Sawbonz
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Posts posted by Sawbonz
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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said: This morning after dropping my youngest off at school, I hung out with one of her classmates' dads, who served in the Navy. He was on a support ship for both invasions of Iraq, so he knows how the logistics for major invasions work, even if he was way in the rear and they weren't the full-on traditional Marines storming the beaches invasions with landing craft you think of when you think of this stuff.
Something that is bugging him, and me, and tying into something @Nice Guy Eddie mentioned in another thread - Where's the occupying force?
He (not Nice Guy Eddie) said that the only amphibious assault assets we've really deployed there are The USS San Antonio, Fort Lauderdale, and Iwo Jima, and the first two are apparently more like support docks. He said at max, we are talking 2,500 - maybe 2,800 or so Marines between the three and maybe on some other ships. He said we have around 20 of these ships (two classes) and it feels like we only brought the ones down that happened to be doing nothing. I looked around at lunch as well, and it's not like they can hide a bunch of ships in plain site in such a busy/populated area - all of the ships that have been announced have been spotted numerous times in the Caribbean, with no unknown ships. This is not the middle of the Indian Ocean or Diego Garcia. There were people taking photos of our fighters in Puerto Rico.
Now, to play devil's advocate, once can argue that the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment are not that far away by air, and they always have an alert component.
But Venezuela has 200,000+ in its military, another 20,000 or so Cubans, and millions in militias (which may not all actually exist, but you don't need but a few hundred thousand to make things hard).
It's a country of 25 million people, with 3.25 million in the capital area.
While Marines are badass, as are the 82nd and 75th, we ain't going to take over the country with a few thousand Marines and a few thousand airborne and a few hundred Rangers we fly in.
When we have invaded in the past where we know the target in advance (I don't count Afghanistan as that was pretty ad hoc initially), we do all of the prep work. It's why our operations have worked so well, and why we have a massive logistics chain.
It would seem logical that we would also have the 25th Infantry (Light, my old unit) because they are out of Hawaii and acclimated for tropical conditions (they even have a jungle warfare school out there). We would be staging the 101st Air Assault to Florida or even Puerto Rico and getting their helicopters loaded onto US Navy amphibious assault ships/transports/aircraft carriers or flying them to Trinidad & Tobago, because our troops are going to be using helicopters. We would have the 82nd and their larger gear in Puerto Rico, along with the 75th prepping to take over military airfields/airports. We would most likely have the 25th's airborne component getting ready as well (although instead of Hawaii they are in Alaska, it's a long story). Probably the 10th Mountain as well even though they are not technically a mountain-trained division, but they are a light infantry division. We would have a shitload more Marines sitting on Amphibious assault ships in the Caribbean.
TLDR: There's just so many things that need to happen for us to legitimately control Venezuela and we are doing none of that.
But on the other hand, all of the assets that were assembled were thrown together fairly fast and easy. Almost as if the DOD/Trump realized Congress would get involved in some way if they did a large-scale operation, so roll with something smaller - just gonna transition from drug interdiction to kidnapping Maduro and call it a win and hope the follow-up leadership does what we say.
Which is why, I think, Trump threatened to kill Rodriquez if she doesn't do what he says (fate worse than Maduro who is looking at life in prison). He's currently got no leverage.
I think it is as simple as he has bought off the right people in the right places. If he’s good at anything other than duping the rubes, it’s greasing palms. Whether those people stay bought is a different story.
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3 hours ago, partytimesausage said: I'm riding dirty. No health insurance. Self employed so even before this year the premiums were crazy so have not carried health for at least 5 years. I'm at least 200k in the positive by self insuring. If you can afford it, i would totally self insure.
One catastrophic event will wipe that out and then some. You are the perfect person for a cost sharing plan. Probably wouldn’t cost you 100 bucks a month. They’ll get you in network pricing or routine thanks which will probably make the premium a wash
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1 hour ago, Dnaguy said: Wife (staunch republican who never voted for Trump but hates democrats): [sends Diddy and Maduro in prison oil meme.]
Me: [Texting back] I want off this ride. I’m not joking about abducting sovereign president on fake charges for political points.
Wife: [texts back] He was arrested.
Me [walks into bedroom to take out contacts and passes her in bathroom] Ole Maduro and his wife were removed from their bed in Caracas while it was bombed to shit. That an abduction.
Wife: You’re brainwashed.
Me: WHAT? Dude was taken from his bed in the cover of night for Fentanynol (sp?) trafficking! Venezuela doesn’t manufacture or move that. That’s fact as fuck wag the dog kind of crap.
Wife: it was not bombed to shit.
Me: Ok it wasn’t Gaza level but we bombed them for sure. Even if for cover or elimination of military threats, it happened
.Wife: I don’t want to talk about this.
Me: You sent the meme!
Wife: I’m going to bed.
Me: I want off this ride. The simulation sucks. [cracks open another Axis IPA]

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Edited by Sawbonz
23 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: Assuming that's true, they probably held off an "extraction" or other coup-type operation pending some kind of plan for a post-Maduro Venezuela, which seems conspicuously lacking here. And that whole pesky international law thing.
Just encanting "Maduro bad" is some sixth-grade foreign policy.

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35 minutes ago, Arepa Papi said: Bombing the Iranian nuclear sites was unquestionably a good move. Israel/Gaza peace deal has long term potential.
Quit dealing with dumb hypotheticals. Here what has actually happened.
We just bombed Iran and Russia and China didn’t lift a finger. We took out their guy in Venezuela without them knowing and while rendering their air defense systems nutless. Soft power is downstream from “hard power” and they’ve been shown to be utterly useless. Quit glazing China and Russia because you don’t like the President.

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3 hours ago, Macklemore said: It’s not odd at all they are calling for HRH Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi if you knew anything about Iran or Iranians. 100%, true blood Iranians have a longing in their soul for the return of their Shahanshah Aryamehr. Iran had shahs for 2,500 years. Monarchy is coming back and leftists will be drowning in their tears with the fall of Venezuela and Iranian regimes. Our Cuban brothers who have been suffering for 60+ years will be freed soon

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4 hours ago, Vegas64 said: zero chance IMO.
As already stated and on record out on the internet, Maduro has been given a long leash of multiple exile and soft landing options and it's been the worst kept secret of an open negotiation (with Russia and China being involved in some aspects as well) for the last six months. This happened because of some combination of USA losing patience and Maduro mocking Trump and just sped up his permanent removal.
You think any of that matters? If the price is right he will get the pardon
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14 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: Is that Obamacare or employer-sponsored?
I'm self-employed and made the core decision years ago just to bear SE tax and insurance cost on Obamacare by myself.
I'm toying with seeking an of-counsel arrangement that would include access to a group plan, but as a 1099, probably going to have to bear full freight on that, and, in the past, small group plans haven't been a whole lot better than Obamacare. They do tend to offer more comprehensive coverage.
1099 is technically against the rules to participate in health plan; not sure if it is enforced. If you and your spouse are fairly healthy look at a cost sharing plan. They do exclude some pre-existing issues, sometimes for a limited time period, but they put you in network with many providers and most hospital systems and pay for preventative care. You want a policy that has over a million lifetime in case of cancer or something like that, and if you drink and drive and get in a bad crash they might not cover because of lifestyle exemptions.
Caveat is they are not insurance and don’t strictly have to pay or keep the kind of cash reserves that insurance companies do, but Covid was a huge stress test and to my knowledge none failed.
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1 minute ago, UpperWestside said: Again you want to stop the lying just have someone stand next to these morons with a giant shovel or tire iron. When they lie or sidestep the question just nail them right in the face repeatedly.
Or have reporters who have the balls to ask them if they know how ridiculous they sound when they say stupid shit
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19 minutes ago, Brisketexan said: It's okay, though. I'm sure that the incoming TrumpCo. regime will be wise stewards of Venezuela's resources, will use them to benefit the Venezuelan people, and will not just funnel them off to a small crowd of insiders and family members.
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said: The people who would be in charge of it seem incapable of articulating it, when asked repeatedly to do so.
I mean, you can’t just come out and tell the rubes
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Greenland
in Daily Texan
Can Gru get crowdsourced with under 10 posts? Let’s hope so