Chris Schulenburg, The World’s Greatest Recon Specialist

 @LCpl X  @JackMurphyRGR

 Try hiking anywhere along the IS8/IS19 corridor, or anywhere around the mountains of Douglas or Bisbee. When you go bring your NODS and your rifle, and maybe a SAPI plate or two. And smugling 2 leggeds is just as lucrative as anything in powder form. To see that you dont even need to go that far out. Use the main hiking area's in the TUC-PHX corridor. Its a "cold" COIN going on, come see for yourselves.

 @JackMurphyRGR 

Exactly, man. 

The surges in both Iraq and Af-Pak were/are both documented, but our surge, military, intel, diplomatic, economic, worth billions, are propping up our neighbor and all the coverage you hear in the news are killings and border troubles, god forbid they report Mexico's crumbling. On the flipside NYC alone is snorting a huge amount of Mexico's greatest export adding to the problems down south.

Hope you'll expand your thoughts on more issues, Jack, we'd certainly like to hear it. Sick and tired of reading policy blogs from think tanks that carry absolutely no weight in the real world.

 @JackMurphyRGR  @TOMBSTONE  @LCpl X

 That is spot on

 @TOMBSTONE  @LCpl X AND ANOTHER THING!  These guys are so behind on the times that the PhD's were completely lost when I made the arguement that Mexico is no longer a state because it has an ineffective government that controls little outside of Mexico City.  They were like-"HUH, WHAT?!?"

 @TOMBSTONE  @LCpl X Don't get me started.  I wander the vaulted halls of academia.  It's scary that these kids are lost up in their own heads debating theoretical models of governance but are going to have an influence on foreign and domestic policy.  If this is the best and the brightest it is no wonder why America is falling apart these days.

In the immortal words of my 18B instructor, "You looked like a bunch of naked people wearing roller skates locked in a room with the lights turned off." 

 @LCpl X It would be a gnarly outback adventure if you drove, but your better of flying. Its a good day and a half of straight driving atleast.

 @TOMBSTONE 

Can you drive from Darwin to Gold Coast, I've heard the same that Gold Coast is sin city in paradise.

 @LCpl X You must be one of the marines coming for a visit. If you get some leave, ditch Darwin, its a shit hole,head over to the Gold Coast near Brisvegas, thats where the party is at . :D

 @Old PH2  Best fuckin post today brother!

 @Old PH2 Ooooh, yes.  Well, since independence, Kenya's political class hasn't exactly changed much - Moi's boys are still around in some form or another.  From my amateur perspective, it was pretty telling that Goldenberg, their "trial of the century" (corruption) was in the headlines when my family moved there and it was in the headlines when I graduated high school and left.  Oh wait, there was one incident where the British High Commissioner had some "choice words" to say about the Kibaki administration, followed closely by accusations of neo-colonialism all 'round.  African politics are truly wondrous and terrifying to behold sometimes.

I hit the reply button too soon  ... or DSP detected the double flash etc

 @ColonelProp  @ArcticWarrior  @LCpl  @JackMurphyRGR vela

 @LCpl X I remember a port visit to Mombasa Kenya that really helped me see just how Fucked up even the "Friendlies" were.  Much like this election cycle in the US many times it's a choice between two or more evils.  Whatever the Fuck happened to men of substance?  Patriots, larger than life.  My call is for a modern day class of men like  Cincinnatus.  Warriors and leaders who understand when to get the hell out of the way, and let life continue.

@ArcticWarrior @LCpl X @JackMurphyRGR I believe it was 6 nukes in RSA. I remember reading about the tests being called super-bursts of lightning as cover. Long time back in my memory banks...

 @JackMurphyRGR  @LCpl X

 Ok thanks. Admittedly I no very little from this time frame. I always heard the term "Rhodesian Rack" and honestly thought these guys were SAS. Time to go hit Amazon.

 @ArcticWarrior  @LCpl X There is a few books written about this, and I'm not an expert, but I think the South African motivation had to do with the African nations falling to communism all around them.  SA was the "last domino" so the speak and having nuclear weapons also gives you clout on the international scene.

 @JackMurphyRGR  @LCpl X

 I always wondered, did they give back the dismantled bombs to Israel. Its odd because we leaned on SA alot more then we ever did with NK or Iran, let alone Pakistan. The sanctions had to have been strangling SAs once vibrant economy.

What potential advisary did they want them for? Was it just to say we could do it?

 @ArcticWarrior  @LCpl X "Pushing through" with the nukes would have been a very bad idea.  The South African government knew that the ANC was going to take over and dismantled their nuclear weapons program.  Can you imagine those chuckleheads with nukes?

 @LCpl X  @JackMurphyRGR

 Who ever confirmed or denied the nukes in SA? Didnt Israel help them build about 10 or so? And it really didnt get them anything but grief. Even after they were dismantled the knowledge and ties to Israel still exist. I think Pretoria was getting such a rough time they kept it on the low so as to not draw any more negative publicity.

 @Old PH2 

Yeah, but I think this is like 1% of 1% of the population, I'm sure they're milking it for however long they can, but the finger's on that eject button. They really won't be part of the calculus in the coming wars. It's still really sad to think that Zimbabwe was Africa's (not just Southern Africa) bread basket and to see it all pissed away.

It's a difficult problem, we tried helping out the same way we "helped" with blacks in this country, by welfare, African rich just got richer and it didn't work,

China's policy seem practical, they're building roads, bridges, buildings, infrastructure which help those in power but gives back indirectly to the general public.

If anything useful is coming out from the region, it's the used of telecomms for commerce, etc. So maybe concentrate on building this infrastructure for them, then sit back and see what they do with it.

 @JackMurphyRGR  @LCpl X  @ArcticWarrior I have an acquaintance that is from a Tanzanian tribal chieftain family that bemoans the internal rivalry of Eastern and Southern Africa.  From The Horn south,  the whole coast and interior is a ticking time bomb. 

 @LCpl X  @ArcticWarrior  @JackMurphyRGR Actually a number of white farmer families are still in Zimbabwe, I think the gov. needs their agricultural output.    So there is a grudging but steadily declining tolerance from the Mugabe govt.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Literacy_rate_world.svg

 @JackMurphyRGR 

Thanks, man. Looks to me like black on black, and unless there's something for the west, it's gonna like the Congo--no one cares.

Zimbabwe's the greatest mismanagement in history, in such a short period of time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Literacy_rate_world.svg

As for South Africa, they should've pushed thru with their nukes, they'd have all kinds of economic and military support like Pakistan. With nukes nations will bend over backwards,

without you're gonna have to rely on George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and the KONY 2012 folks.

What's the Chinese presence like in Zimbabwe?

 @LCpl X  @ArcticWarrior  @Old PH2 In short, the two major tribes, the Shona and Ndebele.  After Mugabe goes down things will really explode.  In South Africa...man, it doesn't look good.

 @ArcticWarrior @JackMurphyRGR @Old PH2 

Fellas,

Don't really know much of Southern Africa region, but familiar with the problems in the Horn of Africa/Kenya, then West Africa and the Sahel (Northern Africa region).

If Southern Africa blows up, who would be at war and why. I understand Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) is forcasted to be another Somalia. I understand also that the white Zimbabwians who Mugabe fucked over left the country for greenier pastures. So who would be at war here?