gainiac
Posts: 84
Joined: 3/20/2002 From: Bronx, NY Status: offline
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"Pershings to my knowledge are tanks...>_> "Is there an ICBM/Nuke Capable MRBM that I don't know about called a Pershing as well? That's quite possible. " Go Here: http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/theater/pershing1.htm To keep a long story short, American Pershings in Europe were kinda like Soviet Nukes in Cuba..............X-cept we kept ours there until arms limitation treaties started being agreed upon......... To clarify my own statements: "I don't believe Nukes can be used in a "Tactical" sense. To me, Tactical Sense is what WaW is, and I don't see me nuking my enemy in a game like WaW, Ever, even with a 100 hex (5km) map, I'd still basically destroy everything on the map. That's not Tactical, that's Strategic, what I view Nukes as being. That's just my viewpoint." No argument from me on this point, I don't buy into the "tactical" use of nuclear weapons either, it can only lead to strategic destruction. "Also...529 bombs to fire-bomb Dresden. Compare this to the Single (1) Bomber it took to drop the A-Bomb on Hiroshima. This is what I mean by more murderous/destructive. If every one of those B-29's only had 10 bombs, that's 5290 bombs to do that kind of damage, Vs. 1 A-Bomb." I agree with you here as well, nukes are exponentially more efficient in terms of destruction per ounce......... I was merely pointing out that conventional technology was already at a great enough level in which to kill hundreds of thousands of people relatively quickly. "That's what I meant before, sorry I didn't make myself clear. " That's cool, :P, :), No problem here............ "See, my views and your views of stability are apparently different. I don't view the Cold War as a time of stability in any way, shape, or form. I don't think the world has been stable at all for several hundred years. I don't think it will be stable any time soon. Yes, COMPARITIVELY (Emphasized so I'm sure you see it ) Vietnam and Korea were "Minor" conflicts. But tell that to the people who lost Fathers, Brothers, and Husbands to those two conflicts. Hard to explain to them why they died for such a "Minor" reason, don't you think? No war is trully "Minor" as the government tries to think of them, this is what I believe caused many of the mistakes in Vietnam, specifically the Air Force's inability to bomb civilian-populated areas at the begining of the war. " My comparison absolutely positively in no shape fashion or form has the intent to belittle the ultimate sacrifices made by so many in the service of this great nation. They all deserve Congressional Medals of Honor as far as I'm concerned. In terms of sheer numbers Vietnam and Korea PALE in comparison to the casualties sustained in WW2. "Also, if we had used Tactical nukes against Russian soldiers, what would have stopped them from using Strategic Nukes against us? Nothing, New York, Washington, San Francisco, LA, Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, Dallas, Hawaii, and alot of others I'm sure the USSR had Nukes aimed at would be hurting, and our Strategic Nukes would have gone off as well, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Moscow, Valdivostok..." That in a nutshell is EXACTLY what M.A.D. is!! (Mutually Assured Destruction) "I don't call that stable, I call that Pin-Drop, IE, the first Pin that drops blows the whole thing blows sky high. If you can call that stable, and I suppose you can...then I wish I could share your Optimism " Imagine what the world would be like now if the Soviets were the only Superpower. And... quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The US kept the Soviets at bay. Nope I can't prove that. Tell me why did they engage us in an arms race? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ... "Sorry, I see your point, but the Russians, especially in the 70's an 80's were ahead of us in some areas, they were NOT that technologically backwards as most people seem to think, alot of our Euro-pals were much more backwards than the USSR was. They did this despite the fact that they had very few of the rights America has as a democratic nation, as well as Stalin's purges, and the Gulags, which put alot of the brilliant minds of the USSR to work in slave-labor." I never compared relative technological achievements, the U.S. simply OUTSPENT the Soviets, and "STAR WARS/ SDI" was the brilliant icing on the cake, the straw that broke the camels back, and nearly the US Economy as well. "But to get to my point, you failed to tell me...What kept the world stable before nukes?" Nothing that I know of. Is the world that much more stable with them? I'm glad we (The U.S.) has them, alot of them, it keeps the balance of power EVEN, even if it is/ was a global Mexican standoff. "As to your Shotgun/Dog theory...those are Defenses, and Deterrents." They are also weapons in my example. Main Entry: 1weap·on Pronunciation: 'we-p&n Function: noun Etymology: Middle English wepen, from Old English w[AE]pen; akin to Old High German wAffan weapon, Old Norse vApn Date: before 12th century 1 : something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy 2 : a means of contending against another "But you're missing my point, those things guard your home, and keep people out. This is like someone sneaking into your almost-defenseless home, and you go over to his house and blow away his wife and kids while he robs you." I never said it was perfect (Strategic Nuclear Deterrent), but without any PURELY defensive alternative in which to negate a nuclear attack, your best bet is to have enough bombs to wack your neighbor if you don't trust them. I truly believe that Minutemen, MX, Pershings, Tridents, Poseidons, and Polaris, kept the U.S.S.R. from running amok. "Does that make sense?" Yup, I think we agree in more ways than we both realize, with a few relatively "minor" :P contentions. :) "I'd love to explain further, but the post is getting rather long, and is off topic for the thread really." Oops!!! Sorry to all concerned for the thread hijacking!!!! "I want to keep this up, it's hard to find someone who'll keep a light heart while arguing like this." Socrates is a personal hero of mine. Even though the world is still shaky at best currently, I think overall it's a relatively safer place without the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. having knives at each others throats. I'm sad to say that I don't have much faith in the current leadership of the nations of this world. If their ever was a time for great people to rise up and take the reins it's now more than ever. I'm done. :) Are you? (I hope!!!!!) :) Martin
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