"The U.S. Army says it will soon be sending armored Stryker vehicles on a 1,100-mile convoy through six European countries to show solidarity to allies in the wake of recent Russian actions in the Ukraine and Crimea that have Eastern Europe on edge. . . . The convoy will be the latest in a series of displays the U.S. and its NATO allies have taken under Operation Atlantic Resolve, during which the U.S. "is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine," according to the Defense Department's website. . . . Other recent actions include the Air Force's movement of 12 A-10 Thunderbolt "tankbuster" attack jets to an air base in Germany and this month the placing of hundreds of tanks and military vehicles in Latvia, where they'll soon be matched up with 3,000 troops from Fort Stewart, Georgia." (Brad Lennon, CNN)

Do you all think the Russians will back off now?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/13/world/army-convoy-through-europe/index.html

Smells a lot like war. And it's in the neighborhood. I really gotta leave this country.

why are we premoting this shit? each country should keep to themselves if this has no major effect on the us why should we go begging for war? we already know what happened last time we got involved in something like this but unfortunatly this isnt germany we are trying to fuck with one of the big 3 and all were gonna get from it is death and economic destruction.

>>2 & 3

agreed....

A little thing called NATO means that, like it or not, the USA has taken on responsibility for Europe's safety.

Also, yes I do think the Russians will at least stop any advancements if not back off. Almost getting into a war with the USA ruined their economy, I doubt they're eager to pick a fight with NATO.

>>5 Shifty is right regarding the matter with NATO, there needs to be some kind of protective layer to the agressive progression of russia.
Still, it smells like war, definitely conquest from the russian side for no real reason, and if that shit escalates, it doesn't matter who started it, it's not the leading politicians, who are going to suffer. It will be everyone who is involved. Victims, soldiers, bufferstates and neighbouring countries, war is like boxing: You may win the fight, but you will go home with bruises just like your opponent.
>>3 To average US citizens it would just be news as anything else, but to a person like me living in Hungary, it's hell half a country away from me.

>>7 True. Even now, there are still a frightening amount of Russians who say Stalin was good because he made Russia bigger. Not that there aren't plenty of nice Russians.

Nationalism should just die.

>>8 Totally agreed. We could do without nationalism territorialism and borders. It would teach people a great lesson in coexistence.

>>9 gotta teach it into the mindset of the new generation, but it would take longer to reform people ideas.
That why a smaller group, country or whatever is better than a large one.
You cant control everything in a large, thus something is bound to slip up.
A problem in this world. Too much humans.

>>10 Naw man, the problem is with control itself and the overuse of control in terms of necessitation. I agree that you have to raise the next generation into a certain mindset, even though it would take a very long time. But that can never be achieved through control, that's why it would take so long in the first place. Also, if something slips up, well that's that then. No one is perfect and no education can be, but if everyone would understand some basic principles about how wasteful a war is, or nationalism and territorrialism in itself, we would have one less problem.

>>9 Well, I don't think it's a good idea to do away with borders altogether. I think they prevent more arguments than they start.

I think the world is better off with all these different countries. Different cultures live, speak, and even think differently from each other; It's only natural that they have different governments.

Though I will say, governments of large countries should be far more decentralized than they currently seem to be.

>>12 I wouldn't agree with you on that. The fact that resources are divided based on country borders instead of based on the people's needs is the root of most of these conflicts.

But I do agree with you that cultural diversity regarding certain aspects of culture, like music, clothing, art, certain traditions and perspectives etc. is a good thing. Doing away with borders wouldn't necessarily do away with that type of diversity, since they didn't come to be because of territorialism in the first place.

I completely agree to this last one. A modular system is better suited to it's individuals needs than a monolithic one, most definitely.

Нow I see it. Sitting in the US government any owner of weapon factories (let's call him Mr. X) and eager to make another billion of dollars. what is to be done for this? 1. To Lobby warmongering by your country (and suck money from the taxpayers) 2. supply weapons to one side, but you can both, sides of conflict. Dear USA stop to rescue everyone, because when You starts, you bring death and destruction. That's not your blame just Mr. X, make you believe that his intention is good as in this case with Ukraine as well as in many others

Make love not war 'couse the only one winner in any wars it's Mr. X

Yea because Tanks totally equal peace.

>>16 I'd rather have tanks that deter anymore attacks on Ukraine from Russia then keep hearing about the growing number of deaths from the conflict.

hah you are all rather weak characters if you prefer on saying that is better not to know about the victims in the war ...well im raw my self tho

well also I m not positive about the american support ... they are slowing the process enough so they cant be blamed for the war

>>17 What'd rather have people who lives there? They voted to secede from Ukraine, and do not have anything against "attacks from Russia", populatoin of these territories also is fighting against the Ukrainian army. In Crimea no one was killed by Russia. The devil is not so black as he is painted. But it would be better if it wasn't weapon and war at all

>>20 lol yea sure, no one was killed by Russia. At least not officially. What's the next thing you're gonna come up with? That it's not even Russia invading Ukraine? Hilarious.

>>15 Yep, Mr. X is the winner of all wars. He is also the reason. Totally agreed.

>>17 Yeah in the current situation, you're probably right, but I'd rather have people, soldiers especially start thinking about what they are fighting and killing other people for. What sane functional reason is there to kill the guy that's the same as you, only wearing a different color? Because someone ordered it? Someone who was ordered to order it? It's stupid. It's monolithic. It makes no sense. And it excludes critical thinking. People need to be raised to think. Makes me pretty sad.

War,
glorious war.
It seems that so many of you are all pissy about that topic.
"Oh my god, people are dying! I know none of them, but they're still DYING! This is terrible, I want world peace!"
Take out all the specifics, and this is what I'm seeing.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but if you're going to whine about it, then do something about it. "Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings" a man once said.
In this case, the intelligence is knowing how much death is in war, and the ambition would be the will to do something about it.
You all lack ambition, as you simply complain in the comments section instead of doing something about it.
Am I a hypocrite? Perhaps. However, while one may say that I am no less like you, could it be because I don't NEED to do anything? Think about it.
If you adapt to the world that's forced upon you, you're simply giving up. In my opinion, it's totally spineless. However, if you flip the world the bird and set out to change it, then you can finally lead a life worth living.
Another piece of advice, or rather, something I want to say: Never think your morals are right, but be fueled by them anyways. No matter how much fact may back your reasoning, your morals are nothing but a delusion you've built yourself. The thing is, modern society and government is the same thing, which means that you can use their own "weapon" against them.
I have no idea how long this is.

>>22 "I'm not disagreeing with you, but if you're going to whine about it, then do something about it" So discussing it with others in hope of spreading critical thinking and understanding behind why war is useless is doing nothing about it? What do you expect people to do? Go there and magically stop it with the snap of their fingers? -_-"
As for the rest of it, I tried to make sense of what you wrote, but you've lost me Jimbo.

This just keeps gettin gooder 'n gooder.

(B4 anyone swoops in, that's a Southern expression)

>>23 Actually no, that'd be very very stupid of me to think that, but then again, most of us on the internet are inclined to believe that everyone else is an idiot except them (It's understandable, since a lot of them are...)
Rather, I was under the impression that the people didn't like the presence of US Forces in Eastern Europe (if I'm mistaken, correct me).
If I were to do something about it, I'd click my ass over to the Mission Billboard and call together a buncha Dollars to try and protest it.
Should that not work, how about trying to gather the people in your neighborhood? Hopefully, if they're as like-minded as you, then perhaps you can create a spark.
Then, hopefully you'll gather the attention of the media, and others across the country will see it.
If this happens, it may turn out to be something like the Vietnam War, though mostly in terms of unpopularity.
How about you snap your fingers before you all start protesting? That seems alright, though I don't really think it'll do anything.

>>26 Haha

>>25 "Rather, I was under the impression that the people didn't like the presence of US Forces in Eastern Europe (if I'm mistaken, correct me)." I can only talk for myself, let me correct you. I don't like _any_ forces in Eastern Europe. I don't like any forces anywhere.
For the rest, I've lost you again kind of. I mean I understand the words, but not what you mean by it. Protests don't work. People in the neighborhood don't work. Getting the attention of the media doesn't work either against war. Any war.
What I think would work is sporadic reeducation of the populace in a modular way. Since there are at least two words in that sentence I expect 98% of the people to misunderstand, I won't blame you if you ask me to clarify, what I meant by that.

>>28 Well, there you go!
What has now happened was that your goal of critical thinking in this topic was fulfilled. You see, that can't happen if everyone just starts yaddy-yaddaing the same opinion over and over again. If you want someone to truly THINK about why they have the opinions they do, as well as if they're LOGICAL opinions is to provide a point of view that attempts to shoot it down, and even add a bit of irrationality here and there to stir the brain.
I still can't say I share your opinion, but at least I did end up conjuring an idea that you just put there.
Even if you already did have that idea, at least it's now here for everyone to see.
Now, hopefully someone can find some sort of rebuttel and/or reinforcement to said-idea because i sure as hell won't.
I'm probably ranting nonsense again here, so I'm gonna drop this topic in my life as a Dollar. Personally, I doubt war will end anything soon, but maybe that spark of an idea that you have can develop.

>>29 Naw, this time I haven't lost you. Anyways, I'm happy if I did spark something, even if it's only a spark, and thanks for taking the time and effort to read and think about my opinion.

Update on this news in link. The public's reaction to the U.S. Military's presence in Europe has been positive so far.

"This really means a lot to us. We see that we are not alone, that there is someone to defend us," Zdzislaw Narel, 60, told the Associated Press as the convoy made a stop in Bialystok, Poland.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/politics/army-convoy-through-europe/index.html

Bump