H&I* Fires, 24 MAR 2008

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).

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Best news to come out of Iraq in awhile: The provincial elections law has been passed! This was a nagging worry for coalition military leadership as they watched Iraqi frustration build, particularly among the Sunnis who drove the Awakening movement but were becoming increasingly frustrated with the consequences of having boycotted the 2005 elections--one general in 3rd ID told me he thought provincial elections were more important to the "average Iraqis" he interacted with than even economic development. This is not getting a lot of attention, but it is a HUGE step toward long-term stability in Iraq. Now, onward to the hydrocarbons law... - FbL

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Steve Schippert asked a revealing rhetorical question last week: If al Qaeda (who has been attacking primarily Shia, among others in Iraq) is Sunni and Iran is Shia, "Why Isn't al-Qaeda Iran's Sunni Enemy In Iraq?" - FbL

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Meet the Super Delegates over at The Right Place. -the Armorer

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Pilot's weapon is fired while in flight. Heh. "Accidental discharge" according to the airline.
Heh again. I can't think of an "accidental" discharge of a firearm in my experience that wasn't more accurately termed a "negligent discharge." If not on the part of the owner/operator, then on the part of a manufacturer, of the weapon or ammunition. -the Armorer

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The worm has turned. From "willing suspension of disbelief" to "an extraordinary leader and a wonderful advocate for our military." Other than that, no comment. Except to point out this delightful profile of GEN Petraeus in today's UK Telegraph. Hmm... I'm still waiting for that interview with MG Lynch of MND-C to be scheduled. Wonder if he could help me work my way up the interview ladder at MNF-I, too. :D - FbL

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The squishy-liberal Seattle Times has a different take on this, naturally, but I am quite glad to learn there are procedures in place to monitor for radiation that shouldn't be there (and it's sensitive enough to detect a cat that had recently had radiation treatments.)
-Bad Cat Robot

*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.

Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.

*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*

The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.

I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone."