From: Greentrees
To: soc.fen.military
Subj: RE: Worst Case Scenario
"Old Man Tom" wrote:
> And their weak point is their inability to prevent us from dropping asteroids on their population centres in retaliation,
> and if they backed us into a corner like that then that's exactly what would end up happening. And we'd probably have
> international law on our side if we did, because I cannot see how using famine as a weapon of war could be interpreted
> as anything but the deliberate targeting of noncombatants. The United Nations takes a bit of a dim view of that...
First off? "Dropping rocks on them" only works when they can't attack your rock-droppers effectively.
If you really think they can't do that, you have not been paying attention at all.
Remember: The USN and USAF are already up here.
Just because Tom Dodge and Steve Caldwell have been playing fair by us so far and being good neighbors does not mean that they will stay that way if we start dropping shit on American cities. And if you think either of them doesn't already have the launch button that requires two keys to turn, you are completely and utterly out of your mind.
The first thing that will happen the moment anyone starts dropping rocks is that anything doing so will cease to exist. Doesn't matter if it's Random Satellite Number Forty-Six Point Three, or Stellvia. It goes away. Immediately.
Secondly, the US is well aware of the public-relations impact that denying a community access to food will create. And they are very unlikely to be willing to accept that cost. Even Iraq under Hussein, during the worst of the embargo when we were trying to get him to cough up his WMD programs, was allowed to import food and other necessities. You'd have to go back to the Jackson administration to find a US president willing to open that particular can of worms.
Any real conflict between Fenspace and the US is much more likely to be subtler and less obvious than either of these. There will be no direct attacks, no threats. It will take place at the diplomatic negotiating table, and in the halls and forums of our own discussions, and be primarily prosecuted by three-letter agencies. Do not expect it to be like the Boskone War, any conventional guerilla war, or any of Heinlein's or any other writer's novels. It will be something new and shadowy and will probably be over before the general populace realizes it's even gotten serious.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
To: soc.fen.military
Subj: RE: Worst Case Scenario
"Old Man Tom" wrote:
> And their weak point is their inability to prevent us from dropping asteroids on their population centres in retaliation,
> and if they backed us into a corner like that then that's exactly what would end up happening. And we'd probably have
> international law on our side if we did, because I cannot see how using famine as a weapon of war could be interpreted
> as anything but the deliberate targeting of noncombatants. The United Nations takes a bit of a dim view of that...
First off? "Dropping rocks on them" only works when they can't attack your rock-droppers effectively.
If you really think they can't do that, you have not been paying attention at all.
Remember: The USN and USAF are already up here.
Just because Tom Dodge and Steve Caldwell have been playing fair by us so far and being good neighbors does not mean that they will stay that way if we start dropping shit on American cities. And if you think either of them doesn't already have the launch button that requires two keys to turn, you are completely and utterly out of your mind.
The first thing that will happen the moment anyone starts dropping rocks is that anything doing so will cease to exist. Doesn't matter if it's Random Satellite Number Forty-Six Point Three, or Stellvia. It goes away. Immediately.
Secondly, the US is well aware of the public-relations impact that denying a community access to food will create. And they are very unlikely to be willing to accept that cost. Even Iraq under Hussein, during the worst of the embargo when we were trying to get him to cough up his WMD programs, was allowed to import food and other necessities. You'd have to go back to the Jackson administration to find a US president willing to open that particular can of worms.
Any real conflict between Fenspace and the US is much more likely to be subtler and less obvious than either of these. There will be no direct attacks, no threats. It will take place at the diplomatic negotiating table, and in the halls and forums of our own discussions, and be primarily prosecuted by three-letter agencies. Do not expect it to be like the Boskone War, any conventional guerilla war, or any of Heinlein's or any other writer's novels. It will be something new and shadowy and will probably be over before the general populace realizes it's even gotten serious.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.