Asking
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Is Putin Winning?

The public relations people at Biden's White House are thumping their chests. Several news outlets have picked up their “message of the day” and are running with it: “America no longer in decline – World Respect Growing!!!”

How do we know this is a disinformation campaign, and not real? Because it first appeared in “Politico”, which is almost a dedicated outlet for PR pieces by “unnamed spokespersons".

And this [b][i]IS[/i][/b] a brilliant message of the day. It's been 48 hours since any new top secret Biden docs have turned up. We can now change the topic! America is respected again! Because of Ukraine!! Wait . . what?

How does America throwing a few Billion dollars at Ukraine mean “world respect”?

Please note that Biden's White House is NOT taking questions on ancillary topics like: “Germany refuses to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine.” WTH?? How can Biden be winning, if he can't even persuade Germany to part with a few tanks?

To be fair, “Winter is coming”. And Germany probably DOES have a back-channel agreement to get Russian natural gas if they agree to drag their feet on this sort of stuff. This is why NATO sucks in the first place. There is always some BS member like Turkey, or Germany or obscure member states (Montenegro, I'm looking at you) which barely qualify as nations at all. These guys always say no to everything.

I learned something interesting from NPR about Germany's Leopard Tanks. They're actually better than America's “Abram Tanks”. Stop laughing – the logic is very convincing. Although the US Abrams tanks have magic armor and a main gun which is a full 5mm (1/8th of an inch) larger caliber than other tanks, it apparently can't travel for more than 2 or 3 hours without needing refueling. With aviation jet fuel. Because the Abrams tank is powered by a turbine (Jet) engine.

There's a reason why none of the world's cars, SUVs, 18 wheelers, or construction equipment use jet engines. They are INCREDIBLY inefficient (bad MPG), and jet fuel is astonishingly expensive and explosive. And hard to protect on the battlefield. Oh . .and Abram's tanks require “a long training period” because they are “very complicated”.

All of this is true, of course. But NPR forgot to say that the Pentagon doesn't really want some random Abram's tank – with its magic armor and $50 million high tech fire control sustem – falling into Russian hands during a battle over some Crimean pig farm. Even though Abram's tanks DO come with a self-destruct button right out the Star Trek. (For the record, so do many US military helicopters).

America is great again! Wait – that was Trump's slogan, wasn't it? It seems absurd for Biden white house flacks to be leading with that. Don't they have memories longer than 2 years?

Russia just threatened (again) to start a nuclear war if Ukraine wins. So, if you believe them, why would you even send tanks to Ukraine? You might just be hastening the end of humanity, whether you send Abram's tanks, Leopard tanks, or Chihuahua tanks from Mexico. (I just made this up - there's no such thing.)

Sorry, White House flacks – I don't think America's respect is rising around the world if NATO members are so split. It actually sounds like we have been outfoxed by the demented little man in the Kremlin. The same guy the White House also told us would be dead from cancer or killed in a coup by now.

I'm just sayin' . . .
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
wildbill83 · 36-40, M
Actually, they use turbine engines in Abrams because it has the best power to weight ratio of any engine, it's also the simplest and easiest to maintain.

Germany has the best tanks in ww2 as well... how'd that go for them? limited numbers due to complexity, and when they inevitably broke down, they lacked the means and parts to repair them.

The military doesn't give two shits about fuel efficiency, it's all about combat effectiveness; and in that regards, the Abrams is second to none...
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@wildbill83 i concede both points. jet engines have simplified passenger air travel, and miltary combat in aircraft.

that said, NO OTHER NATIION ON EARTH tries to put jet engines in their tanks. After 20 years of evaluating the performance of the ABRAMS.

The US navy is now conducting experiments to see if Jet Engines should be used in combat ships.
wildbill83 · 36-40, M
@SusanInFlorida Naval ships have been using gas turbines since the 60's; basically everything except mainline nuclear powered ships use gas turbines

also, no other nation in the world has had a MBT in service as long as the Abrams with any where near the combat effectiveness of the Abrams. The Abrams has destroyed more tanks than many of these nations have even produced.

It's been around for 43 years, had 4400+/- produced, and yet not a single one has ever been lost in tank vs tank warfare... again, how many other countries can claim the same? Many of their tanks haven't even seen any major engagements...

It's one thing to judge the performance of something on paper, It's quite another to judge it based on actual experience; and there's very little overlap between the two...
wildbill83 · 36-40, M
History is filled with instances where a country produced something believed to be groundbreaking, only for it to flop in actual use; As well as things deemed obsolete/too simple that are more effective than anyone could imagine & continue to be used...

The US arsenal is full of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" weapons...