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Iraq | |||
Caution over Scud claims | |||
2003-03-21 | |||
Severely edited. Four Iraqi missiles were fired into Kuwait yesterday near points where US and British troops were massing for invasion. Two were widely reported to be Scuds. But the British government was cautious last night, saying it was awaiting confirmation. They'll pick through the wreckage at some point today. There were no casualties and no suggestion that chemical or biological warheads were loaded on to the missiles. British Harrier jets were scrambled to bomb the mobile missile launchers based around Basra in southern Iraq. A Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesman said that two Scuds had been fired. If only one turned out to be a Scud, it would be proof that Saddam Hussein had been lying not only over the last few months but the last 12 years. Gosh, yeah, I guess that would! Iraq
Seersucker? That's a name for a missile?
They showed the guy from the waist up on TV, unfortunately. One missile landed near the US army's A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, whose soldiers were eating lunch. "That is not supposed to be happening," said Captain Chris Carter, the company commander. "Them jokers trying to ruin my day? I'll show them!" | |||
Posted by:Steve White |
#4 seer·suck·er (sîrskr) n. A light thin fabric, generally cotton or rayon, with a crinkled surface and a usually striped pattern. Word History: Through its etymology, seersucker gives us a glimpse into the history of India. The word came into English from Hindi srsakar, which had been borrowed from the Persian compound shroshakar, meaning literally "milk and sugar" but used figuratively for a striped linen garment. The Persian word shakar, "sugar," in turn came from Sanskrit arkar. The linguistic borrowings here reflect a broader history of cultural borrowing. In the 6th century the Persians borrowed not only the word for sugar from India but sugar itself. During and after Tamerlane's invasion of India in the late 14th century, opportunities for borrowing Persian things and words such as shroshakar were widespread, since Tamerlane incorporated Persia as well as India into his empire. It then remained for the English to borrow from an Indian language the material and its name seersucker (first recorded in 1722 in the form Sea Sucker) during the 18th century, when the East India Company and England were moving toward imperial supremacy in India. -The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 |
Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-03-21 13:49:49 |
#3 Do not mock glorious the Chinese missile, Yankee running dog! Seersucker is the descendant of the fearsome Taffeta, soon to be superceded by even more deadly Chiffon. Also come in Crepe de Chine (ha ha) variant. (Psst, don't tell nobody, French help build.) |
Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-03-21 11:14:52 |
#2 Scuds can be easily identified and proven from their unique thermal signature at launching. You can bet we have "NASCAR" telemetry on each and every missle that has been launched in the past days that will be entered on Saddam's permanent record when he finally has to go down to the Principals office... |
Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-21 10:24:40 |
#1 I think they mean Silkworm. |
Posted by: Steve 2003-03-21 08:55:32 |