DESPITE being shot twice during an ambush in Afghanistan, an SAS soldier lashed himself to the front of his patrol vehicle so he wouldn't be left behind if he passed out from loss of blood and kept on fighting. The Digger is expected to be recommended for a high level bravery award.
Suffering from serious upper body wounds, the soldier struggled on to the front of his SAS long range patrol vehicle (LRPV) and, under heavy fire, used a rope to attach himself firmly between the vehicle's bull bar and radiator. Once he was secured, and there was no chance that he would fall off if he fainted, he picked up his rifle and resumed firing at the enemy during a two-hour fighting withdrawal.
SAS troops and their special forces comrades from the Commando Regiment are well aware of the slow and painful death that awaits them if they are captured by the Taliban.
The Digger, who cannot be identified, faded in and out of consciousness, emptying several magazines as volleys of enemy rounds and rocket propelled grenades, rained down around him. He was finally evacuated from the battle field at high speed still lashed to the front of the LRPV.
A source told The Courier-Mail the Digger was now "up and about" and would recover fully from his serious gunshot wounds. His heroic deeds will be recognised when he is recommended for a high level bravery award. Several others engaged in the do-or-die battle on September 2 are also in line for top honours.
#1
Ah, the will to live and the cool head to do something about. Give him a medal is right! Hopefully those mags he emptied were hi-cap and he marty ........... uh I mean killed a few jihadis.
#8
Typical Aussie, they are the salt of the Earth.
I was down at the pub the other night talking to one of the local larrikans, who was enjoying a bullboar meal when one of his mates, who is noted for having a weak stomach walked in.
I should mention that another local brings his dog in, against regulations.
The above mentioned larrikan said "watch this" and then skinned a bullboar and dropped it on the floor.
While the two of them were talking, the larrikan said "bloody hell, whats that?
I think its sh*t"
With that he picked up the skinned bullboar and took a bite.
"Yup", he said, "it's sh*t."
His mate spent the next half hour french kissing the porcelin.
#9
Way to go Aussies. You've restored my faith and we in the US are extremely grateful for your courage and dedication to overthrowing Islamic Extremism.....oh, I forgot....too racist. Anyway, give this soldier a medal. I hope he sent many of Allah's worshipers home to their 72 virgins.
#10
He is a true hero in every sense of the word. Very Inspiring! Where is the news coverage on this?!? Oh since it wasn't Obama doing this then its not worthy of the MSM illuminati coverage? Go JOE!
The Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers told a press conference on Wednesday the two countries agree on not holding talks with armed Taliban.
"Talks will be held with only those who are willing to lay down arms and those who live within the constitution," Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta said. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said other nations were coming around to Pakistan's multi-pronged counterterrorism strategy that said "no talks with militants but political dialogue with those who agree to live as peaceful citizens".
Sanctuaries: The Afghan foreign minister also called for the destruction of Taliban and Al Qaeda 'reproduction factories' in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan, adding cross-border terrorism was a serious issue. "If there are sanctuaries, there are. Let us call a spade a spade. But they would be taken care of only by the Pakistani security forces," Qureshi added. Qureshi said he had shared a document with his Afghan counterpart that 'set the tone for a new relationship' with new transportation and communication corridors, co-operation in energy and mineral development projects, and trans-border economic zones.
Spanta denied India was planning to send troops to Afghanistan or that there were 16 Indian consulates in Afghanistan, saying there were only four in Mazar-e-Shairf, Herat, Kandhar and Jalalabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
by the headline i thought hell had frozen over. Then i saw lay down arms for what 10 minutes
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 7:38 Comments ||
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...now with Rules of Engagement™!
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A NATO anti-piracy force will arrive off the coast of Somalia in the next few days with clear rules on how it can take on high-seas bandits, NATO said on Wednesday.
The commander of the force, U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, told reporters on Tuesday the alliance had still not provided him with rules of engagement."They will arrive in the coming days," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said of the anti-piracy ships."They will have the rules of engagement that they need ... they will know exactly what they need to do and how they should do it," Appathurai told a regular news conference, adding the rules of engagement, including how and when the mission could use force, would be agreed within a day or two.
Six NATO members have contributed ships, including destroyers and frigates, to a special anti-piracy task force following a request from the United Nations. The NATO group passed through the Suez Canal last week on its way to the Horn of Africa, where piracy has surged this year, with more than 30 ships seized and ransoms estimated at $18-$30 million have been paid to free hostages. Appathurai said the group was facing very heavy seas, which had slowed it down.
Asked what the NATO group would be able to do, Appathurai said: "This is a very, very complicated thing to do ... pirates don't identify themselves with eye-patches and crooked-hands, it isn't always immediately obvious that they are pirates." Kill everything that says "Yarrrrrrr!"
"There will be a number of very competent and very effective military ships coordinating with each other as appropriate to provide presence, to provide deterrence and where necessary and possible to intervene. I don't know how the pirates will react to this." Probably lay low until they leave. They can't stay forever.
#1
"This is a very, very complicated thing to do ... pirates don't identify themselves with eye-patches and crooked-hands, it isn't always immediately obvious that they are pirates."
Firing on registered merchantmen usually is a clear sign of identity. The leadership needs to watch a few episodes of COPS to get the 'suspicious' behavior ROE to pull the perp over. Make note of failure to have proper operating lights. "Sir, you're missing the appropriate red and green lights operating in a major traffic lane." Ask for registration and license and proof of insurance. "Please, step out of the vehicle here for the interview".
#4
The leadership needs to watch a few episodes of COPS to get the 'suspicious' behavior ROE to pull the perp over. Make note of failure to have proper operating lights...
Therein lies the glitch. The motherships will likely be operating with proper running lights and look like any other fishing or small cargo vessel. If not, the naval assets are going to be spending a lot of time boarding and searching any ship that could be a mothership. And that requires either an agressive set of orders, an international mandate (similar to the Iraqi embargo), or simply ignoring long-established maritime law.
Small boats however, are another matter. I don't know if you've ever sailed in that area, but there's lots of small craft. There aren't enough naval assets to stop and search every one of them.
Also, IIUC, the small boats used by the pirates are either carried aboard or trailed behind the mothership, and released only when there is a target in sight.
#5
Warships are NOT the vessel of choice for this engagement. What is needed is a squadron of AC-130s who can come in and fire on a small boat on the water AND HIT IT, with a fast-reaction time, lots of loiter capability, and good radar/radio assets. Ships are too slow. Even at 35 knots, it'll take a ship several hours to close with a ship even a hundred miles away, while an AC-130 can be there in half an hour.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/23/2008 17:34 Comments ||
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#6
You're talking 'response' when you haven't reached the initial stages first.
You still have to find the boat. Radar - maybe.
You still have to ID the boat and its cargo. How do you do that if there's a tarp? IR? Perhaps/ What if it's a boatload of illegal immigrants enroute to Yemen? (and before you bozos say "screw 'em", remember that's it's a damn good way to end the anti-piracy operation very) early).
No, this is going to have to be more painstaking, at first.
#7
Sounds like the US Navy has discovered an incidental testing ground for UAV/USV armed escort and recce, "mother ship", etc. battlespace concepts - VIETNAM-ERA RIVERINE PATROL FORCE MEETS "STAR WARS"???
ION US NAVY > the USN is reportedly intent on DEV NEW STRATEGIC OPERATIONS CONCEPTS, e.g. establishment of FUTURIST "GLOBAL FLEET STATIONS" in select regions.
Read, OWG-NWO + SPACE OPERATIONS NEW MISSIONS SCOPES.
#1
Dr. Zaghloul is chairman of the Committee on Scientific Notions in the Glorious Koran and Purity Sunnah Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Cairo and a fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences.
Oh, boy! This should be really good. Let's all listen...
Some 100 activists from two Kyrgyz political groups rallied Tuesday in capital Bishkek, calling for withdrawal of the US air base from Kyrgyzstan.
Wonder how much money they get from Moscow ...
Protesters from the nationalist Zhoomart group and the Sergiy Radonezhsky Fund cheered as Zhoomart's leader Nurlan Motuyev publicly burned a US flag and an effigy of US President George W. Bush.
"Americans are the first to begin wars everywhere, they kill peaceful Muslims, spill fuel on our soil and make farmers suffer from poor crops. Away with the air base!" Motuyev called. He left out the part about us debauching the local wimminfolk and poisoning wells...
"There is a threat that if a US base stays in Kyrgyzstan, Muslim countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and China would take vengeance on us," the Fund's leader Igor Trofimov warned.
Police, though present, did not interfere. Local protests against US military presence are often staged both in Bishkek and next to the air base. The air base, which shares premises with the country's main airport at Manas, outside the capital, is crucial to Washington's operations in Afghanistan. About 1,000 US troops are stationed at Manas.
(APP): The in-camera joint session of Parliament Wednesday underlined an urgent review of national security strategy and revisiting the methodology of combating terrorism in order to restore peace and stability in the country and the region through an independent foreign policy. The House through a resolution adopted unanimously noted with great concern that extremism, militancy and terrorism in all forms and manifestations pose a grave danger to the stability and integrity of the nation-state.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday indicated willingness to lay down arms if the government assured it of ending the ongoing military operation. TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said that the allegation that the Taliban movement was destabilising Pakistan was baseless, adding that the TTP was firm on its stance that if the government ended the military operation, it would lay down its arms. However, he added, the government had always backed out of its promises. He said that no foreign agencies were pressurising the Taliban and they were independent in making their own decisions.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Funny, I hit the "translate" button and the word "hudna" didn't pop up - your button's broke, Fred.
The government would not allow anybody to use Pakistani soil for attacks against other countries, particularly the neighbours, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday. "If we want others to respect our borders, we must respect the territorial limits of other countries," he told parliament in his concluding speech during the joint in-camera session.
He said the government would not allow a handful of misguided people to impose their will on the nation, adding that Pakistan was not a banana republic and the government would ensure its writ at all cost. Gilani said the government would defeat all foreign and local terrorist elements that wanted to force their own system on the people of the country.
The prime minister said Pakistan faced serious threats in the shape of terrorism and extremism, and assured the parliamentarians that the government was willing to review its anti-terror strategy in the light of their recommendations. He said the government had been given a new mandate to reorganise the war against terror in the shape of suggestions during the debate on security policy.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Major General Athar Abbas, head of the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, is quoted in the current issue of Time magazine as warning that anyone crossing into Pakistan will be "seen as hostile or in an offensive posture". According to the report, "Major General Athar Abbas told Time that Pakistani troops would hereafter shoot at any force coming across the border. Any Americans making the crossing, he warned, should not expect Pakistani soldiers to ask questions before shooting. 'At the level of a (border) post (Pakistani troops) are not to be given shades of an order ... they're supposed to engage.'"
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#4
shoot our soldiers and get the same as your cousins/brothers/dads like the taliban
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 7:42 Comments ||
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#5
someone give me a reason we keep giving these inbreds AID and not the old well thats how we supply our troops in Afghanistan? Come on just 1 good reason
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 7:43 Comments ||
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#6
Come on just 1 good reason
While the preceeding Democratic president was busy getting BJs Pakistan got the bomb.
#7
so why should we !. give them AID, @ use them for routes of resupply?
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 16:02 Comments ||
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#8
excuse me , and use thehir territory for routes too resupply our troops for the AID we give these "ppl" we could probably fly the stuff in and if India doesn't have the "bomb" give them one too even things up
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 16:04 Comments ||
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#9
ALso i have a great idea. Don't we know where AQ Khan is under house arrest at? If they happen too shoot any of our troops at their supposed border checkpoints or elsewhere let's see his home turn too rubble
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 16:05 Comments ||
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#10
by the way if they can afford the bomb they can afford too take care of their other military supplies , aid too their earthquake victims and too line their generals pockets . sorry the "bomb" bullshit just isn't that good enough answer
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 16:07 Comments ||
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The government will expel all foreign fighters from Pakistani soil and not allow its territory to be used for terrorist attacks against other countries, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated in a letter on Wednesday. Responding to a letter by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister reiterated his 10-point fundamental drivers to frame a national policy.
The very stability and survival of Pakistan is at stake. Our resources are over-stretched and our economy is severely impacted by each bomb blast and each suicide attack.
"The magnitude of the trauma our country faces is indeed great, and in many ways unprecedented. The very stability and survival of Pakistan is at stake. Our resources are over-stretched and our economy is severely impacted by each bomb blast and each suicide attack," the letter said. Gilani said parliament was his government's source of strength and felt the need to bring all policy issues in parliament for approval and ownership. "In the closed-door joint session of parliament we have all noted that terrorists recognise no state or religion," he said. Explaining his 10 points, Gilani wrote dialogue must be preferred above all other options, as a principal instrument of conflict management and resolution. Gilani said the restoration of state structures, law enforcement and government in the troubled area should be ensured by restoring local customary forums for collective responsibility to avoid a political vacuum and instil community ownership.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Dialogue will be primary instrument of conflict resolution
Redistribution of resources to resolve Balochistan violence
Civil agencies will replace military in troubled areas
Compensation for violence victims, rehabilitation for the displaced What if the bad guys don't want to talk? What if the Balochs don't want their resources redistributed? How many ground attack aircraft will the civil agencies have? How do you rehabilitate someone whose head's been chopped off?
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The beginning of the first, historic, trial by the International Criminal Court in The Hague is still not in sight.
The court's Board of Appeal has ruled that the case against Thomas Lubanga, the Congolese man suspected of war crimes, was correctly adjourned in June. Mr Lubanga is suspected of recruiting and deploying child soldiers in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The court adjourned the trial in June due to concerns that Mr Lubanga would not receive a fair hearing. Procedural regulations had prevented his defence lawyers from viewing all the evidence.
Mr Lubanga remains behind bars while steps are taken to determine how the trial can proceed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Wait, what? We've had that damned ICC for the last what, ten years or so? IT TOOK THEM TEN YEARS TO PRODUCE A TRIAL?
Fuck.
Bush was wrong; nobody that incompetent is worth wasting political capital to oppose. Yeah, they might talk about trying American servicemen and politicians, but at the rate they move, they'd be bringing up those individuals' heirs and descendants in lieu of the actual victimsdefendants, since they'd have long since died of old age in the interim.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/23/2008 8:09 Comments ||
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#2
For citizens of the world, they take ten years. For citizens of the United States, ten minutes, tops.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned Tuesday of "pretty dramatic" consequences of not having an accord governing the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and said he did not want to change the draft deal despite concerns raised by Iraqi politicians.
As Baghdad leaders said they wanted more changes to the draft agreement now under review, though, the U.S. defense chief also said the door was "pretty far closed" on further negotiations -- though it wasn't slammed shut, he added.
"The consequences of not having a SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) and of not having a renewed U.N. authorization are pretty dramatic in terms of consequences for our actions," said Gates, speaking to members of three news agencies.
Gates added, "if they (Baghdad or Congress) were to come up with something we haven't thought of, or identify problems we missed some way, we would have to take that seriously."
A status of forces agreement would replace the current U.N. mandate -- which expires December 31 -- as the legal basis for the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
Gates was speaking to reporters in his Pentagon office after the draft security deal failed to win support among Iraqi political leaders and prompted Iraq to demand changes to the document. He said the response in Iraq suggested the positions among different political groups could balance each other out and lead to progress after an initial stalemate. "We just have to let the Iraqi political process play out," Gates said. But he added: "Clearly the clock is ticking."
On Tuesday Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet called for changes to the planned security pact, unanimously agreeing to seek unspecified amendments, according to government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. The demand for changes is expected to significantly delay the agreement, which still must be approved by the Iraqi parliament after endorsement by the cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, yeah, we know.
End of the world.
Same as the Bailout argument.
#2
Dramatic for the Iraqis whose country becomes a site of a proxy war between Saudia and Iran until nothing is left. For USA it means saving 10 billion $ + couple dozen human lives (on the average) a month.
Iran says the US-proposed Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq would never allow the establishment of a sovereign Iraqi government.
Only Iranian domination would allow that ...
Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday hit out at the US-sought security deal with Iraq, saying it impinged on the country's sovereignty. "This encroaches on the sovereignty (of Iraq), and will not allow the establishment of a strong government," he said during a visit to Bahrain.
The Iranian official's remarks came after the Pentagon accused Iran of stalling Washington-Baghdad negotiations on the security deal. "Iranian meddling in Iraq takes on all forms" including "an attempt by the Iranians to undermine, undercut, derail the SOFA (status of forces) agreement," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday.
Washington seeks to finalize the controversial deal with Iraq to give a legal basis to its military and political presence in the oil-rich country before its UN mandate expires on December 31. The deal, however, has yet to be finalized due to widespread opposition by Iraq's religious and political figures.
One of the hotly disputed issues on the agreement is that it grants immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts to US forces who commit crimes inside the agreed facilities and areas owned by the government of Iraq but used by US forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Foreign military presence has made matters worse in Iraq, says Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
US says Iran not a force for long....
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/23/2008 2:04 Comments ||
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#2
Because Iran and hezbullshit have made Lebanon such a wonderful place
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 7:40 Comments ||
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#3
In other news, the Devil called God a sadist and an "absentee landlord" in the course of an expletive-laden rant against the Throne of Mercy and Judgement.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/23/2008 8:14 Comments ||
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#4
Interesting how they quote Obama to support their case.
#5
Obama has already made real good friends in Iran more than likely
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 8:52 Comments ||
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#6
And when asked for a followup, "by good we mean they are not a force for promoting Shia theocracy and extremism that will bring the return of the missing Imam of course. That is good. What crazy definition do you use?"
#8
We may not be able to bring the return of the mahdi and the end of the world, but we can end the ayatollah's world. And that's good enough for me.
Posted by: ed ||
10/23/2008 12:02 Comments ||
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#9
Well golly-gee I guess we should get out of Iraq since Iran says we are bad. What a ridiculous waste of an time. I'm sure that the left-wing illuminati party will sit with them and have tea while discussing how best we can quickly withdraw from the middle east.
Eighteen years after executed President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the Gulf emirate's envoy presented his credentials to Iraq's new Shiite-led government Wednesday, promising to "forget the past." "The political leaders of the two countries have decided to forget the past and build good relations between them," Ali al-Momen said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Defense Minister Ehud Barak is seeking to widen a ban on family visits to Hamas prisoners held in Israel in a bid to pressure the Islamist group to release captured soldier Gilad Shalit, according to a document released on Wednesday.
In a letter to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, Barak requested that he examine the legal aspects of preventing families of Hamas prisoners from the West Bank from visiting them in jail.
Israel has already cut off family visits to Hamas inmates from the Gaza Strip as part of an overall tightening of border restrictions since the group seized the territory from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in 2007.
Barak, citing in the letter his reasons for wanting to widen the visiting ban, said that in the absence of an Israeli military operation, "all other possibilities must be explored" in securing Shalit's release.
Shalit was captured by Gaza militants, including Hamas fighters, two years ago. In exchange for his release, Hamas has demanded that Israel set free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it holds.
Barak, in the letter, described Hamas's demands as "extortion" and accused it of foot-dragging in indirect negotiations, mediated by Egypt, on a prisoner exchange.
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups that took part in the cross-border raid that captured Shalit, said Barak's move "would not force the factions holding him to drop any of their demands."
Some 11,000 Palestinians are incarcerated in Israeli prisons and securing their release is a highly emotive issue in Palestinian society,
which regards them as symbols of resistance to occupation.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Despite being hailed models of democracy countries like the United States and Israel rank lower than most Arab countries in terms of press freedom, a media report said Wednesday.
In the post 9/11 world of fear-mongering and insecurity the world's top democracies are slowly but surely doing away with press freedoms, Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) press freedom index of 2008 said.
Really? Write an article in the U.S. criticizing George Bush. See what happens. Now write in article in Egypt criticizing His Enormity. See what happens. Which do you prefer?
"Destabilized and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms," the report said, adding it is no longer economic prosperity but peace that guarantees press freedom.
The Paris-based group ranked the U.S. at 119 outside its own territory while Israel, whose armed forces killed a Palestinian journalist this year, was 149th on the list for press freedoms beyond its frontiers.
How does either the U.S. or Israel control press freedoms beyond their own frontiers?
The annual report listed 173 countries with the highest ranked Middle Eastern country as Kuwait at 61 followed by Lebanon at 66 and the United Arab Emirates at 69.
The U.S., within its own borders, is ranked 36th at the press release, behind such free press stalwarts as Ghana, Namibia, Jamaica, and Bosnia. Sure, we can see that ...
Violent conflicts in Iraq (158th), Pakistan (152nd), Afghanistan (156th) and Somalia (153rd) pushed them towards the bottom of the list. The report also described these countries as highly dangerous "black zones" for reporters as they are targeted daily for murder, kidnapping or death threats.
The Palestinian Territories ranked penultimate in terms of Middle Eastern countries where authorities find "any excuse will do to get rid of trouble-makers and spies," the report said.
Syria, which ranked 159th, was labeled the Middle-East champion in cyber-repression where Internet surveillance is so thorough that the least criticism is followed by arrest. Egypt's government, which faced a string of online protests this year, now labels every Internet user a potential danger, the report said ranking the biggest Middle-Eastern nation at 146.
RSF labeled Tunisia, Libya and Iran--the lowest ranked Middle Eastern country--as dictatorships where journalists face an "unchanging hell" of a suffocating lack of press freedom. Saudi Arabia ranked 161 and the report said nothing is allowed to be published if it does not accord with government policy.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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U.S. Army commanders now have a new bunch of inspectors looking over their shoulders. These are the Red Teams, small groups of officers that go over combat plans, and their probability of success. This is unique, as Red Teams are basically questioning how commanders plan to fight.
Throughout its history, the U.S. military, like their counterparts worldwide, have had an Inspector General. This was a small organization that insured that everyone in uniform was doing their job the way it was supposed to be done. But because combat was so infrequent, there was never an attempt to inspect how successful a commanders battle plans might be.
Red Teams came out of wargaming. There, the "Red" team represented the enemy, while the "Blue" team played the good guys. In the last three decades, the U.S. Army adopted a more form of wargaming based on historical models, where commanders are presented with very realistic situations for future battles. This was applying to wargames the old phrase, "train as you fight, and fight as you train." But in addition to providing more realistic games for training, this style of wargames also made it possible to analyze war plans as never before. In the past, your war plans didn't really get a workout until you were in combat against a real, live Red Team (the enemy). The new wrinkle was that it was now easier to have your own people provide an effective, if not perfect, Red Team experience because of all those officers with wargame experience.
So now the senior commanders of the U.S. Army have been sending Red Teams around to the major commands, to play devil's advocate to whatever war plans senior commanders and their staffs have come up with. It's not new, really. The concept of "devil's advocate" has been around for a long time. But now the army is institutionalizing it, and using more powerful techniques (wargaming) to implement it.
This all began back in the 1980s, when realistic wargaming was catching on, especially among the students at the Command and General Staff School (C&GSS) and the Army War College AWC). The younger officers at the C&GSS were particularly enthusiastic, and they came to be known as the "Jedi Knights," mainly because the analytic skills obtained from playing lots of wargames, gave them a seemingly magical ability to find flaws in war plans. That's what the Red Teams are all about, Jedi Knights on steroids.
Now the senior leadership is sending two man Red Teams down to brigades, to test the war plans at that level. Often the Red Teams find that the war plans are pretty solid, mainly because the commanders and staffs have used wargaming to develop their own plans, and to work out the flaws that an adroit enemy would exploit once it was too late to do anything about it.
The Red Teams all report to the head of the army, which insures that none of the commanders they are working with try to pull rank. The Red Teams give the Chief of Staff of the army regular reports on how effective the many war plans developed in the army combat units are holding up to scrutiny, which is a unique capability in the military world.
First the Jedi Knights are the SAMS grads at CGSC. They spend an extra year there working Div level or higher planning. They are then sent to Division 3 shop and burried in the future plans section. They are managed seperate from their peers and are a huge asset to the command.
Now to the Red teams. From the time your a young officer you learn that during the mission planning the folks in the command that are better educated in the enemies tactics play red side during the war game process. Having a couple experts that understand the enemy better than the commander is a giant asset to the commander. This war is not a simple force on force fight any more. We need experts to advise the commander during the war game on the political, relig, local effects, etc... on the area and the fight. He can't just rely on his S2 any more for this, its too big. In the units I came from we put our very best officers in the opposing force side during the war game. It makes us work harder, think differenly, and in the end it saves lives. When the fight starts, it all on the commander, good or bad. Having a the very best red team before the fight is alway a bonus.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/23/2008 12:12 Comments ||
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#6
Quite the opposite. It's more likely the Army's version of Top Gun.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 12:17 Comments ||
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#7
Gen W.T. Sherman, founder, US Command School, would have strongly approved.
#8
And General Lee would object, as he gave broad instructions with enough specificity to achieve success, but at the same time permitting his commanders to exercise their individual initiative and tactical perogative. Yes of course, in the end Lee was not victorious. His numerous battlefield victories however, were accomplished with valor, tactical initiative which seldom culminated with the burning of civilian crops, farms, towns, or cities.
#9
Ask the USN, about when they sent SEAL teams to various bases to test security and every base was penetrated. look where that program ended up; cuz it busted too many fast risers' balloons.
(AKI/Jakarta Post) - Despite the threat of heavy prison sentences, Indonesia's main international airport has reported an increase in drug smuggling incidents this year.
A senior customs official at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport said incidents were on the rise this year. Eko Darmanto, chief of intelligence at the airport's customs office told Indonesian daily The Jakarta Post on Wednesday there had been 12 foiled drug-smuggling attempts since February. "We have arrested 23 people as suspects and seized the smuggled drugs," he said.
Suspects came from Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The number of foiled drug-smuggling incidents at the airport reached its peak in 2004 after steadily increasing since 1998.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Hezbollah rejected negotiations, or signing of any treaty with Israel, following reports that Israeli officials are exploring the possibility of reaching a nonaggression pact with Lebanon, local Daily Star reported Wednesday.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Hoballah told the local newspaper that Lebanon refused to negotiate or sign any treaty with Israel, saying that "Lebanon has the right to liberate its occupied territories of Shebaa farms, Kafar shuba hills and Ghajar village, and to protect its sovereignty against Israeli aggressions."
Both Lebanon and Hezbollah sources denied having any information that Israeli officials were trying to reach a long-term belligerence pact with Lebanon, the daily said. However, Hezbollah spokesman Hussien Rahal said earlier that his party has no comment on the Israeli report, and it would be studied.
On Monday, Israeli media said that Israeli foreign ministry officials are exploring a possible long-term non-belligerence pact with Lebanon that could stop future hostilities between the two countries. The prospective agreement, according to the report, would be bilateral and include a demarcation of Lebanese-Israeli border, as well as a decrease in Hezbollah arsenal with more Lebanese army deployment near south of the Litani River. In return, Israel would stop violating Lebanese airspace and establish a security mechanism of coordination with the Lebanese army and UNIFIL, the report added.
However, Israeli head of foreign ministry's political planning section Eran Etzion said Monday that any deal with Lebanon would have to follow a comprehensive peace agreement with Syria. Israel and Syria have been engaged since May in indirect talks, sponsored by Turkey.
Lebanon and Israel have never had any direct and formal relations. Prime Minister Fouad Seniora was quoted as saying that Lebanon will be the last Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
How about, "You will sit down and we'll discuss how you're going to leave Lebanese territory, or we'll begin nuking everything between the Litani and Tripoli, includin the Bekaa Valley"?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/23/2008 17:51 Comments ||
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Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.
And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.
"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush.
The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had "exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy." It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.
"It will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda," said the posting, attributed to Muhammad Haafid, a longtime contributor to the password-protected site. "Al-Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America."
It was unclear how closely the commentary reflected the views of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who has not issued a public statement since the spring. Some terrorism experts said the support for McCain could be mere bluster by a group that may have more to fear from a McCain presidency. In any event, the comments summarized what has emerged as a consensus view on extremist sites, said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist Web pages. Site provided translations of the comments to The Washington Post.
"The idea in the jihadist forums is that McCain would be a faithful 'son of Bush' -- someone they see as a jingoist and a war hawk," Raisman said. "They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain."
Islamist militants have generally had less to say about Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Leaders of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah expressed a favorable view of Obama during the primary campaign but later rejected the Democrat after he delivered speeches expressing support for Israel.
In an e-mail response, senior McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann noted that al-Qaeda leaders have repeatedly said that America "did not have the stomach to fight them over the long haul," which the Arizona senator has pledged to do. "Whatever musings and bravado on radical websites the Washington Post chooses to quote, the fact remains that only John McCain has the experience, judgment and fortitude to lead a country at war," he said. The Obama campaign declined to comment on the Web postings.
Both the Bush administration and the two major presidential campaigns have rejected any suggestion that the economic downturn will undermine the country's fight against al-Qaeda. Obama and McCain have stepped gingerly around the issue of how they would adjust their priorities in a recession and have spoken of the importance of maintaining a strong defense. Both have advocated expanding the size of the U.S. military overall, but neither has explained in detail how to pay for it.
From shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks to last year, U.S. defense spending rose from 3 to 4 percent of gross domestic product, but it remains far below the 45-year average of 5.5 percent. The Pentagon's budget for fiscal 2009 is $527 billion, a figure that does not include Iraq and Afghanistan war costs, which have totaled more than $800 billion since 2001.
"History shows us that nations that are strong militarily over time have to have a strong economy," McCain said this month. He has said the United States must send more troops to Afghanistan while avoiding a withdrawal timetable from Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Because they know their brother Obama will remove the troops killing the hell out of their friends and give them free reign.
Posted by: chris ||
10/23/2008 7:39 Comments ||
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#2
"It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush." - quote
Wow Obama is so good at selling the Bush-McCain connection that even Al-Qaeda is buying what he is laying down. I bet anyone a dollar that the left-wing illuminati party will be using this in a negative ad campaign.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
DESPITE being shot twice during an ambush in Afghanistan, an SAS soldier lashed himself to the front of his patrol vehicle so he wouldn't be left behind if he passed out from loss of blood and kept on fighting. The Digger is expected to be recommended for a high level bravery award.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday indicated willingness to lay down arms if the government assured it of ending the ongoing military operation. TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said that the allegation that the Taliban movement was destabilising Pakistan was baseless, adding that the TTP was firm on its stance that if the government ended the military operation, it would lay down its arms. However, he added, the government had always backed out of its promises. He said that no foreign agencies were pressurising the Taliban and they were independent in making their own decisions.
The government will expel all foreign fighters from Pakistani soil and not allow its territory to be used for terrorist attacks against other countries, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated in a letter on Wednesday. Responding to a letter by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister reiterated his 10-point fundamental drivers to frame a national policy. 
(SomaliNet) The beginning of the first, historic, trial by the International Criminal Court in The Hague is still not in sight. 
Despite being hailed models of democracy countries like the United States and Israel rank lower than most Arab countries in terms of press freedom, a media report said Wednesday.
