141–150 of 264 posts
that's CASVAC. Correct pronunciation. A portmanteau or joining of "CASualty" and "EVACuation". The difference b/w MEDIVAC and CASEVAC? The former is by medical vehicle, the later ad-hoc.
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While I do agree with you in some regards, there is a very real policy impact involved in having a professional all-volunteer army. When you have to draft chunks of your population in order to conduct warfare, public opinion is very much against you if your cause is not 'just'. "If a nation cannot get enough paid volunteers to fight a war, that war is simply not worth fighting." The flaw here is that there are always…
It is good design to solve problems directly, rather than to solve them indirectly by introducting a different problem. So let's solve the problem of the US entering unjust wars directly, rather than by introducing a new problem (the draft). How to solve it directly? The recent unjust US wars do reflect cultural problems: a belief among politicians and the populace that it is worthwile to sacrifice thousands of Ameri…
An intellectual argument is irrelevant in the face of the masses--by definition, half of them are of below-average intelligence, yeah? So, we should pursue policies that make it concrete--even to the slowest citizen or smartest zealot--that there will be immediate, personal sacrifice for any military action they support.
I would also question the analogy to women and minority rights--neither has particular import here, and only muddy the waters. War is an issue that has faced all states, regardless of race and gender; it is somewhat misleading to treat it as something that may be "overcome" like a silly cultural preference of the West.
"In fact, my fear is that my generation will be unwilling to take preemptive offensive action when it is necessary (e.g. to prevent untrusted parties from acquiring nuclear or biological weapons)."
This is also a place where I think we differ in viewpoint.
Why is it so that Pakistan can have the atomic bomb, but not Iran? Why Israel and not Iraq?
I do not live in fear of my fellow man because he is armed--I only am worried if he is actively hostile. If your state does not pursue hostilities, what does it matter what they have in their stockpiles?
I believe that the bigger threat to my (apparently, our) generation is to continue to live in fear of terrorism, war, weapons, and each other--so many problems would go away if people would just accept that some day their ticket comes up, and do the best that they can in the meantime.
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> Civilized society? Not at all. Just organized tribal warfare. The story may be a bit more nuanced that that: From a review of "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" ( http://www.diplomacy.edu/resources/books/reviews/genghis-kha... ): "Arguably, however, Genghis Khan and the Mongols were the dominant force that shaped Eurasia and consequently the modern world. Not for what they destroyed – though they wro…
>> Civilized society? Not at all. Just organized tribal warfare. > The story may be a bit more nuanced that that: Make that a lot more nuanced: (From the same review cited above): "The Mongols' was the first modern army. It was built on a rational structure (based, like the Roman legion, on units in the multiple of tens) and promotion was strictly on merit. Thoroughly disciplined and highly mobile – infantry was unkn…
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>The United States made a huge mistake in moving to an all-volunteer army in the 1970s. With a draft and mandatory conscription, everybody had the common experience of serving and perhaps doing really bad things in the line of duty. As it is now, the vast majority of civilians have absolutely no idea what military service is like, as the author points out. The last time there was coerced/forced military service in th…
Imagine how the disproportionately-libertarian leaning crowd in places like HN would react to being compelled to serve in the military. That's exactly the point. It is almost certain we would have fewer wars, and they would be shorter.
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Oh c'mon. If you define civilized society that broadly than anything capable of organized warfare is by definition a civilized society. It would be a pointless tautology. In that context my response that systematic murder is uncivilized (and that therefore a society that engages in systematic murder is an uncivilized society) becomes a direct contradiction in terms. So that's obviously not what I meant. When I speak…
The Mongols may not have had cities (besides Karakorum, the capital). However, by the time Genghis Khan's conquests were under way they had a written alphabet, a very highly organized military structure, a complex legal code, freedom of religion, and a postal system that was unrivaled until the Pony Express was established in the US. They were generally far more sophisticated than you give them credit for and their s…
The Mongolian Empire was an incredible military achievement, but it was only an Empire in terms of conquest - it wasn't an Empire in terms of sustained society (like the Roman, Byzantine, or British Empires). The guy at the top dies, and the whole thing falls apart? That's not really a 'civilised society'.
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IIRC Kimbo was a street brawler who went MMA not the other way around. That he did so well against well trained fighters says a lot.
I don't understand this comment. The parent was saying that he was a street brawler who went MMA; why are you repeating it? And he by no means "did so well". He did not do well at all.
I am very tempted to flag this. the sociopath thing really rubs me the wrong way -- there are logical flaws with using that label. War is a part of society. If society tells you to go kill somebody and you do, you can't be a sociopath. Having said that, it's a great first-person account of what real combat is like, at least for this one guy. I am concerned the effect on HN discussion will be negative. Hopefully I'm w…
There are some logical flaws with the sociopath label, but there is certainly some truth to it, at least from my own experience. I'll provide a single example. One of my childhood bullies - let's call him Tom - is most definitely a sociopath, and he joined the marines, along with his two brothers who are not unlike him. All three of these guys have been violent for as long as I've known them. During middle school and…
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The United States made a huge mistake in moving to an all-volunteer army in the 1970s. My life is my own to live. It's not your right to dispose of it. The draft is a massive violation of individual rights. If a nation cannot get enough paid volunteers to fight a war, that war is simply not worth fighting. In my view, mandatory conscription is one of those first-class evils that we need to dismiss as a society---like…
While I do agree with you in some regards, there is a very real policy impact involved in having a professional all-volunteer army. When you have to draft chunks of your population in order to conduct warfare, public opinion is very much against you if your cause is not 'just'. "If a nation cannot get enough paid volunteers to fight a war, that war is simply not worth fighting." The flaw here is that there are always…
In my opinion, draft is only justified for defensive wars where the nation is in total war.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I do agree with you in some regards, there is a very real policy impact involved in having a professional all-volunteer army. When you have to draft chunks of your population in order to conduct warfare, public opinion is very much against you if your cause is not 'just'. "If a nation cannot get enough paid volunteers to fight a war, that war is simply not worth fighting." The flaw here is that there are always…
It is good design to solve problems directly, rather than to solve them indirectly by introducting a different problem. So let's solve the problem of the US entering unjust wars directly, rather than by introducing a new problem (the draft). How to solve it directly? The recent unjust US wars do reflect cultural problems: a belief among politicians and the populace that it is worthwile to sacrifice thousands of Ameri…
Hell, the entire Vietnam War had less US dead than there were Allied dead in one day of the bloodiest battle in WWI. And after a decade of fighting, the US efforts in Iraq have less than 10% of the US deaths in Vietnam. Afghanistan less than 4%. And still the rhetoric is one of siege and difficult fighting. How soft and spoiled are the commentators who think war should involve no sacrifice at all; that effectively it should be like a video game?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>The United States made a huge mistake in moving to an all-volunteer army in the 1970s. With a draft and mandatory conscription, everybody had the common experience of serving and perhaps doing really bad things in the line of duty. As it is now, the vast majority of civilians have absolutely no idea what military service is like, as the author points out. The last time there was coerced/forced military service in th…
Imagine how the disproportionately-libertarian leaning crowd in places like HN would react to being compelled to serve in the military. That's exactly the point. It is almost certain we would have fewer wars, and they would be shorter.