> Austria?  And which of those nations have avenues of
> approach capable of handling armored corps in the
> attack?) and the correlation of forces.

East Germany would have worked fine, the Soviet tank would have been in
a
non-optimal position, and the Czech's would have probably revolted as
well
(and quite possibly more of eastern Europel).  Were talking world war 3
any
way you slice it, so going to Budapest isn't an issue, going to Moscow
and
beyond is.

>  Also, please
> consider that the Hungarians were occupied by the
> Soviets as a result of their actions in WWII.  Should
> have thought about that before they started Sieg
> Heiling along with Hitler, no?

Considering that the "allies" completely violated their own stated
principles during the peace treaties after World War 1 and completely
rapped
a country of its historic lands and massive number of their population,
and
then the League of Nations completely refused to discuss amending any of
this, is it any wonder that they sided with the malcontents.

The current mess with Iraq is a nice example of what can happen when you
assume the legal and moral high ground and ignore masses of malcontents.
The sanctions against Iraq of killed hundreds of thousand of Iraq
infants
and young children.  If you don't beleive, go dig it up at www.un.org 
Most
Iraq's are arabs.  2/3's of the arab's in the middle east (even our
"friends" the Saudi's) are very angry about this, and blame the U.S.
(who
does most of the enforcing of the sanctions).  They don't care if the
U.N.
says the sanctions are just, they believe the sanctions are wrong.  17
of
the 19 terrorists on September 11 were arabs.  Is there a connection?

Consider this, who did you blame for the slaughter of the children at
Waco?
On the morning that Timothy McVeigh blew-up the Oklahoma City Federal
Building, what did it matter who you blamed?  What did it matter who I
blamed?  What did it matter who the U.S. Government blamed?  What did it
matter who really was to blame?  The only opinion that mattered was
McVeigh's, because he was the only one angry enough to kill people. 
While
it is doubtful that all of the terrorist on September 11 were motivated
by
the U.N. sanctions, some them had to be.  I hate to think of the number
arab
McVeigh's that are out there.

People's action are predicated on what they believe to be true.  They
will
act on what they beleive, not reality, not what is legal.  A large group
of
people that believe they have been wronged is always trouble for the
future,
espcially if their greivence is not effectively addressed (in their
eyes) in
a timely manner.  After World War 1, who beleived they had been wronged
by
the peace treaties?  Germans, Italians (they were part of the allies in
World War 1), Japanesse (also a part of the World War 1 allies),
Hungarians,
etc.  They acted accordingly; as will the arabs.

> We (Anglo-American
> Allies) set up the governments we wanted in Belgium
> and Greece, the Soviets got to do what they wanted in
> Poland and Hungary.  Welcome to Power Politics 101, in
> which small nations are bargaining chips when the big
> boys settle down to the table.

My point stands, the U.S. didn't have the guts enough to take on a first
rate military power armed with nukes.  It is much easier and safer to
bully
third rate powers that don't have nukes.

> True.  But then we're talking terrorists not simple
> agitators.

The average kid, no.  The few creative kids can very easily be this
smart.
I was when I was a teenager...

ias