Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site mnetor.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!clewis From: clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Arming our Forces Message-ID: <2069@mnetor.UUCP> Date: Mon, 9-Sep-85 12:43:48 EDT Article-I.D.: mnetor.2069 Posted: Mon Sep 9 12:43:48 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 9-Sep-85 14:16:39 EDT References: <1371@utcsri.UUCP> <2043@mnetor.UUCP> <1265@ubc-cs.UUCP> Reply-To: clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis) Distribution: can Organization: Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lines: 80 Summary: In article <1265@ubc-cs.UUCP> ludemann@ubc-cs.UUCP (Peter Ludemann) writes: >In article <2043@mnetor.UUCP> clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis) writes: >>>... >>>We are presently at peace with the entire world, including the USSR. >> >>We were in 1938 too. >> >I have a 65 year old friend who was talking about how he volunteered >to be a U.S. Navy officer in 1936 or so (to avoid being drafted into >a branch of the forces that he didn't want). He told me that it was >obvious that there would be a war. It was obvious to a lot of people who read the news. However, most politicians, and probably the vast majority of the people refused to believe that one was coming (at least in the years before 1936, say). Though, in 1938 it was getting obvious enough that even the politicians noticed. >So far, he sees no evidence of >a war coming, and if it were serious enough to involve Canada, I >doubt that that anyone would survive anyway (nuclear winter and all that). IF it were nuclear. Why should it be nuclear? There have been hundreds of non-nuclear wars since 1945. We HAVE been involved in a quite a few too, some in a very big way (eg: Korea) - though not as (primary) antagonists. We are FAR more likely to be involved in a conventional war - just going by recent history. As far as "no evidence of a war coming", well, I'm not so sure about that. With the middle-east continuously brewing, and sucking more into the mire, along with the latest couple of airline bombings, I start getting a little worried. Think about it for a while - isn't the current situation, w.r.t. actual conflict, WORSE than it was in, say, 1936? (Eg: Isn't Afghanistan and/or Nicarauga/El Salvador sort of equivalent to the revolution in Spain and/or takeover of Austria?) What would have happened if we had sent peace-keepers to Lebanon as had been suggested? We might have ended up at war with the Shi'ites just like the US of A and France. Maybe not a "country-to-country" war, but, why not "country-to-terrorist"? With the terrorists getting high-technology weapons (up to and including the odd fighter aircraft), and state-supported terrorism (eg: Libya or Iran) you can't be sure that we won't get into a head-to-head engagement with well-equipped terrorist organizations. Maybe BECAUSE we try to be nice to everybody. Just like most police casualities occur during attempts to break up domestic disturbances. >If the Yankees and Russkies want to slug it out, there's >nothing we can do (except try to talk gently to them). I agree totally. But that's not the only way we could be presented with a war. >As for the rest, let's try to remain at peace with everyone. Certainly. I'm hardly a warmonger. A realist maybe. Things that have happened before frequently happen again. I, for one, would like to be prepared for such a event. Okay, I'll admit "unlikely event". After all, we were at peace with Germany until we declared war on them. We didn't really have to. Several of King's aides resigned because they were so strongly recommending that we stay out. The article I read (sorry, cannot remember where I saw it) on the leadup to King's decision is quite interesting. >I don't need to carry a shotgun whenever I go over to my neighbour's >to discuss the state of our mutual fence. No, not normally. But if he's occasionally shooting across my property at my other neighbor's windows, prudence suggests.... Either that, or call the cops. But if your neighbor IS the local sheriff, and the other is the sheriff for the next county over...? And the rest of your neighbors occasionally throw garbage cans at each other? I'd move, but the cost of moving out the neighborhood is skyhigh! :-) Maybe I'll have to stow-away on one of my neighbors vacation trips. -- Chris Lewis, UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321