Without the UK could we lose a ship? Today/tomorrow most likely strike days.

[CK_John]

Monday "Labor Day" big meet and greet day for politicians, Tues summit type events.

I'm worried that without UK some military defense systems may be missing.

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Cruise missiles have a range of around 1000 miles, out of range of Anti-shp missiles in Syra

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/how-tomahawk-cruise-missiles-send-message-syria-8C11022222
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-us-warships-20130829,0,502572.story

The Syrians don't have a Navy capable of responding to an attack beyond the range of their own missiles.

Russians have said they my send long range anti-ship missiles with a range of 100 miles or other missiles that could sink a destroyer in one hit. But the US force will not be within range.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-attack-syria-20130829,0,5321181.story

I'm retired Navy, by the way, and those men operating on those ships are well aware of the hazards of going in harms way.

[CK_John]

2. There is 5 destoryers off the coast of Syria, Iran has 18 subs, Russia have warships in the Med.

Plan B is effect.

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. How many U.S. Submarines are supporting those ships?

There are things they don't tell us for good reasons.

If Russia or Iran fires on the U.S. Navy, it is an entirely different and real War. Russia doesn't want a redo of Libya because Syria is their client state and they don't want US influence to expand there. Iran reasons are similar. But that doesn't mean they will go to a full scale war for a Cruise missile attack.

I am retired Navy and spent 20 years working on Navy ships. I had friends who died on the Stark.

[Arctic Dave]

4. Russia will not fire on a US ship. No more then a US sip would fire on them.

They would have Syria fire on a jihadist base or a US interest.


But that still leaves out retaliatory attacks in the future. Something no one ever talks about.

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. I don't lend credence to slippery slope conjecture.

The issue before us is the one we have now, not what might be done.

[1awake]

5. There is nothing over there that can touch our military

and that is the majority of the problem with the US mindset of meddling.

[morningfog]

7. But that isn't totally true. See USS Cole.

[Lizzie Poppet]

8. Sure, but there's a big difference between a ship docked at port...

...and one at sea on high alert. Any unidentified small craft approaching to within several hundred meters would be blown to very small pieces.

[1awake]

9. The USS Cole does not factor in to this. Huge difference.

To be conservative, we could level all of the middle east in a week. It is not a fact I enjoy necessarily... but it is still a fact.

[Recursion]

10. PHALANX was pretty much specifically designed against the Zodiac suicide attack

Though I'm sure people have thought of new ways since then...