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| Africa Horn |
| Ethiopian prime minister vows to defend nation against any Somali Islamists' attack |
| 2006-10-13 |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #5 That's why God created Blackwater and Executive Outcomes. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-10-13 22:38 |
| #4 S: Simply cut them off in the desert and let the sun bleach the bones. The problem is that the Ethiopians are venturing out into Somalia, not the other way around. The problem with sub-Saharan militaries like Ethiopia's is that they tend to buy flashy weapons systems, but not enough gas, ammo or spare parts for them. And then there's the issue of supplying an expeditionary force deep into hostile territory, which adds the logistical burdens of food and water. They might start out with big systems, but end the campaign with small arms - with many hungry and thirsty soldiers discarding even those in their haste to get away from the enemy while conserving moisture and energy. Like I said earlier, I sure hope the Ethiopians know what they're doing. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-10-13 21:31 |
| #3 #2: "Remember you have 7 days to live at most in the desert without water, less depending on temperature and wind conditions." If I prayed for high temps and winds in that desert, would that make me a bad person, Wolf? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-10-13 18:54 |
| #2 Sometimes it is, sometimes permitting the enemy to overextend themselves and then cutoff and exterminate their troops is more effective. The Egyptians in the 1973 war with Israel got their troops so far out in the Sinai without food and water, that the Iraelis did an encirclement operation and just left the involving Egyptian divisions sitting there in the desert. The sun did all the work for the Israelis who then accepted the surrender of full Egyptian divisions. However, with the Islamist hordes in their technicals, I doubt that the Ethiopians would be so kind as to accept their surrender. Simply cut them off in the desert and let the sun bleach the bones. That approach saves on wear and tear to equipment and saves ammo. Remember you have 7 days to live at most in the desert without water, less depending on temperature and wind conditions. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2006-10-13 18:29 |
| #1 The best defense is a good offense. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-10-13 14:27 |