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Questions tagged [military]

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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.

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3
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1answer
96 views

Graph of US military spending a percentage of GDP

I found a (North America proxy) graph of US military spending in absolute real terms (i.e. adjusted for inflation). As you can see, in absolute terms, even adjusting for inflation, the US has spent ...
2
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0answers
106 views

How did the 4th of July “Salute to America” military parade compare to France's (regular one) on Bastille Day, numerically?

Trump's decision to have a military parade on the 4th of July last year was criticized as being out of character for the US and even costly. According to Wikipedia, France regularly conducts such a ...
-1
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1answer
236 views

Why did Iran recognize it's at fault on the Ukrainian plane? [closed]

Now there is a furor inside and outside of Iran. And some people now want their leader to step down. They could deny it forever. Now they having such backlash. Did they make it to put fault on US (...
-3
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1answer
227 views

Is this show of Islamic Republic and the US confrontation beneficial for Trump's impeachment process? [closed]

I'm an Iranian that I'm just living in the US for a couple of years. Recently, the tension between the US and Islamic Republic regime is heightened to another level that we didn't see it before. In ...
-2
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1answer
416 views

is there any way a WW3 can start? [closed]

Because of the latest conflicts between USA and Iran, is there any way a WW3 can start? And in what case a ww3 can start? Honestly, I don't believe this but I want other people's opinion.
19
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2answers
8k views

Have US anti-ballistic-missile capabilities been used and were they effective in countering the recent Iranian missile strike on US bases in Iraq?

This is breaking news, so it may not be answerable right away but probably will be in a reasonably short term... Iran has launched (from its own territory) ballistic missile strikes against US bases ...
2
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1answer
169 views

Does the US have any long-term leases on bases in Iraq?

Breaking news is that the Iraqi parliament has passed a non-binding resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops: The non-binding resolution was passed by the Iraqi parliament after the ...
42
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9answers
18k views

What threat, if any, does Iran really pose to the US?

The US army absolutely dwarfs the Iranian army in terms of military might. Realistically, Iran cannot attack mainland US, whereas the US could nuke Iran into oblivion at a moment's notice. They ...
2
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1answer
190 views

Significance of three days mourning for Gen. Qassim Suleimani

There is a three-day mourning event in Iran over the assassination of Gen. Qassim Suleimani. Is that a long period of time or a fairly standard period? In 1989 the Ayatollah Khomeini was mourned for ...
1
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4answers
252 views

Which “coalition” countries have troops in Iraq and how many?

U.S. airstrike kills top Iran general, Qassem Soleimani, at Baghdad airport The Defense Department said in announcing the strike Thursday night that Soleimani had orchestrated attacks on coalition ...
6
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1answer
281 views

How do Micronesia, Guam and the Northern Marianas give the US “dominance in the Pacific”, according to experts"?

The NBC News article Why is this tiny Pacific Ocean nation getting VIP treatment in Beijing? says: David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia — a nation of some 600 islands and ...
2
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4answers
258 views

What is the Constitutional precedent for military aid?

Is there any Constitutional precedent for the claim that it is or is not within the rights or duties of the office of the President of the United States or of Congress to grant, to deny, or to suspend ...
30
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3answers
9k views

How true are Trump’s claims about NATO spending?

Over President Trump’s term in office, he has been very vocal about the spending commitments made by many NATO countries, and their frequent failure to live up to them. He now seems to be taking ...
22
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4answers
7k views

Are members of the military allowed to wear civilian clothes when testifying in Congress?

The question is sparked by the attention that media has to military personnel wearing dress uniform when testifying in front of a US Congress committee, calling it "pulling the soldier card" in regard ...
5
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3answers
304 views

Did the Obama administration make any statements on lethal aid for Ukraine?

In today's impeachment hearing, Republicans mentioned a number of times that the Obama administration did not provide lethal aid to Ukraine, even though officials (at least today's witness Ambassador ...
2
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1answer
171 views

Why is the US concerned about Turkey's S-400 deal? [duplicate]

Is this for being concerned about Turkey's self-defense capabilities or is it more about that Russia competes with the U.S on arm deals? What reasons does the US havefor being concerned about Turkey'...
2
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0answers
37 views

Can a country be expelled from NATO? [duplicate]

It seems a country can leave NATO, seeing as France did so in 1966 (and rejoined in 2009), but can a country be expelled from NATO? Who would make such a decision? Must all member countries vote FOR, ...
3
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2answers
299 views

What is Trump's plan to end or reduce US involvement in Syria?

Trump recently slammed the "endless wars", but an apparently not very well publicized Pentagon press release from Oct 8 says: Despite continued misreporting to the contrary, Secretary Esper and ...
3
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1answer
104 views

How can I follow the civil case against IDF former chief Gantz in the Netherlands?

Last month, a case began to be heard in the Hague - in a Dutch court, not an international court - against the former head of the Israeli military and now a prime-ministerial hopeful, Benjamin (Benny) ...
6
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1answer
319 views

Are there any public opinion polls in the US on them starting military action against Iran?

Give the recent international events rising tensions between the US and Iran, have there any public opinion polls been conducted in the US asking whether the US should do more militarily against Iran? ...
18
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5answers
8k views

Can the U.S. president make military decisions without consulting anyone?

Looking on Wikipedia, we learn that: It is generally agreed that the commander-in-chief role gives the President power to repel attacks against the United States[3][4] and makes the President ...
0
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3answers
195 views

Could a government's standing military forces be entirely hired away by private interests? [closed]

Say, for example, a corporation obtains enough money to pay all the military (which isn't hard- investment banks manage trillions, the military salaries are a fraction of that). Then, the military ...
1
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2answers
357 views

Are Saudi Arabia's air defences actually working? [closed]

Saudi Arabia has one of the biggest military budgets in the world. State purchased huge amount of western weapon systems, including the most advanced of them - US Patriot systems. It is even ...
4
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1answer
190 views

How would the chain of command work if a service member were elected president?

Tulsi Gabbard is currently enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard and running for president. If elected, she would become commander-in-chief, as opposed to Major (O-4), her current rank. Would she ...
7
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1answer
232 views

UK: “limited nuclear strike” policy (history, details, politics, etc)

In a recent submission to a UK parliamentary committee the former chief of the navy (Lord West) was talking about a policy change which surprised me, that "recently" (some point in the last 10-20 ...
3
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1answer
258 views

Russian military bases in Germany: judicially possible? [closed]

The US has many military bases in Germany, e.g. 34 Army bases, Ramstein Airbase, etc. Discounting politics, what would be judicial hurdles to setting up a Russian military base in Germany? Is there ...
10
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2answers
400 views

In American politics is the “free ride” problem (Japanese defence spending) acknowledged as a direct consequence of American strategy?

I have been reading an article from The Atlantic which was published in 1989, on the question of whether Japan enjoys a "free ride" with regards to defence spending. This is a topic which has ...
3
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4answers
396 views

Why do South and Latin American countries have small armies?

The examples in South and Latin America of countries with a small military are numerous: Mexico: only five F5F fighters, an old airplane that was nearly obsolete in the 1990s. The navy is only a ...
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1answer
142 views

Is the CIA responsible for overseeing all US military black-ops missions on foreign soil?

Is the CIA responsible for overseeing all US military black-ops missions on foreign soil? I am wondering if it's the CIA that oversees all military black-ops mission on foreign soil, or the Pentagon ...
3
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2answers
466 views

Fate of countries without any army when attacked

What happens to countries which don't have any standing army, when attacked by any other country, terrorists, etc.? Even though only politically less significant or relatively more peaceful ...
1
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3answers
440 views

Why won't the U.S. move more rapidly towards modernizing its army?

Why won't the U.S. move more rapidly towards modernizing its army? By that, I mean why, for instance, the U.S. won't replace conventional fighter jets with attack drones and replace big and ...
7
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1answer
171 views

Why would the Sudanese protest movement insist on a 3-year period before elections?

On BBC's website, there'a an article entitled Sudan crisis: What you need to know. Some of what's said in there sounds kind of off to me. So, a protest movement has pushed the military leadership to ...
1
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1answer
293 views

If Russia intentionally shot down flight MH-17, what would be the benefit to Russia? [closed]

Four suspects, three Russians and one Ukrainian, have been charged with the shooting-down of flight MH-17. If Russia intentionally shot down this plane, in what way would this benefit Russia? That ...
18
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1answer
3k views

Does nuclear propulsion applied to military ships fall under civil or military nuclear power?

From what I know very few countries are authorized to possess nuclear weapons, although a few others might secretly have some. But using nuclear power for civilian use (to produce electricity) is ...
0
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1answer
109 views

Why did Turkey not wait until after acquiring US F-35 before initiating talks with Russia about S-400? [closed]

The United States has blocked shipment of F-35 technology to Turkey over a Turkish decision to purchase S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia. Why didn't Turkey wait until they had ...
38
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7answers
13k views

Why does the U.S military use mercenaries?

With a defense budget now totaling ~686-billion dollars a year – which is about the size of the next 8 largest defense budgets combined (figure) – why does the U.S military see the need to ...
-9
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2answers
393 views

Why do world governments allow North Korea to continue to exist with it's current government? [closed]

I was recently listening to the story of a North Korean defector that was born and raised in internment camp #14. Hearing about the horrendous conditions, the brutal treatment of people, and the ...
1
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2answers
106 views

Are cost effectiveness studies regularly done for weapon systems?

Possibly I have some economist bias, but I'm used to idea of assessing cost effectiveness. In a few cases, when there was something like political debate in my country, I tried to google basic fact ...
2
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1answer
355 views

Did US vice president Pence say anything close to “by any means necessary”?

I have not been able to find a transcript of US vice president Pence's recent (26-Mar-2019) speech to the US Space Council. This one is from last year. The phrase By any means necessary carries a ...
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2answers
277 views

Why doesn't US use military force to retrieve citizens from North Korea?

There have been several American citizens detained in North Korea and one mortally injured during his incarceration. Under what circumstances do countries (such as the USA) use military force to ...
7
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3answers
381 views

What arguments do proponents of the second amendment use to conclude that gun ownership helps protect the people against the government?

It is said the reason for the second amendment to the US constitution is protection from an oppressive government. Should push come to shove, although hugely outnumbered in personnel numbers, the US ...
3
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1answer
115 views

What happens in transfer of technology in defence deals

As per an article, Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, is manufacturing six Scorpene submarines under technology transfer from Naval Group of France under a 2005 contract. I don't understand the term ...
-4
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2answers
330 views

Conscription rights if UK Locked in Backstop

Does the EU have the power to develop a European Army, and to conscript European citizens into it? If so, would the Northern Ireland Backstop mean that UK citizens could also be conscripted into this ...
1
vote
1answer
136 views

Can defense acquisitions by countries be kept secret?

Or are they usually are? Take for example between US and its allies. In modern days, are there any safe guards for them to be kept classified. Or safeguards to be kept transparent? Take for example: ...
2
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0answers
124 views

Why did South African soldiers choose EO over UNITA?

This is a question concerning Executive Outcomes and UNITA. I concede this question is slightly Tom Clancy-esque, but I think now that these events have been largely declassified all these decades ...
0
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2answers
134 views

Why aren't there any protectorate anymore?

Republic of Minerva looks good. It fails in one thing. It fails to protect itself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva_Reefs Capitalism is good for pretty much everything but security. So a rich ...
1
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0answers
76 views

What concessions did India make to get jets 9% cheaper in the Rafale deal

The Modi government claims that the Rafale deal it brokered is cheaper than the original deal by 9%. How did it achieve this? What concessions did Modi give to Dassault in order to get the deal at a ...
12
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2answers
447 views

Why would a US armed forces branch not give back a property (it took over during wartime) for free?

Short context (inspired by a post on Aviation.SE): In 1941 the Navy took over Bennett airfield in NYC and banned all commercial and civilian flights. After WWII the airfield was meant to return to ...
2
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1answer
162 views

Are Russian, North Korean and other countries' show of strength aimed for a domestic or international audience?

I don't know if I'm asking this on a correct site but here it goes. I've noticed this trend on many occasions. Examples: recently Russia announced the start of production of new "superweapons" such as ...
1
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1answer
158 views

On what basis is matériel used in EU military operations?

On what basis is matériel used in EU military operations? For example, Operation Sophia is the EU military mission to interdict people smuggling routes in the Mediterranean. On what basis are the ...

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