Re: Communication and Travel

On 14 Jun 98 at 16:48, John Atkinson wrote:

> You wrote: 
> 
> >Hey, no need to get uppity, I didn't make a personal attack against 
> >you.
> 
> No, just what I do.

fairynuff.

> >Keep most of your forces in orbit with those on the ground quickly 
> >reinforcable and with almost instant ortillery support.
> 
> Kinda hard to collect taxes from orbit.

Send tax collectors, not infantry units.

> >Bring your whorehouse with you and keep it in orbit. 
> >or, be like the saudi example, don't base your troops near enough 
> >whorehouses that they wil visit them.
> 
> Very difficult to control a city without a garrison.	You're
> assuming all the little civillians and local military personell will
> be so terrified they'll just do your bidding "or else".  Somehow I
> doubt it, unless someone has managed to breed everything worth
> keeping out of the human race.  

It rather depends on the level of civil disobedience and guerilla 
activity. I'm not sure what number of troops the soviets needed to 
keep Hungary in line. Probably many at the start, reducing as the 
populace became less enthusiastic about disobedience, but with the 
constant threat of a new iron fist. Not a long term solution, but 
it's the sort of thing that happens.

> >If the civil/guerilla disobedience is so bad that the planet is an 
> >overall liability, *and* if the political climate allows it, you kill

> >or drive off everyone and resettle. Perhaps a bit unrealistic, 
> >I'll admit, but hey, look at ethnic cleansing today.
> 
> And that leads to your enemy's navy nuking your planets, you nuke
> their planets, and both sides are pretty much wiped out.  Only a
> drooling idiot or a madman (See:Adolph Hitler) would start a war on
> those terms. 
>  Rarely are wars fought over simple hatred, with no goal whatsoever
>  in 
> mind.  And frankly, I don't care to game genocide.  I leave the
> Dirtside table when nuclear weapons come into play--for me it's the
> same as gaming Auschwitz or something like that.  

Plenty of wars are over simple hatred. In fact, probably the majority 
of todays wars are, or have that as a major factor. Religious hatred, 
class hatred, racial hatred, or a combination. I guess the Iraqi 
invasion of Kuwait was one of the few invasions recently was largely 
for (oil) resources.

The thing is... if we don't find a way for planets being at least 
worthwhile or feasible to try and conquer, then there isn't too 
much point doing it.

> John M. Atkinson
> 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Slattery	     richard@mgkc.demon.co.uk
Say what you will about the ten commandments, you must always come back
to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of
them. 
     H.L. Mencken
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