Time to Make a Statement?

In the international incident that has caused oil prices to spike on several occasions already, Tehran has stated they will release the female British sailor on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Iran has formulated the latest in a string of international crisis. The United Kingdom has released the Global Positioning Satellite coordinates of the fifteen sailors and marines at the time of their capture. Iran has clamed that the crew was two miles East of the given coordinates, the second position they have given with no explanation for the variance.

The UK insists that all relations with Iran are on hold until all fifteen crewmembers are released.

Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons that "there was no justification whatever ... for their detention, it was completely unacceptable, wrong and illegal."

"We had hoped to see their immediate release; this has not happened. It is now time to ratchet up the diplomatic and international pressure in order to make sure the Iranian government understands its total isolation on this issue," Blair said.”

Time to ratchet up the pressure. Time to make a statement.

I do not think so. I think it is far beyond time to stop making statements and start taking action. Every time we “make a statement” it seems the result is that they just do not care. They are willing to undertake the loss of lives of their citizens, they are willing to suffer so long as we fail in the long run. They do not care if we bomb a factory or destroy a ship or too and they even pray that we accidentally kill an group of innocents as they can use it as fodder in the ongoing media war in which we are loosing.

We need to take a stand. Can we? I doubt it. Will we? Unlikely.

The America public is no longer willing or able to sacrifice long enough and surely does not have the stomach to fight a real war, a total war. A war in which the goal is total victory because any effort less that that will only result in defeat.

A Little Bit of History Repeating?

One has to wonder if the Mullahs in Iran are students of recent History.
From Wikipedia:

"Operation Praying Mantis was the April 18, 1988 action waged by U.S. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of the Persian Gulf and the subsequent damage to an American warship. On April 14, the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B.
Roberts struck a mine while sailing in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will, the 1987-88 convoy missions in which U.S. warships escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers to protect them from Iranian attacks. The explosion put a 25-foot hole in the Roberts' hull and nearly sank it. But the crew saved their ship with no loss of life, and Roberts was towed to Dubai on April 16.After the mining, U.S. Navy divers recovered other mines in the area. When the serial numbers were found to match those of mines seized along with the Iran Ajr the previous September, U.S. military officials planned a retaliatory operation against Iranian targets in the Gulf."

The US sent one Aircraft carrier, 1 Guided missile cruiser, 4 Destroyers and 4 Frigates. Iran brought to the fight 2 frigates, 1 gunboat, and 6 seed boats. The US lost one Marine Corps Cobra to a maintenance failure. The Iranian Navy lost all 6 speed boats, the gun boat, and one of the Frigates. The other Frigate was damaged to the point of being taken out of service for over a year.

Today it has been reported that two US Navy Battle Groups and over one hundred aircraft are conducting operations off of the coast of Iran. The Navy, speaking through Commander Kevin Aandhal stated the maneuvers were not organized in response to the capture of 15 British Sailors and Marines, nor were they meant to threaten the Islamic Republic.

Right.

While a show of force is often the way to deter uppity dictators, the situation in Iran is different. The illegal and hostile action of capturing one nations sailors at sea in international waters is an act of war, indeed American and the United Kingdom fought one such war. Iran is seeking out act of provocation, doing what ever ti can to start a war with the West. They have defied the United Nations concerning Nuclear weapons research and development, they are constantly seeking to rile Israel into war by denying the holocaust and in fact stating the the Nation of Israel (read Judaism) must be obliterated off of the face of the planet.

Using the Navy to Show the Flag and demonstrate the might of the US is not going to deter the Mad Mullahs. It will only embolden them. The will not stop, negotiations will not work, they seek conflict in which they hope the whole world will join in conflict.

Using the Navy is a futile gesture. Only complete overwhelming and total force will work, the kind of unmistakable win at all cost campaign that America has not had the stomach to use since the 1940s. Half measurers and Nintendo wars to not solve problems, they only drag them out and erode our capabilities as we saw in Vietnam and as we are seeing in Iraq.

If we decide we are going to fight, we should fight to win.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Recently, while cleaning out the garage one weekend, one of my sons found a copy of the Deluxe Revised Recon® by Palladium Books. RECON was the first Role Playing Game that I was a game master for and spent countless hours hosting games.

The boy was interested. Having played many so-called console “RPG’s” and a year of D&D3.5 under his belt he felt he was ready to give a modern RPG a try. So I flipped through the book to brush up on the rules then set about looking for ideas for a few missions to like together for a campaign.

RECON is a violent game that doesn’t forgive mistakes easy, just as the real Viet Nam was. Saturday night the players found that out when they became bait for a NVA sniper team.

One of the things I noticed was how much more attention the boy is paying to history in general and Viet Nam specifically. After viewing a few shows on the Military Channel and some research he did on the internet he pointed out to me that every time the military was allowed to do the job such as Line Backer II strikes that North Viet Nam was almost beaten and had the US just pushed we could have won. He then asked why are we not allowing the Military to fight a real war in Iraq. All I could offer was that he asked a good question.

Iran Fires Missiles, World Media Panics

So I ran fired some missiles with a range of one hundred miles, big deal. While this does give a 25% increase in range, the accuracy of these missiles is still unknown. Iran has a right to defend its self and therefore they have the right to conduct military exercises. The regime in Tehran has the right to operations within their own borders and waters.

Iran should make no mistake and believe that these missiles intimate the United States. The US is dedicated to our allies in the Gulf, in which we have a right to operate, just as they do.

Iran is on a dangerous course. They simply want conflict. The media is having orgasms over the launch, almost as much as they are over trying to get people to believe in the zero humor joke theory. Instead of worrying about 100 mile ranged missiles, the press should be a little more worried about the Iranians ability to produce weapons grade plutonium and their president’s STATED goal of annihilating the nation (meaning all of the people who are of the Jewish faith) of Israel.

Do the Troops Accept Kerry’s “Apology”?

Having served and for over a decade and having may close friends still serving, I’d have to say no, we don’t.

I would, however, suggest you check out some MILBLOGS for yourself to see what people who served (and by liberal logic, they are the only ones who CAN comment on all things of military a nature) have to say about the matter.

Andi, a mom in the Army has a typical opinion.

Troops Beg for Help

GOD BLESS THE US MILITARY

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is or Support your Troops with Actions not a Magnetic Ribbon

I hate those magnetic yellow “Support the Troops” ribbons. Little if any of the money paid for them go to the troops. That is why I took mine off both the Evil SUV and the Mighty Mini-van.

I have found an easy and inexpensive way to support the troops and also a fine arts program. You can buy an inexpensive magazine and have it delivered to The Chaplains Department aboard any US carrier. The Magazine will be placed in the ship’s Library for the entire crew and air wing (5000+ sailors & Marines) will have access to it while they are out to sea for up to six months at a time.

A portion the sale of the magazine will be donated to a middle school Theater Arts Program.


Chaplain Departments:

Chaplain Department/Library
USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63)
FPO AP 96634-2770

Chaplain Department/Library
USS ENTERPRISE (CV 65)
FPO AE 09543-2810

Chaplain Department/Library
USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67)
FPO AA 34095-2800

Chaplain Department/Library
USS Nimitz (CVN 68)
FPO AP 96620-2820

Chaplain Department/Library
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)
FPO AE 09532-2830

Chaplain Department/Library
USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70)
FPO AE 09566-2840

Chaplain Department/Library
USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71)
FPO AE 09599-2871

Chaplain Department/Library
USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72)
FPO AP 96612-2872

Chaplain Department/Library
USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73)
FPO AE 09550-2873

Chaplain Department/Library
USS JOHN C STENNIS (CVN 74)
FPO AP 96615-2874

Chaplain Department/Library
USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN 75)
FPO AE 09524-2875

Chaplain Department/Library
USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76)
FPO AP 96616-2876


Click HERE to order
Use School Code WA2486 and Student (last) Name RYAN

Again, a portion of the proceeds go to a Jr. High Theater Arts program and the magazine you send will be very appreciated by our sailors abroad.

China Attacks US

China has been attacking American satellites for some time now. The attacks use a high powered laser to dazzle the lenses of Key Hole and other photo recon satellites. The attacks do not destroy the space cameras but do prevent them from working properly. China now has the ability to shield from the world what they are doing in their shipyards and missile factories. They can prevent America from seeing a transfer of troops to the Formosa straight.

China can move ships, men, tanks, missiles and other military hardware into position to invade Taiwan and the only way we would know is from aircraft in the area. However those aircraft can be forced to land as in the case of a US Navy EP-3 a few years ago. Taiwan is a country with a freely elected government that we have vowed to defend.

China has made it clear that they consider Taiwan a rouge province, much as America considered the south in the American Civil War. They have clearly stated that it will be reunited with China, even if it means force. China has been building a blue-water navy. Where they once had no amphibious ability, they now are ranked second or third. China has been conducting espionage against many of the firms contracted to build the next US Navy Destroyer.

The attacks have been unreported to the American public because the current administration has decided that they need China’s help in dealing with North Korea. Upsetting China now, would make it more difficult for us to deal with the spoiled brat running that impoverished nation but we should not let our compliancy allow them to build up and develop was to degrade our equipment. We are ignoring the un-named superpower so we can focus on the war on terror. Let us hope this does not come back to bite us in the ass. Those who fail to study history…

Source

Marine Sues Murtha

In what has to be a first, an active duty marine is suing a sitting member of congress for defamation of character. Murtha made comments about the incident of the floor, reading in to congressional record that the questionable deaths of 24 civilians were indicative of the difficulties and overpowering stress that U.S. troops are facing.

This did not sit well with Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich, who is a member of that unit.

“Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up.”

Wuterich and the other members of his squad have not been charged and have not received any official investigative documentation about the Nov. 19 incident., but yet Murth saw fit to try and convict them and make that conviction part of the official record of the congress of the United States.

I’m glad one Jar-head is fighting back against this ex-marine.

Ding Dong, the Witch is DEAD

Well, ok, he was not a witch, but he was one evil dude, and now he is dead. One thousands pounds of high explosive justice rained down from the sky in the form of two five hundred pound bombs released from a couple of mighty F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The blast killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and seven aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman. Al-Zarqawi was evil, there is no doubt about that. He personally took part in beheadings and murders as well as thousands of deaths in Iraq indirectly through his terrorism.

It is sad that there may have been several collateral deaths in the attack, and those people should be mourned, just as the thousands of victims of al-Zarqawi should also be mourned, remembered and never forgotten.

Will his death make a difference? Operations, read as terrorist attacks, that are already in the works will most likely continue as planned. Maybe there will be a lack of coordination and planning that will hamper future planning, but most likely someone else will replace him, but one can only hope that they will not be as effective, as sick and as psychopathic. We believe that his death is beneficial to America, Iraq and peaceful people all over the world.

* UPDATE
Still no reports of anyone in the US throwing candy in the air nor of dancing in the streets.

Centrifuge to Replace Gunpowder?

In interesting article via Military.com

There is a new weapon system being designed promises to revolutionize warfare as we know it. The first side to develop and deploy this is going to rule the battle field until it this system is owned by all.

The system uses a centrifuge to fire either the .308 or .50 caliber projectiles at 8,000 feet per second. There is no propellant, which means ceaseless ammunition, no heat, no recoil, no muzzle flashes and is said to be jam proof with a theoretical firing rate of 120,000 rounds per minute.

This level of sustainable fire power, with no recoil to bounce the weapon off of the target is incredible. I’d not want to be on the receiving end of one of there things. As an acquaintance once said “be careful what you invent as one day you may be on the wrong end of it.”