Comments by "Colonel K" (@Paladin1873) on "1815 Eruption of Mount Tambora" video.

  1. My brother was a navigator on a C-141 Starlifter at the time and participated in the mass evacuation of US military personnel and their dependents from the Philippines (Operation Fiery Vigil). Very little could be taken, a couple of suitcases per person. In the end we abandoned both Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base. Since 1988 the US government had been in difficult negotiations with the Philippine government over a treaty involving lease renewals for both bases. Between the acrimonious talks and the devastation wrought by the volcano, the US military decided to permanently abandon Clark. When the US refused to agree to massive increases in basing right leases, the Philippine Senate voted down the treaty, thus forcing the US Navy to leave Subic Bay by the end of 1992. Clark later became an international airport, a special economic zone, and home to the Philippine Air Force. Subic Bay is now a large industrial and commercial complex, but the recent bankruptcy of a major South Korean shipbuilding company there has left Filipino bankers owed over 400 million dollars. Two Chinese firms have offered to take over the shipyard, sparking fears within the Philippine government of what that could portend in the long run. The Philippine Navy also wants to take over the yard for military construction. As an aside, in recent years both the US Navy and Air Force have made frequent stopovers and conducted limited joint operations with the Philippine military. These acts of goodwill serve as a counterbalance to the looming Chinese juggernaut. Will history repeat itself?
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  2.  @jiveturkey9993  I think many Americans were largely indifferent, but not anymore. Now they're mad. I believe the CCP has a very rocky future, what with the entire world pissed at them. Some countries will kowtow, others will resist. Soft power only gets you so far. It's hard to bribe or coerce a man when your actions have resulted in the death of a loved one or the loss of his livelihood.
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