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The Yemen Missle Crisis

Originally posted by Backtothemac
Not only will they not get them, but Yemen is a harbor for terrorists. I wonder if those Scuds were bound for Iraq?
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errr.... the yemeni gov't claims ownership. i believe int'l law would say they be delivered. a sovereign nation does have the right to defend itself.
 
Originally posted by zimv20


errr.... the yemeni gov't claims ownership. i believe int'l law would say they be delivered. a sovereign nation does have the right to defend itself.
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i don't think it is so simple. this boat tried to run from inspection. the missile were hidden. the craft has been described as a "pirate" vessel with no country of origin.

if there is nothing illegal about this boat, why would it have tried to run? why were they hidden? why is there no official paperwork on it?

what i don't like is the politics. the us is not going to say a word since it wants the yemeni gov to stay on its side. if they want the missiles for defensive purposes, why not purchase a few patriot missile from america instead of a very offensive weapon.

as we saw during the gulf war, those scuds are not very accurate, so what exactly would one try to hit with a scud? the only thing that comes to mind is population centers.
 
There is nothing wrong with North Korea selling or Yemen buying the Scuds - but the lack of paperwork and such abord the ship might end up being just enough justification for siezure.

As was stated in the article, Yemen has 6 launchers and 18 Scuds already. I'm curious to know what the acid was going to be used for - that might be the clincher. Chemical weapons manufacturing or industrial smoothing?

D
 
Originally posted by idkew


i don't think it is so simple.
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it is. the contents belong to the yemeni gov't. another gov't seized it and, because there are no laws prohibiting the cargo, that gov't must return it.


if they want the missiles for defensive purposes, why not purchase a few patriot missile from america instead of a very offensive weapon.
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ostensibly, the US nukes are for defensive purposes. they are also capable of taking out population centers.

at what point did the US gain a monopoly on weapons sales and the right to tell other countries how to defend themselves?
 
Originally posted by zimv20


it is. the contents belong to the yemeni gov't. another gov't seized it and, because there are no laws prohibiting the cargo, that gov't must return it.
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yes, i did not say that it would not be returned. it was already a matter of fact that they would be returned when i wrote my comment.

my point is that why all the hiding and running...
do you run from cops when they try to pull you over if you are doing nothing wrong? do you hide beer under stack of cement in your trunk if you are 21?



ostensibly, the US nukes are for defensive purposes. they are also capable of taking out population centers.

at what point did the US gain a monopoly on weapons sales and the right to tell other countries how to defend themselves?
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yes, but these nikes were mainly built as a deterrence against a hostile country which also had nukes.

you are comparing a bb-gun to a high- powered rifle. these scuds have an EXTREMELY small amount of explosive capabilities compared to a nuclear bomb. as i said, they have little defensive capabilities due to their inaccuracy. try hitting an approaching hostile force with an inaccurate weapon.

about the us monopoly thing- i guess i should have left out the word american. i don't know if other countries have built patriot-like defensive missiles. i used the american one as an example.
 
Originally posted by idkew

my point is that why all the hiding and running...
do you run from cops when they try to pull you over if you are doing nothing wrong? do you hide beer under stack of cement in your trunk if you are 21?
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as joe friday said: "just the facts, please."

behavior does not necessitate guilt.


yes, but these nikes (sic) were mainly built as a deterrence against a hostile country which also had nukes.
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okay, i don't mean to pick on misspellings, but that one is hilarious.

there's some truth in it: get a country involved in manufacturing US goods and lower the chance of war. i like it.

it's also reminiscent of that 1.5 seconds of al qaida training video that we saw a million times a year ago. of that guy jumping out of the foxhole right in front of the camera. i could swear he was wearing adidas...


about the us monopoly thing- i guess i should have left out the word american. i don't know if other countries have built patriot-like defensive missiles. i used the american one as an example.
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i think russia does.

but you're right about the "offensive used as deterrent."

countries get what they can, you know. so what if SCUDS are inaccurate. they're "better" than nothing. and i'm sure you'd agree it's better than giving them our nukes instead. :)
 
Originally posted by zimv20

countries get what they can, you know. so what if SCUDS are inaccurate. they're "better" than nothing. and i'm sure you'd agree it's better than giving them our nukes instead. :)
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and there was the comment that the size of the gun matters. So a few extra scud are going to the Yemenis. Hopefully they won't ever use them, but in a way its a form of deterent for them for other countries in the area to see.

It still would have been nice if they accidentally were destroyed while on the North Korean ship....:D

D
 
Originally posted by zimv20


as joe friday said: "just the facts, please."

behavior does not necessitate guilt.
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IDKew has a point and I know you have one too but I think behaviour in this case leads to some suspicious eyebrow raising. If you allegedly bought the missiles legally, why in the world are you trying to hide it? Unless the NK ship was scared they were gonna get arrested for simply being a pirate ship.
 
North Korea is a threat. The problem I find is the secrecy, no national identity or flag on the ship, and hiding the scud missiles under concrete. Remember the Cole in 2000. Its curious that the Yemen government waited to announce that they purchased the scud's. The whole region once we show our power by defeating Iraq, will fall into line.
 
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