Obama really doesn't like us does he?

[Victor McDade]

Or is it just a case of our diminishing importance in the world?


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileak...

[davepoth]

Nah, the US Government have fked over pretty much every country in the world, it's nothing "special".

Given that he probably has his finger on our button anyway, it sort of makes sense that our nukes are included in START. It's not like we could fire them at Russia anyway, we'd be killed by the fallout from our own missiles.

[rypt]

Obama can fo :/

[odyssey2200]

SO much for the man that was going to be so great.

He is a tt!

[jains15]

Who cares what an American thinks of us? I don't have any respect for the country so couldn't give a monkeys whattheir so called leader thinks of ours. They can do and think what they like.

[ATG]

Yet again, it's rather a non-story. If you've got a functioning nuclear capability, you _want_ the other side to know about it so that they see it as a genuine deterrent. Knowing what we've got, even in considerable detail, is not going to stop us being able to use it; there is no defence against sub-launched ICBMs. Disclosure has been a key part of the efforts at strategic disarmament for the last 40 years.

[Halb]

davepoth said:

Nah, the US Government have fked over pretty much every country in the world, it's nothing "special".

Quite, not much to do with Obama either, it's just the US doing best by itself, which is what the UK should do, instead of being a poodle.
Didn't the UK give sensitive info to the Soviets when we needed to coax them when the Yanks didn't like it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/252145.s...

[tank slapper]

ATG said:

Yet again, it's rather a non-story. If you've got a functioning nuclear capability, you _want_ the other side to know about it so that they see it as a genuine deterrent. Knowing what we've got, even in considerable detail, is not going to stop us being able to use it; there is no defence against sub-launched ICBMs. Disclosure has been a key part of the efforts at strategic disarmament for the last 40 years.

Quite. It is interesting Russia wanted the US to disclose performance data, which they then requested permissions to do so from us. The article implies that the data was not disclosed but instead the serial numbers were given.

The other stuff is totally irrelevant. Nations spy on each other, always have done and always will do. I have no doubt that MI6 maintain files on prominent American officials as well.

[spikeyhead]

ATG said:

Yet again, it's rather a non-story. If you've got a functioning nuclear capability, you _want_ the other side to know about it so that they see it as a genuine deterrent. Knowing what we've got, even in considerable detail, is not going to stop us being able to use it; there is no defence against sub-launched ICBMs. Disclosure has been a key part of the efforts at strategic disarmament for the last 40 years.

+1

The article said
but the US agreed to hand over the serial numbers of Trident missiles it transfers to Britain.

Let's face it, that's about as much use as knowing the serial number of the gun that the mugger is pointing at you.

[Brighton Derly]

spikeyhead said:

+1

The article said
but the US agreed to hand over the serial numbers of Trident missiles it transfers to Britain.

Let's face it, that's about as much use as knowing the serial number of the gun that the mugger is pointing at you.

If the serial numbers are of no use why did the Russians ask for them?

[tank slapper]

Brighton Derly said:

If the serial numbers are of no use why did the Russians ask for them?

There is a quote in the article:

article said:

Professor Malcolm Chalmers said: “This appears to be significant because while the UK has announced how many missiles it possesses, there has been no way for the Russians to verify this. Over time, the unique identifiers will provide them with another data point to gauge the size of the British arsenal.”

[ErnestM]

...and what makes you think that they are telling the Russians the truth?

...how would the Russians verify it? Hard to verify a serial number during an air burst.

- - -

But do carry on. I don't want to be accused of leaping to Barry's defense because he is an idiot and certainly NOT a leader.

Oh - and he certainly does NOT know who his friends are. But narcissists are not used to having friends.

[davepoth]

ErnestM said:

But do carry on. I don't want to be accused of leaping to Barry's defense because he is an idiot and certainly NOT a leader.

Oh - and he certainly does NOT know who his friends are. But narcissists are not used to having friends.

Actually, he's doing a lot of the things the USA needs. Those things are not the things the rest of the world needs though.

[mybrainhurts]

jains15 said:

Who cares what an American Kenyan thinks of us?

EFA....

[Mojocvh]

"Although the treaty was not supposed to have any impact on Britain, the leaked cables show that Russia used the talks to demand more information about the UK’s Trident missiles, which are manufactured and maintained in the US. "

Game, set and match.

Our independent deterrent is something that no foreign power is supposed to be granted information to.

Barry is giving our info to the soviets (sorry Russians) to feather his own bed.

When does he next visit Dallas?

[Bing o]

Anyone still think wikileaks is bad? At least what some of us suspected for years is finally coming out.

[eharding]

ErnestM said:

...how would the Russians verify it? Hard to verify a serial number during an air burst.

I'm sure there will be a hardcore element in the spotter brigade who will be there at Armageddon noting down warhead trajectories, estimated weapon yields, and - yes - there will probably be some who manage to get a snap of the RV shortly before being turned into superheated plasma. Bless 'em.

However, I think the Telegraph are being slightly hysterical. The opposition know the number of missile boats we have, and can count the number of missile hatches on the boats. They know how many boats we can maintain on patrol, and the Foreign Secretary has given them a round figure for the number of warheads we have available. Therefore, they already know what they need to know - if we go, and we think they did it, they go too.

Deterrence in this realm is the art of letting your potential enemies know what you have, and what it will do. You cannot be deterred unless you have been made aware of the threat.

[ErnestM]

davepoth said:

Actually, he's doing a lot of the things the USA needs. Those things are not the things the rest of the world needs though.

Let me think....


No...


I got nothing.

His one and only "accomplishment" is being dismantled by a combination of repeal actions and court findings of unconstitutionality.

So.

No. Still nothing.

[Mojocvh]

eharding said:

I'm sure there will be a hardcore element in the spotter brigade who will be there at Armageddon noting down warhead trajectories, estimated weapon yields, and - yes - there will probably be some who manage to get a snap of the RV shortly before being turned into superheated plasma. Bless 'em.

However, I think the Telegraph are being slightly hysterical. The opposition know the number of missile boats we have, and can count the number of missile hatches on the boats. They know how many boats we can maintain on patrol, and the Foreign Secretary has given them a round figure for the number of warheads we have available. Therefore, they already know what they need to know - if we go, and we think they did it, they go too.

Deterrence in this realm is the art of letting your potential enemies know what you have, and what it will do. You cannot be deterred unless you have been made aware of the threat.

Thank gawd you are no longer a serving member.

[eharding]

Mojocvh said:

Thank gawd you are no longer a serving member.

Chill, Winston. You'll give yourself an ulcer if you carry on like this.