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Home Front: Culture Wars
"V": When Homeland Terrorism Was Good
2009-08-14
I think the writer is confusing two separate things: the tools of guerrilla warfare and terrorism. Roadside bombs, IEDs, infiltration, sabotage, and what have you are all used in irregular and for that matter regular warfare. What makes it terrorism is when the tools are used against illegitimate targets.

That's why the charges of "state terrorism" that periodically get chanted by various sources ring hollow. There ain't no such thing. States may oppress their citizens (and inhabitants -- not all are citizens) and they might commit war crimes, but they can only sponsor terrorism. The Basij are instruments of oppression; Hezbollah's a proxy for the Iranian government and it's a terrorist organization in that it takes hostages and blows people up.

I've never seen "V" but from the description it sounds like a fictional depiction of guerrilla warfare. Guerrillas may use terrorist tactics -- MILF in the Philippines and PUK in Turkey both pop to mind, and the Viet Cong were pretty devil-may-care when it came to the rules of war -- but terrorist organizations are conceived and organized for purposes of targeting civilians. That's the difference between MILF and Abu Sayyaf.
Yes, terrorism on US soil was once a good thing, at least to couch potatos. In the early eighties, TV viewers were treated to the series, "V," where shapely, just-out-of-the-beauty-salon aliens, duped Earthlings into outward cultural integration, as they implemented their hidden agenda: tricking us to journey to their homeland, where we would be served as dinner. Fortunately, Patriots got wind of their true reptilian nature, when they witnessed them devouring live mice, rats and bunnies, whole. Then, an armed rebellion commenced.

What does this have to do with the War on Terror? Re-runs of "V" reveal that Patriots used: Improvised Explosive Devises; Roadside Bombs; Hearts-and-Minds' cover for infiltration; Sniping; Theft of enemy weapons; Ambush; Conscription from the enemy (the actor who later worked as Freddy Kreuger, played one). In at least one episode, a wired man who was cornered blew himself up in order to destroy an enemy installation. (See Youtube for clips from that bizarre and silly series)

What is my agenda? The fact that even Hollywood script-writers know how to devise effective weapons on paper, should fall on the rest of us. Resources used by the enemy in Afghanistan are: Juggernaut-Weapons. The Taliban is using morale-killers that effectively tie up resources. They are working on the principle that they can win a protracted war. And win they will, if we continue to send NATO soldiers to battle, under UN rules of engagement. Lesson: use effective counters. Disproportionate-Retaliation is the only thing that has ever crushed a jihadi army, and must form the basis of NATO's operational policy. Further, we have to re-zone the terror-horde to encompass its source. Much of their action is cross-border, thus, sovereignty must not be an obstacle.

It will be ironic when next year's TV season features American Patriots using weapons and tactics that are being used against US soldiers in Afghanistan. "Winter Soldiers" and other morale-cripples will use that to defend enemy operations. Since Bismarck applied Rudolf Virchow's "Kultur Kampf" notion of social perma-war, wars have been - or should have been - fought on the battle-front and the home-front. No war can be won abroad, when it is being lost at home. Defeat follows defeatism.
Unitle Borgia4836, this reads like an opinion piece to me, so I moved it.
And I moved it some more ...
Posted by:Unitle Borgia4836

#8  "We used biological warfare agz them" > IIRC, it was called "SEX", as a number of Allyens had had babies wid humans. PLUS, also IIRC, the aliens' diet extended to BIRDS???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-08-14 20:56  

#7  Damon Knight, author of “How to Serve Man,” should have sued.
Posted by: Eric Jablow   2009-08-14 18:20  

#6  

I am Dr. Julie Parrish, and I call shenanigans.

We were an insurgency, not terrorists. We only blew up lizards and their enablers.
But we did use biological warfare against them. Sorry about that.
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia   2009-08-14 17:56  

#5  If Hollywood behaves as expected, in the remake of Red Dawn, the Commies will be the good guys.

Posted by: Frozen Al   2009-08-14 17:35  

#4  Totally agree with the commentary on the side. There was a Star Trek Next Gen Episode in which a terrorist said the only difference between a terrorist and folks like George Washington is between winners and losers and who writes the history books. Well history books can white-wash a terrorist of course but George Washington never targeted civilians.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2009-08-14 15:46  

#3  Yah, "opinion" might be a better spot than "short attention span."

I forgot about "Red Dawn." And a little search tells me that that will be remade next year. I don't trust Hollywood. Leftists want an excuse to equate American opinion on occupation ethics, with that of Taliban/al-Qaeda.

So expect to see American rebels planting IEDs, etc. But don't think that these films are apolitical.

I only watched "V" to see "Diana," the shapeliest and most evil Reptilian, eating rodents. It was cool watercooler talk, back then. Check Youtube for the Twilight Zone classic, "To Serve Man." Spoiler: "It's a Cook Book."
Posted by: Unitle Borgia4836   2009-08-14 12:38  

#2  WOLVERINES!!!!!
Posted by: whitecollar redneck   2009-08-14 12:01  

#1  REd Dawn is a better example.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2009-08-14 10:05  

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