My take is that if Russia goes through with a dirty bomb, that will trigger some form of direct NATO intervention. As dumb as the Russians have seemed over the last eight months, I still don't think they're that dumb, because they know that would be their asses even without a nuclear reply.

I'd love to see my Mighty Eighth putting a crimp on this bullshit forthwith. As with elephants, you can't fix what heavy bombers do, without a bunch of time and money.

(October 29, 2022 at 10:41 am)LinuxGal Wrote:

(October 29, 2022 at 9:45 am)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: 1/3 of Syria (24,000 square miles) "occupied"  ... by 900 soldiers.

The US Army used to have a recruiting slogan: "An Army of One".

So that's 900 armies, I'll have you know!

Ah, the official government figure. We know that those are always accurate. 

How many support staff, CIA agents, hired mercenaries, and other personnel are not included in that number, one wonders. 

And of course you're aware of the fact that the US is partnering with the long-suffering Kurds in that region, so the numbers of human beings working to control the region is significantly more than 900. This is obvious. 

Then there is the air support which is based in nearby countries. Including Israel, which routinely bombs Syria. 

The US gets the oil, though.

(October 30, 2022 at 7:27 am)Belacqua Wrote: Then there is the air support which is based in nearby countries. Including Israel, which routinely bombs Syria. 

The US gets the oil, though.

The US is the top oil producing nation in the world, pumping 18.9 million barrels per day in 2021, for 20 percent of global production.
We produce so much oil we even export it. Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2021:

1. Saudi Arabia: US$161.7 billion (16.5% of exported crude oil)
   
2. Russia: $82 billion (8.3%)
   
3. Canada: $74 billion (7.5%)
   
4. Iraq: $72.1 billion (7.3%)
   
5. United Arab Emirates: $69.4 billion (7.1%)
   
6. United States: $41 billion (4.2%)
   

So if the US is one of the big boys when it comes to fossil fuels, it makes no sense to fly risky and expensive sorties over Syria to get even more oil unless we get their pittance of oil at a discount, much as Russia is forced to do these days. You damn well know we don't get a discount.

(October 30, 2022 at 7:43 am)LinuxGal Wrote: So if the US is one of the big boys when it comes to fossil fuels, it makes no sense to fly risky and expensive sorties over Syria to get even more oil unless we get their pittance of oil at a discount, much as Russia is forced to do these days. You damn well know we don't get a discount.

We don't get a discount. We take it. We get it free.

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/08/21/re...l-its-oil/

If you Google there are dozens of reports on this. People on this thread won't believe these reports because they almost all originate outside of the Western propaganda bubble.

Iran, Syria, China, India, etc. all report this. Is it possible they are all lying? Sure.

There have been a hell of a lot of reports though, for a long time.

And the only thing arguing against the truth of the reports that I can see is the faith that we are the good guys and would never do such a thing.

(October 30, 2022 at 8:07 am)Belacqua Wrote:

(October 30, 2022 at 7:43 am)LinuxGal Wrote: So if the US is one of the big boys when it comes to fossil fuels, it makes no sense to fly risky and expensive sorties over Syria to get even more oil unless we get their pittance of oil at a discount, much as Russia is forced to do these days. You damn well know we don't get a discount.

We don't get a discount. We take it. We get it free.

This being a forum filled with skeptics no doubt you will supply documentation for that claim, even as I did with the status of the US as an oil producer.

(October 30, 2022 at 8:19 am)LinuxGal Wrote:

(October 30, 2022 at 8:07 am)Belacqua Wrote: We don't get a discount. We take it. We get it free.

This being a forum filled with skeptics no doubt you will supply documentation for that claim, even as I did with the status of the US as an oil producer.

See post above.

(October 30, 2022 at 7:43 am)LinuxGal Wrote:

(October 30, 2022 at 7:27 am)Belacqua Wrote: Then there is the air support which is based in nearby countries. Including Israel, which routinely bombs Syria. 

The US gets the oil, though.

The US is the top oil producing nation in the world, pumping 18.9 million barrels per day in 2021, for 20 percent of global production.
We produce so much oil we even export it. Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2021:

1. Saudi Arabia: US$161.7 billion (16.5% of exported crude oil)
   
2. Russia: $82 billion (8.3%)
   
3. Canada: $74 billion (7.5%)
   
4. Iraq: $72.1 billion (7.3%)
   
5. United Arab Emirates: $69.4 billion (7.1%)
   
6. United States: $41 billion (4.2%)
   

So if the US is one of the big boys when it comes to fossil fuels, it makes no sense to fly risky and expensive sorties over Syria to get even more oil unless we get their pittance of oil at a discount, much as Russia is forced to do these days. You damn well know we don't get a discount.

The fact that the US produces a great deal of oil in no way casts into doubt the fact that they want more.

Quote:Ah, the official government figure. We know that those are always accurate. 

How many support staff, CIA agents, hired mercenaries, and other personnel are not included in that number, one wonders. 

And of course you're aware of the fact that the US is partnering with the long-suffering Kurds in that region, so the numbers of human beings working to control the region is significantly more than 900. This is obvious. 

Then there is the air support which is based in nearby countries. Including Israel, which routinely bombs Syria. 

The US gets the oil, though.

And you provide zero evidence of any of this .......

Quote:

If you Google there are dozens of reports on this. People on this thread won't believe these reports because they almost all originate outside of the Western propaganda bubble.

Iran, Syria, China, India, etc. all report this. Is it possible they are all lying? Sure.

There have been a hell of a lot of reports though, for a long time.

And the only thing arguing against the truth of the reports that I can see is the faith that we are the good guys and would never do such a thing.

All countries that are aligned with Russia or have an axe to grind with the west ......

Quote:We don't get a discount. We take it. We get it free.

We don't get it for free ......

Quote:The fact that the US produces a great deal of oil in no way casts into doubt the fact that they want more.

Actually, it blows a huge in your narrative .....

Also, Eric Zuesse is an America-bashing nutcase who literally wrote a book called AMERICA'S EMPIRE OF EVIL. Yeah, a totally unbiased source who would in no way lie to push a narrative....

Also, Modern diplomacy has consistently written articles sucking Russia's dick and engaging in consistent NATO bashing .So yeah of course they are going to call America evil.

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/author/ericzuesse/