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Russia vs NATO

I seen to recall the UK a few years ago also sending our troops to war unequipped with many having to buy their own kit. Wonder how we would cope in the future given we make nothing in this country and import a lot from China. I don’t even think we will make steel in this country in the future.
 
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Cobblers talk of conscription comes round every decade or so.
Nobody wants it, politicians don't want to force young voters to do anything, the military hate it...they want people who want to be soldiers etc, and the young tend not to fancy the idea overall.
That's why we scrapped it.
First heard it with the Falklands, and it has followed with every "It's going to be World War Three I tell you" international flare up.
It also often gets mentioned in the run up to elections for some reason...the thought of it appeals to some Tory voting old gits possibly...
Will never happen.
 
I feel Trump may put more pressure on Ukraine to come to a negotiation, either allowing Russia to hold Crimea or Ukraine to promise to not join NATO. The war has become stagnant for some time. Russia has adjusted its economy quite well to sustain this war indefinitely, the rest of Europe (UK included) has not and military underspending is a common theme throughout European countries.


From: https://youtu.be/Ea2EVGicax8?si=grq5DI70D2TvAPmX


I wouldn't be so sure on Russia's economy
 

I would take any video like this with a massive pinch of salt as Youtube journalism could be completed by someone with limited knowledge, a propagandist or a financial genius with no way knowing which is which. That said, I don't think sanctions hit as hard as they might for the majority of "ordinary people" - but it did for the upper classes who enjoyed western luxury and the younger people who enjoyed western culture and freedoms.

Cobblers talk of conscription comes round every decade or so.
Nobody wants it, politicians don't want to force young voters to do anything, the military hate it...they want people who want to be soldiers etc, and the young tend not to fancy the idea overall.
That's why we scrapped it.
First heard it with the Falklands, and it has followed with every "It's going to be World War Three I tell you" international flare up.
It also often gets mentioned in the run up to elections for some reason...the thought of it appeals to some Tory voting old gits possibly...
Will never happen.
Whilst you are most likely right, I have no doubt plans are in place (and have been for years) in the event conscription is required. I also have no doubt that they would start conscription if it were ever required. I suppose the key is to keep the aggression far from Nato borders and to make sure early warnings are seen early... things could have been so much better if we all didn't turn a blind eye when Putin took a fancy to the Crimea.

I do feel that the alliances being made by countries like North Korea and Russia are more worrying than much of what we have seen in recent years, but it is clear that the current militaries of countries such as Russia are being proven to be less effective than most thought and as such an all out attack against [even a handful] of western countries would just not succeed in the way Russians would have thought a few years ago.
 
There is no need for large conscripted armies any more with modern weapons.
I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.
We are little more than America's puppets.
Nobody wants another world war, it would probably all be over before any conscription plans were actualised...one way or another.
I have no doubt there are plans if required, but we are a long way away from anything like conscription.
 
I think with the recall to service cause in military sign up paperwork. Yes any ex member of the military that served 3yrs+, under the age of 55 and was not dishonour discharged can be recalled to active duty.

The call up for civilian army would be for volunteers for homeland defence.
 
All this talk of Russia - I don’t see Russia as the threat. It’s China we need to keep an eye on.
This I agree with but whilst we are buying their crap they will not likely rock the boat.

With Russia I have a feeling Putin won’t see the end of the war in Ukraine one way or another, we just need to hope what follows has a sensible head on the shoulders.
No normal person wants a war, we just want to get on with our lives keeping the rich richer.
 
All this talk of Russia - I don’t see Russia as the threat. It’s China we need to keep an eye on.

The world is clearly squaring off:

China
Russia
Iran
North Korea
Pakistan

Alongside
Sryria
Turkey and a few other supporting countries

If Trump gets in and he removes support for Ukraine we could be in real trouble as assuming putin isn’t interested in Belarus then it’s pretty much a NATO country next, perhaps across the suwalki gap, cutting off the baltics. With the excuse of getting to Kaliningrad.

Then we’re in WW3 territory
 
Trump's comments on NATO can be regarded as simply scaring countries into making the military spending they should be doing. There is no real evidence he would take the US out of it, or even that he against NATO at all. There is definitely scope for brinkmanship and threats to withdraw could come in the future, again to encourage greater spending.
 
Double post...nuke me.
The bullshit about conscription was started by an idiot general in the army at a conference on Wednesday.
The MoD stated within hours...
"The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force and there is absolutely no suggestion of a return to conscription".
So there you go our Matt, stop bloody worrying.
Conscription???
Cobblers!
 
They aren't finished reducing numbers of personnel yet, they were never about to start increasing them through conscription or anything else.
 
Quite a few countries have given permission for their weapons to be used inside Russia. Breaking news that the US has also now allowed weapons to be used in a part of Russia


How will Russia respond - no doubt it will see this as a major escalation and direct involvement now of the west attacking Russia.
 
Quite a few countries have given permission for their weapons to be used inside Russia. Breaking news that the US has also now allowed weapons to be used in a part of Russia


How will Russia respond - no doubt it will see this as a major escalation and direct involvement now of the west attacking Russia.

How can they respond? I don’t think even Putin is crazy enough to attack a NATO country? It would be an act of self destruction, NATO is far far stronger militarily.
 
They are to an extent but Russia production of weapons is moving far quicker than NATOs is. We also don’t know what level is support they are getting from the likes of China, N Korea and Iran.

Question is, judging by the statement out of Russia today, will they or won’t they use tactical nukes as that’s all they have left to make threats with.

I hope not, but I’m not sure Putin would back down like Khrushchev did if it came to another Cuban missile crisis. Sadly I think this is the general direction of travel now for the war, east vs west and of course, eyes on Taiwan as well.

Hopefully a peaceful agreement can be reached soon but while the US is making a fortune out of weapons sales, they also don’t have any interest in stopping this anytime soon.
 
Lets just not bother calling world war three though eh.
Brinksmanship on and off with the east for the last seventy years, things don't change.
The world makes money out of weapons, always has...not just America.
 
Indeed, Rob.

A reminder that Putin said he put general nuclear weapons on special alert a couple of years ago. Brinkmanship, false flags, and bluffs are all part of the Soviet rule book to which Putin still heavily subscribes.

He gambled and won on Crimea. He gambled and is meeting resistance on Ukraine. The US has calculated that allowing Ukraine to become another Crimea is unacceptable. It will come at a heavy cost and may leads to decades of attritional proxy war, but ultimately that decision has been made.

It could of course be reversed by a future US President, but they too have been known to bluff.
 
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