I am far from a war freak, but I believe that are biggest enemies we have now are Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. I really feel for Obama when he has to take care of Schrub's boo boos.

So we're going to have our access to SPAM blockaded?

Yea, you'll think it's funny, submitter, when they fly one of those photoshops up our ass.

And we can turn it into a big high-contrast CAT scan

GaryPDX: Yea, you'll think it's funny, submitter, when they fly one of those photoshops up our ass.

I'm sure the military and intelligence communities are giving it the serious attention it deserves. Since us average joes are freed of that burden, we get to make fun of the idiots who used photoshop to try to say they had more missiles than they did.

Iran meet MR. F-35 Mr. F35 Meet Iran.

Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

If Iran tried to shut down oil shipments coming out of the Gulf, thereby farking with energy security of basically every industrialized nation in the world, bad things would happen to them. Even those that don;t use primarily Gulf oil would still feel the pinch when supply decreased but demand stayed the same.

It would take the Iranians a decade just to figure out what hit them.

Bush really pissed uphill when it came to Iran.

Post-9/11 they were helping in any way they could. They had/have the biggest problems with the Taliban and Saddam of any country on earth.

Then they were declared to be a part of the axis of evil. No joke

Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

ha-ha-guy: Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

Naw, nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

globalwarmingpraiser: Iran meet MR. F-35 Mr. F35 Meet Iran.

FutureWeapons, awesome show, showed the F-35 and it was sick.

But screw the missiles and high-tech stuff, they could just mine the shiat out of hormuz and be effective in tying up the water-way for months.

Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

Yes, because we really do not have carriers in the area to handle this.

GaryPDX: ha-ha-guy: Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

Naw, nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

What would a Libertarian do?

Payload and range, anyone?


Just sayin'

Iran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz, but 5 minutes later we would shut down Iran.

F35 meet Iran huh?
What the fark for?
Not attacking the US so much?

GaryPDX,
The non-consequentialist core of libertarian ethical theory is an egalitarian commitment; specifically, a commitment not to socioeconomic equality but to equality in authority. Indeed, libertarians' lack of enthusiasm for enforced socioeconomic equality stems precisely from their concern that it can be achieved only at the cost of this for libertarians more fundamental form of equality.

The libertarian "non-aggression principle" expresses the conviction that forcibly to subordinate the person or property of another to one's own aims is to assume an unjustifiable inequality in authority between oneself and the other. And it is because this equality in authority likewise holds between private citizens and public officials that governments are forbidden to exercise any powers not available to people generally; libertarianism requires not just equality before the law but equality with the law.

I guess you are just a dirty republican after all, just like you were 4 and 8 years ago

Hiro's Protagonist: GaryPDX: ha-ha-guy: Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

Naw, nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

What would a Libertarian do?

Calmly explain that they are messing up our international trade, thereby affecting our national interests. Then ask them to hold and ask the other man in the room the status on our Bomber fleet. Then continue to rationally explain that an attack on any vessel carrying americans or harming our interests would be meet with force. Of course we would prefer to open trade with you so we can both prosper.

Hiro's Protagonist: Bush really pissed uphill when it came to Iran.

Post-9/11 they were helping in any way they could. They had/have the biggest problems with the Taliban and Saddam of any country on earth.

Then they were declared to be a part of the axis of evil. No joke

Yah, but they were then, and still are the biggest funders of terrorist organizations, and they weren't helping anyone, And they were developing nuclear weapons for sure back then.

Am I too late for the American Jingoist crapstorm?

If we distort the truth and render our verdicts while blurring the situation, we risk losing perspective and warping the world with the broad brush of American texture. Liquifying assets to dump our paint bucket of hate only selects us and puts us in the lens flare of criticism.

Hiro's Protagonist: I guess you are just a dirty republican after all, just like you were 4 and 8 years ago

You got that from me quoting a famous movie line?...wow.

15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11/01 aircraft were Saudi.

F35 meet Saudi???

Didn't think so...

schattenteufel: Am I too late for the American Jingoist crapstorm?

I need that on a T-Shirt

Barbecue Bob: 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11/01 aircraft were Saudi.

F35 meet Saudi???

Didn't think so...

Not yet, but I wouldn't complain about that either.

Silovik:
But screw the missiles and high-tech stuff, they could just mine the shiat out of hormuz and be effective in tying up the water-way for months.

Other than attacking the US, placing anti-ship mines in a commercial shipping lane is pretty much the surest way to guarantee a military response.

It's like that retarded kid in the neighborhood that runs around with the big stick saying he could crush you. Just smile, ignore him, and he will probably go away. No need to beat him senseless until he really does something...

We need to act NOW! I don't want the smoking gun to be a badly photoshopped mushroom cloud caused by one of Iran's new top secret Badger Badger Missiles. Ahmadinejad is a snake, he's a snaaake.

Yes, force has worked out well for us in Iraq. What could possibly go wrong here?

Oh yeah, Iran doesn't have to directly attack the US, just the oil exporting nations across the way. They don't need to get high-tech with them either, remember we won't sell them any of the really cool toys because they might turn on our precious circumcised friends to the west of them. So instead, Iran disrupts those nations, uses its influence to up the ante in Iraq, so we get bogged down further- and in doing so, possibly overwhelms the ONE harbor in the gulf that can dock an aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, the economy is taking a huge hit all the while, making it difficult for the government to manage logistics as the labor force in the US experiences shortages and transportation issues compounding on the current economic crisis.

I always assume the worst case scenario when people discuss war. Viewing it as though there is a guarantee it will work out exactly as planned is just plain stupid.

tlenon: No need to beat him senseless until he really does something...

Then we can blame whichever president for 'not protecting us'.

/you KNOW it would go down like that

tlenon: It's like that retarded kid in the neighborhood that runs around with the big stick saying he could crush you. Just smile, ignore him, and he will probably go away. No need to beat him senseless until he really does something...

Well I'd like to try to be nice to him, maybe get him to put down that stick and play football with us or something. The beating the crap out of part still applies if he does something dumb with that stick, but yeah.

These boom orgies always read like a sports thread. Our guys, their guys, we got, they got. You could start a fantasy league, trade "assets", have a pool. Bet it's been done somewhere.

When I was a little kid, I locked my mother in the bathroom. I thought I was so clever I was gleeful. I had the freedom and power of running the household any way I pleased.

About 2 minutes later she got out and beat the shiat out of my little petulant ass.



Clearly this is a lesson Iran has not learned.

WE NEED TO KILL EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH.

they could be full of terrorists!
they might be able to build a nuke in the future!

nuclear_asshat: When I was a little kid, I locked my mother in the bathroom.

What kind of a freakish bondage/sadomasochistic fantasyfest was your house growing up, where you could lock the bathroom doors from the outside? Seek help!

Hiro's Protagonist: GaryPDX: ha-ha-guy: Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

Naw, nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

What would a Libertarian do?

Competitive bidding.

/Probably Northrup-Grumman-Airbus vs. Lockheed-Boeing.

The last time the Iranians crossed swords with the American Navy most of the Iranian navy ended up decorating the bottom of the Persian gulf.

Tainted1: The last time the Iranians crossed swords with the American Navy most of the Iranian navy ended up decorating the bottom of the Persian gulf.

The last clash was in 1988.
US - 290, Iran - 0

buzzvert: What kind of a freakish bondage/sadomasochistic fantasyfest was your house growing up, where you could lock the bathroom doors from the outside? Seek help!

The mind always goes to the dirty doesn't it?

I took nylon rope and tied it around the handle. Ran it down the hallway to another door and cinched it up as tight as possible.

globalwarmingpraiser: Yes, because we really do not have carriers in the area to handle this.

We think in terms of US versus whoever we are in conflict with. Don't forget there are several Gulf states who use that to move their oil, and Iran needs their support, or at least blind indifference. Should Iran shut down the Strait, you have a lot of other pissed off middle east states who are already feeling the crunch of low oil prices.

We are also not the only country that uses oil from the Gulf. Yes, we have the military presence, but there are plenty of other people who use that oil. They also would not sit idly by.

Well, actually, they could for a short period of time. Until we wiped out every missile site and a majority of their air capability. Plus, drop a few hundred mines and that would slow down everyone until it was swept thoroughly.

When I was n the Navy, I did the straits many times, going into and leaving the Gulf. We were at GQ the entire time because of Iran. Once was during a bad storm, and it SUCKED. My GQ station was the 25mm chain gun on the port side weather deck. Can you guess why they call it a weather deck? It was a freezing rain, and it was a violent downpour with decently high winds and heavy seas. I am surprised no one went over the side, seeing all exterior gun stations and the minewatch were deployed. I pretty much wedged myself against the armor plates and sandbags and tried to cover myself as best as possible. Close to 6 hours like that, and no let up the whole time. One of the most unpleasant experiences I had in my navy time, almost as bad as finding out Thursday was my day in the barrel. :)

Either McCain or Obama would not have my envy for being the next President of the US. Between the economy, terrorism, rouge countries, the re-emergence of Russia ... I wouldn't think McCain would get a second term, and I really doubt Obama will get re-elected. Unless he pulls off the most amazing of recoveries for America.

Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

You don't know WTF you are talking about.

F-35 Lightning II
Combat Radius: 600 NM
Payload: 15000 lbs on 6 external hardpoints or 2 air-air + 2 air-ground missiles internally for stealth.

F-16E Falcon
Combat Radius: 340 NM
Payload: 20450 lbs on up to 9 hardpoints + 2 wingtip launch rails

F/A-18C Hornet
Combat Radius: 290 NM
Payload: 13700 lbs on 7 hardpoints + 2 wingtip launch rails

AV-8B Harrier II:
Combat Radius: 300NM
Payload: 13200 lb on 7 hardpoints

Range is roughly double the combat radius of all the planes it's designed to replace. It has more payload capacity than 2 of the 3. Although the theoretical payload is lighter than the F-16 this is not significant because a) the F-16 is rarely loaded to maximum capacity and b) the improved avionics of the F-35 mean it will put a higher percentage of it's ordinance on the target.

Simply put, it is a more capable and more survivable plane than any of the aircraft it's replacing.

Anybody notice how Iran has gotten really militarist since the feds started farking around in their neighbors? Wonder if they're doing that in response to legitimate concerns?

/jingoist: of course not, because we're in the Middle East to protect democracy!

buzzvert: If we distort the truth and render our verdicts while blurring the situation, we risk losing perspective and warping the world with the broad brush of American texture. Liquifying assets to dump our paint bucket of hate only selects us and puts us in the lens flare of criticism.

WTF?

Dude, you talk like a fag and your shiat's all retarded.

retard: WE NEED TO KILL EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH.

they could be full of terrorists!
they might be able to build a nuke in the future!

And some of them might be IN YOUR OWN HOME NOW! British Loyalists The Spanish Germans The Japanese Communists Muslims Emos Terrorists could be hiding under your bed, in your closet, or up in your attic! Sweep your house for now, before it's too late!

Snarfangel: Hiro's Protagonist: GaryPDX: ha-ha-guy: Galwran: Mr F-35, meet limited payload and range.

The Michigan and Ohio, our SSGNs, would likely be used. SSM sites don't work so well after ~300 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have impacted into said sites.

Naw, nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

What would a Libertarian do?

Competitive bidding.

/Probably Northrup-Grumman-Airbus vs. Lockheed-Boeing.

Libertarians don't like the military-industrial complex, but you're welcome to try again sometime.

the more i think about this, the more i am convinced that this little show Iran put on was nothing more than a stunt to put fear back into the oil market in order to raise its price. Right now oil closed at $41.68. The market will open (aus) at 5 pm est. We shall see.

mmmm... Straight of Hummus