1 hour ago, DrPhilly said:

"independent thinker" LMFAO

Haha. Dude shows up trying to fake it as a logic focused independent, gets undressed within 24 hours. Then he turns into a cave troll for a couple weeks before disappearing. Shows up 6 months later hoping nobody remembers him. Rinse wash repeat.

How convenient that we won’t have enough defense missiles for Ukraine as we need them for our bases in the ME.

22 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

How convenient that we won’t have enough defense missiles for Ukraine as we need them for our bases in the ME.

Feels worth it if Russia has been put on the defensive. Taking out Putin's friends does that. Trump foreign policy appears to mirror Putin's. All in on regime changes but without the moral put offs of being responsible for the countries you've attacked. It's a lot like US foreign policy of the 50's and 60's and it's sure to produce a wildly mixed bag of results.

33 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

How convenient that we won’t have enough defense missiles for Ukraine as we need them for our bases in the ME.

We've never had enough. The Army has always bought the minimum number possible, because they expected the Air Force to establish air superiority at a minimum and provide the backbone of air defense.

4 minutes ago, Mlodj said:

We've never had enough. The Army has always bought the minimum number possible, because they expected the Air Force to establish air superiority at a minimum and provide the backbone of air defense.

Now we REALLY don’t have enough.

13 minutes ago, dawkins4prez said:

Feels worth it if Russia has been put on the defensive. Taking out Putin's friends does that. Trump foreign policy appears to mirror Putin's. All in on regime changes but without the moral put offs of being responsible for the countries you've attacked. It's a lot like US foreign policy of the 50's and 60's and it's sure to produce a wildly mixed bag of results.

Time will tell.

George W. Trump

1 minute ago, DrPhilly said:

Time will tell.

South America is littered with horror stories caused by this type of US interventionism (Chile/Argentina/Guatemala). Another moralistic failing from US history that Trump seems intent on reviving. We've also already seen that Trump is more comfortable with dictators he gets along with than legitimate western governments that disagree. That's a bad cocktail for any of these "liberated" countries. At least Rubio has his heart in transforming Venezuela and Cuba (with what actual sustained resources to attain it god only knows). I doubt anybody will be looking out for the Iranians. They'll be on their own with equal chances of same ol shite, reformed government and total civil war collapse.

9 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Now we REALLY don’t have enough.

The Patriot has evolved from a system designed to kill aircraft, to one with a limited ability to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, to one designed primarily to deal with tactical ballistic missiles. The Air Force could take part in that first iteration of killing aircraft, but has little to no influence on dealing with the ballistic missile threat other than killing launchers on the ground, which is small potatoes. Given that situation, the Army should have been buying way more launchers and missiles than they did. OBTW, they also need to maintain stockpiles in the Pacific where the Chinese would "make it rain" on our bases with ballistic missiles if they get serious about taking Taiwan.

9 minutes ago, dawkins4prez said:

South America is littered with horror stories caused by this type of US interventionism (Chile/Argentina/Guatemala). Another moralistic failing from US history that Trump seems intent on reviving. We've also already seen that Trump is more comfortable with dictators he gets along with than legitimate western governments that disagree. That's a bad cocktail for any of these "liberated" countries. At least Rubio has his heart in transforming Venezuela and Cuba (with what actual sustained resources to attain it god only knows). I doubt anybody will be looking out for the Iranians. They'll be on their own with equal chances of same ol shite, reformed government and total civil war collapse.

I meant with Putin

Three US soldiers dead so far

Seeing footage on BBC, for every Iranian celebrating his death, there is also an Iranian in mourning. Anyone who thinks the Iranian population is all on the side of regime change is kidding themselves.

1 hour ago, DrPhilly said:

Now we REALLY don’t have enough.

I was wondering that yesterday. How many do we keep in inventory? How long does it take to ship them to the ME?

45 minutes ago, Mlodj said:

The Patriot has evolved from a system designed to kill aircraft, to one with a limited ability to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, to one designed primarily to deal with tactical ballistic missiles. The Air Force could take part in that first iteration of killing aircraft, but has little to no influence on dealing with the ballistic missile threat other than killing launchers on the ground, which is small potatoes. Given that situation, the Army should have been buying way more launchers and missiles than they did. OBTW, they also need to maintain stockpiles in the Pacific where the Chinese would "make it rain" on our bases with ballistic missiles if they get serious about taking Taiwan.

I'm surprised they haven't evolved from the Patriot over the decades it's been in use.

8 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

I was wondering that yesterday. How many do we keep in inventory? How long does it take to ship them to the ME?

Not enough, too long

@Diehardfan Also, you laughed when this was mentioned yesterday, but the Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed right now and the large shipping lines have stopped all passage. Oil prices are expected to immediately rise 10% to start. Hopefully this goes well and the Strait is opened again very shortly but there is a real risk we get some inflation.

11 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

@Diehardfan Also, you laughed when this was mentioned yesterday, but the Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed right now and the large shipping lines have stopped all passage. Oil prices are expected to immediately rise 10% to start. Hopefully this goes well and the Strait is opened again very shortly but there is a real risk we get some inflation.

Does that impact gas prices?

Sorry if that’s a dumb question. I have no way of knowing, I drive an EV. Being little more progressive and ahead of the curve keeps me protected from these issues.

And on the right side of history.

8 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

@Diehardfan Also, you laughed when this was mentioned yesterday, but the Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed right now and the large shipping lines have stopped all passage. Oil prices are expected to immediately rise 10% to start. Hopefully this goes well and the Strait is opened again very shortly but there is a real risk we get some inflation.

So is it closed out of caution from these companies or Iran? If the first that's understandable and should resolve itself. I read something about insurance but I was skimming past it.

1 minute ago, paco said:

Does that impact gas prices?

Sorry if that’s a dumb question. I have no way of knowing, I drive an EV. Being little more progressive and ahead of the curve keeps me protected from these issues.

haha

Here's what really happened.

Epic Fury
Epstein Files.

Coincidence? I think not.

2 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

So is it closed out of caution from these companies or Iran? If the first that's understandable and should resolve itself. I read something about insurance but I was skimming past it.

They are related of course. Iran has fired on one ship and there were some injuries and a rescue. As long as there is a credible threat the shipping companies won't expose their crew, boats, or cargo. Also, the insurance prices sky rocket. It is all related.

The Strait is very narrow and Iran can hit ships in it from their coast with drones, artillery, or missiles. They can also send out small motor boats from which they can fire on the container ships.