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H&I* Fires, 20 MAY 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.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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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Jane Novak, whose writings on Yemen at her blog Armies of Liberation turned her from concerned person to writer for Jane's Defence and a real, impactful player in the war of words and ideas in the Middle East has an interview in the NYTimes today. Mind you, you've got to love a blogger who signs off on a post with "Well, its another good day of infuriating the Yemeni authorities…"

The purpose for all this - to get you to be aware of, and to sign, this petition.

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Keith Olberman's head explodes. I know, I know, it's a "Dog Bites Man" thing, therefore not a news story, right? Well, c'mon, admit it - you slow down to look at the carnage at a car wreck, too. So don't chuff yer cheeks out at me. -the Armorer

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Nancy Pelosi notices success in Iraq. Ah, nevermind. Maybe you can figure it out her game...

What's the difference between the Chinese and American militaries? In answering, Ralph Peters rips the media a new one.

*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 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 that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone".

7 Comments

Well, I've been wanting to post something just along these lines about things people say that still make me mad has h-e-double-hockey sticks. But, work is so in the way of blogging right now.
 
After Israel, the most livable, decent place in the greater Middle East is Iraqi Kurdistan. Wouldn't want that news getting out. Probably wouldn't want the news of the latest oil strike in Kurdistan getting out, either. Oh. It *didn't*? Then you probably haven't heard that some of the combat troops pulled out of Mosul have been replaced by -- traffic cops...
 
Keith Olberman's head explodes.
I'd pay good money to see that.
 
What's the difference between the PLA and the US Army? Well.... we don't adhere to former Soviet doctrines or use old Sov gear, haven't adopted an 'entry denial' plank in design, have a history of a strong NCO corps and they've only just begun to do so, we don't train to invade a semi-rebellious little island and they do,. Want more? I got a hundred of 'em(somewhere). (just give me three steps, three steps more) Olberman. sigh. That's always been that jackalope's thing. IF you support the war you defacto hate American Service People because you put them in harms way(except if you want to invade Burma). This isn't new. If his head exploded and we're only just now hearing about it then I think it might be because it took so long for the sound to travel here from whatever alternative Heinlein-ian alternate reality he actually came from(now, I push on this on each axis and poof I'm supposed to be somewhere else, right?). I thnk the legacy media's getting smart. The last time they actually reported progress the nation's opinion on the war changed. They wouldn't want to skew public opinion or anything. That would be unethical.(three steps mr, give me three steps...)
 
Ry, maybe I missed the joke (my fault not yours, I'm sure), but his point was that the difference seems to be that the good things the PLA does for their own people are worth reporting, but the good the American military does for OTHER people is to be ignored (and be sure to point out all the American bad apples/failues).
 
Yeah, I'm not funny to anyone but myself. Usually. That's playing off of John and not Peters. Peters is right. The last two to three weeks has been Maynamar(Burma! Can't we just call it Burma!) and Chinese earthquakes(and, heh, no comparisons to how slow and terrible the regime is at handling it. It's like Katrina-esque but they're lauded for it. CA had two major quake, Loma Priedo(the World Series quake) and North Ridge, and *we* were done with rescue and begining rebuilding by the end of week two. Go figure. Say what you will about Pete Wilson, but the dude got stuff done when it needed it.) And, like, doing disaster relief makes up for being the mailed fist at T. Square for the PLA. I know Fuzz, I was just trying to poke back at Armorer. Not working too well.
 
Sorry, Ry, that space was occupied by JimB yesterday. I guess I better go read this Peters thing to see how I was allegedly poked.