I am tempted to declare that whatever doctrine the Armed Forces are working on, they have got it wrong. I am also tempted to declare that it does not matter that they have got it wrong. What does matter is their capacity to get it right quickly, when the moment arrives.
—Sir Michael Howard
Back in October, I asked the following question:
In a somewhat unrelated aside, how long into the resurrection of the Iraqi government and military expertise do we begin working on the martial aspect needed for eventual success, aviation and air power abilities?
Well, in a very limited sense, the answer is now.
A defunct squadron of the Iraqi air force was reactivated Sunday and received a delivery of three C-130E Hercules cargo planes from the United States, the U.S. military said.
Iraqi airmen celebrated the arrival of the planes by slaughtering five sheep in a ceremony at an airfield and marking the planes with blood.
The 23rd Iraqi air force squadron, first created in 1965, is responsible for airlifting military personnel and equipment. Before accepting the new planes, flight crews and mechanics completed four months of training in neighboring Jordan.
They will receive additional instruction in flying and maintaining the aircraft from U.S. Air Force commanders in Iraq and on flight simulators in the United States.
Saddam Hussein’s air force all but disappeared during the 1991 Gulf War and efforts have only recently begun to rebuild the fleet. In November, the United Arab Emirates delivered four six-seater Com Air 7SL aircraft, four Bell Jet Ranger Helicopters and several other planes.
I do wonder about the current status of the more lethal aircraft of Saddam’s era. What became of the fighters that were flown to Iran or found in Iraq? Were they destroyed or are we waiting until it’s time to take the training wheels off the Iraqi Air Force? I’ll see if I can find any information but, if anyone has any knowledge in the area, please feel free to contribute in the comments.
You have to love when a stupid act causes an even more pinheaded reaction.
Several German lawmakers have called for a Europe-wide ban on Nazi insignia following widespread outrage after Britain’s Prince Harry wore a swastika as part of a costume at a high-society gathering.
Prince Harry, who went to a costume party dressed in an Afrika Korps uniform with a swastika armband, “really lacked taste,” said Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic parliamentary group.
Bosbach said it was possible European justice ministers at an upcoming meeting would discuss bringing in a European prohibition on displaying the swastika and other Nazi signs. These already are banned in Germany, which nonetheless has a worrying problem of xenophobic neo-Nazi activities, particularly in the former Communist east of the country.
“All of Europe has suffered in the past because of the crimes of the Nazis, therefore it would be logical for Nazi symbols to be banned all over Europe,” added Silvana Koch-Merin, who heads Germany’s liberal Free Democrats in the European Parliament. She also called for the question of a ban to be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of justice ministers.
This calls into question Ms. Koch-Merin’s grasp of the concept of logic.
The Social Democrats deputy parliamentary leader, Michael Müller, agreed that study was needed to find out how a German-style anti-Nazi law could be transposed to the rest of Europe. Dieter Wiefelspütz, a Social Democratic party specialist on justice questions, said Nazi symbols were reminders of a “humiliating” and “deathly” concept of humanity.
But expanding the ban on Nazi symbols across the EU is unlikely to happen, as many countries consider their display — no matter how repugnant — is protected by democratic principles of free speech.
The young prince’s choice of costume was indeed tasteless and poorly thought out for someone so much in the public’s eye. Also, it goes without saying that the history of the Nazis is obviously atrocious. However, to ban a symbol because of this history is ridiculous. What next, a ban on the letter “K” because of its prominent role in the acronym KKK? Beyond the free speech aspect, I would counter that to ban the swastika would only add to its attraction among those seeking to rebel against society.
This is good for a chuckle.
The U.S. military rejected a 1994 proposal to develop an “aphrodisiac” to spur homosexual activity among enemy troops but is hard at work on other less-than-lethal weapons, defense officials said Sunday.
The idea of fostering homosexuality among the enemy figured in a declassified six-year, $7.5 million request from a laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for funding of non-lethal chemical weapon research.
The proposal, disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request, called for developing chemicals affecting human behavior “so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected.”
“One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior,” said the document, obtained by the Sunshine Project. The watchdog group posted the partly blacked-out, three-page document on its Web site.
Lt. Col. Barry Venable of the Army, a Defense Department spokesman, said: “This suggestion arose essentially from a brainstorming session, and it was rejected out of hand.”
The Air Force Research Laboratory also suggested using chemicals that could be sprayed on enemy positions to attract stinging and biting bugs, rodents and larger animals.
Another idea involved creating “severe and lasting halitosis” to help sniff out fighters trying to blend with civilians.
The U.S. military remains committed to developing less-than-lethal weapons that pass stringent legal reviews and are consistent with international treaties, said Captain Dan McSweeny of the Marine Corps, a spokesman for the Pentagon unit spearheading their introduction.
“We feel it’s very important to offer our deployed service members and their commanders a greater range of options in dealing with increasingly complex operational environments,” said McSweeny, of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.
It all seems rather silly, but it’s good to know the folks in defense are putting some creative skullsweat into their efforts.
I wonder, however, had we developed the homosexual aphrodisiac weapon, what would the ramifications be on Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell in a friendly-fire incident?
FoxNews is reporting that the FBI is concerned about security threats and questionable behaviour at sites related to next week’s inauguration.
The federal government is receiving reports of “suspicious activity” around buildings where presidential inaugural events and a parade are scheduled to occur Jan. 20 in Washington, FOX News learned Friday.
FOX News obtained an intelligence bulletin sent this week to law enforcement by the FBI’s Washington field office, which is coordinating the security for next week’s inaugural along with the U.S. Secret Service.
An FBI official confirmed the authenticity of the bulletin and said, “there is no credible threat information but we are looking at everything and anything out of an abundance of caution.”
More than 6,000 law enforcement personnel will be on duty Jan. 20, the day President Bush is sworn in for a second term.
Reports of suspicious activity noted by the FBI include people taking pictures and writing descriptive notes while being near the buildings. But there is no indication that any of these activities are linked to terrorist activity. Plus, many of the buildings and streets in question consistently receive numerous suspicious activity reports due to their high visibility in the Washington area.
I’ve lived in D.C. The very notion of trying to discern between a tourist and a terrorist based on the choice of photographic subjects or number of exposures taken seems incredibly daunting. I pity the analysts who have to pore over this stuff.
Some of the threat reporting is coming to U.S. officials from overseas, according to the FBI bulletin.
For example, the State Department advised that on Jan. 6, a regional security office received a letter via local mail service from a Kenyan national, alleging that terrorists will launch an attack at the inauguration using tactics similar to those employed in Iraq last month that killed 19 U.S. soldiers.
The letter did not contain further details about the alleged attack but it rambled on about other topics such as the recent tsunami disaster, the Kenyan government’s inability to provide jobs and medical care to its citizenry and the torture of political prisoners, according to the bulletin.
Sounds like your run-of-the-mill nutjob or Democratic Underground poster.
The possible reference in the letter to the Dec. 21 attack in Mosul, Iraq, on a U.S. military mess hall may indicate the use of an improvised explosive device by a would-be homicide bomber, the agency noted. Based on the information received to date, this is not assessed to be a credible threat. A copy of the letter is being passed to the Kenyan police for further investigation.
Another threat report, as outlined in the FBI bulletin, consists of word that Mohamad Chafiq Dekkak contacted a U.S. businessman of Muslim descent to sponsor his visa entry into the United States for business purposes.
Dekkak has been associated with two possible international arms dealers, Hemad Lakhani and Samir El Mahallawy. Lakhani was arrested in the United States in August 2003 and charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and with violating the arms import/export control act. The FBI continues to investigate.
Dekkak’s hidden intent is allegedly to attend the inauguration. This is suspicious, since Dekkak has no known basis for his recent interest in U.S. political events, the FBI noted.
I feel it important to note that the main reason I post this and feel even a shred of concern is that it is probably the last significant opportunity to strike a blow to the U.S. prior to the Iraqi elections.