Archive for May, 2005
Last night I noted a Washington Post story on an FBI report of Koran flushing allegations. My general drift was that they were basically just putting more stories critical of Bush out there and trying to deflect some criticism from those piling on the Leftist Legacy Media.
But some have decided that the report vidicates Newsweek in some way or another.
Which is pretty stupid, as anyone who has even glanced at the latest knows that it does no such thing.
Last night I decided that the Newsweek defenders had decided upon the “the riots weren’t caused by the Newsweek report” theory. But apparently the “fake but true” crowd still has some believers.
(NOTE: I personally wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of the allegations are at least partially true. That’s not the same as saying that Newsweek was right to publish the story or vindicated for doing so.)
There’s a great discussion going on in the comments section of a recent post on the Stryker LAV. Here’s the most recent entry, by Shek in response to a series of questions and comments by Random Bulldog. I’m simply going to post the whole thing here for everyone to see:
Here’s my reply to the loads of questions that you have presented.
1. Shek, you asking for the Army to provide actual criticism of its golden cow is a non sequiter.
James claimed that the Army has said that it is undergunned. I’ve never heard that and so all I am asking for is something in writing that shows this statement is true. As far the Army criticizing the Stryker, if it didn’t take improving the Stryker serious and providing a capable vehicle, then it would conduct Initial Impression Reports and assign responsibility to various agencies to follow up that you can find on the CALL website (SIPR version now that classified material has been released from the AKO accessible site), conduct extensive testing at APG in order to approve material releases, or delay fielding of vehicles (MGS) that don’t meet operational specifications.
2. I have worked besides Strykers from 2nd ID for over a month and I have had friends endure the misfortune of being PCS’d to Stryker units. The answer I have unanimously heard is “They have problems” – serious ones. How about these questions?
What are these “serious problems” that your friends are telling you. If you are worried about OPSEC, then I can contact you via AKO and address them. I fielded the first battalion set of Strykers as the BN S-4 and spent 18 months commanding Strykers, to include 3 of those months in Iraq, so I I’ll be happy to address them as fact, fiction, or myth (don’t get me wrong here, I thought that the CALL report was generally on target and concured with most of the problems, but the context and general knowledge of the follow on reporting was atrocious and inflammatory in nature).
3. If the current Stryker is the IFV version of it, what’s the rationale in bringing down main armament from 25mm to .50?
The Stryker is an ICV, not IFV. If the Army wanted another IFV, it would have fielded an IFV and not an ICV, and you would find a 25mm cannon on it.
Guantanamo Guards Accused of Mistreating Koran
I thought the Koran story wasn’t a big deal because it had already been reported. If so, then why is another Koran story top center and largest font on washingtonpost.com?
Well, okay. This isn’t really another Koran story. It’s the same Koran story that was reported earlier and wasn’t even all that newsworthy, according to many Newsweek defenders. It’s the story about how some Gitmo detainees claim that the Koran was abused. Or that they heard that others claimed it was abused.
Yet top and center it runs.
Here’s a glimpse at this incredible story:
Nearly all of the hundreds of pages of documents consist of FBI summaries of detainee interrogations, and therefore do not generally provide corroboration of the allegations. At least two detainees also conceded that they had not personally witnessed mistreatment of the Koran but had heard about incidents from other inmates, the records show.
Stop the presses! Extra! Extra! Film at eleven!
Just yesterday a two co-workers were discussing the idea that big media runs stories to make President Bush look bad. One said that it wasn’t an agenda to smear Bush, only an attempt to sell stories. If it’s newsworthy, it runs.
So this is newsworthy, I guess. And it runs. I guess I missed the newsworthy stories about how Bush’s policies benefited the occasional person once in a while. (Unless you really, truly believe that Bush’s moves have been 100% wrong every single time 100% everywhere, I guess.)
And I guess that it’s official that the defense of Newsweek has solidified around “the Newsweek story didn’t cause the riots”. There were several schools of thought about why there was nothing wrong with Newsweek’s report, but everyone seems to have latched on to this one. Today’s WaPo story, for example:
The release of the new FBI documents comes in the wake of an international uproar over a now-retracted story by Newsweek magazine, which reported that an internal military report had confirmed that a Koran was flushed down a toilet. The retracted story has been linked by the Bush administration to deadly riots overseas. [emphasis mine]
See? It’s the “Bush administration” that linked the story to the riots.
Well, them and the rioters. That’s a fact, Jack. They were very clear about it. Repeatedly. In fact, there was a day of international protests planned for Friday specifically in reaction to the Newsweek story. I’m not sure if it’s still on or not.
On another site, after a commenter wrote that the riots weren’t caused by the story because there’s already unrest and turmoil in the Arab world, I pointed out that the rioters pointed specifically to the story as the reason for the riots. I pointed out that the Newsweek story was specifically named as the reason for the planned riots scheduled for this Friday. He replied that he “wasn’t sure that really made a difference”.
I am so confused. I would have thought that the rioters themselves would know best. I would have thought that when a religious leader says he’s calling for demonstrations because of the Newsweek story, it meant that he was calling for demonstrations because of the Newsweek story.
They must be being too nuanced for old Murdoc.
Incidentally, I’d like to remind everyone that my position is that Newsweek shouldn’t have run the story even if it was true. They did, so I’m calling them unpatriotic.
I’m not sure where the WaPo is on this story, as it’s nothing new. I don’t know if they’re unpatriotic for running it or not. I’m thinking not, but I could be convinced otherwise.
Who would have ever guessed that Syria wouldn’t play ball? What to do? What to do?
Oh, I have an idea: 1,000 soldiers encircle Iraqi city near Syria
There was complaint after the end of Operation Matador that we didn’t get as many guys as we expected and that we simply abandoned the areas near the Syrian border that we had cleared, which allowed fighters to re-enter them without much trouble.
Maybe that was the plan.
(I apologize for the light posting. I’m busy at work trying to clear a few things before vacation next week. Posting will be on and off for a couple of weeks, though I’ll do my best to get at least a couple new items up each day.)
Well, since I haven’t really ripped on anyone for a few days (being busy, and all) I thought I’d quick point out something that’s been bugging me. It’s this little graph:
It’s been in virtually all of the MSNBC.com articles on the filibuster showdown lately, most recently this one.
What I don’t like about it is that Reagan and Clinton have the most appointees. Well, duh. They’re the only ones on the list that served two terms. (G.W. doesn’t really count, as his second term just started. Again…duh.)
So I made this to take such things as terms in office into account:
This makes things look far, far different, no? (First of all, I can start blaming Jimmy Carter for more stuff, which is always loads of fun…)
But this chart, also, doesn’t tell the whole story. It would also be fun to see what percentage of nominees were appointed. Thanks to a great, fact-filled post at Daly Thoughts, I cobbled this together:
Definitely a trend. But while G.W. certainly seems to be getting the short end of the stick, his percentage is not totally out of line considering the direction things seem to be going.
Carter is the only one on the chart that served his entire time in office with the Senate in the hands of his party. G.W. Bush had a 49-50-1 deficit during his first two years, though of course the tie-breaker was his. It only makes sense that Carter’s rate is the best.
I don’t have a particular point, here. I simply want to show charts that tell us a bit more about the filibuster showdown than what we’ve been given. I’m sure that there’s far better stuff out there, too. And you should be sure to take a look at that Daly Thoughts post.
As for the “compromise” in the filibuster situation, both sides are claiming victory. Followers of both sides are declaring defeat. From what little I understand of it, it seems like nothing more than a move to put off the showdown for a short time (at most).
Wait. That didn’t come out quite right…
Anyway, James Rummel has a good post entitled Just Some Friendly Competition with a little history, a little opinion, a few pics, and a bunch of links. Go read.
Not sure how I missed it this weekend. Must have been my case of starwarsitis…
Two hurt in mock light sabre duel
This is sort of how Anakin ended up with all those mechanical limbs, isn’t it?
Two Star Wars fans are in a critical condition in hospital after apparently trying to make light sabres by filling fluorescent light tubes with petrol.
A man, aged 20, and a girl of 17 are believed to have been filming a mock duel when they poured fuel into two glass tubes and lit it.The pair were rushed to hospital after one of the devices exploded in woodland at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
The two are in critical condition. I hope they come through this okay, but sheesh.
Defense Solutions to rebuild T-72 Tanks and Other Military Vehicles for the Iraqi Army
I noted previously that the new Iraqi army had received its first T-55 tanks. Now, 77 T-72s donated to Iraq by Hungary are going to be refitted for use by the Iraqis, as well:
The T-72s were deactivated by the Hungarian Army at the end of the Cold War and placed in long-term storage. Hungary, which became part of NATO in 1999, donated the tanks to Iraq with NATO approval.Defense Solutions will refurbish the T-72 tanks to bring them to operational condition, test fire the main gun and other weapons systems, and conduct a cross county road test before releasing the equipment for shipment to Iraq. The contract is expected to take up to six months.
“When fielded, these tanks will help bring stability to Iraq, allow the Iraqi Army to assume more responsibility for its nation”s security and hasten the day when US forces can come home,” according to Defense Solutions” CEO Tim Ringgold, himself a retired US Army colonel and former mechanized brigade commander.
Based on the GMC Suburban:
Cobra is designed for multiple functions including VIP escort, reconnaissance security patrol, Homeland Defense, and special clandestine missions. This design offers exceptional protection for both the gunner and weapon, improving the overall performance, reliability, and accuracy of the vehicle. The driver and gunner are seated in the vehicle, protected from the environment. With the gunner in the vehicle rather than standing exposed behind the weapon, he is less vulnerable to attack from stones, bottles, garrote wires, and other non-ballistic threats. In addition, improved first hit probability results in reduced collateral damage and logistics.
The Stabilized Weapon and Reconnaissance Mount (SWARM) can mount a .50 cal machine gun, a 7.62mm machine gun, a 12.7mm chain gun, a 20mm M621 cannon, a M230 30mm cannon (like that on the Apache helicopter), or a Mk19 40mm grenade launcher. The SWARM is motion stabilized.
Here’s the SWARM’s control station:
But does it have an overhead DVD player for the kids on long trips?
UPDATE: Joel at No Pundit Intended writes “Bring THIS Home To Your Soccer Mom“.
Dang it! Why didn’t *I* write that???
Despite its flaws, troops prefer Stryker
A reader tips me off to this article. He noted that it was nothing major, but that “soldiers dig ‘em, chicks think they’re
cool”.
At least some of the Strykers are getting the piles of sandbags on top replaced by steel plate:
Mechanics of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, or “Deuce-Four,” for example, are wrapping the top of the Stryker with 3/8-inch steel plating to provide additional protection to the crews who stand in the open hatches.Soldiers had used stacked sandbags, usually three bags high and sometimes two rows deep, as a buffer. But the added weight at times caused the wheel hubs to break, said Staff Sgt. Jason Stauff, the shop foreman and senior mechanic.
Since they’ve replaced the heavier sandbags with steel, the number of broken hubs has decreased to nearly nonexistent, said Sgt. 1st Class Brent Stafford, motor sergeant for the Combat Repair Team.
Spc. Krist Zeynalyan sums up the Stryker very neatly, I think, when he says
“There are pros and cons to everything, but the pros far outweigh the cons.”
One thing MO takes exception to, though, is this:
Soldiers in Iraq complain mostly about heat in the vehicle and the inability of the main weapon, either a grenade launcher or a heavy machine gun, to hit targets when moving. The Army hopes to correct the weapons problem beginning next summer. [emphasis mine]
The inability of the weapon to hit targets while moving isn’t a problem. It was intentional because they opted to go with an unstabilized weapons mount. They’re going to upgrade this, and rightly so. But it’s not a fix to a “problem”. They decided to incorporate the inability to hit targets while moving into the design.
As for the heat, which has been discussed quite a bit, I’ve got to think that heat is going to pretty much be a problem with any design in Iraq.
Except for the air transportability issue (which is a biggie, make no doubt), the Stryker generally seems to meeting or exceeding expectations. As improvements are made, many in response to the CALL report from last year, it will be even better.
No wonder chicks think they’re cool.
