1.16.2006
Did German Spies Help Bomb Iraq? >>> A while back, Bush gave a speech about the Iraq War Coalition in which he stated something to the effect of 'there are Coalition members that remain secret'. This was thought to be a reference to a number of Muslim countries who wished to remove Saddam yet desired some degree of anonymity to protect them from retribution. But was Germany one of those 'secret Coalition members'?
Zawahiri Not Killed; Pakistan Condemns Attack >>> There are a number of points here: First of all, the intelligence that predicated the attack was most likely from Pakistani sources. Secondly, not only are the people in these regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan extremely friendly towards al-Qaeda types, but in that part of the world 'hospitality' actually means something. The culture dictates that any traveler who arrives at your home must be accepted as a guest and protected with your own life. This means that not only do al-Qaeda operatives have thousands of options for refuge, but whenever we make a missile strike--we have to, because Pakistan won't let us bring troops into their country--there are going to be civilian deaths involved. As they say, 'You've got to take that shot.' But the Pakistanis' protest brings up a separate issue: This is not Iraq. Diplomatic finesse and international platitudes are out of the picture. The people we are hunting in Pakistan attacked us directly--on our own soil--and killed nearly 3,000 of our citizens in the process. This goes beyond the idea of 'national interests' championed by Realist political thinkers. This is personal. Pakistan can either get its act together and contribute something besides protest and faulty intelligence or it can keep playing games and get pushed aside like the lightweights that they are, nuclear weapons included.
Iran: What Are Our Options? >>> Wretchard presents another substantial look at the Iran situation, and why Ahmadinejad may be a blessing in disguise. Like most Belmont Club pieces, this is definitely worth the read.
Aerial IEDs >>> Quite an ingenious piece of engineering, but I imagine that most helicopter shoot-downs are either small arms or RPGs. Helicopters are fragile creatures, and even the smallest amount of FOD (foreign-object damage) in the right spot can bring one down. Remember the Battle of Mogadishu?
What The Hell? >>> This crap gets so old so fast. Somebody needs to spend 20 minutes looking through GlobalSecurity.org or the Federation of American Scientists Munitions Guide. This is the same kind of ignorance that spawned the white phosphorus and depleted uranium uproars, both of which were as untrue as they were ridiculous. Please, I beg you, if you're a journalist writing on military issues, get your head out of your ass and into some facts.
Zawahiri Not Killed; Pakistan Condemns Attack >>> There are a number of points here: First of all, the intelligence that predicated the attack was most likely from Pakistani sources. Secondly, not only are the people in these regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan extremely friendly towards al-Qaeda types, but in that part of the world 'hospitality' actually means something. The culture dictates that any traveler who arrives at your home must be accepted as a guest and protected with your own life. This means that not only do al-Qaeda operatives have thousands of options for refuge, but whenever we make a missile strike--we have to, because Pakistan won't let us bring troops into their country--there are going to be civilian deaths involved. As they say, 'You've got to take that shot.' But the Pakistanis' protest brings up a separate issue: This is not Iraq. Diplomatic finesse and international platitudes are out of the picture. The people we are hunting in Pakistan attacked us directly--on our own soil--and killed nearly 3,000 of our citizens in the process. This goes beyond the idea of 'national interests' championed by Realist political thinkers. This is personal. Pakistan can either get its act together and contribute something besides protest and faulty intelligence or it can keep playing games and get pushed aside like the lightweights that they are, nuclear weapons included.
Iran: What Are Our Options? >>> Wretchard presents another substantial look at the Iran situation, and why Ahmadinejad may be a blessing in disguise. Like most Belmont Club pieces, this is definitely worth the read.
Aerial IEDs >>> Quite an ingenious piece of engineering, but I imagine that most helicopter shoot-downs are either small arms or RPGs. Helicopters are fragile creatures, and even the smallest amount of FOD (foreign-object damage) in the right spot can bring one down. Remember the Battle of Mogadishu?
What The Hell? >>> This crap gets so old so fast. Somebody needs to spend 20 minutes looking through GlobalSecurity.org or the Federation of American Scientists Munitions Guide. This is the same kind of ignorance that spawned the white phosphorus and depleted uranium uproars, both of which were as untrue as they were ridiculous. Please, I beg you, if you're a journalist writing on military issues, get your head out of your ass and into some facts.
posted by Jesse Clark at
6:15 PM
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