Archive for the ‘war’ Category

An expensive but incredible advantage

Posted: January 12, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
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In the book Ship of the Line C.S. Forester’s Hornblower has this thought:

As part of the programme for training his men into fighting machine it would be invaluable to give them firing practice while actually under fire from the enemy—no one knew better than Hornblower the difference between being fired at and not being fired at. He found himself in the act of thinking that one or two unimportant casualties might be worth receiving in these circumstances as part of the crew’s necessary experience

When you look at the US Army and those who say it is wounded and battered there is one thing that is completely overlooked. As of today the Department of Defense has confirmed 4858 deaths in the 7 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is about 700 a year or just over 2 a day. In terms of war that’s pretty low.

To give you an idea at Cold Harbor the US army lost 1700 men dead in 15 minutes on one day. Or a better example in Korea with 480,000 Americans engaged we lost 36,000 men dead in 3 years.

The end result for the Army? We now have an army with solid fighting experience. Urban warfare, insurgent warfare, desert warfare, in mountain warfare etc etc etc. We have a huge core of troops who have preformed under fire magnificently. That experience and esprit can’t be purchased. I pity any enemy who has to face they men and women. They will be outclassed. No army on the planet can compare to this.

In addition these men and women will be the teachers of our children who will serve, hopefully in peacetime. It is their experience that will not only make them better soldiers but will help keep them alive. Our foes will think twice before facing them and us. This will save many thousands of lives and will likely preempt actions against us and our friends saving tens of thousands.

That result will be the finest tribute to the fallen that can be made.

Where have I heard that before?

Posted: January 12, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
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You might remember this concerning the war from some weeks ago:

This is a strategic move by Iran and a smart one…

…Unfortunately no matter what happens even a total Israeli victory the winner here is Iran. As long as the world is talking about Gaza and rocket attacks and responses they are not touching the ongoing building of Nukes by Iran. I think this is all a sucker punch to keep the heat elsewhere. If Israel is hitting Gaza and or Lebanon they are not hitting Iranian nuke sites. They are buying time with Arab rather than Persian lives.

Today Hot air has this post linking to this story from the from the Jerusalem Post:

Iran is exerting heavy pressure on Hamas not to accept the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, an Egyptian government official said on Sunday.

The official told The Jerusalem Post by phone that two senior Iranian officials who visited Damascus recently warned Hamas leaders against accepting the proposal.

I wonder why? The Captain has an answer:

Why do they want Hamas to keep provoking Israel? The Egyptian official speaking with the Post believes they want to distract the world from their nuclear program, but I’d bet the Iranians have Israel specifically in mind. The rest of the world won’t stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons, but Israel probably will, if given the chance. Iran wants Hamas to fight an open war with Israel to keep the IDF from attacking its nuclear sites in the near term.

What does that mean for Iranian nukes? It suggests that the Iranians are closer to actual production than people have estimated prior to now. Hamas’ sudden desire to lift the cease-fire in late December, using a November 4th incident as the supposed provokation for their rationalization, makes a lot of sense in that context. The Iranians would worry most about covert strikes as they near completion of their effort, and they need Israel tied up for months, not weeks, to keep them distracted.

I’d say he’s likely spot on. I wouldn’t want to be the leader of Israel who has to make that decision. It’s not going to be a lot of fun for the president elect either. There will be a big party in 8 days but in 9 days the party will be over and Joe Biden’s prediction will come true in a hurry.

I missed the great Morning Joe “Torture” debate

Posted: January 12, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
Tags: ,

UPDATE if you came here from the Dissenting Justice link it was wrong. The actual post you want is here but this post does have some background on the subject.

I’ll have to find the podcast but it looks like this was something heated and full of passion. I saw only the tail end and it was something.

Here is my personal take, there are two sides to this a legal and a moral one: (more…)

More Cnn Questions, still waiting for answers

Posted: January 10, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
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The list of people questioning the CNN story we mentioned here and here are growing.

The Volokh Conspiracy:

Indeed, not only is there no crater in the roof, but lawn furniture and clothes hanging out to dry on a line are right there in the background, undisturbed. Given that CNN’s own staff can’t vouch for the video first-hand, and that very serious questions have been raised about its credibility, I don’t see why CNN would want to double-down on this one.

Reihl World View:

At the very least it seems it might be an attempt by someone to alter the time-line of events and that a Channel 4 report actually pointed out that the family stayed home for some time and waited for the camera man / brother before taking the boy to the hospital.

In the third video (bottom) – of CNN’s full report – it claims the boy was taken home after the hospital – see 47 seconds in.

But in the second version posted from the UK’s channel 4, they use the same footage to suggest the boy “might” already be dead. That would mean the living room video was shot before taking the boy to the hospital – see 55 seconds in of that video. And at 2:20 in, the video actually says they drove from the hospital directly to the cemetery. That supports the living room video being shot after waiting for the cameraman to come off the road to the home. Why wouldn’t they have taken the boy to the hospital immediately?

Also in the first edited CNN video posted by Charles it clearly states that after the hospital the boy was “taken home” – possibly the same footage but it drives home the point. See 1 minute in of the top video at lgf link. And that language goes with the very same footage from the living room also in the other videos.

This is likely going to keep up until something gives.

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