The Obama Doctrine - A detailed insight into US foreign policy under Obama's leadership

[sanahtlig]

1 hour ago, Orcka said:

Freedom of speech can go only so far. As an Anarchist I feel that if I open my mouth about the topic at hand, I will get banned. This place isn't exactly a platform for political debates, after all it's where introverts like us hang out and try to heal our depression with VNs (well I guess that is just me ). 

I've been approached privately and told (not by anyone in a position of authority) that creating topics like this would get me banned.  I'm disconcerted that people think rational discourse of controversial topics cannot occur on Fuwanovel, and indeed that one will be banned for trying.  I'm not sure whether this reflects a lack of confidence in Fuwanovel's moderators, lack of confidence in the maturity of the community, or simply paranoia of people who think the Man is out to get them--but at least one reasonable person thinks this is so, while others believe the topic will spiral out of control and have to be closed, and still others welcome the opportunity to have a substantial discussion on a topic of merit.

In any case, @Clephas is right.  Syria is special simply because there's so many players involved with such disparate interests.  As I view it, there are few (if any) clear "good guys" in this contest.  Even the US's so-called "allies" are acting contrary to US interests and occasionally outright defying us.  Turkey is bombing or shelling American-sponsored Kurdish forces (not to mention oppressing their own population).  Saudi Arabia has been implicated for bombing hospitals in Yemen and who knows what they'll do if they get militarily involved in Syria.  Rumors have it that they've been funding Sunni extremists, making them just as bad as Iran.  Israel, ironically enough, seems to be staying the hell out because they know that any involvement on their part will simply backfire (seemingly having come to the same conclusion as Obama).  The area is a regional conflagration waiting to happen and even Russia seems to want to accomplish its short-term goals and get out ASAP.

[Down]

51 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

I've been approached privately and told (not by anyone in a position of authority) that creating topics like this would get me banned.  I'm disconcerted that people think rational discourse of controversial topics cannot occur on Fuwanovel, and indeed that one will be banned for trying.  I'm not sure whether this reflects a lack of confidence in Fuwanovel's moderators, lack of confidence in the maturity of the community, or simply paranoia of people who think the Man is out to get them--but at least one reasonable person thinks this is so, while others believe the topic will spiral out of control and have to be closed, and still others welcome the opportunity to have a substantial discussion on a topic of merit.

Discussing war and who could win what is hardly different from an anime powerlevel discussion in the end, and the parties involved share a few basic, unchallenged premises that make it unlikely for the topic to burn down. If the discussion started bearing on something more cleaving - and anarchism involves challenging some basic premises - I can totally see it spiral out of control. Not that it wouldn't be interesting! 

[sanahtlig]

I have no fundamental problem discussing with others whose premises differ from my own.  The only time when opposing viewpoints are threatening is when the outcome of the argument will impact site policy--and I used to regularly rail against site policy in Aaeru's heyday without being moderated or having the discussions degenerate into name-calling.  If Fuwanovel was capable of such discussions then, then it should be capable of this discussion now.

[rainsismyfav]

On March 14, 2016 at 5:55 PM, sanahtlig said:

Wait, what?

*investigates the relevant wiki page*

I wasn't aware that Britain had decided to become an American protectorate.  You win this round.

Two carriers under construction. I just skimmed the wiki though not sure of the specifics. Elizabeth class or whatever

[Darklord Rooke]

The current scenario is this:

HMS Prince of Wales may be scrapped as soon as its launched because of a lack of planes to launch from it, and a lack of ships to defend it (ensue internal debates.) Ludicrously enough, it has been suggested that completing the construction will be cheaper than paying the cancellation penalties. Even if it were completed, and kept operational, without planes and extra ships (which are far too expensive to be considered) I don’t really see the point. It may be scrapped because maintaining the ship is expected to cost 130 billion pounds over the lifetime.

Budget pressures and internal pressure are questioning the need of the extra aircraft carrier. HMS Queen Elizabeth was too big for its dock, so the dock had to be lengthened. It will cost much money to maintain. And it’s only used to project force around the world, so it’s not necessary to defend a country. Critics are saying America will do the heavy lifting in a global dispute, supporters like to point to the 80s Falkland war as to the necessity of the aircraft carrier.

Anyway, HMS Prince of Wales will be ready by 2020 (we’ll see if it remains or if its scrapped.) The other one will technically be ready by 2017, but won’t be fully operational until 2020. So England won’t have any for four years or so, and it’s a bit of a mess atm.

On an unrelated topic, I have a nice picture (from an article I read a while ago) that shows how much more capable America is at projecting their military might than any other country on the planet:

[sanahtlig]

The Atlantic did a follow-up interview with Obama's former Middle East advisor Philip Gordon.  The interview complements the discussion in the original article.

Obama’s Former Middle East Adviser: We Should Have Bombed Assad