"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired without
the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls them), but they
never seem to be able to provide any evidence for this (or any evidence
as to why the UK would be foolish enough to sign up to such a deal).

Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during WW1 and
the rematch between 1939 and '45.

It's call the "special relationship" - either we site their missiles or they
bankrupt us.

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."

In article , Brian Watson
wrote:

"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired without
the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls them), but
they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for this (or any
evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to sign up to such a
deal).

Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during WW1
and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

No. We just paid off the last of that debt earlier this year/end of last.


It's call the "special relationship" - either we site their missiles or
they bankrupt us.

Now that's always possible.

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11

In message , at 08:52:55 on
Sat, 24 Feb 2007, charles remarked:
Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during WW1
and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

No. We just paid off the last of that debt earlier this year/end of last.

And it wasn't, as some of the news reports appeared to suggest, a
specially large payment to clear the account this year rather than some
other time in the future, but just the last in a series of annual
payments.
--
Roland Perry

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article , Brian Watson
wrote:

"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired without
the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls them), but
they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for this (or any
evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to sign up to such a
deal).

Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during WW1
and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

No. We just paid off the last of that debt earlier this year/end of last.

Only for WW2 - "we" are keeping very quiet about the owings for WW1.

:-\

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."

On Sat, Feb 24, 2007 at 06:10:51PM -0000, Brian Watson wrote:

Only for WW2 - "we" are keeping very quiet about the owings for WW1.

Payment *and interest* was suspended, with the agreement of the US,
pending re-negotiation of the terms. Those negotiations have yet to
take place. I believe that the total owed (yay no interest!) is now
approximately the same as what the civil service spends each day on tea
bags.

--
David Cantrell | Enforcer, South London Linguistic Massive

All principles of gravity are negated by fear
-- Cartoon Law V

"David Cantrell" wrote in message
k...
On Sat, Feb 24, 2007 at 06:10:51PM -0000, Brian Watson wrote:

Only for WW2 - "we" are keeping very quiet about the owings for WW1.

Payment *and interest* was suspended, with the agreement of the US,
pending re-negotiation of the terms. Those negotiations have yet to
take place. I believe that the total owed (yay no interest!) is now
approximately the same as what the civil service spends each day on tea
bags.

Oh really? Well, then I suggest you tell Tony so that he can stop kissing
bottom to keep us all off the breadline.

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."

Brian Watson wrote:
"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired
without the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls
them), but they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for
this (or any evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to
sign up to such a deal).

Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during
WW1 and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

Those debts were paid off in December.

John Rowland wrote:
Brian Watson wrote:
"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired
without the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls
them), but they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for
this (or any evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to
sign up to such a deal).
Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during
WW1 and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

Those debts were paid off in December.

Only the WWII-related ones. We still (now largely theoretically) owe the
USA money from Round One, but we are owed rather more money by other
countries than we ourselves owe. The various debts were all pretty much
put to one side during the depression between the wars, except for
Finland who paid up their bit.

While there are various books on how the west would have dealt with a
Soviet attack and the resulting WWIII, has anyone looking into the other
angle, and what the USSR thought the evil capitalist imperialists would
do when they launched an attack on the workers of the eastern bloc?
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

"Arthur Figgis" wrote in message
...
John Rowland wrote:
Brian Watson wrote:
"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired
without the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls
them), but they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for
this (or any evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to
sign up to such a deal).
Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during
WW1 and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

Those debts were paid off in December.

Only the WWII-related ones. We still (now largely theoretically) owe the
USA money from Round One, but we are owed rather more money by other
countries than we ourselves owe. The various debts were all pretty much
put to one side during the depression between the wars, except for Finland
who paid up their bit.

While there are various books on how the west would have dealt with a
Soviet attack and the resulting WWIII, has anyone looking into the other
angle, and what the USSR thought the evil capitalist imperialists would do
when they launched an attack on the workers of the eastern bloc?
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

Case in point. I had an East German visitor staying here for a while after
the Wall came down. He had been a tank driver in the East German army during
the 80's and I asked him what he thought about it all. He, and his thousands
of similarly engaged compatriots, were sitting there in their massed tanks
waiting for the NATO forces to come pounding eastwards across the German/
German border. I mentioned that we rather thought that it might be the other
way round. He appeared genuinely astounded to hear this.

Bill Again wrote:
"Arthur Figgis" wrote in message
...
John Rowland wrote:
Brian Watson wrote:
"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
. ..

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired
without the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls
them), but they never seem to be able to provide any evidence for
this (or any evidence as to why the UK would be foolish enough to
sign up to such a deal).
Might be something to do with incurring HUGE debts to the US during
WW1 and the rematch between 1939 and '45.

Those debts were paid off in December.

Only the WWII-related ones. We still (now largely theoretically) owe
the USA money from Round One, but we are owed rather more money by
other countries than we ourselves owe. The various debts were all
pretty much put to one side during the depression between the wars,
except for Finland who paid up their bit.

While there are various books on how the west would have dealt with a
Soviet attack and the resulting WWIII, has anyone looking into the
other angle, and what the USSR thought the evil capitalist
imperialists would do when they launched an attack on the workers of
the eastern bloc?
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

Case in point. I had an East German visitor staying here for a while
after the Wall came down. He had been a tank driver in the East German
army during the 80's and I asked him what he thought about it all. He,
and his thousands of similarly engaged compatriots, were sitting there
in their massed tanks waiting for the NATO forces to come pounding
eastwards across the German/ German border. I mentioned that we rather
thought that it might be the other way round. He appeared genuinely
astounded to hear this.

(Hello, wot you doing here?!)

That is what I was thinking. What did Ivan think we would do?

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK