that said, peace, bro

The truth – that the Russians only had about thirteen thousand men, and the Georgians roughly the same in their order of battle fighting on their home turf, AND THEY STILL BROKE AND RAN – is much harder for you to swallow.

In fact, the Georgians did have Israeli made UAVs, night vision goggles, U.S. supplied Marine BDUs (check the camoflage pattern from the Paliwood-type Georgian soldier who kept popping up dead or wounded in all the AP photos)…certainly some equipment the Russians didn’t have. And they still lost. Obviously they would have been overwhelmed eventually by superior numbers from Russia, no one disputes that. But this isn’t what happened at all. A force that marched confidently into South Ossetia believing that Russia would stand aside instead got shellacked in 72 hours. And the Russians lied to the media about going to Gori? So did Stormin’ Norman right before Desert Storm. Disinformation is a fact of war.

And spare me all the preparations for war stuff. Both sides prepared in advance, except the Russians had better SIGINT from Saako personally directing the battle from his cellphone like any arrogant Ivy Leaguer might try to do, plus probably some disaffected Georgians who reported his war plan in advance. So…does the fact that Russia is bigger and has more competent intelligence services prove that Georgia was an innocent victim? Hardly.

The fifteen ACTUAL Russian armored divisions you describe probably have not existed except on paper since 1993. There are probably only two or three ready to fight on ten weeks notice if that. Hell, the one and a half division that went in to S. Ossetia was the cream of the crop (mostly paid volunteers not conscripts) and they still had to be spun up with exercises and be right across the tunnel to perform well.

You are living in a fantasy world where somehow you can simultaneously believe that Russia is dying off demographically AND still can maintain a million strong force as opposed to 200,000-300,000 contract soldiers with a whole bunch of one year conscripts who may or may not actually be in a barracks somewhere between Vyborg and Vladivostok, or may only report on paper while developing a truly alarming number of respiratory illnesses. I daresay even some of the crazy disease statistics you hear about young Russian men might simply be a consequence of ducking the draft rather than reality.

That’s it, I’m done arguing with idiots.

MORAL OF THE WORK ~

In War: Resolution
In Defeat: Defiance
In Victory: Magnanimity
In Peace: Good Will

THEME OF THE VOLUME ~

How the British people held the fort ALONE till those who had been half blind were half ready ~

Something to remember on this day of remembrance

For a brief discussion of fallout patterns, check this:

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/12/gamma-radiation-from-surface-burst.html

Your post exactly illustrates my call for greater civil defense education and awareness. For most people in an urban target area, outside of the direct blast effects, sheltering in place is the correct move. For others, it is fatal without an adequate shielding – feet of dirt or concrete.

The risk, as you pointed out, is that people who should shelter get up and start running across the fallout patterns, thereby overexposing themselves to fatal radiation and people who should get up and move, shelter without adequate shielding.

In a panic mood, both groups get in each others’ way and everyone suffers.

The government will broadcast fallout predictions and recommendations within 15 minutes or so. People need to pay attention and follow directions!

Today, as I do every year, I have placed flowers on the memorial to the memory of the crew of B-24D Liberator No. 41-24282 BAR Y ‘Ruth Less’ of 506 Squadron 44th Bombardment Group 8th USAAF who died February 2nd 1944 returning from a raid over Germany in a badly damaged aircraft and in low cloud at that spot on the Downs above my house here in Eastbourne, England.

I am an ex-UK Serviceman – aircrew in the Royal Air Force. I have served in many parts of the world with servicemen from the United States. I have never heard one single one of them, ever, voice anything like your foul remark.

Today is 11th November, when we remember the Fallen.

I strongly suggest that you keep your ignorant remarks, and appalling English, to yourself.

What civilisation?

But then Georgia has been at war with the Volga peoples for 800 years –about 750 of them before the USA began to get accused by the Kremlin of being ‘the problem with Georgia’.

Really, Mr X, really. Credibility is immportant, you know, in the hortatory didactic pedagogy biz.