Sorry to keep you in suspense, I was fiddling with Photoshop for a bit. Here ya go. The French had the Apache anti-runway missle earlier, but this link mentions it in passing in discussing the stealth missiles used in Iraq recently by both France and Britain.
When you’re talking about something the size of a cruise missile, it’s not as much of a problem as it is with, say, a bomber.
I’m still inclined to guess that it’s bluff – but it’s not completely unlikely.
Not sure. You’re equating the two while (I assume) holding fast that every situation in world politics is unique.
What is happening in Iran today isn’t the same as what is going on in Iraq. Or Irak.
If your flower comment is supposed to mean something, I’d ask for cites of Iraqi’s that don’t want the Americans there. Oh, that’s right. The one’s you see on the news are the ones that were killing civilians for decades, before the US was ever there. The same one’s that get all the press for fighting the (in your mind) Evil Aggressor[sup]TM[/sup].
You want pics of people holding flowers for American forces? Sorry. Doesn’t sell. The hospitals get built, the schools get funded, women are able to teach girls to read without the fear of being stoned to death.
But that ain’t sexy enough for a population that derides military action and calls on those that don’t serve while not serving themselves. That bullshit is on the boat and long-ago sailed. I know (trust me, I’ve been a member here long enough), that anyone that doesn’t fight in an active theater of conflict is morally wrong in seding in the troops.
When we heard this shit about Clinton (yeah, I said it) that he couldn’t be Commander-in-Chief because he protested outside the country and avoided even a chance of shirking duty, since he never went through even basic training, it wasn’t something we should be concerned about. Then we were supposed to be worried about a volunteer pilot in the ANG that didn’t show up for…what was it? (Roll d20) A dental appointment or something?
Remember Tito? If you’re under the age of 30 you probably don’t. He was a minor-Dictator of what many of you think of as a minor country. Like Hussein, he kept peace with draconian rule and mass murders, and any dissent was met with swift death.
The US led the charge into that area. The “Blues” were in essence there to help, but mostly got in the way.
The Muslims were being slaughtered, and the US rode in to restore peace. Many accusations were made of the US (even by the GOP at the time) that we were “Nation Building”. But after all these years, with our oppressive oversight, there is a relative peace.
The citizens of Yugoslavia were oppressed by a Soviet puppet dictator for decades. Afraid to stand up for their basic rights. Afraid of accepting the “oppressive, impirialistic, dominating” American forces that gave them a chance to speak freely of their hate for America. Or love of it. They were allowed, for once, to speak their mind.
It’s their right, and America helped them gain that freedom.
Oh, I should also mention that after a decade, they still have some problems. It should be expected since we’re dealing with people where nothing is cut and dried. Kind of like these boards.
For 50 years some Germans had to deal with a government that didn’t allow dissent. An OP-ED piece could earn a death sentence. A Soviet doctor’s contact with a Western colleague could be seen as conspiring with the enemy for discussing anything that deflected glory from Moscow.
Good thing we had the patience to wait some of this out. I wonder what the world would be like if the above situations were under a strict 4 year timeline.
Nope. But since you do, I’m looking for a hint to get the bet down in Vegas. I need some capital for my takeover. 
Of course, it won’t matter since Iran has stealth missles.
If I could bring up a minor detail, I’d like an answer to your statement.
Iran (well, the psychos in charge) said Israel should be wiped off the map. They’ve been actively promoting terrorist attacks and the general annhiliation of any Jewish state. They’ve signed a few checks. (To, um, suicide bomber’s families) As did Saddam, so maybe that isn’t such a big deal to some here.
Saddam is the only leader to wage war with Iran in the last quarter century. Even after the hostage deal that lasted over a year (thanks Jimmy) the US hasn’t done shit to attack Iran.
If Iran has a problem with the US supporting Israel, because Muslims want to kill Jews, that isn’t our (US) bitch.
We didn’t accept the Christian Hitler when he tried to extermimate the Jews, we’re not going to back down to the Mullahs.
And don’t accuse me of Godwinizing this. I’m not the one that made this a religious matter. The radical Muslims want to kill all Jews. And as a Catholic, I firmly stand with my Jewish brethren in their right to worship freely. And I firmly stand with the Muslims that want to worship freely. And I firmly stand with atheist’s that want to freely not worship.
When Catholics, Bhuddists, Atheists, Deists, Baptists, etc. start to riot, destroy and kill, I’ll consider joining a religion of peace. Until then, Islam isn’t for me.
Seriously, they need a better PR firm. Bombing their own Mosques isn’t a selling pont. Especially “holy shrines” that have stood for centuries and hold the remains of revered Imams.
Maybe Saddam’s heavy hand was just delaying a civil war that has been building for decades? Centuries?
I was waiting breathlessly in hopeful anticipation. 
Thanks for the cites…appreciated. I really didn’t realize that stealth technology was so pervasive.
-XT
That first sentence is really obtuse; an answer to a statement?
I have a few questions of my own:
How do you know that the folks in charge of Iran are psychos?
How do you square the supposed love of the Iranian on the street for the west with their obvious penchant for electing psychotically anti-western leaders?
Talk is cheap, all of Iran’s anti-west/anti-Israel actions so far, have been trivial. Shall we invade France because they burn down a few synagogues? Shall we invade Israel because they bulldoze a few houses? What is the point of working yourself up into a hissy fit over some harsh words and a few minor transgressions. Is the United States now responsible for ensuring that every country in the world gets along with every other country?
Well, I haven’t examined them. Of course, I never made an official diagnosis that they’re psycotics. That was opinion. But I appreciate the weight of my opinion you grant me.
I square it with iPods. And the applications to US Universities. And applications to American coporations. And the demand for Levi jeans. And Nike’s.
If you want to focus on Israel, have at it. France? Yeah, I’m sure there were no Muslims invovled in burning the synagogues.
I don’t want the US to be reponsible for any country to exist peacably. As an American, I hope all countries can get along. Without our help.
Isn’t that what the UN is for?
Sometimes, though, the playground monitor has to step in and say playtime is over. Like it or not, when the shit hits the fan, somebody has to step up and get everyone in line. At this point in history, it’s the US.
It pisses people off, but someone has to do it. Sometimes popularity takes a backseat to taking care of business.
WWII V-1 / V-2?
No, it was a subtle way of calling you a fucking idiot who should keep his mouth shut when it comes to foreign policy since you all you do is swallow whatever jizz shoots out of Bush’s dick.
And what the fuck would you know about it? Again, you were the one who bought the “flowers and candy” line from this administration when it came to Iraq. Did you learn nothing?
How about this?
The rest of your post is just standard garbage spouted from the conservative party line.
With General Salami, every victory is delicious!
Hope this isn’t too much of a hijack…
Given the rather sad state of antimissile technology, why does any military need a stealth missile? You’re going to hit the target unimipeded whether the enemy knows its coming or not. I suppose if the target is mobile, that might help, but typically cruise missiles are targeting completely stationary targets. Is the idea to kill as many hostiles as possible whilst wrecking their buildings/bases/whatever?
I’m not a military expert, but here’s my thoughts :
1 : Antimissle systems can provide some defense to smallish areas; point defense, it’s called. That’s IIRC one of the problems with using Patriots against Scuds in GW 1 to defend Israel. The Patriots that hit just knocked the Scuds off course; good enough to, say, defend a relatively small military base or force, but fairly pointless against an already inaccurate missle targeted on a large city.
2 : The “It’s cool !” factor. A lot of military procurement/research is screwed up because one particular technology is “sexier” than another, like the way improved transport planes, say, tend to get less R&D time than fighter jets.
Ahem… Irak and Afghanistan are different countries, you know. Women were perfectly able to teach girls without any fear before the war. On the other the status of women is now becoming a problem du to some extremists.
Tito a soviet puppet dictator??? You were mentionning unaware posters under 30 of age previously, but I think your over 30 memory must be a little blurry…
Ahem… Irak and Afghanistan are different countries, you know. Women were perfectly able to teach girls without any fear before the war. On the other the status of women is now becoming a problem du to some extremists.
Tito a soviet puppet dictator??? You were mentionning unaware posters under 30 of age previously, but I think your over 30 memory must be a little blurry…
Well, we aren’t talking about stealth ICBMs here. They’re stealth cruise missiles which can indeed be shot down since they’re generally going at subsonic speeds. If you catch one early enough on radar, you could have the nearest aircraft knock it down.
Look at who you’re talking to. I wouldn’t count on it.
O.K. I guess I was under the mistaken impression that modern cruise missiles were a bit faster, and very difficult to take out.
Cute.
That 246 mph Underwater Torpedo/Rocket they developed is pretty impressive though. They got their backs against the wall.
I saw the article about Iran’s “Fastest Toperdo in the World” today.
And apparently invisible to RADAR, per their spokesmen.
Why this matters, I have no clue, because typically you use SONAR to find torpedos.
IIRC, radar cannot penetrate water, so it’s technically the truth . . . for this and every other torpedo that has ever existed.
Personally, I’ll believe it when an objective 3rd party gets a look at it running.