Article

2010-03-11 International-UN-NGOs

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by tipper 2010-03-11 11:58|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 The bombing of fleeing Iraqi bandit brigades from Kuwait on the so-called Highway of Death in the first Gulf War was halted by popular outrage because of the televised carnage.

Have to disagree here. It was an orchestrated outrage created and chorused by the MSM. It was nothing near a real 'Highway of Death' which the Falaise Gap was in '44.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-03-11 14:24|| 2010-03-11 14:24|| Front Page Top

#2 I may sometimes have little disagreements about VDH's conclusions, but do not doubt his grasp of history. I understood it that the HoD strikes were called off for lack of clear targets, and there were a good number of people I was around who were more high-5'n, it was the school teachers and tv heads who did the crying in my experience. And it is certainly not a real highway of death compared to other events in history, Falaise being 1 good of many examples.

There is the good point about the cycles...all out war puts a lot of chips on the table and do not necessarily redeem any amount in a win, so major wars usually start when one side feels they have a decisive advantage which follows suggested cycles. Now these cycles seem somewhat dependand upon melee, ranged, armor, and mobility developments. I would like to propose electronic as a fifth weathervane. I can imagine a situation in the future where satellites are knocked out, EW and CEW make remote vehicles too difficult to use effectively, hack attacks would be examples. Not sure where the earthquake satellite fits in...you know, if there was such a thing (cough).

Posted by swksvolFF 2010-03-11 17:19|| 2010-03-11 17:19|| Front Page Top

#3
Tipper, could you please post an excerpt from the pieces you're posting?

Thanks.

Posted by Parabellum 2010-03-11 19:21|| http://sidemeat.wordpress.com/ 2010-03-11 19:21|| Front Page Top

#4 I understood it that the HoD strikes were called off for lack of clear targets...And it is certainly not a real highway of death compared to other events in history...

The HoD got started when an aviator saw a stream of 'appropriated vehicles" leaving Kuwait and dropped his bombs at the head of the convoy. Result - LAX at rush hour.

It became a general rout from there (I had a very, very tiny, ship-based role). The battle groups were strapping ordnance on anything that flew. Most of the vehicles, though were abandoned either through panic or from getting stuck in the sand.

And it wasn't a real Highway of Death, like the Falaise Gap, or the Bubyan Turkey Shoot (where the Iraqi navy essentially ceased to exist).

there were a good number of people I was around who were more high-5'n

Yeah, the general consensus on the ships and over the radio circuits was "take that, m-therfu--ers!".

It was a little sobering afterwards, too.

Posted by Pappy 2010-03-11 21:48|| 2010-03-11 21:48|| Front Page Top

#5 VDH is usually pretty good, but in this case he knows 2 things: jack and shit.

I was north/west of there. Shutting the door with the 2nd ACR by punching a hole in the Tawakalna division and. Every one of those MF'ers would have come bowling into our R flank had the zoomies and airdales not dusted them. We would have killed them just the same, but with more risk and probably casualties to our side.

I'm glad the bombed the hell out of them.

Anyone that doesn't like that can go fuck themselves, or pick up a rifle, put yourself in harms way then tell people "let them go" and have them come right at you.

Posted by OldSpook 2010-03-11 23:59|| 2010-03-11 23:59|| Front Page Top

23:59 OldSpook
23:51 OldSpook
23:44 Steve White
23:01 rjschwarz
22:40 trailing wife
22:25 Sherry
22:17 trailing wife
22:16 Lonzo Angoluper8472
22:11 trailing wife
22:02 swksvolFF
21:48 Pappy
21:35 Barbara Skolaut
21:32 Barbara Skolaut
21:32 swksvolFF
21:26 Pappy
21:22 Pappy
21:17 notascrename
20:51 Frank G
20:51 notascrename
20:41 Barbara Skolaut
20:38 Steve White
20:35 Eric Jablow
20:16 Redneck Jim
20:00 Anonymoose