Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes • Hacker News Board

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#71

Post by devoply » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

HarryHirsch wrote: post #56

beaner wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What prevented that from being possible before?

You needed airplanes, and antiaircraft weapons were so much cheaper. With drones the calculation is the other way around. It completely changes the face of war, offensive warfare is now possible again. Ernst Jünger said something similar when he witnessed the first tanks in World War 1.

> offensive warfare is now possible again

You mean defensive. Where American firepower at the hands of Saudis completely fucking up your country can be finally challenged with a response that might make them reconsider war. Where it was just a beat down like America is using to doing.

Who knows maybe this thing spirals out of control and destroys all of Saudi Arabia, when you are dealing with these sorts of political realities you reconsider things like destroying the entire country of Yemen because you don't like the politics of its majority or its rebel government.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#72

Post by lazide » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

weberc2 wrote: post #67

jillesvangurp wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is classic war fare and not terrorism. The Saudi's have made a mess of the conflict in Yemen, which is more or less part of a bigger proxy war that also involves the US and Iran. On paper it's rebels vs what passes for a government there locally. But in practice it's Iran sponsored weaponry vs. Us & EU sponsored weaponry. If you look at a map, the reasons are obvious. The Saudi's are connected to international w…

Why can’t the Saudis likewise shut off Iran’s oil any time they want?

They already are, through US sanctions.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#73

Post by lefty2 » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:05 PM UTC

JacobiX wrote: post #44

Unfortunately, there is no technical information yet about the type of drones that carried the strikes. Could it be the shahed 129 ?

No, it was actually the CX-6057 Flying Egg https://www.amazon.com/WayIn®-CX-6057-Flying-2-4GHz-Control/...

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#74

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:05 PM UTC

weberc2 wrote: post #67

jillesvangurp wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is classic war fare and not terrorism. The Saudi's have made a mess of the conflict in Yemen, which is more or less part of a bigger proxy war that also involves the US and Iran. On paper it's rebels vs what passes for a government there locally. But in practice it's Iran sponsored weaponry vs. Us & EU sponsored weaponry. If you look at a map, the reasons are obvious. The Saudi's are connected to international w…

Why can’t the Saudis likewise shut off Iran’s oil any time they want?

[deleted]

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#75

Post by weberc2 » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:07 PM UTC

en-us wrote: post #22

partialrecall wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It should be noted, engineers being well represented in these sort of rebel/revolutionary/terrorist organizations isn't a new phenomenon. Here is an article from a decade ago: https://slate.com/technology/2009/12/why-do-so-many-terroris... The notion of terrorists as uneducated goat farmers is more a manifestation of western biases than it is an accurate representation of the truth.

I see this in discussions about 9/11 all the time, where someone will express incredulity that it would be possible for a bunch of "goat farmers" to execute such a plan. But if you actually look at those terrorists, many were educated and from well-to-do families.

The specific thing people fail to realize is how much oil money was feeding into terrorist groups. If you understand that, you are no longer surprised that they attracted talented (albeit thoroughly evil) people.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#76

Post by tedivm » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:07 PM UTC

peter303 wrote: post #65

Environmentalists say they might shut down Heathrow airport with drones because they dont like new construction. They would announce an hour in advance such a demonstration. Authorities warn of severe prison sentences if they catch some doing this.

That's a little different- they just want to fly drones around, not blow things up.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#77

Post by weberc2 » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:08 PM UTC

MiroF wrote: post #36

en-us wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see this in discussions about 9/11 all the time, where someone will express incredulity that it would be possible for a bunch of "goat farmers" to execute such a plan. But if you actually look at those terrorists, many were educated and from well-to-do families.

Very much the same thing with the Sri Lanka attacks. I think the American public/media likes to paint everyone from the non-West as extremely backwards, when in reality I feel like everywhere in the non-West has "West"-like pockets of extreme affluence and then just huge amounts of inequality and rural poverty.

Well, those events are anomalies. People usually are surprised by anomalies.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#78

Post by rhegart » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:09 PM UTC

caoilte wrote: post #61

rhegart wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Iran funds this. The advanced rockets by Hamas, the drones by the Houthi. Proxy war like usual. They are using Yemen for themselves uncaring of lives, we are killing so many innocent in Yemen. Life’s complicated but after the Iran deal, funding these groups by Iran increased significantly, and so did our subsequent killing of innocents.

Life is indeed complicated. What fueled Iran's involvement in Yemen was Saudia Arabia invading it. They worked very hard to keep the Houthis at arms length prior to that because as different religious sects go the only thing they really have in common is that the really nasty fundamentalist women-hating Sunni sects (ie the Saudis) hate them both for being different. And what kick started the war in Yemen? That would…

Mostly agree, definitely agree that Iran meddling was 100% our fault.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#79

Post by rolltiide » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:11 PM UTC

en-us wrote: post #22

partialrecall wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It should be noted, engineers being well represented in these sort of rebel/revolutionary/terrorist organizations isn't a new phenomenon. Here is an article from a decade ago: https://slate.com/technology/2009/12/why-do-so-many-terroris... The notion of terrorists as uneducated goat farmers is more a manifestation of western biases than it is an accurate representation of the truth.

I see this in discussions about 9/11 all the time, where someone will express incredulity that it would be possible for a bunch of "goat farmers" to execute such a plan. But if you actually look at those terrorists, many were educated and from well-to-do families.

The only distinctive quality I could find was that one has sovereign immunity and “non-state enemy combatants” don’t.

Its just the same 4,000 year old story of nomads wandering the middle east wishing they had a nation, “as it was foretold”.

Re: Saudi Arabia Shuts Down About Half Its Oil Output After Drone Strikes

#80

Post by mhkool » Sat, Sep 14, 2019, 6:11 PM UTC

droithomme wrote: post #63

en-us wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see this in discussions about 9/11 all the time, where someone will express incredulity that it would be possible for a bunch of "goat farmers" to execute such a plan. But if you actually look at those terrorists, many were educated and from well-to-do families.

Yemenis defending their country are terrorists?

Of course not, but since Saudi Arabia is the ally of the USA, in the eyes of many the enemy of Saudi Arabia must be a bunch of terrorists instead of liberation fighters who want to get rid of a president that was appointed by Saudi Arabia.