Evil Genius

TheDarkness wrote:

Killfile wrote:

TheDarkness wrote:yeah but still i don't think it correct to look at them as if they might invade America any moment... Ok so they might be increasing their army.... so what. An army has more then 1 purpose. Believe me... In Holland the "war-part" is the least of all the jobs the military has.

It's a great deal more complex than that. There are certain perks that come with having the biggest baddest military in the world. Those perks are bigger and nicer when no one else even comes close.

The ability to bully a few dozen countries into "helping" you knock over an oil rich dictator in the Mid East is one such perk.

Holland, or any European country is a pretty bad example. Europe has some very interesting ideas about the role of the military dating to 1944, for reasons that I will leave as an exercise to the reader.

The US is used to policing the world (we've been doing that since 1991) and the western world since 1945. Because of US policing, there are certain things that we take for granted - things that benefit Europe and other western powers.

Were China or Russia to eclipse the US as a major power you might see a major shift in the general political climate of the international system. Certainly a great deal less interest in Europe as a major force in economics.

Moreover, war between superpowers in the 20th and 21st century isn't about invasion anymore. Sure, armed with pitchforks the population of China could realistically take over the world. Fortunately, there isn't an overabundance of pitchforks in China. More to the point, China's military has better ways of exerting its will, both directly and indirectly, upon the western world.

As economic winds shift, those means will become more diverse, and the significance of the European-American dominated culture of the international system, the foundation upon which the last 500 years of world history have been built, will crumble.

if either of these countries would want to start a war they will need more then just the resources that they have themselves. An embargo would make the chance of an all out war smaller. And still i don't hink that the next big war will be fought with normal weapons for which you need huge army's. It will probably involve countries pushing a button to launch a missile (ok that might be overly simplefied but in essence that is what i think it will come down to).

and for that krymson guy... take it easy man... you ain't an expert yourself so unless you can prove anything he said wrong just STFU

krymsonsith wrote:What, you think you're some kind of Russian expert? Idiot! There are people who are actually study this stuff so you don't have to. Sheesh.

Killfile wrote:

krymsonsith wrote:What, you think you're some kind of Russian expert? Idiot! There are people who are actually study this stuff so you don't have to. Sheesh.

Yes. That's exactly what I think I am. I hold a BA in history from the University of Virginia focusing on executive decision making in great empires, particularly the United States, The Soviet Union, and Ancient Rome.

I've studied under Phillip Zelikow, author of several very well known books on the Cold War and chair of the 9-11 commission. I've studied the role of and origins of war in the international system under Dale Copeland, a leading figure in the field of game theory. I've also studied Soviet History under Dr Rossman and Dr. McClellan, both significant contributors to the study of Stalinist period.

So yes, for the purposes of this form I'd say I'm as close as you're likely to get to an actual expert on Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War.

Nice to meet you. I'm Killfile.

krymsonsith wrote:What, you think you're some kind of Russian expert? Idiot! There are people who are actually study this stuff so you don't have to. Sheesh.

Killfile wrote:

krymsonsith wrote:What, you think you're some kind of Russian expert? Idiot! There are people who are actually study this stuff so you don't have to. Sheesh.

Yes. That's exactly what I think I am. I hold a BA in history from the University of Virginia focusing on executive decision making in great empires, particularly the United States, The Soviet Union, and Ancient Rome.

I've studied under Phillip Zelikow, author of several very well known books on the Cold War and chair of the 9-11 commission. I've studied the role of and origins of war in the international system under Dale Copeland, a leading figure in the field of game theory. I've also studied Soviet History under Dr Rossman and Dr. McClellan, both significant contributors to the study of Stalinist period.

So yes, for the purposes of this form I'd say I'm as close as you're likely to get to an actual expert on Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War.

Nice to meet you. I'm Killfile.

TheDarkness wrote:them becomming a super power not but we were discussing the fact that they were getting stronger military wise and that this was a threat.... the economic part was a side trakc that was used for 2 posts or something..

well discussing might be big word btw...

Kêthêrîc wrote:kind of scary when you think about it. The military deal could end up being a problem if things go sour. We're not even out of Iraq yet, fighting another front might get sticky, especially with more economic problems. We'll were about due for an economic collapse anyhow....