Military Thoughts

This is coolbert:

“Psst - - hey - - buddy - - want to buy some cyanide!!??”

From the Chicago Tribune today:

Across the Nation.

Elsewhere:

“CYANIDE ARREST: A Texas man claimed he had a 25-gallon drum of cyanide and tried to sell it to a FBI informant, touting the poison’s usefulness in mass killings, a court affidavit said. Jeffrey Detrixhe, 38, of Higgins, Texas, was arrested Monday in Oklahoma.”

USEFULNESS AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION? Create hydrogen cyanide [HCN] gas resembling the Zyklon B as used in Auschwitz? A blood agent poison gas that attack the blood vessels of the body. Constricts them! You die as if you have had a heart attack.

It is known that Al Qaeda is interested in poisons and did experiment with HCN gas? A video is on the Internet purportedly showing a dog being gassed as part of jihadi “research” into poison gases?

I would imagine that if the jihadi WAS ABLE to construct an effective means of delivering poison gas, doing so in the confined environment of a subway or high-rise building would work! The CIA - - again - - purportedly - - found plans for such a gas delivery weapon, constructed it, and found it would work!

At any rate, this Jeffrey is not too bright. As with Derrick Shareef, the Rockford, IL. jihadi wannabee, has made “approaches” to a FBI informant for which he will rue the day!

And deservedly so too!

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Lebanon.

"We are the sons of the umma (Muslim community) ...
... We are an ummah linked to the Muslims of the whole world by the solid doctrinal and religious connection of Islam"

Devoted readers to the blog wanting to be in the know will be following closely the developments in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has gone on a rampage and is starting another civil war in that beleaguered nation?

[I had previously blogged that about 1 million persons had been killed in the Lebanese Civil War [1975-1990]. That figure is way too high. ONLY 150,000 killed, 1 million casualties total!!??]

I thought Hezbollah was out of the picture for some time to come?

"Hizballah casualties were not less than 500 and may have reached 700 – a figure greater than all the casualties Hizballah has suffered during the last twenty years. It will take Hizballah at least two years to rebuild its capabilities and to recruit and train new people." - - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror [Israeli] - - 16 January 2007

Casualties suffered by the Hezbollah military in the war against Israel [2006] were so bad that just to reconstitute as an effective fighting force would take some time?

Evidently NOT!!

This whole current mess started as a "dispute" over an internal Hezbollah communications network!

"Beirut to axe Hezbollah telecoms"

First Hez attacks Lebanese governmental offices in Beirut. Fighting then spreads to the Sunni section of the city [Hezbollah of course consists of Shia Muslims]. NOW, the Druze in the Shouf mountains east of Beirut are under attack by Hez, and Tripoli [far north of Beirut] is also besieged!

"Clashes resume in north Lebanon"

Hezbollah for some time has of course been recognized as a state within a state. Able to use force when it so desires, and emerge victorious, the Lebanese army standing by idly, afraid to tangle with the apparently inspired and ruthless Hez. Hez was certainly able to rebuild an effective fighting force, and in a short time - - was it not?

Hezbollah IS a state within a state, BUT ALSO HAS A GLOBAL REACH!!

Much more serious and potent a threat to the U.S. than even Al Qaeda?

"We have been led to believe that Al-Qaeda is the terrorist group we most need to fear . . . this is a misconception. They identify other terrorist networks working in the United States and write about the one that top American counterintelligence officials and members of the Senate Intelligence Committee have labeled 'the A-team of terrorism,' Hezbollah."

"the number three person [#3] at the FBI said, 'Hezbollah makes Al-Qaeda look like Sunday-schoolers, children, kindergartners.'"

Hezbollah is THE terrorist entity posing the greatest danger to the U.S. and other western nations? Proxies for the Iranians, possessing considerable numbers of fanatical, frenzied, and well trained fighters!

Described [Hezbollah fighters] by persons in the know as the BEST LIGHT INFANTRY IN THE WORLD!! Fighters NOT ONLY well trained for the type of warfare [irregular] as waged by Hez, imbued with a fanaticism, and highly capable of performing military and non-military type missions autonomously ANYWHERE!!

[the word "best" of course is subjective. BEST in this sense means an ability to perform resourcefully, flexibly, with agility at a number of tasks, MOST quasi-military in nature!!]

"Cells", existing and evidently flourishing in the U.S., conducting Hez business, laying the groundwork for terrorist activities the world over!

"a gamut of activities, ranging from cigarette and drug smuggling to operating charitable organizations aimed at financing the purchase of weapons, high-tech equipment, and fraudulent passports."

[Cigarette smuggling has been for decades the one way the U.S. Mafia made the most money the easiest and safest way!]

Profits from illicit activities are quite often loaned to Arab immigrants to set up legitimate businesses, Hez then levying a 20 % tax on all subsequent profits? A "state within a state!"

Hez "fighters" in the U.S. have been "put out of action" through racketeering convictions and sent to prison as would have been any other common criminal.

The U.S. government, again, with Hezbollah "cells" active in the U.S., handles the issue as A CRIMINAL MATTER!! Prosecutes Hez fighters as criminals rather than foreign terrorists who have invaded with the intent to wage war. Until something much more drastic occurs [another 9/11 or even beyond that], this is the best that can be done??!!

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Nada.

Here is the FINAL [??] world on Nada Prouty. The illegal alien who served the FBI and CIA as case officer and worked against Islamic terrorists!

Thanks here to http://www.jihadwatch.org and Robert Spencer.

"Illegal alien FBI agent who illegally accessed files on Hizballah investigations gets no jail time, $750 fine"

"A former Detroit-area woman who engaged in a sham marriage to obtain U.S. citizenship and obtained key jobs in the CIA and FBI was fined $750 but given no jail time today by a federal judge."

"Cohn said Prouty, who lives in suburban Washington, served the United States with distinction in Iraq and elsewhere, at times placing herself in peril on behalf of her adopted country."

This judge Cohn seems to feel that Nada WAS THE PERSON WRONGED IN THIS CASE??!!

Let me reiterate so that even the most casual of observers can understand this particular "incident" with absolute meta-physical certitude. NADA IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN IN THE U.S. WHO CONTRACTED A SHAM MARRIAGE TO OBTAIN CITIZENSHIP AND THEN VOLUNTEERED HER ESTEEMED SERVICES TO THE MOST CRITICAL SECURITY AGENCIES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT!!

She cannot have served her "adopted country" - - SHE IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO SHOULD HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!

Judge Cohn needs to be investigated for mental deficiency!!

You wait and see too. Nada will apply for and be granted asylum as a persecuted person! She will say she CANNOT return to the land of her birth [Lebanon]! Too dangerous for her.

I must be getting old!

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Nadire.

This is the type of story that instantaneously catches my attention. Am I being paranoid and overly-suspicious or am I in agreement with others on this one?

Thanks here to http://www.jihadwatch.org and Robert Spencer.

"Ex-911 operator accused of illegal database searches"

"A former city 911 operator faces multiple felony counts for illegally searching state driving records and state police databases that included the FBI's terrorist watch list"

"The fired employee, Nadire P. Zenelaj, 32, of Rochester [New York] insists she did nothing wrong and is being singled out because she is Muslim."

"Richard Vega, director of the city's Office of Public Integrity, said Zenelaj was 'running personal information on herself, on her family and on friends. I think it went beyond curiosity. ... We think she was accessing this information to pass it on to others.'"

"At least one of the 227 names that Zenelaj searched for was on the terrorist watch list, according to police."

Nadire SURE HAS A LARGE FAMILY AND A LOT OF FRIENDS, DOES SHE NOT??!! 227 name searches is A LOT by any standard??!!

Maybe there is nothing here? She is just curious? I wouldn't bet on it!

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Degrelle II. [Conclusion]

Here is the type of article that Michael Medved would point to as evidence of his assertion that the Institute for Historical Research [IHR] is a neo-Nazi, fascist organization.

An essay:

"This essay by Leon Degrelle (1906-1994), was first presented at the Fourth IHR Conference in Chicago (Sept. 1982)"

[here are some various extracts from the essay with my comments in BOLD!]

"If I should have a son I would like him to be like Leon [Degrelle]." - - A. Hitler.

--------------------------------------------------------------

From the introduction to the essay:

"He [Degrelle] studied at the University of Louvain, where he acquired a doctorate in law. He was -and is -also interested in other academic disciplines, such as political science, art, archeology and Tomistic philosophy."

That he graduated is disputed. Was at the university - - but graduated? Was a man of all-seasons, protean intellect?

"By the time he reached twenty he had already published five books and operated his own weekly newspaper."

Degrelle originally worked as a journalist and covered the Cristero rebellion in Mexico. THIS TOO IS DISPUTED! Degrelle was to some extent a fabulist? A person that tells tall tales. Embellishment of reality. Degrelle also claimed to be the inspiration for the Belgian comic book character Tintin. Tintin is portrayed as a journalist who has been everywhere, done it all and seen it all, knew everyone that is somebody! A person similar to Flashman, Baron Munchausen, Indiana Jones. Degrelle can be forgiven for thinking he was the inspiration for Tintin? A certain similarity did exist?

"fabulist - - noun - - a person who tells or invents fables"

"After joining as a private he earned all stripes from corporal to general for exceptional bravery in combat. He engaged in seventy-five hand-to-hand combat actions. He was wounded on numerous occasions."

That Degrelle served in the Waffen SS and was courageous in combat is not in dispute! I was skeptical, at first, of the claim of having engaged in seventy-five hand-to-hand combat actions AND SURVIVED!!?? Is this possible? Degrelle WAS awarded the Close Combat Clasp. A particularly unique German decoration as distinguished from the traditional Infantry Combat Badge.

"The Infantry Combat Badge . . . a recognition of combat action as an infantryman."

[the Infantry Combat Badge is more or less identical to the U.S. Combat Infantryman Badge!]

The Close Combat Clasp was for having participated in infantry combat above and beyond that of the ordinary.

"All combat days in which the soldier had the opportunity to be close enough to 'see the white of the enemy's eyes', use close combat weapons to assault the enemy man-to-man and be victorious."

"Close Combat Clasp . . . a German military award . . . for achievement in hand to hand fighting in close quarters. The Close Combat Clasp was worn above the upper left uniform pocket. The clasp . . . consisting of . . . a crossed bayonet and hand grenade"

I am thinking the Close Combat Clasp was awarded for trench raid style warfare. The crossed bayonet and hand grenade symbolic of the closeness of the combatants. Seeing the enemy up close and in person.

For what it is worth, Oskar Dirlewanger [wounded twelve times in combat] and Joachim Peiper both also won the Close Combat Clasp.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
From the essay of Degrelle itself:

"Hitler was a man of the people, a man who succeeded in wiping out unemployment, a feat unsurpassed to this day. Within two years he gave work to six million Germans and got rid of rampant poverty. In five years the German worker doubled his income without inflation."

This at a time, during the depression era, when Roosevelt in the U.S. was attempting to deal with American unemployment and NOT finding a remedy.

See too my blog entry where the five part article by Professor Kershaw is cited.

"He literally rebuilt Germany. In a few years more than five thousand miles of freeways were built. For the worker the affordable Volkswagen was created. Any worker could get this car on a payment of five marks a week."

The "Peoples car"! The Volkswagen. Also the subject of a prior blog entry. Was made into an efficient military staff car and utility vehicle. "He built the autobahn!" They always say that!

"What were these concentration camps?"

Dachau (1933), Sachsenhausen (1936), Buchenwald (1937), Flossenbürg (1938), Mauthausen (1939), and Ravensbrück (1939). Camps [pre-war only?] filled will POLITICAL dissidents. And we are not talking about wartime forced-labor camps full of displaced persons and impressed "workers" [slaves]!

"They were just work camps where intractable communists were put to work. They were well treated because it was thought they would be converted sooner or later to patriotism. There were two concentration camps with a total of three thousand men. Three thousand out of a total of six million card-carrying members of the Communist Party. That represents one per two thousand. Right until the war there were fewer than ten thousand inmates."

Two camps with a total population of three thousand men? That figure sounds very low. Two camps only? This is a pre-war figure? And while Degrelle may have his figures right, it could also be misleading. Three thousand men imprisoned at any given moment. But a continuous movement of inmates in and out? Three thousand for three months, that number released, replaced by another three thousand, etc.

"Military and academic instruction were intensive, but it was the physical training that was the most rigorous. They [officer candidates] practice sports with excellence. Each of them [officer candidates] would have performed with distinction at the Olympic games."

This too is misleading. The instructors at the Junker Schulen for the SS officer candidate training were of Olympic caliber. NO doubt about that. BUT NOT the trainees. The officer cadets would receive first-class physical training instruction from Olympic class athletes in various disciplines, boxing, fencing, shooting, track and field events, equestrian events, etc., but I would think NOT able to compete at the Olympics.

"It was on the front lines that the results of the SS physical training could really be noticed. An SS officer had the same rigorous training as the soldiers. Those officers and privates competed in the same sports events, and only the best man won, regardless of rank. This created a real brotherhood which literally energized the entire Waffen SS."

ALL [?] officers of the SS HAD TO HAVE SERVED AS AN ENLISTED MAN PRIOR TO RECEIVING A COMMISSION! Already experienced in the ways of the military and knowing the tasks of the enlisted. Degrelle followed this route? Enlisted as a private, working his way to the rank of general, based upon ABILITY!?

"There was also the ideological training. They were taught why they were fighting, what kind of Germany was being resurrected before their very eyes."

Similar to the practice of the various Soviet and Chinese Red communists armies and even the Marine Raiders under Evans Carlson. Political indoctrination! WHY WE FIGHT being stressed. "The moral is to the physical as three is to one" - - Napoleon!

"Young SS [officer candidates] were educated in two military academies, one in Bad Toelz the other in Braunschweig."

Bad Tolz I have blogged about previously. Braunschweig I have never heard of. Googling Braunschweig turns up empty too.

"Stalin's real intent is revealed in the minutes of the Soviet High Command, also in my possession. Stalin states his intent to come into the war the moment Hitler and the Western powers have annihilated each other. Stalin had great interest in marking time and letting others fight first. I have read his military plans and I have seen how they were achieved. By 1941 Stalin's ten thousand tanks had increased to 17,999, the next year they would have been 32,000, ten times more than Germany's. The air force would also have been 10 to 1 in Stalin's favor."

This is the "M-Day" hypothesis. Originally proposed by the Soviet dissident General Grigorenko and expounded upon by Suvorov. A Soviet attack on Germany and subsequently upon the rest of western Europe. Pre-empted by the German attack of 22 June.

"The relationship of equality and mutual respect between soldiers and officers was always present. Half of all division commanders were killed in action. Half! There is not an army in the world where this happened. The SS officer always led his troops to battle. I was engaged in seventy-five hand-to-hand combats because as an SS officer I had to be the first to meet the enemy."

The actions of Oskar Dirlewanger have been noted in a prior blog entry. Oskar was the archetype of the SS officer leading from the front? Wounded twelve times in combat! Notwithstanding the fact Oskar was demonstrably a sociopath, he DID have physical courage!

"The life expectancy of an SS officer at the front was three months. In Estonia I received ten new young officers from Bad Toelz academy one Monday; by Thursday, one was left and he was wounded."

This was quite common on the Eastern Front during WW2? Casualties were obscenely grotesque on both sides!

"First there was the German, then the Germanic, and now there was the European Waffen SS. 125,000 would then volunteer to save Western Culture and Civilization."

Leon felt that the Waffen SS with it's contingents of non-Germanic volunteers represented the first pan-European army. NOT quite true. The Roman Legions consisted of volunteers from all over the Empire. The forces of the Holy League at Lepanto included "troops" from a variety of European nations. And the army of Napoleon that marched on Russia [1812] included French, German, Italian, Polish soldiers!

"the Waffen SS enlarged its ranks to include 60,000 Islamic SS. The Waffen SS respected their way of life, their customs, and their religious beliefs. Each Islamic SS battalion had an imam, each company had a mullah. It was our common wish that their qualities found their highest expression. This was our racialism."

These would have been Albanian and Bosnia Muslims. Contingents used on the Eastern Front and also for anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia. The fact that there even existed Islamic SS units is often cited by Israeli commentators as evidence that Islam as a faith is not averse to fascist doctrine. There are even reports of refugees from the Islamic SS units fighting with the Palestinians against Israeli forces, circa 1948! My own perception is that the Bosnian and Albanian Muslim SS units were comprised of troops that fought for reasons other than finding fascism to be agreeable to them!

"I was the first one to have Catholic padres in the Waffen SS. Later padres of all denominations were available to all those who wanted them. The Islamic SS division had their own mullahs and the French even had a bishop!"

The German SS was very irreligious? NOT Christian in any sense, atheists is perhaps the best description! Hitler and the highest echelons of the Nazi regime were that way? The Nazi as pagans is far-fetched? Himmler went through the motions of trying to resurrect paganism, but that was mostly theatre?

Foreign volunteers did retain their religious precepts? Degrelle of course was very religious [Catholic] and would have seen fascism as a foil to atheistic communism. The incident where Degrelle was declared excommunicate was a result of his beating up a Catholic priest. At a vital stage of the campaign on the Eastern Front, Degrelle had the order of excommunication lifted, perhaps as a result of his confession?

"I was laid down with a deep side wound and 102 degree temperature. As general in command of the SS Wallonia forces I knew that all this was not conducive to high morale. I got up and for 17 days I led charge after charge to break the blockade, engaged in numerous hand-to-hand combats, was wounded four times but never stopped fighting."

This was the combat of the Cherkassy Pocket. Russia, 1944.

And, in conclusion:

"Look at the Common Market of today [today is 1982]. It is a failure. There is no unifying ideal. Everything is based on haggling over the price of tomatoes, steel, coal, or booze. Fruitful unions are based on something a little higher than that."

Well, here, Leon is absolutely right. The recent proposed European Union [EU] constitution was - - what is it - - 400 or so pages, and out-of-hand rejected when it came up for a vote in the various constituent nations forming the EU! NO sound foundation for a "fruitful union" based upon quicksand? The EU is built upon nothing more solid than the concept of the "welfare state"?

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Gliders?

Is there a military future for the glider?

Gliders were used extensively by the German and Allied paratroop forces during World War Two [WW2]. Offered an alternative to the mass parachute drop of highly trained infantry on a drop zone well behind enemy lines.

[even with the intense physical training administered to parachute troops, a pretty high percentage still suffer some sort of injury upon landing, due to the heavy load they must carry! Even BEFORE engaging in combat, a unit will suffer a certain percentage of casualties!]

Towed by a transport or bomber aircraft to the landing zone, gliders allowed for an entire unit to be delivered intact on one location and with fewer casualties than would occur by parachute landing.

"Landing by parachute caused the troops to be spread over a large drop-zone, whereas gliders could land troops in greater concentrations precisely at the target landing area. Furthermore, the glider, once released at some distance from the actual target, was effectively silent and difficult for the enemy to identify."

Gliders as used by the warring parties during WW2 were generally considered to be EXPENDABLE ITEMS!! Used once behind enemy lines and then written off. Made of wood, covered by fabric, subject to damage upon landing in an unimproved field or even from enemy ground fire.

[Rommel’s asparagus was widely employed in Normandy to thwart glider landings by the Allied paratroop forces. Poles with wire strung between them, trip wired explosives and mines, all placed in fields that were judged by the German to be suitable for allied glider landings. There was a pretty high casualty rate among glider crews and troops carried within during the Normandy airborne operation?]



Gliders continued to be carried in the U.S. military inventory even until the mid-1960’s? At that time, were then considered to be obsolete, replaced by the rotary-wing helicopter. Helicopters were felt to be more flexible, ABLE TO DISEMBARK TROOPS ON A LANDING ZONE MORE EFFECTIVELY, AND ALSO RETRIEVE TROOPS AS WELL!!

"By the time of the Korean War, helicopters had replaced gliders. Helicopters have the advantage of being able to extract soldiers, in addition to delivering them to the battlefield."

The helicopter has TOTALLY replaced the glider as a means of delivering troops?

Perhaps NOT!

I can see a need for a LIMITED NUMBER of gliders to be used in selective special operations type missions. Missions that require glider-borne ranger/commando troops to be carried VERY or EXTREMELY long-distances over DENIED territory, towed by transport aircraft [MC-130 or AC-130], delivered to the target [landing zone] in a stealthy manner that a helicopter cannot hope to duplicate.

A limited number of glider aircraft could be very quickly added to the inventory, at the ready for special operations troops to use when needed.

Gliders along the lines of the British WW2 Horsa. Able to carry about a platoon of troops with impedimenta. A glider made of wood, with improvements, i.e., key critical structural components made of carbon fiber in the manner of modern aircraft.



[there are all sorts of after-action reports and glider pilot veterans from the era of WW2 that can be consulted regarding “how-to” improvements?]

A force of gliders, ready-to-go, with trained pilots can be readily assembled, cheaply, and be operational in short order?

* Pilots receive continual checkout and training in simulators or modified two-engine aircraft. Modified aircraft [by NASA] simulating the performance in flight of a glider. [Space Shuttle pilots currently practice landings in this manner!] An abundance of pilots, Army and Air Force, would be willing and able would “go for” this type of mission?



[those pilots should be prepared to FIGHT upon landing. Such will be the nature of glider-borne troop missions!]

* Towed to a landing zone by a USAF Special Operations MC-130 or AC-130 gunship. Troops on the ground after glider landing will have an enormous amount of fire support at their beck and call.

* Able to be retrieved via a towline attached to a STARS type system. Also have a capability for enhanced take-off during any stage of mission via JATO [jet-assisted-take-off] or similar apparatus?

[see an interesting wiki entry regarding German attempts to strap rockets on gliders.]

* Able to take-off and land on an aircraft carrier?

Gliders would be used in special operations missions such as Pegasus bridge from Normandy fame or a raid such as of the Israeli at Entebbe! A U.S. special operations force, ranger/commando type unit swoops silently out of the sky, swarming upon the enemy when and where they least expect it! This sort of thing is do-able? And NOW?

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Cyclone Nargis.

The satellite photos out of Burma showing the area flooded by Cyclone Nargis reveal a truly apocalyptic situation.

Much of the Irrawaddy River delta and the low-lying area north of the delta to include Rangoon [Yangon] is under water.

Up to 100,000 [?] persons now believed to have perished in the cataclysm?

[it is amazing how quickly these casualty figures escalate. In an alarming and marked manner that astounds. First 5,000 dead, then 6,000, then 20,000, then 60,000, NOW 100,000!!!]

Disease, starvation, unrest will claim even more lives unless aid arrives IMMEDIATELY!

This [Irrawaddy delta] was too one of the main rice-growing areas of the world. Was prior to World War Two [WW2] primarily mangrove swamp, but has been cleared and given over to agriculture during the last sixty years!

An area, due to flooding from salt-water, that will no longer sustain crops as was harvested in the past? Exacerbating the current rice “shortage” world wide, driving up prices.

[let me reiterate: Rising sea levels and warmer ocean temperatures [both making for cyclonic storms of greater frequency and intensity], teeming and restive populations seemingly without hope and at the mercy of authoritarian and despotic regimes, inappropriate agricultural practices, etc., all a recipe for disaster!]

THE RESPONSE OF THE BURMESE JUNTA AT THIS TIME IS TEPID AT BEST!

Paranoid and just-don’t-seem-to-care. The junta is clueless and callous! “Things” could very well spiral out of control in a manner that cannot be anticipated.

This is exactly the type of situation British Admiral Parry has in mind for a breakdown of the world-order. Begins in a place like Burma. A taste of things to come. A calamity of biblical proportions leading to governmental and societal breakdown.

[a U.S. naval task forces with a helicopter-landing-carrier is standing by? The U.S. has already pledged $30 million in aid. I fear that just about the only way to get immediate aid to most of the folks in the flooded area will be by helicopter! Just operating several dozen “choppers” in such a situation for several weeks will cost, just by itself, way beyond the initial aid package!]

The Arakan region of Burma does have a Muslim population. Traditionally found in an area on the border with Bangladesh. Further north - - not where the cyclone has struck. These are the Rohingya peoples. Victims of ethnic cleansing at the hands of the junta! Muslims in Arakan are biding their time, wait for events to transpire?

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Crab Rangoon!

The capital city of Burma has been moved [began in 2005?], unexpectedly and without rationale, two hundred miles [320 kilometers] upriver from Rangoon [Yangon]! The ruling junta has done so, with the advice of astrologers, fearing an attack by the U.S. Marines?

"Mysterious motivations"

"While commentators have offered a host of reasons for the junta's sudden move north, ranging from astrology to military strategy to fears of a possible US-led invasion"

"Whether or not the move to Naypyidaw offers strategic military advantages is debatable, according to Andrew Selth, an expert on Myanmar's armed forces . . . 'In purely strategic terms, it would have been more sensible to diversify these critical north-south links and build more routes on the western side of the Irrawaddy [River], or in the east of the country.'"

[sensible from the standpoint of a rational thinking western military expert. The ruling junta in Burma has their OWN motivation for everything they do. And their rationality is NOT OUR rationality.]

"Selth said the increasing separation of Myanmar's ruling military generals from the civilian population would make it far easier for a potential foreign invader to target the junta through air strikes. Nevertheless, the argument previously put forward that the switch inland from the old coastal capital Yangon reduces the risk to the junta of a land invasion was probably taken into account by the military."

That the Burmese military ruling elite fears at attack by foreign powers is not without foundation?

* "In 1988, the US moved navy vessels into the area, apparently in the event of the state collapsing during the democratic uprisings."

* "In 1992, junta abuses against Muslims in Arakan state prompted the wrath of Saudi Arabia"

So, there is a minority of Muslims in Burma! Live in the Arakan region!

Burma - - here we come!!

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Burma!!

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." - - Matthew 24:6-8

Here is the type of headline that shocks and gets your attention right away.

"Burma cyclone death toll could hit 63,000"

"Aid agencies are scrambling to mount a massive relief effort after military rulers in Burma, also known as Myanmar, said 22,464 people had been killed and a further 41,000 were missing feared dead after the weekend cyclone."

Also the type of scenario the British Admiral Parry had in mind when he predicted the world order will begin to break up starting around the year 2012.

"Parry . . . He identified the most dangerous flash points by overlaying maps showing the regions most threatened by factors such as agricultural decline, booming youth populations, water shortages, rising sea levels and radical Islam."

[this could best be termed as an Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield [IPB]].

"Parry predicts that as flood or starvation strikes, the most dangerous zones will be Africa, particularly the northern half; most of the Middle East and central Asia as far as northern China; a strip from Nepal to Indonesia; and perhaps eastern China."

"He [Parry] pinpoints 2012 to 2018 as the time when the current global power structure is likely to crumble."

The Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, Burma, etc., is an area cited by Parry as being perhaps the one place in the world most subject to catastrophe with chaos and massive displacement of people being the result. A displacement that will set up a chain reaction on a world-wide scale that brings unintended and horrific consequences.

Rising sea levels, warmer waters, cyclones of ever-greater intensity, teeming populations living on low-lying lands close to the shore-line, authoritarian don't-care governments lackadaisical in efforts to assist disaster victims, etc. In the case of Bangladesh you also have the problem with Islamic fundamentalism.

Burma does not [?] have a restive Muslim population that is ripe for rebellion?

Nonetheless, this is a natural disaster that poses a particular problem for the Burmese dictatorial junta? The long-suppressed locals will in desperation decide the "final days" of the generals has come?

coolbert.

This is coolbert: Miscellany.

It is called a ricochet shot. A cannonball being bounced [skipped] on the ground or the water toward the target.

"A ricochet (pronounced RICK-uh-shay) is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile."

Only can be done with a "cannonball" [round] when fired from a smooth-bore cannon.

"their [smooth bores] projectiles could be skipped ('ricochet fire') over the surface of the water to better ensure a hull hit. Rifle projectiles could not do this; they would either burrow into the water or bounce off it wildly due to their spin."

And this interesting extract from the five part series courtesy of Professor Kershaw:

"there was the impact of the expanded Führer cult on Hitler himself. Some of those in his close proximity later claimed to have detected a change in Hitler around 1935-6. He became . . . more convinced of his own infallibility . . . a more pronounced messianic tone. He saw himself ever more -- as chosen by Providence [GOD!]."

Hitler developed megalomaniac disease? Perhaps chosen - - but NOT by GOD!!?? A malady common in persons such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Hussein? Having absolute power does "something" to the mind? Totalitarian leaders actually begin to believe in their own "greatness". Develop grandiose plans and schemes. Carry through to very bitter end, regardless of the consequences.

coolbert.

This is coolbert: The Master Plan?

The jihadi villains do have a plan? A well-thought out process from which "goals" can be realized?

Read here an excellent article concerning the future of jihad [?], as proposed by Al Qaeda theoreticians:

"The Master Plan
For the new theorists of jihad, Al Qaeda is just the beginning"

Three men, jihadis, villains, persons at or near the top of Al Qaeda,

Abu Musab al-Suri, Abu Bakr Naji, Fouad Hussein

* Abu Musab al-Suri "a Syrian who had been a member of Al Qaeda’s inner council, and who is a theorist of jihad"

* Abu Bakr Naji . . . [author of] "an Internet document titled 'The Management of Savagery.'” [how appropriately titled, is it NOT!!]

* Fouad Hussein "is a radical Jordanian journalist . . . In 2005, Hussein produced what is perhaps the most definitive outline of Al Qaeda’s master plan"

With regard to al-Suri [now in custody somewhere in the world!]:

"Suri was born into a middle-class family in Aleppo, Syria, in 1958, the year of bin Laden’s birth. Red-haired and sturdily built, he has a black belt in judo; his real name is Mustafa Setmariam Nasar"

[a red-head from Syrian. Probably a Gallician. Of Indo-European heritage. From the ancient Celtic people who wandered as far as the Middle-East. Recall St. Paul's Epistle to the Gallicians.]

"He proposes that the next stage of jihad will be characterized by terrorism created by individuals or small autonomous groups (what he terms “'eaderless resistance'), which will wear down the enemy and prepare the ground for the far more ambitious aim of waging war on 'open fronts'"

Sounds to me like al-Suri has been reading the concepts and theories of Marghiela? Leaderless resistance is similiar to the guerrilla foco or the lone wolf terrorist?

The master plan of Al Qaeda is staged [is that the right word, staged?]. With benchmarks, goals, timelines, etc. Managerial control of terror? Almost like a business plan? Sounds like something someone with a MBA would approve of.

(1) "Al Qaeda’s twenty-year plan began on September 11th, with a stage [#1] that Hussein calls 'The Awakening.'”

(2) "The second, 'Eye-Opening' stage will last until the end of 2006, Hussein writes. Iraq will become the recruiting ground for young men eager to attack America."

(3) "The third stage, 'Arising and Standing Up,' will last from 2007 to 2010. Al Qaeda’s focus will be on Syria and Turkey, but it will also begin to directly confront Israel"

(4) "In the fourth stage, lasting until 2013, Al Qaeda will bring about the demise of Arab governments"

(5) [the] "fifth stage 'an Islamic caliphate can be declared' of Al Qaeda’s grand plan, which will last until 2016 . . . 'The international balance will change.'”

(6) "The sixth phase will be a period of 'total confrontation.' . . . a worldwide fight between the 'believers' and the 'non-believers.'”

"By 2020, 'definitive victory' will have been achieved."

Everyone will be a Muslim by then [2020], and MORAL PERFECTION OF ALL MANKIND WILL HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED!!

Better hurry, ONLY twelve years away now!

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