Nato, Sweden, Vilnius, Ukraine etc.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

^I don’t know how often I can stress this: it would be a violation of international law for NATO to invite a non-European country into the Alliance.

Boru

[The Architect Of Fate]

China and Russia unite 

Never going to happen

[Nishant Xavier]

Brian, correct me if I'm wrong, but Article 10 is an internal NATO issue, right? So they could reform it.

Never going to happen

It has already happened: "THE CHINA- RUSSIA ‘NO LIMITS’ PARTNERSHIP IS STILL GOING STRONG" https://www.cna.org/our-media/indepth/20...ing-strong The sooner Europe wakes up to this new reality, the better.

[The Architect Of Fate]

That doesn't refute my point and we don't need to wake up we're already awake it's your kind that needs to come out of dreamland. A no-limits partnership is not them uniting in any meaningful way it's all show and no substance 

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Brian, correct me if I'm wrong, but Article 10 is an internal NATO issue, right? So they could reform it.

Never going to happen

It has already happened: "THE CHINA- RUSSIA ‘NO LIMITS’ PARTNERSHIP IS STILL GOING STRONG" https://www.cna.org/our-media/indepth/20...ing-strong The sooner Europe wakes up to this new reality, the better.

You understand that an 'internal NATO issue' IS international law, right? Article 10 is part of the treaty that established NATO. Amending that treaty requires a unanimous vote of all member nations. You really think you're going to get all 32 NATO countries to vote 'Yes' on allowing Madagascar into an alliance whose purpose is to defend the North Atlantic?

I certainly don't disagree with you that the world needs better security, I just think trying to get there under the auspices of NATO is a pretty duff idea.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

You don't understand me. I see the danger posed by China. I think addressing it by epanding NATO to Asia is not a good way to do so; and I find your reasoning unconvincing. Most countries in the Global South dislike NATO because we are, after all, their former colonizers. There's also the fact that authoritarian regimes tend to support each other against democracies.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

You don't understand me. I see the danger posed by China. I think addressing it by epanding NATO to Asia is not a good way to do so; and I find your reasoning unconvincing. Most countries in the Global South dislike NATO because we are, after all, their former colonizers. There's also the fact that authoritarian regimes tend to support each other against democracies.

Yup. Gonna be kinda tough to convince African warlords to kick in for the Greater Good.

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

I don't wanna take away from the pithiness of the statement...but.... I've never met a warlord that a pallet of usd couldn't convince...and I've met a couple. Truth is, these people aren't principled...it's just that...historically, we've not put our best pitch forward. We've got whole countries of people talking about the great satan this, and the great satan that...but it's all for wont of a dollar.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I don't wanna take away from the pithiness of the statement...but.... I've never met a warlord that a pallet of usd couldn't convince...and I've met a couple.  Truth is, these people aren't principled...it's just that...historically, we've not put our best pitch forward.  We've got whole countries of people talking about the great satan this, and the great satan that...but it's all for wont of a dollar.

I’ve never met an actual warlord, but I’ve met a number of terrorist gang leaders and you’re right to the extent that they will take that pallet of cash. Then the unprincipled bit come to the fore and they’ll do whatever the fuck they want with your money. And it’s almost never what was promised.

In fact, I was once an innocent bystander [that’s my story and I’m sticking to it] when a RIRA cell leader took a substantial cash payment to scale back his group’s drug dealing. He used the money to expand his drug dealing.

To paraphrase Zaphod, I wouldn’t trust these people as far as I could comfortably spit a rat.

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't wanna take away from the pithiness of the statement...but.... I've never met a warlord that a pallet of usd couldn't convince...and I've met a couple.  Truth is, these people aren't principled...it's just that...historically, we've not put our best pitch forward.  We've got whole countries of people talking about the great satan this, and the great satan that...but it's all for wont of a dollar.

That worked in Afghanistan, right?

When principles are for sale, they're not really principles.