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Starlink ground station in Poland hit by fire in suspected arson attack

183 points · 182 comments · giuliomagnifico

  1. Shank · · focus · HN ↗
    It feels like it’s very, very risky territory for these activities to be “occurring” in a NATO country. I’m sure everyone else is thinking the same thing, but at what point does Article 5 get invoked?
    1. ElProlactin · · focus · HN ↗
      > ...but at what point does Article 5 get invoked

      Probably not as likely as you think.

      First, these things intentionally fall short of clear "armed attacks" and are designed around plausible deniability.

      Second, Europe/NATO are not looking for a fight. Russia is in a bad spot right now, but NATO is not in a great spot for a kinetic conflict with Russia either.

      Lastly, I don't think NATO countries are eager to test America's willingness to defend Europe under the Trump administration because they already know the likely answer when they call for help.

      1. Loughla · · focus · HN ↗
        The last one is the strongest one. Our prior allies know they just can't count on us at all, when it comes to Russia, especially.

        It is a sad state of affairs.

        1. cucumber3732842 · · focus · HN ↗
          On the flip side, when your allies know they can count on you you stuff like them picking stupid fights because they know you'll back them up. Israel dragging us further into Iran during the first ~third of the conflict when the US was trying to find a clean place to stop the escalation is a pretty good example of that.
          1. ElProlactin · · focus · HN ↗
            > Israel dragging us further into Iran during the first ~third of the conflict when the US was trying to find a clean place to stop the escalation is a pretty good example of that.

            This is like the guy who claims that he wanted to stop beating his wife but his brother just wouldn't let him stop.

            Let's be clear: nobody forced the US to attack Iran in the first place. There is a reason no president before Trump did what Trump did: defense and intelligence officials have known for a very long time how such an attack was likely to play out and how disastrous it would be for the region, the US and the global economy.

            Trump was warned by senior intelligence and defense officials and he chose to ignore their advice because he's a very stable genius who knows better than anyone else.

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