H&I* Fires, 25 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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Castle metalsmith and siege-engine maker-to-the-stars Murray is famous! -the Armorer

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Good grief! First we had the small problem of sending nukes from one AFB to another when that shouldn't have happened. Now we find that we shipped some ICBM fuzes to Taiwan by mistake? Not the same level of faux pas - but golly, back in the day when I was in the Personnel Reliability Program and handling nukes... the hallways would look like a bowling alley from all the rolling heads. -the Armorer

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Don't forget, Vets for Freedom will be in Kansas City at the Liberty Memorial WWI Museum Wednesday, March 26 at 7pm. -Kat
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The news is all over this as a potential danger to the new found stability in Iraq, but its not the whole story: Iraqi troops and Sadrists duke it out in Basra

Sadr threatens civil revolt over clashes

Time: Maliki's moment of truth in Basra

Here's the major issue: Iranian backed Special Groups behind Green Zone attack and likely many others that we have seen in Baghdad that people may be confused about or contributing to Al Qaida. The truth is, AQ is in a world of hurt up in Mosul and the insurgents who have the most capabilities now are these Quds backed Special Groups or "rogue" Mehdi militia. If I could find it, I would link back to a recent report about how these militias have been using the business at the port and various other hi-jacking and smuggling rings to pocket money and gain power. They are the Iraqi mafia.

About a week ago, the Iraqi government talked about taking back the port and various areas from these militias/insurgents because they were damaging the economy and posing a security risk. Without secure ports and transportation routes along with security from corruption and mafia syle shake downs, the Iraqi economy can't get off the ground because foreign investors see these problems as equally as risky as any other insurgent physically targeting civilians and businesses.

Maliki has had no choice in the past but to roll with it and now, with Sadr's political power on the wane, he has an opportunity to strike a blow for law and order as well as the future of Iraq.
-Kat

*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."