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.
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For something much more even-handed than I would have expected from either Der Spiegel or the man interviewed, I think this is a must read: An Interview With Charles Krauthammer
- SangerM
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A long lost WWI diary. History buffs wait with bated breath! H/t, Jim C. -the Armorer
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Is the Governator sending a message? -the Armorer
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Greyhawk comments on POTUS@Dover. I'm with the 'Hawk. -the Armorer
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For something much more even-handed than I would have expected from either Der Spiegel or the man interviewed, I think this is a must read: An Interview With Charles Krauthammer
- SangerM
*********************
A long lost WWI diary. History buffs wait with bated breath! H/t, Jim C. -the Armorer
*********************
Is the Governator sending a message? -the Armorer
*********************
Greyhawk comments on POTUS@Dover. I'm with the 'Hawk. -the Armorer
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*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. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change. Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires 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.
It bugs the crap out of me that he got a photo op out of this... but I am glad to see that he's finally paying respects to those who have given all for our country. He could have done this a long time ago, but waited until we had a terrible day, with 14 dead, to do so. The fact that only one of the 14 families gave photo consent says a lot to me about the remaining 13.
Bush met with MANY families of the fallen- and wounded- during his two terms, but he never made a big deal about it. I respect the hell out of that decision. Those who know... know. And those who do not make silly comments like "he showed more empathy than the Bush-Cheney administration ever did."
I cannot fault him for showing up or spending time with the families. Press coverage of the event was not planned by Obama- it was granted by one of the families. I will, however, tear him to shreds if he falters and becomes too weak-kneed to issue the orders to get the job done in Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/afghanistan_october_2009.html#photo16