Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter Gollevainen
- Start date
Semi-Lobster
Junior Member
Hmmm, I wonder if this gesture would be a gateway for further renewed military exchanges and sales to the ROC or is this just a way for the US to try to placate them for not selling more F-16s? Well either way it show at the very least an interest in the old priorities
Skywatcher
Captain
Wouldn't it just be better for Taiwan to build the two additional OHPs with American subsystems? It's been done already.
Aero_Wing_32
Junior Member
I do not think so...
Please don't give the Taiwan independence people any ideas! I'm afraid that these crazy people may actually implement them once the inevitable happens!
Your whole post is totally right, and I'm not accusing you of being wrong. I just have a small issue with your examples.
Did public relations play a big role in your examples?
For example, the Sri Lankan civil war. Did public relations play that big of a role? Because in the end, the Sri Lankan army still annihilated the Tamil Tigers anyway by squeezing them into a tight pocket and killing them one by one (except the ones that surrendered).
And the Lebanon 2006 war. I thought Israel's inability to achieve any of their goals had more to do with the war's conclusion than public relations, especially since Israel had the West on it's side. Israel didn't achieve any of their stated objectives: retrieve the soldiers that Hezbollah kidnapped, destroy Hezbollah as an organization, and stop the rocket barrage of Northern Israel. I don't think it was because of the international outcry of Lebanese casualties that halted Israel's assault. I thought it was just pure frustration at not being able to achieve any of their military/strategic objectives.
I can't say anything about Fallujah and Gaza though. I'm not as versed in about those, so I'll take your word for it.
In Sri Lanka, international attention forced the Sri Lankan military to slow down its operations at the end of the conflict. The conclusion was already forgone, but the Tigers survived for maybe a few weeks longer than they would have otherwise. It just goes to show that intense international attention has an affect on the decision-makers.
As for Israel and Lebanon, you are largely correct, but then again, so am I. Both factors were at play, and reinforced each other. The international community was pressuring Israel to end the war and restrain itself, which prevented Israel from having as much of a free hand as it would have liked. I'm sure Israeli commanders would have liked to continue the fighting longer, but politically that wasn't an option, and that's part of the reason the conflict was such a failure for Israel.
1st Fallujah:
In Gaza, again, Israel had to edit its plans because of civilian casualties and ended up suffering a huge propaganda defeat.
Hey man we're just military enthusiasts talking strategy, and there's very few better intellectual exercises.
solarz
Brigadier
I think you're overestimating the value of public relations in a war. Public relations has always been a factor in conflicts. Even Hitler had to use anti-Polish propaganda first before invading Poland. However, when a society is motivated enough to go to war, there is usually very little that words along is able to stop. Slow down perhaps, but not stop.