#1
Iran = China = the ultimate of fundamental question remains the same, i.e. IS THE BAMMER WILLING TO USE US MILITARY POWER IN THE PROMOTION + DEFENSE OF OVERSEAS ALLIES + HIS OWN "OBAMA DOCTRINE"; OR WILL HE ADHERE TO HIS ALLEGED
"MINIMALIST" FOREIGN POLICY(S) + DO LITTLE OR NOTHING AS MUSHROOM CLOUDS FORM AROUND THE WORLD.
... BECAUSE THE DEBT/SEQUESTER-RIDDEN US CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO INTERVENE???
E.G. IIRC TOPIX > [Commentary Magazine] RUSSIA BELIEVES OBAMA WILL BAIL ON SYRIA.
versus
* SAME, WORLD NEWS > OBAMA: US AT "CROSSPROADS" IN WAR ON TERROR.
Decisive Gettysburg or Antietam, versus First Bull Run aka "The Great Skedaddle" of the defeated Union Army back to Washington DC.
"LOOK, MEN, THERE'S THE BAMMER N-O-T STANDING LIKE A STONE WALL [Stonewall Jackson] - DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT RALLY AROUND THE VIRGINIANS"!
#3
He sold his soul for shiny medals and financial perks and circuses long agoand as his record shows, he will roll over again and again. Recall how Petraeus fell into lock-step rank-and-file with President Obama and Hillary Clinton when he joined them in falsely misleading America before the 2012 elections by blaming an out-of-control demonstration prompted by a Youtube video for the Benghazi attack to the House Intelligence Committee three days after the attack. Hes as dirty as they are.
Not excusing him, but they had him by the balls, right where they wanted him. It's the Chicago way.
The controversy begins with the name Hezb Allah, Arabic for the Party of God. And the controversy is further deepened by what is implied by the name: the others, the ones who dont belong to the movement of fire and brimstone, are Hezb al-Shaytan, the Party of Satan.
In the theology and practice of Hezbollah, there can be no mercy shown for other Muslims, let alone infidels beyond the boundaries of Islam. In a country like Lebanon, with eighteen religious communities, the theology of Hezbollah must be terribly problematic. The theology must twist and bend.
The tribunes of Hezbollah equivocatethey are good at that. They are brigades of wilayat al-faqih (the realm of the jurist), the Iranian notion that in the absence of the Twelfth Imam, the leader of the Islamic Republic claims sovereignty over the believers, and Lebanese citizens at the same time. No room for ambiguity is left here; wilayat al-faqih takes precedence. The pre-eminent leader of Hezbollah, the cleric Hassan Nasrallah, is bound by religious obligation (and old-fashioned ties of money and power) to render his loyalty to Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Wilayat al-faqih skipped borders and the Mediterranean to find its way into a worldly country that had not been known for its religious zeal. Lebanon laid down the foundations of a sister republic.
Lebanon shared a border with Israel, and an American educational enclave, the American University of Beirut, the jewel of this crown, that dated back to the mid-1800s. This gave the revolutionary theocracy in Tehran the material for a campaign against the oppressors. There was economic distress aplenty among the Shia of Lebanon. It was not hard for Iran, a large realm with substantial oil wealth, to find foot-soldiers in Lebanon. It had salvation to offer them, and economic sustenance.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in the mid-1980s, literally erected the Hezbollah movement. The newly urbanized among the Shia took to this movement. It helped them conquer age-old inadequacies. It didnt take long for little Tehran to rise in Beirut. The transformation was stunning. The chador was suddenly everywhere, as were the young bearded men and the clerics with black turbans who possessed of immense power. The cult of martyrdom was sold to the gullible.
tu3031, in a moment of fine snark, called this in a comment thread a few years ago. You magnificent bastard!
Next year, the U.S. Army is expected to choose a larger tank*--a ground combat vehicle (GCV), to be specific--to replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which has been in service since 1981. If the army accepts one contractor's proposal, its armored brigades could be relying heavily on a tank with a hybrid engine for several decades. I haven't seen an idea this dumb since Microsoft Bob...
#3
The thing is the US Army already tried Hybrid vehicles back in the 1970's IIRC. Diesel engine turning a generator, electric motors, and a lead acid battery back. The weight of the truck canceled out any fuel advantage. There are lighter batteries now but they are much more expensive and more dangerous when battle damaged and start burning. However don't be surprised it some buddy buddy company with Crony connections to the Obama administration gets a "Green" contract for them.
Are they getting small enough to mount on something the size of a Bradley, Rob?
Getting close. The biggest question is the discharge rate of the batteries. If they're fast-discharge, then it's for a weapon platform.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/29/2013 11:35 Comments ||
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#8
There are a few advantages for electric drive. It can apply more torque more quickly, is quieter, can be used for regenerative breaking, which improves fuel economy. Also, almost all training tasks can be done without cranking the engine reducing maintenance and O&S costs.
Now getting those advantages costs more money upfront through more complex design, more components, and more care in construction to separate the electric bits from the people inside.
It is not inherently dumb, but is instead a choice about operations and the intended use, and the GD option is pure diesel; so, we still have that choice available.
Now being 72 tons, that is pretty much dumb, no matter what you want to do with the thing.
#11
They're busy rebuilding the army to being theoretically less vulnerable to the last generation of IED's at the cost of realistically destroying its cross-country mobility against any sort of peer competitor.
#12
Most of the time, the power in BAEs tank would come from diesel generators that would deliver electricity to the motor and to the batteries. When extra power is needed, such as when the tank is accelerating, the batteries would engage. According to BAE, the tank would use 10 to 20 percent less fuel than a vehicle of the same size with a conventional engine. Because of its sheer mass, it would still be inefficient relative to other kinds of vehicles. Despite its hybrid engine and 255-gallon gas tank, the tank would be able to go no more than 186 miles without refueling, according to the company.
It looks like the GCV is using the exact opposite philosophy as rammer suggests, which means it makes even less sense than it did before.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/29/2013 12:42 Comments ||
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#13
As a retired army maintenance officer, I can say with some authority that this will be a truly epic disaster. We had enough problems with the brads' electrical systems as it was. IIRC, the #1 engine problem we had was the generator to charge batteries and run all the electrical stuff. (turret hydraulics (Yes, the turret hydraulic system is powered by an electric motor), radios, etc.)
I would like to know where the heck they plan on stuffing all those extra batteries. There was not much room left inside as it was.
#19
I'm a retired armor and cavalry officer, and appreciate the sense of these comments about this as a foolish idea on so many levels. But you are missing the salient point, that trumps all the others. IN the pantheon of GREEN, worshipers always find hybrid worthy, since it helps protect the true home, Gaia, and none of these piddling reality questions matter. Our overlords lead by Champ know what is good for us, and the leadership in the five sided building is being culled of those that disagree at an alarming rate. Look back at what has been done to the force, and is being done to what was once our technological superiority before the Chicoms stole everything, and you see the path Champ has planned for the proletariat.
#20
The South Africans developed a large truck with a v-shaped bottom for defense against landmines, the bottom channeld the explosion away. The same concept adapted to a HUMVEE would be good for IEDs.
Make the thing desiel/biodesiel compatible so you can run off of any kind of vegetable oil in a pinch as well as make the greenies happy.
Its almost like they want to spend more per unit than they have to.
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