Questions tagged [military]
Questions related to the military. This may include questions about the actions or inaction of the military, the armed forces themselves or government action related to the military.
224
questions
-6
votes
1answer
516 views
Why was the USA planning on attacking Japan *before* Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour? [closed]
According to Wikipedia, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with its actions in South-East Asia.
However, Noam Chomsky, referring to Michael Sherry's The ...
-3
votes
4answers
283 views
Why doesn't the UK rescue Nazanin Zaghari? [closed]
Nazanin Zaghari is a dual British-Iranian citizen who has been detained for years because of allegations over plotting to topple the Iranian government. These claims are clearly fictitious, and it's ...
5
votes
1answer
282 views
Which countries want to weaponize space?
I'd like to know which countries want to weaponize space and are against making a "peaceful space treaty".
To make myself clear:
I know more than 100 countries are parties to the Outer Space ...
3
votes
1answer
185 views
S-400 technology transfer to Turkey
As far as I know, the Turkish proposal to purchase Patriot PAC-3 was refused because Turkey wanted a technology transfer, but the USA didn't want to.
Am I correct?
If I am correct, then what is going ...
0
votes
1answer
270 views
Why does Bangladesh have a smaller military per capita than its neighbors?
Kindly, refer to the following answer:
https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/62759/32479
This answer essentially says that the size of the military is related to the population size and the GDP.
The ...
-1
votes
1answer
329 views
Why does Sri Lanka have so small a military?
Sri Lanka suffered almost 33 years of LTTE menace because of not paying proper attention to its defense capability. India manipulated Sri Lanka's LTTE situation by using muscle power. During the ...
3
votes
2answers
453 views
Do users of F-16s need the USA's permission to use them in attack roles?
Document reveals official US position on F-16s
Are users of F-16 fighter planes obliged to take the USA's permission to use them in attack roles?
I am especially curious about Turkey and Pakistan.
P....
3
votes
1answer
148 views
What are resons for Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to desire amendment to Article 9 in constitution?
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is reported to have said that "Japan cannot be a "normal state" until Japan has a fully functional armed force." There are reports that majority of the ...
18
votes
3answers
4k views
What happens to rank-and-file law-enforcement after major regime change [closed]
The question is inspired by the current situation in Myanmar, but since at the time of writing what will happen remains to be seen and obviously people on here can't predict the future, but surely ...
12
votes
2answers
639 views
What does it mean for the Pentagon to order a stand-down?
In order to combat extremism in the Pentagon's ranks, the new Secretary of Defense is ordering a stand-down in the next 60 days.
Three questions:
What is a stand-down? (Beyond the 'pause of military ...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
Is there a “unified command” over all the defense forces in Washington D.C.?
A Unified Combatant Command is a task organized command structure used to coordinate forces around one objective. Examples include CENTCOM (https://www.centcom.mil/), which coordinates the armed ...
8
votes
1answer
286 views
Why does H.R.335 not mention the nominee's name?
To my understanding, H.R.335 which became Public Law No: 117-1. was a bill before the United States House of Representatives which would provide an exception to 10 U.S. Code § 113 (a) in order to ...
28
votes
6answers
6k views
How do countries justify their missile programs?
I will use India as an example.
India seems to have only two real enemies: China and Pakistan.
The longest range missiles India would need to launch an attack on China should be roughly around 5000 km ...
-10
votes
1answer
293 views
Has an American president's administration ever requested the military to investigate political views of soldiers? [closed]
Has an American president's administration ever requested the military to perform political purity tests on soldiers?
Business Insider:
The National Guard is running additional background checks on ...
-3
votes
1answer
191 views
Any data about Trump supporters amount in National Guard? [closed]
As we know, now there is about 25000 national guardsmen in Washington DC. But doesn't it increase risk of strikes from the inside, from hidden Trump supporters? More people - seems more risky. And FBI ...
0
votes
2answers
221 views
What would a Green Party's position be when their country is under military invasion? [closed]
This question is referring to political parties that advocate green politics in general, rather than any specific party in a particular country.
While I understand that pacifist and anti-war policies ...
1
vote
1answer
239 views
Does all military authority come from the President?
If the President were to order it person who reports directly to them, it would be expected that they follow that order assuming it's legal and ethical, but does the President have the power to give ...
2
votes
2answers
135 views
Pardoning US military commanders
Question
Can a future president fully pardon any military commanders convicted of or charged with insubordination or any similar crime for refusing to follow orders of a current POTUS to take ...
35
votes
4answers
9k views
Could the US military legally refuse to follow a legal, but unethical order?
For example, if the president ordered the military to launch nukes to attack a country that poses no real threat, assuming its legal, can the military refuse to follow through on it on the grounds ...
27
votes
2answers
2k views
How can a state governor send their National Guard units into other administrative districts?
As part of yesterday's insurrection response, VA Governor Northam sent his National Guard into D.C.:
Virginia is sending reinforcements to help law enforcement in Washington, D.C.
Gov. Ralph Northam ...
42
votes
5answers
6k views
What authority does the Vice President have to mobilize the National Guard?
After the attack on the US Capitol by pro-Trump groups, the DC National Guard was eventually called in to restore order. Strangely, it is being reported that Vice President Mike Pence was the one who ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
Under what circumstances has the USA invoked martial law?
The idea that martial law could be imposed by Trump to rerun the election is currently topical (see In what way would invoking martial law help Trump overturn the election?).
In the interview where ...
4
votes
0answers
260 views
Why is India purchasing S-400 rather than the US made missiles?
Purchasing Russian missiles have risks of inviting US sanctions.
Since India is officially a US ally, Why is India purchasing S-400 rather than the US-made missiles (Patriot or David's Sling or THAAD)?...
25
votes
5answers
4k views
Why do (some) dictator colonels not appoint themselves general?
I get the distinct impression that many dictators bear the military rank of colonel - for example, Muammar Gadaffi held the rank of colonel while ruling Libya (and is indeed more commonly known in the ...
5
votes
1answer
204 views
Who controlled the Soviet Army when the Russian Federation was created?
At 41m55s in this video, it is said that after the Russian Supreme Council voted to leave the USSR there was a period of dual authority. During this period when the Soviet Union wasn't completely ...
6
votes
1answer
352 views
Can the Secretary of Defence sack Generals and appoint new ones?
In this highly controversial time, some Democrats are suggsting that Trump might use the power the military to retain power, and that this would constitute a military coup, and that Trump's ...
6
votes
5answers
307 views
What is China's objective in militarizing the South China Sea?
I was reading a presentation from Capt James Fanell (retired director of intelligence and information operations at U.S. Pacific Fleet) on China's Navy:
He made this statement which caught my ...
1
vote
0answers
79 views
Joe Biden's Student Debt Plan and Public Service
Joe Biden says he will cancel up to $10,000 dollars of student debt for those who are in public service. Most media outlets are defining public service as "schools, gov't jobs, and non-profits.&...
1
vote
0answers
163 views
Is the United States close to announcing a “no first-use” policy? [closed]
According to UCUSA:
China has had an unconditional no-first-use(NFU) policy since it first developed nuclear weapons in 1964
Russia had a No-First-Use policy from 1982 until 1993, when it changed ...
3
votes
2answers
466 views
Why is quitting the Chinese Army punishable?
I've been looking at an Article from Business Insider with the title "If you leave the Chinese military, the government can make your life a living hell" which states
The official news ...
0
votes
4answers
704 views
Succesful hostage situation? [closed]
Media is always telling us that hostage-taking terrorist can't reach their objective and they will fail. Iranian Embassy Siege failed to reach its objective, I always and always hear US soldiers ...
1
vote
1answer
228 views
Why is the healthcare quality of the Veterans Affairs lower than that of active duty?
Medical centers operated by the Military Health System, which serves active duty members of the US military, deliver high quality health care with minimal wait times.
The Veterans Affairs, which ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
Why do people say the Pakistani government has failed because the army is interfering with politics?
I have seen people say that the Pakistani government is not strong enough because many governmental decisions are taken by the Pakistani army.
Why do the people consider the involvement of the army ...
2
votes
1answer
268 views
How does the government pay for large purchases?
What are the logistics of the government purchasing an aircraft carrier? ACH has a 9 digit limit for example. Do they enter 10 separate payments for a $10B aircraft carrier into Netsuite and click &...
0
votes
5answers
469 views
Why does the UK have merely 2 gas-turbine-powered aircraft carriers?
For comparison, France has 1 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ("CV"), India also has 2 gas-powered CVs, and the US 11 nuclear-powered CVs. So why doesn't the UK have
any nuclear-powered CVs?...
27
votes
5answers
8k views
Why do veterans skew right in the US?
I know the military is supposed to be apolitical to a certain degree. But I have found a Pew poll saying that military veterans lean right. This is more pronounced when comparing younger vets to ...
16
votes
5answers
7k views
Do people in countries besides the US react negatively to “militarized police”?
A 2018 PNAS study concludes that
militarized “special weapons and tactics” (SWAT) teams are more often deployed in communities of color, and—contrary to claims by police administrators—provide no ...
3
votes
1answer
211 views
What is Russia's position on China copying its Flanker jets?
We saw that the USA is very vocal about China infringing on the law of intellectual property of the USA.
What is Russia's position on China copying its Flanker jets?
7
votes
2answers
338 views
What has Israel gained with the official diplomatic relations with UAE in the strategic defense area?
I know that politically and diplomatically Israel gained a lot with the UAE's new move toward normalizing the relations.
What has Israel gained in the strategic defense area?
2
votes
4answers
269 views
Can the European Union defend its geopolitical interests militarily in the east Mediterranean against Turkey?
The latest deployment of Greek, French and Turkish warships in the east Mediterranean is probably only military sabre-rattling.
But I wonder whether the EU would actually be able to effectively defend ...
2
votes
1answer
556 views
Why is the Malaysian Navy and Air Force so poorly equipped? [closed]
Why are the Malaysian Navy and Air Force so poorly equipped compared to even a tiny nation of Singapore?
1
vote
0answers
208 views
If a US state secedes from the Union, what would happen to the state's citizens enlisted in the federal military? [closed]
For instance, let's say we have a young adult named Steve, a resident of some state (let's call it "Alexandria" - I don't intend to speculate on actual secession candidates here) who enlists ...
-7
votes
1answer
129 views
would making the Police a branch of the Military meet the demand of abolishing the police? [closed]
during a conversation with my family yesterday, an idea came to me of merging the Police and military as a potential solution to the demand of abolishing the police, but at the same time retaining a ...
24
votes
7answers
10k views
Why does Germany have such a rather small defense budget?
This article deals with Germany’s Armed Forces status in the context of Trump's decision to reduce US troops stationed in Germany.
Besides the main topic, the article also mentions that Germany spends ...
5
votes
1answer
308 views
Why do some political parties retain militant wings?
Many rebel groups have evolved and transitioned into political parties - in democracies and non-democracies. Some demilitarise (IRA, Tupamos, M19, Tupamaros, Farc), others do not (Hezbollah, Hamas, ...
3
votes
3answers
423 views
Why might the military be more useful in controlling the masses than the police?
In reading Dictators and Dictatorship: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders, I came across this paragraph :
the Cold War period was particularly amenable to military dictatorship “...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the “appropriate” civilian response to police abusing their power? [closed]
Police are tear-gassing civilians during a pandemic that exasperates respiratory conditions while there is a shortage of ventilators and hospital beds.
How/why is this allowed?
What is the “...
12
votes
1answer
633 views
Could the US Space Force be dissolved when Trump is gone?
This answer to What are the factors exactly that will make missions like OTV-6 “Space Force launches”? which I've accepted includes the following:
The US Space Force (USSF) is the successor to Air ...
4
votes
1answer
155 views
Do the interviews with neighbours, coworkers etc. conducted for a US background check (like SSBI) pose a kind of intelligence risk?
As Wikipedia writes, to obtain a Top Secret clearance in the US an extensive background investigation (SSBI) must be conducted.
In the course of it, officials interview people like direct supervisor(...
1
vote
1answer
255 views
Why did Turkey reject the Chinese FD-2000 and then purchase the Russian S-400?
Chinese firm wins Turkey's missile defense system tender
Turkey cancels $3.4 billion missile defense system tender: official
This analysis says that Turkey rejected using a Chinese missile defense ...
