Could the US be invaded? Discuss...

[jmowreader]

I've been mulling this one over for a while. I'm interested in your opinions on this.

First, it's very obvious that George Bush is becoming some sort of a dictator at a very rapid pace, if he hasn't crossed that line already. Let's not use any names of historical dictators; none of those people had access to the technology Bush has at his beck and call. Bush could conceivably prove to be the worst dictator in history.

Second, it's equally obvious that Bush and the Republicans who love him are on pace to piss off the entire world. There is a reason why gas is three dollars a gallon and every world leader who aligned himself with GeeDubya is finding himself out of power at the most recent elections.

Third and last, a LOT of countries have what it takes to invade the United States. All they'd really need to do is capture the DC area, seize Bush, shut down Congress and eliminate Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

Would anyone try it?

[LiberalPartisan]

1. Nope

A foreign power invading the US? It will never happen. But, if it happened you'd see political differences go out the window real fast.

[AndyTiedye]

19. They'd Nuke Us Instead

:nuke:

and it won't be A foreign power. It will be ALL OF THEM.

[bdamomma]

2. if this regime keeps on the way it is

it just may happened, but most of these countries believe in diplomacy, not like this nutcase we have in office.

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Nope

What for?

[pauliedangerously]

4. Ridiculous

Name one country that has a chance of pulling that off: capturing DC and siezing Bush. No fucking way.

[jmowreader]

35. ONE country couldn't do it.

But the European partners in NATO could pull it off if they work together.

The Soviet Union had six airborne divisions. Russia still has the equipment. Russia also has two tactical airframes that were designed specifically for transoceanic operations--the Ilyushin-76 (equivalent to the US C-141) and the Antonov-124 (equivalent to the US C-5). The Il-76 is also available in a tanker version suitable for in-flight refueling of fighter aircraft. Expect them to use the Il-76 if they attack the US mainland; this airplane was always used by Aeroflot, so there are plenty of them that are current on maintenance.

The Germans have a very good army, and their C-160 Transall has been flown to the United States.

Both nations have airlines. If you're not airdropping troops, an airliner is just as good as a cargo plane for carrying combat soldiers to a combat zone.

[pauliedangerously]

42. Regardless...

No-one would get to the president. Moreover, I don't think all of these aircraft you mentioned are going to be able to pull off a sneak attack.

Give me a break. Look at how much trouble the US is having in a country the size of California. No-one in their right mind would attempt something that stupid.

I could see North Korea lobbing a nuke at the West Coast, but an invasion of American soil? No way.

[mitchtv]

5. they'll be welcomed as liberators, with flowers and sweets

NOT
the networks are nothing to fear, they are obedient

[Postman]

6. DC is already in the hands of fascists, who needs an invasion?

eom

[Sinti]

7. It would be easier to topple the regime financially - less mess as well

Stop feeding the beast, the beast will die on its own. Yet, many of the able seem to be more interested in what the beast can do for them. Go figure. :shrug: It's like they think they wouldn't be next if they had something we wanted.

[mom cat]

8. That is already underway. In fact, it seems to be Bush's plan.

It will be so much easier for the multi national corporations to take over if the US is dead broke and the people are saddled with an odious debt run up by a mad dictator.

[wuushew]

9. No nuclear power has ever been invaded

such weapons either destroy the conventional forces meant to sieze the country or result in the destruction of one or both of the respective beligerents.

Saying that what does the United States pocess materially that could compensate the expense and risk of attempting to sieze this country? Most wars have been fought over resource scarcity and I don't see that our vast reserves of coal make us a likely target of attack.

Certainly the Chinese, Russians or Europeans do not pocess the dangerously optimistic and foolish zeal that drives Amerikan idealism in foreign policy. Certainly such an idealogy would not even take given the ingrained rednecks and low grade morons that make up a large percentage of the population.

[jmowreader]

14. I would expect them to fight for self-preservation

Is there a real reason Bush went to war in Iraq? Oil, right?

There are a LOT of countries that have oil, or other resources Bush might like. Invading the US and capturing Bush would put an end to his reign of terror.

If they did it, I suspect 99.4 percent of all liberals would take up arms against the invaders, and 99.4 percent of all freepers would sit on FR blaming Clinton.

[Journeyman]

10. In the mid-'80s, Reagan depicted such an assault, coming from Nicaragua. .

he even stood someplace near the southern border to make his pretentious claim. There was an assinine movie made to highlight the fear (Red Dawn), and plenty of "stern but forceful" pundits who weighed in on the pending tragedy.

I thought it was best dealt with by one of the political cartoonists (I think it was Oliphant), who drew a picture of family on vacation, standing in front a monument erected to mark the spot where Reagan made his pronouncement. Said the wife, bending over to read the plaque, "Oh, look, dear -- an hysterical monument."

[Yupster]

33. There was a movie from the 50's

where the Red Chinese invaded us by building a tunnel under the Pacific Ocean.

We stopped them just in time thank goodness.

[alittlelark]

11. Bushco doesn't give a rats ass about America... they are CORPORATISTS

They are LOOTING - unfortunately they are doing it quite effectively. Their black profits are not staying in this country. International corporations have no boundaries. Their LOOTED $$$ is in companies none of us have ever heard of, and bank accts of aliases.

They DO NOT CARE.

They are LOOTERS.


Sure, we could be invaded etc....

They will be long gone. Why should they care?

[savemefromdumbya]

12. All they need to do is pull the plug (Fox can't function without electric)

no one can 'invade' here but can attack by taking down the grid etc

[TreasonousBastard]

13. An "invasion" is almost impossible...

because of the logistics of getting enough military over here to control this rather large landmass. Look how long it took us to get enough troops and material across the Atlantic in WWII, and more recently, Iraq. We have ways of stopping the sea or air traffic necesary to mounat an invasion.

Just taking over DC wouldn't really affect much else in the country. The government has been set up for years to be remotely run from other areas.

Yes, the country could be seriously damaged by a concerted effort to destroy certain key infrastructure elements-- bridges, dams, electrical grids, water supplies... But then what? Would whoever tries that think they could take over?

[jmowreader]

16. The whole point of this invasion wouldn't be to take over the US

The whole point would be to get Bush and his consiglieres in front of a war crimes tribunal. This would be far simpler than trying to take over the US.

[TreasonousBastard]

22. Interesting thought, but...

when has anyone ever faced a war crimes tribunal without losing a war first?

Who out there would want to go through the hassle of grabbing Shrubco and trying to bring him to justice? What would be the charges?

Sure, maybe we'd love to see him in the defendant's chair in the Hague, but aside from the Taliban and Saddam, who has charges to bring?

[wuushew]

25. The Israeli extra-legal extradition method

has been used on Nazis, although breaking the law to prosecute the law seems bizarre and unwarranted.

[TreasonousBastard]

30. Israel has a special provision for Nazi war criminals...

even reserving the death penalty for them, although it's forbidden elsewhere. Soon enough all the old Nazis not yet found will be dead, and those provisions of Israeli law will just fade away.

But, Israel has a claim against Nazis, and the Nazis did lose a war. Neither case is true for Shrubco, as much as we would like them to face some sort of justice.

Alas, we are stuck with dealing with them ourselves, with impeachment apparently the only viable option. Too bad impeachment doesn't come with a prison sentence and stripping the convicted of all assets.

[wuushew]

31. Why was it necessary to kidnap Eichmann?

Satisfying Israeli justice seems to have been done with no regard to Argentine sovereignty.

[TreasonousBastard]

32. Perhaps, but that's over and done with...

and bears no relevance to anything going on in Washington.

[dysfunctional press]

26. who would ever do something like that??

if things ever got to be THAT bad, it would be the job of the citizenry of this cou8ntry to do it themselves.
in answer to your original question- no- the u.s. could not be effectively "invaded" by a foreign power. our insurgency would be much worse than the one we face in iraq.

[treestar]

40. Not sure - would the sheeple go along with their new masters?

If the new masters could show they weren't going to upset the sheeple's lives, they might be able to convince them. Just outlaw the Spanish National Anthem, deport a few illegals with high publicity, put Tom and Kate on the news 24/7 (maybe the Jolie Pitt baby's latest tooth) and the sheeple may not even notice.

[dysfunctional press]

44. no, they wouldn't.

it's the kind of thing that would unite the political left and right in this country.

[porphyrian]

15. Invasion is an outmoded form of control.

Aside from involvement in the bloody spats over rapidly-depleting natural resources with ample stock positions, most control can be exerted without any need of physical intervention. The archetype of "American Consumer" has been successfully programmed into the average citizen of the United States. Trust authority. Thinking is a hassle. There is something wrong with you that can be cured with a medication, a food, a self-help series of cassettes. Whatever you think consciously about commercials, advertising is a multi-million (billion?) dollar a year industry. They tell us what to think. We buy what they tell us. We are the victims of a corporate mind-virus, actually an unending barrage of commands to consume. Behold, memetics. How do you conquer a country with a soft drink?

[Lars39]

17. Gloria caught this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1626583

[Cleita]

20. Thank you Lars39 or I would have missed it. n/t

[Lars39]

24. Hi, Cleita!

Seems like there was another article about Europe actually getting down to the planning stages of forming an army, but I can't find it in my not-so-organized bookmarks right now. :(

What I find kind of alarming is that there hasn't been any update on it since the article first came out.
They could be well past the planning stages by now.

[Cleita]

18. You haven't figured it out yet have you?

Invasion of humans by other humans is happening now. It's happening all over the world.

[incapsulated]

21. "a LOT of countries have what it takes to invade the United States."

Uh, no. They don't. It would take an military the size of, say, China, to invade and occupy a country the size of the US. Not to mention we are armed to the teeth and I'm not talking about the military.

It wouldn't be worth it to anyone. Speaking of China, they are doing it the smart way, buy indebting us to them and turning around and selling us all our previously manufactured shit. Win-Win.

[jmowreader]

37. Occupation is not necessary

The only reason to invade this country is to capture Bush and his people and bring them to justice before he destroys the world on his quest to bring Jesus back.

Someone mentioned the movie Red Dawn. Bush and the GOP have Red Dawn-proofed America. When Red Dawn came out we still had a substantial industrial capability. Most of that has been moved overseas. We're largely a service/retail economy now, and capturing that is not worth spending the money on an invasion.

But keeping Bush from dropping the bomb on another nation would be. If he can nuke Iran, he can nuke anyplace.

[ContraBass Black]

23. Nope.

Too many installations and institutions would have to be captured or destroyed. Only China has the manpower, and they're doing just fine already.

[Coventina]

27. Nah, it'll be a hostile business takeover by China.

They'll "downsize" us and believe me, it won't be pretty......

[bemildred]

28. Very stupid idea.

Amurkins are very well armed. Look at Iraq. Multiply by ten or twenty.

[Yupster]

34. Even if someone could

land enough troops and equipment to hold Washington, they couldn't keep them supplied much less expand their bridgehead.

You've got it right. "Very stupid idea."

[Clarkie1]

29. You are stoned, right? n/t

[Sammy Pepys]

36. I think you need some more mulling....n/t

....

[newportdadde]

38. The closest we will get is China holding a briefcase full of T-bills.

[Ignacio Upton]

39. No

If a country like China tried to send over a big invasion fleet, then we would fire at them with tactical nukes (while I'm generally against the use of nukes, if we were being invaded I would support a nuclear strike as a defensive measure.) Also, we have A LOT of people in this country with guns and other weapons. The whacko McVeigh-types, for all their hatred of the government, would come in handy if a country like China invaded. They would make Al Zarqawi pale in comparison.

[treestar]

41. They could mount the attack along, if Al Qaeda can "attack"

the US, certainly an organized country can.

If an alliance of countries did it, it could make a statement, and if we are in such debt as is sometimes described, we might not be able to penalize them economically. We could attack them back and probably would. But from there it could build up. There would be elements withint the US willing to negotiate with invaders who were halfway decent (Euro countries or other Western Countries with decent human rights records.)

The right seeing diplomacy as weakness is their main weakness.

[Finder]

43. Could never happen...

the way we are set up geographically. Also having sovereign states as part of a union is the way to go. As we can see, the future of the world will be that of unions(EU for example)instead of individual nation-states. Canada and Australia are similar in that they have individual provinces.