Syria: US Involvement

ren wrote: The legion is elite, they fight where no-one else wants to fight, train in the harshest places on earth, and would commit genocide against SAS or US rangers without even breaking a sweat. They don't surrender, they don't abandon weapons or their dead. Basically, once they're somewhere, they stay and fight until the fight runs out of enemies.

please, ren. you expect us to believe that a ragtag, accept anybody group of expendables like the legion can take on the worlds premier light infantry, the rangers, funded by the most bloated military budget ever in existence with the most high tech gear?

i dont think so. and neither does spike tv's the deadliest warrior, which matched up the gurkhas against the legion. guess who won?

http://www.spike.com/episodes/7wnu6q/deadliest-warrior-gurkhas-vs-french-foreign-legion-season-5-ep-309

by contrast, here is the ending of the us army rangers vs n korean specops. i'll give you another guess as to who won that one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrga8njz6Z8

I have shared space with FFL...not bad guys. Would I call them elite? Nah. They range from old professional soldiers to guys dodging arrest. It's a mixed bag. Some are amazing, others not so much. From what I saw, the French gov't puts them through a lot of abuse. They ARE known for their last stands...not a legacy I'd be breaking down doors to be part of. France does have amazing Special Operations Forces...I don't know that I'd characterize the Legion as part of that. Unless you count the Devil's Brigade from Vietnam.

yes, we count the devils brigade. and there is something to be said for a good last stand...but then theres this from the wiki:

'According to Neil Tweedie of The Daily Telegraph, by 2008 many recruits increasingly came from middle-class backgrounds due to improved conditions and an increased professionalism within the French Foreign Legion. Tweedie said "If some NCOs in the Legion are to be believed, the whole corps is becoming a bit soft and girly."[4] A South African legionnaire, Corporal Buys Francois, said the legion was taking new recruits with university degrees and ex-husbands who were fleeing alimony and that "[w]e call the new entrants Generation PlayStation because they’re so soft."'

also does not lend credence to elitism.

you expect us to believe that a ragtag, accept anybody group of expendables like the legion can take on the worlds premier light infantry, the rangers, funded by the most bloated military budget ever in existence with the most high tech gear

The rangers? aren't those the guys who lost to iranian sand and grenada's mighty contruction workers?

You go through FFL training then we'll talk.


ragtag lol

No thanks, I'm too old for rigorous training. By my age, you're supposed to be at a rank where you can command those who CAN perform thos feats of military strength still...preferably from a nice, fully stocked and well defended fob.and i always find it amusing that just about every 4 star gen in the army wears a ranger tab, even if he earned it full on decades ago.

But transport me back about 15 years, and you're on with respect to ffl training.

Many people your age join.

The more interesting comparison is the SAS and Rangers..... I mean they have the same colored beret :woohoo: :whistle:

ren wrote: The legion is elite, they fight where no-one else wants to fight, train in the harshest places on earth, and would commit genocide against SAS or US rangers without even breaking a sweat

This thread is way too long for me to go back and read it all :laugh:

However, the u.s. has been involved in every country in that region for ages...most if this involvement was supplying arms or training or finances to get favorable people in control...naturally this has come back to bite us on the ass bigtime...now we're faced with a situation in which we're the bad guys no matter what we do...if we do nothing, we're bad guys for being apathetic, if we get involved, we're bad guys for interfering with a sovereign nations internal affairs, no matter what, we're bad guys for having provided money,weapons, and training to people that we knew would eventually turn on us....

The part of me that I keep suppressed says to send our stealth bombers to blanket bomb the whole area and turn it into a glass crater, then shell the hell out of it just to be sure...if we're gonna be viewed as villains no matter what we do, well then, we might as well earn it outright and be villainous....

Of course that part of me isn't in control...the part that's in control says to stay out and let them slaughter themselves in their ultimate stupidity...

FraterDavid wrote:

Rickie The Grey wrote:

Rickie The Grey wrote: Having said that, pray for peace on earth. Meditate on peace and send loving thoughts to those you think need them the most. Good vibes make a difference if we unite our thoughts for a common cause.

I'm curious of all of you that have posted how many of you Jedi have: prayed, meditated or directed your thoughts toward a peaceful resolution of this situation?

This is a very good point you make. I had not actually stopped to do that until reading this post of yours yesterday, but have done so several times now. It is easy to forget, when debating a topic intellectually, that we are still responsible as Jedi for using our connection with the Force to further what peace we can. Thank you for reminding me, Brother. And thank you for having the courage to ask this of us, at what turned out to be the risk of getting shot down for it.

Desolous wrote: i'll start: as i dont believe my thoughts control anything but myself, i have not.

I like the saying, "I control nothing; I manage everything." We all participate in the Administrative Intelligence of the cosmic level of consciousness. I do not believe my thoughts affect anything but myself either, but what is the personality if not a bay of consciousness connected to the larger ocean of the universal Self? Where can one be said to absolutely stop and the other begin? Is there anything in the Force that is not possible through sufficient application of will?

Whyte Horse wrote: You can't successfully pray for a peaceful resolution because it's not a conflict.

A situation may or may not be definable as a "conflict", but it is still incumbent upon us to seek and support peaceful outcomes, in all situations. Is it not?

Thank you very much for posting your thoughts. I wish more would focuse on their connection to the force and the positive healing energy thoughts they can raidiate simple by thinking and believing. It does make a difference....if you believe.

Desolous wrote: i'll start: as i dont believe my thoughts control anything but myself, i have not.

Thank you for commenting. I appreciate your honesty.

Are we not all connected through the force?

Is the force a one way street?