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 Post subject: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 28th, 2010, 6:12 pm 
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You guys probably know I like to take controversial stances on issues. One issue I have thought over and over about is the usefulness of things like the United Nations and NATO. The UN can be a testy topic for some people, so I'll just stick to NATO for now. Is it worthwhile to keep NATO? The reason for asking this question goes back to the beginnings of the Cold War and the need for an organization of countries to work and defend against the spread of communism. But since the Cold War is over and the communist threat is mostly behind us, what is the purpose for keeping an organization like NATO around?

I personally think it has outlived it's use. Granted, the things that came of it were useful in their time. But with the Soviet Union gone, why do they still need it? The only thing that keeps the organization going to money and jobs. Because so many people have been taken into NATO, it's hard to imagine getting rid of it anytime soon. But I wouldn't see a problem in the United States leaving it as the other countries can mostly fend for themselves at this point. Anyone else have thoughts about NATO??? :-s

What is NATO? (according to the NATO website)

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PostPosted: April 28th, 2010, 6:12 pm 
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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 28th, 2010, 8:42 pm 
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Duke Juker wrote:
You guys probably know I like to take controversial stances on issues. One issue I have thought over and over about is the usefulness of things like the United Nations and NATO. The UN can be a testy topic for some people, so I'll just stick to NATO for now. Is it worthwhile to keep NATO? The reason for asking this question goes back to the beginnings of the Cold War and the need for an organization of countries to work and defend against the spread of communism. But since the Cold War is over and the communist threat is mostly behind us, what is the purpose for keeping an organization like NATO around?

I personally think it has outlived it's use. Granted, the things that came of it were useful in their time. But with the Soviet Union gone, why do they still need it? The only thing that keeps the organization going to money and jobs. Because so many people have been taken into NATO, it's hard to imagine getting rid of it anytime soon. But I wouldn't see a problem in the United States leaving it as the other countries can mostly fend for themselves at this point. Anyone else have thoughts about NATO??? :-s

What is NATO? (according to the NATO website)



I think that NATO is vital in countries in the middle east like afghanistan and other war-torn ones. And places where rebels stop supplies going into poverty-affected areas. These are countries that need nato. But as soon as these goverments allow the aid to come through (if they allow it), they either kill people when they are getting the aid (including people that hand it out), or stockpile it out of reach.

Since the U.S. plays a major part in it, i don't see them backing out anytime soon.

Cheers, dafin0 :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 28th, 2010, 10:38 pm 
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US is in many many countries. we have troops in germany for flights and medical facilities. in japan is basically a giant naval base. korea just to make sure NK doesn't come in.

get rid of nato will hurt us. in order to get to iraq, we need to fly to germany before we fly to iraq. mostly to resupply and rest. now think of the troops that are wounded. no NATO we could not be stationed in basically any country without some form of permission. if the wounded people had to fly from iraq to the US, and supplies had to go straight from US to iraq it would be a logistical nightmare. remember between us and iraq there is a lot of water in a straight line.

and remember one thing duke, we have tried the isolation movement. it brought us more trouble and another war.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 29th, 2010, 6:06 am 
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NATO does more than you realize i think. Not only is it a nice alliance between Europe and America (something thats in your best interest anyway) it also serves as a rather big threat to any other country that might get to big for it's boots. An attack on one of us means an attack on all of us. That alone justifies it's existance.

If you see no use for it you should look at your current war. You wasn't fighting or funding that one alone and you still aren't. Not to meantion all the peace keeping and aid NATO supplies. It's good for the world and it's good for the countries involved.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 29th, 2010, 7:07 pm 
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@trekkie
One this about the US is that their military is extremely mobile and advanced, able to reach almost any part of the world rapidly and efficiently. Though bases help, the US depends heavily on it's Air Force and Navy for transportation. Carrier's are basically floating bases that can carry a ton of things needed for any conflict and rapid deployment. Although we do need permission to get bases, also realize that we have a navy that spreads out very far and is able to react on a moments notice. Granted, it does help to have allies near an area of conflict for very rapid response, but the US can do just fine with what resources it currently has (or so it seems).

And I do realize isolation and containment were a big part of Cold War strategy against the Soviet Union that led to some problems... 1) Korea, 2) China, 3) Cuba, and 4) Vietnam to name most of the major ones. Frankly, I tend to take side with Washington and some of the other founding fathers of the country who said entangling alliances were a bad idea. No matter how nice alliances are, they usually cause more trouble than anything. World War I and II were primarily super sized due to the fact countries had so many alliances to begin with. Without those alliances, people wouldn't be dragged into war as easily. I'm all for helping people out, but not through alliances.

@Creepy
Perhaps NATO has come to do more than it was originally intended for. But my qualm is that it practically met its main goal of keeping the Soviet Juggernaut in check during the Cold War. I'd argue also that had it not been for the US, the Soviet Union wouldn't have gave a hoot about the rest of the countries in the alliance. The Soviets were more afraid of the US and its nukes then the NATO Alliance (although the US was a main component of it). Granted, NATO did help make the Soviets reconsider, but it was mostly the US that kept the Soviets at bay. A war torn Europe couldn't have lasted long against the strength of the Soviet military at the end of World War II had the US turned a blind eye to them. And I don't think it's fully in our best interests to be part of NATO any longer, in the sense we allow our troops and funding to be used by other countries for their own purposes. And honestly, though the attack on one is an attack on all statement is nice, what it really really boils down to is US backing. Amazingly, the US funding for the Department of Defense is off the charts. You'd be surprised by how much money we pour into it and NATO and all the other organizations we are part of. Anyways, those are my thoughts on the issue.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 30th, 2010, 5:38 am 
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It's funny because Hitler thought Europe wasn't going to put up a fight either because of world war 1 he was so convinced of that fact that he went ahead and invaded poland. I think France and a little island just off them warned him about that.

With that said America is the largest contributor to NATO this is true it's also the country that sat out most of world war 2 and happily took advantage whoops i meant traded with boths sides during WW1. So we'll call it even.

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in the sense we allow our troops and funding to be used by other countries for their own purposes.


That's a laugh as well. Iraq. Afghanistan. I don't know of any other NATO countries at war right now. I don't know the details off the top of my head about the agreement but I'm fairly sure funds from NATO countries are going towards that. Most certainly British funds and troops are there. Not to meantion them allowing US troops access to there countries.

You go on about oh it's about American backing - It's America at war. It's America threatened by China. It's America threatened by north korea. It's America threatened by Russia. Seems to me it's more in your favour than it is anyone elses. It's also odd you think Russia has rolled over and died your government doesn't believe so, in fact it was trying to set up missles in NATO countries in defence of an attack. Nor do i think America would of stepped in against russia if it wasn't **** scared of them. Still is.

I'm almost talking myself out of NATO needing to exist here it seems rather bad for my country. But i see the benefits of having America backing us. You are correct in that sense. If America will come through when we need them is another question and one I'm not completely certain on frankly.

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PostPosted: April 30th, 2010, 5:38 am 
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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 30th, 2010, 9:23 am 
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remember one thing duke. we created the league of nations. then we said forget it, it's your problem.

then the allies without US help said germany has to pay for everything.
then the world went bankrupt because all of the stocks for germany went down causing a global meltdown.

if we were actually part of the league of nations, we could have actually helped germany and the allies to rebuild. instead we said you guys fix it we're staying here.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: April 30th, 2010, 1:25 pm 
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@Creepy
That's understandable. The one thing about missile bases, though. Since we now have intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines positioned in various spots around the world, the need for land based missiles near Russia has gone down significantly. Initially, we didn't have long range capabilities and submarines that could provide a nuclear strike force. We still had to use bombers and air bases and missile bases. But since we have advanced so much, I think that it's fair to say in that regard missile bases are no longer that important. The only other point of contention is that I realize that the US stayed out of World War I for quite a while and did some trade with both sides, though primarily taking side with the allies more I believe. If I remember correctly, U-Boats were a major problem for us in World War I and one of the contributing factors to why we joined the allies and not Germany. Which makes me wonder how much the US was helping Germany if they were torpedoing our ships. :?

@trekkie
The League of Nations was a major flop for a lot of reasons. Wilson pushed it at wars end, but when it came before Congress, they shut it down. The US didn't want to be part of the League of Nations at the time and as a result, it wasn't as strong an entity as it could have been. The League of Nations was pretty much the United Nations more improved and with the US involved. Still, I'm more focused on NATO than the League of Nations. Germany was punished badly and as a result, it would hurt the world and come back to bite everyone. The Depression didn't come right away. In the US, it wouldn't come for another 10 years or so. The one thing about World War I is practically in the name. No war of this scale had really ever happened before. And the number of casualties on both sides were devastating. No one had ever dealt with a war like this until now and didn't have the foresight to see punishing Germany the way they did was a bad idea. It would end up leading to Hitler's rise, World War II, and eventually the Cold War. So, in fairness, the League of Nations couldn't have been what the United Nations is today. But, because this was the first time a war like this had actually happened, no one was ready to assign restitution to Germany that would be more hurtful than harmful.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: May 1st, 2010, 7:35 am 
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Naa I'm talking about this.

You didn't know about this? I'd have presumed ***** russia off to the point where it was on the edge of war would of made it in the news there. I think you guys backed down in the end.

Your government still seems to think it needs the defence. From Iran according to that news article actually. Add that to the list of angsty countrys out to get you. It'd stop any Russian attacks as well tho.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: May 1st, 2010, 12:44 pm 
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Well, of course, they aren't going to be happy when a nearby country has US nuclear missiles in it. I still this that if the US wanted to respond to Russia with nukes, they have so many nukes in different spots that for Russia to call us out on nukes in Poland is quite irrelevant. The fact would still remain that we would nuke the crap out of them if they started a nuclear war. Poland, imo, is the least of their problems. Our capabilities are so advanced, land bases have become less important except for proximity purposes. Also, the article didn't mention NATO once to my knowledge, making the standoff mostly between Russia and the US, somewhat showing how the Russians aren't as interested in NATO as they are in US military strength.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: May 1st, 2010, 1:35 pm 
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Duke Juker wrote:
Well, of course, they aren't going to be happy when a nearby country has US nuclear missiles in it. I still this that if the US wanted to respond to Russia with nukes, they have so many nukes in different spots that for Russia to call us out on nukes in Poland is quite irrelevant. The fact would still remain that we would nuke the crap out of them if they started a nuclear war. Poland, imo, is the least of their problems. Our capabilities are so advanced, land bases have become less important except for proximity purposes. Also, the article didn't mention NATO once to my knowledge, making the standoff mostly between Russia and the US, somewhat showing how the Russians aren't as interested in NATO as they are in US military strength.


This wasn't nukes in poland it was a defence grid. It was supposed to shoot down incoming missles. Your latest president backed down when he came into power. Nuke the crap out of em eh? Interesting choice of words considering they've got the largest supply of nukes in the world. There the last people you want to be firing a nuclear bomb at!

Poland is apart of NATO. Poland had agreed to allow you to place missles in there country to defend yourselves and every other NATO country from future attacks.. It's a NATO missle defence grid. Russia naturally gets angry over that not because America has nukes that it can fire at it - America has always had that and it's always been a stand off because Russia can fire a **** lot more back at you. Suddenly you've got all these allies helping you out and giving you a huge tactical and military advantage over them.

Course all that is jip now because the country that Russia fears so much backed off. Which leads me back to a previous question i raised; Will America come through for US and live up to THERE end of the deal when push comes to shove? Will they stick by NATO? Naturally them backing out was looked upon poorly by a lot of people and pretty much answers that question i think.

Which leads me to wonder if we're better off with Russia in NATO and not America. Both as slippery as each other tho i suspect. It's a pity theres Europe between you. I'd prefer it if you was next to each other i think this dispute would of ended long long ago.

NATO is needed. It's a good step in the right direction for unity across the planet. A defence grid sheilding America and Europe from outside attack would of been an incredible step forward and perhaps will happen in the future if terms can be agreed. If you can't see the point in that then i give up you wont see reason.

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 Post subject: Re: NATO and its purpose
PostPosted: May 1st, 2010, 2:03 pm 
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CreepyPirate wrote:
Duke Juker wrote:
Well, of course, they aren't going to be happy when a nearby country has US nuclear missiles in it. I still this that if the US wanted to respond to Russia with nukes, they have so many nukes in different spots that for Russia to call us out on nukes in Poland is quite irrelevant. The fact would still remain that we would nuke the crap out of them if they started a nuclear war. Poland, imo, is the least of their problems. Our capabilities are so advanced, land bases have become less important except for proximity purposes. Also, the article didn't mention NATO once to my knowledge, making the standoff mostly between Russia and the US, somewhat showing how the Russians aren't as interested in NATO as they are in US military strength.


This wasn't nukes in poland it was a defence grid. It was supposed to shoot down incoming missles. Your latest president backed down when he came into power. Nuke the crap out of em eh? Interesting choice of words considering they've got the largest supply of nukes in the world. There the last people you want to be firing a nuclear bomb at!

Poland is apart of NATO. Poland had agreed to allow you to place missles in there country to defend yourselves and every other NATO country from future attacks.. It's a NATO missle defence grid. Russia naturally gets angry over that not because America has nukes that it can fire at it - America has always had that and it's always been a stand off because Russia can fire a **** lot more back at you. Suddenly you've got all these allies helping you out and giving you a huge tactical and military advantage over them.

Course all that is jip now because the country that Russia fears so much backed off. Which leads me back to a previous question i raised; Will America come through for US and live up to THERE end of the deal when push comes to shove? Will they stick by NATO? Naturally them backing out was looked upon poorly by a lot of people and pretty much answers that question i think.

Which leads me to wonder if we're better off with Russia in NATO and not America. Both as slippery as each other tho i suspect. It's a pity theres Europe between you. I'd prefer it if you was next to each other i think this dispute would of ended long long ago.

NATO is needed. It's a good step in the right direction for unity across the planet. A defence grid sheilding America and Europe from outside attack would of been an incredible step forward and perhaps will happen in the future if terms can be agreed. If you can't see the point in that then i give up you wont see reason.

My mistake. A missile defense grid. The one thing you aren't seeming to grasp is the destructive power one nuke has. Nuclear weapons have the capability to wipe out entire cities. It is frankley irrelevant how many nukes Russia or we have at this point. The fact of the matter is, we have enough nukes combined to destroy the world roughly 50 times over. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Russia and the US have the exact same number of nukes at around 2200. With the last arms treaty, that number is supposed to be reduced to 1500. There are some loopholes in that and some things not covered by the treaty, but on the whole, the nuclear ***** of both countries should be roughly equal. That aside, it doesn't take that mane nuclear weapons to destroy an entire country like Russia.

And again, it's not necessarily that NATO has military strength, but that the proximity of those countries is threatening to Russia. Russia is not that close to the US (except for Alaska which isn't that great of an invasion or attacking point). The fact we can have bases and troops close to Russia is what frustrates them. Still, land bases are not as key as naval and aerial superiority.

Of course, the US does come under question as to what they will do when pressured. I believe that in order for the US to respond to moves by Russia, the consequences and event have to be dire. With the Cuban Missile Crisis, you can see that even at extremes, the US kept calm for the most part and forced the Soviets to back off. With that in mind, I believe it would take a lot in order for the US to act with most or all of it's capabilities. By then, it would be a very critical situation.

And it's not that Europe is necessarily in between. Both countries could just as easily launch missiles over the arctic circle or over Alaska. The thing about NATO was that the Soviets had their eye set on expanding into Europe, esp. after WWII. We had to form NATO immediately to show the backing the US would offer to Europe in case of Soviet invasion.

Your last statement is somewhat confusing. First off, shouldn't the UN be dealing with global unity, not NATO? How would a defense grid provide for global unity and/or peace? Seems like the Russians would never be satisfied to let that happen. Someone would always get the short end of the stick in that type of deal. I can see global unity would be nice and all, but the means to achieving it are flawed from your perspective. I don't think NATO is the entity that should be driving towards global unity. That's what the UN is for. And if the UN is there for that purpose, then what does that do to your reason for why NATO should continue to exist? :?

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