# 5 most strongest countries. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672 "2011-01-23T17:26:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/82 "2011-01-25T16:53:50Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > China, South Korea, and Japan in descendent order of reverse. America and Germany. This is the least informative sentence I have ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/83 "2011-01-25T16:56:58Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] One reason the Iraqi Army was considered so formidable was not only it’s size but the presumption that it had a huge pool of “battle-hardened veterans” from the Iran-Iraq war. It turned out to be more “battle-weary”, but that was only in hindsight. [/QUOTE] That and they were fighting from prepared, fixed defenses which (before combat started and these were shown to be death traps) were presumed to balance the odds somewhat. I don’t believe that anyone (including Saddam or his generals) ever thought seriously that Iraq could win the confrontation, but my own memories were that a lot of supposedly knowledgeable folks were predicting it could turn into a blood bath all around, and that the US and our allies could take substantial casualties. -XT ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/84 "2011-01-25T16:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] This is the least informative sentence I have ever seen. [/QUOTE] Platypus hopscotch. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/85 "2011-01-25T17:03:12Z")
That’s not a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/86 "2011-01-25T17:06:15Z")
Are you sure? If someone said ‘What is that marsupial over there up too’, and I responded with ‘Platypus hopscotch’, would this not be considered a valid sentence? Or would I need to including ‘Playing’ in there to complete it? 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/87 "2011-01-25T17:29:58Z")
In that case, you are deriving the implied subject, verb and object from the context. What you’re really saying is, “that is a platypus playing hopscotch”. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/88 "2011-01-25T17:37:37Z")
pretty much anything can be a sentence if it’s exclamative. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/89 "2011-01-25T17:44:00Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What you’re really saying is, “that is a platypus playing hopscotch”. Only on the SDMB could a debate regarding the world’s strongest military powers devolve into a nitpicky discussion about monotrematic playground games… ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/90 "2011-01-25T17:46:19Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Only on the SDMB could a debate regarding the world’s strongest military powers devolve into a nitpicky discussion about monotrematic playground games… You’ve never had a Pentagon meeting, I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/91 "2011-01-25T17:53:26Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Only on the SDMB could a debate regarding the world’s strongest military powers devolve into a nitpicky discussion about monotrematic playground games… Erm… how about, “that is the aircraft carrier _RNS Platypus_ taking part in Operation Hopscotch”? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/92 "2011-01-25T18:34:20Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > That cite doesn’t support what was stated. What **clairobscur** was talking about was the claim that Iraq was the third strongest military power in the world. The cite says that Iraq had the fourth largest army in the world. That cite does support what I stated, which was that people were claiming it was the 4th largest, not the 3rd most powerful. It was being provided to get **clairobscur** to either provide a cite or back down from his claim that they were ever presented as 3rd most powerful. Sorry if that was unclear. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/93 "2011-01-25T21:18:06Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > No cite, indeed. All from memory, because it struck me as a difficult to swallow statement when it began to be mentioned, definitely during the preparation of Gulf War I, and never before (during the Iran-Irak war, for instance). > > As for it being propaganda, it was just an assumption on my part at the time (and still now), because why otherwise would such a point be made? > > The only possible way Irak could have had the 3rd military in the world would have been in sheer numbers (and I’m not even convinced it ranked that high. At least the USA, Russia and China had to have more soldiers). Iraq having the 3rd/4th largest army/military was based on numbers; probably the number of divisions as well as manpower. Iraq had 55 divisions while the US Army had 18 active and 10 National Guard divisions for a total of 28. Counting divisions can be very deceptive as an indicator of actual military power though, as this clearly demonstrates. As to why the point would be made if not for propaganda and the overblown estimations of Iraq prior to the war, it should be remembered that before the war the last time the US military had seen serious combat was in Vietnam. The failure of US arms in Vietnam left a scar on the American psyche of self-doubt and uncertainty. It’s still impossible for some to admit that the US lost in Vietnam, to quote Red Foreman from That 70’s Show “We didn’t lose the war, it was a tie.” The long lead time necessitated to build up the force for Desert Storm from August until January the next year left the media with plenty of time to stew it over and little else to report on. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/94 "2011-01-25T21:59:16Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > IraAs to why the point would be made if not for propaganda and the overblown estimations of Iraq prior to the war, it should be remembered that before the war the last time the US military had seen serious combat was in Vietnam. The failure of US arms in Vietnam left a scar on the American psyche of self-doubt and uncertainty. It’s still impossible for some to admit that the US lost in Vietnam, to quote Red Foreman from That 70’s Show “We didn’t lose the war, it was a tie.” The long lead time necessitated to build up the force for Desert Storm from August until January the next year left the media with plenty of time to stew it over and little else to report on. Well, to be frank, we didn’t lose the war; we just chose not to win it. The Vietnam war was a pulled-punches war the entire time it was fought - accounting for the fact that even I came to oppose it. ---
**Author:** ![Aferim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Aferim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aferim)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/95 "2011-01-25T22:01:44Z")
There is a Muslim country in the top 5, if we ignore nukes. Can anyone guess which one it is? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/96 "2011-01-25T22:03:03Z")
Turkey? -XT ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/97 "2011-01-25T22:10:00Z")
Indonesia? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/98 "2011-01-25T22:10:48Z")
Sweden? ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/99 "2011-01-25T22:25:25Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Well, to be frank, we didn’t lose the war; we just chose not to win it. See what I mean? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/100 "2011-01-25T23:24:19Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Well, to be frank, we didn’t lose the war; we just chose not to win it. The Vietnam war was a pulled-punches war the entire time it was fought - accounting for the fact that even I came to oppose it. That’s hilarious. Man, the US _lost_ the war. You can spin it for ever, but you lost. Unless the British didn’t lose the American revolution. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672/101 "2011-01-26T00:14:04Z")
That’s a bad analogy. The British had a direct stake in the Revolutionary War, where as the US had an indirect or even perhiperal stake in the Vietnamese civil war/conflict. The South Vietnamese lost the war. The US pulled out and left them to face the music. The North Vietnamese won, though they paid a heavy price for that victory. -XT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-most-strongest-countries/568672.md?page=6)