Iraq

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Raellus

For v1.0 to remain valid, the USSR must remain solvent and healthy.

I fully agree.

I have the Soviet Union find the Massive gold and oil reserves mentioned in the "Bear and the Dragon" in 1984. After few years for well and pipeline construction the increased revenue stabilized the Soviet economy and even allows them to expand military spending (allows a GM more flexibility on weapons). Throw in half a decade of good grain production and they are sitting pretty.

Then you throw them a curve. They discover that 55% of the oil field is actually just across the Chinese border and the Chinese are just starting their oil exploration tasks. Faced with the possibility of diminished oil sales to Japan if the Chinese tap into their side of the field, the USSR starts considering their military options.

This also might explain how they might allow the Iraq war to happen as they would expect their own oil revenue to go up if gulf supplies were disrupted.

[Abbott Shaull]

Originally Posted by kato13

I fully agree.

I have the Soviet Union find the Massive gold and oil reserves mentioned in the "Bear and the Dragon" in 1984. After few years for well and pipeline construction the increased revenue stabilized the Soviet economy and even allows them to expand military spending (allows a GM more flexibility on weapons). Throw in half a decade of good grain production and they are sitting pretty.

Then you throw them a curve. They discover that 55% of the oil field is actually just across the Chinese border and the Chinese are just starting their oil exploration tasks. Faced with the possibility of diminished oil sales to Japan if the Chinese tap into their side of the field, the USSR starts considering their military options.

This also might explain how they might allow the Iraq war to happen as they would expect their own oil revenue to go up if gulf supplies were disrupted.

Now this is an interesting twist.... and so Soviet... Sell out a client state to increase your profit.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by kato13

I have the Soviet Union find the Massive gold and oil reserves

Why stick with just oil and gold? Why not toss in a few other minerals vital to war such as tungsten, aluminium, nickel, iron, etc?
With the added wealth the Soviets then have, they could afford to spend a little on bread and circuses in the less stable regions, thereby reducing the impetus to secede without having to resort to military methods.
This one small change to the Soviet economy allows for the stronger military required to make the T2K timeline(s) viable.

Of course when the game was written, nobody really had any clue how fragile the Soviet economic position really was. Reading books and magazines of the time, you get a real feeling that the Soviets were more than capable of rolling over the west in a matter of just a few weeks and sustaining operations much longer if needed.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Why stick with just oil and gold? Why not toss in a few other minerals vital to war such as tungsten, aluminium, nickel, iron, etc?

IIRC in the book "The Bear and the Dragon", Clancy has the disputed region between Russia and China contain the "mineral wealth of South Africa", plus Oil. So I could certainly see both industrial and strategic minerals in the area. My expectation would be that they would go after the gold and oil first as they get the most bang for the buck. Until the economy gets rolling they might not be able to start dozens of separate mining operations.

[Legbreaker]

Good point. When though are the reserves discovered and when does exploitation begin? Leaving it too late wouldn't help the Soviets all that much, but too early could have convinced them to try something agressive a bit earlier.