European Tribune - Comments - Why Great Britain needs Trident

Why Great Britain needs Trident | 121 comments (121 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (4.00 / 3)

That sounds terribly like the CIA overestimation of Soviet capability, that pouring through the Fulda Gap line. The problem with definition speaks of the differences in nuclear stratergy and theory between the US and USSR, the US thinking that the military use of tactical weapons was possible, the USSR seeing (Probably correctly) that once the first was used, whatever brake the politicians had on the situation was off and things were going to go very badly, very quickly.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:23:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (none / 1)

Pentagon strategists and neocon loonies are still blabbering about "usable nukes".

The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:33:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (none / 1)

Im sure we'll always have someone wanting to use them, its probably something along the lines of the "You have to use them to prove you are willing, otherwise your enemies might become convinced that you wouldnt and then their deterrent value is 0" justification.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:38:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (4.00 / 4)

Tripwire was always about using 'massive retaliation' as a NATO response to a conventional USSR invasion. Battlefield nukes were always a footnote.

The problem with Tripwire is that it has never completely gone away. It took a long time before proportional response was taken seriously as an alternative. And we still have idiots trying to get Georgia into NATO, with the inevitable outcome that the entire nuclear-tipped alliance will become involved in local Russian politics.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:36:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (none / 1)

Massive retaliation was phased out and replaced by Flexible Response in the 60's.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:41:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (none / 1)

That's 'cause we're a Christian Nation, and Jesus said that it is easier to nuke through the eye of the needle.

Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.

Frank Delaney ~ Ireland

by siegestate (siegestate or beyondwarispeace.com) on Sat Jul 18th, 2009 at 08:45:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (none / 1)

Except that doesn't really fit with with the Soviet lack of the western conventional vs. nuclear view. Soviet doctrine called for an immediate use of nuclear weapons in support of the ground forces offensive.

Thousands of weapons were to be used in the initial strike at the dawn of the invasion. As many as two hundred(!) were reserved for strikes against Swedish targets.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:38:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Why Great Britain needs Trident (4.00 / 2)

well thats what I was saying, about the soviets lack of conventional/nuclear view and battlefield/strategic too (But the Soviet Invasion intention was a Laughable CIA invention)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Jul 15th, 2009 at 11:45:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Why Great Britain needs Trident | 121 comments (121 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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