Glider Retrieval.

This is coolbert:

In a previous blog entry, I had discussed the use of gliders as a transport for ranger/commando troops employed in a very-long-range special operations type mission. A mission where the use of helicopters would NOT be possible, for a variety of reasons [range, stealth, etc.].

In the modern military, the glider has been rendered obsolete by the use of the helicopter? The latter has the ADVANTAGE of being able to retrieve troops! This a glider CANNOT DO?

For the most part, during World War Two [WW2], gliders were considered to be expendable items. Towed to the landing zone, glide to earth, land, disembark troops, and abandoned. But NOT TOTALLY SO!

Efforts were made to retrieve gliders from a landing zone. This was especially true in the China-Burma-India [CBI] theatre? And there were successes? This was called "The Snatch"!



Click on the photo to see a larger view!

Tow plane, trailing a tow hook, swoops done, engages a loop of rope suspended from two posts. That loop of rope in turn attached to the tow rope of the glider. "Whoosh" - - you and the glider are airborne and retrieved!!

There is also something incorrect and very dangerous here! NOT appreciated at the time or even now.

"Marker strip of white cloth as guide for tow plane"

NO!!

The use of engineering tape or similar to act as a guide for the tow plane would place the occupants of the glider in great danger. The prop wash from a low-flying transport has the ability to kick that tape up into the air, where it might get tangled in the controls of the glider, causing a crash perhaps of even both aircraft [tow plane and glider].

Strangely enough, back in my day [not that long ago even], the U.S. Army manual suggested that landing zones for helicopters be marked with white engineering tape. Each and every helicopter pilot - - upon hearing this - - would tell you - - instantaneously - - in no uncertain terms - - NO!!

[even approaching a helicopter on the ground wearing a soft cap on your head can be dangerous to all involved. The prop wash from the "chopper" can knock that hat off your head, to be sucked up into the engine - - causing a subsequent crash!! It HAS happened!!]

coolbert.

William.

This is coolbert:

"how the world has changed" - - Bert.

Another member of the British royal family is doing his bit for GOD and Queen. Prince William.

An eight week stint of service aboard the British naval vessel, HMS Iron Duke.

"William's Navy posting revealed"

"HMS Iron Duke (F234) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the third ship to bear the name. Iron Duke was launched on 2 March 1991"



A frigate carrying considerable firepower? To include:

* 2 × ASuW Harpoon quad launchers
* Vertical launch system Sea Wolf missiles
* 1 × BAE 4.5 inch (110 mm) Mk 8 gun
* 2 × Oerlikon 30 mm guns
* 4 × Sting Ray torpedo tubes
* Aircraft carried: 1 × Lynx HMA8 [helicopter]

"The frigate patrols waters around British overseas territories in the Caribbean, and is involved in operations to catch drug smugglers."

"the third ship to bear the name".

In the long and illustrious history of the British Navy, is the third ship to bear the name "Iron Duke". In honor of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.

The two previous named vessels being RADICALLY DIFFERENT IN DESIGN from the current frigate the Prince will serve aboard.

Ships of the line, designed to carry and employ in combat massive gunfire. Ships best deemed BATTLESHIPS!!

(1) "The first HMS Iron Duke was an iron Audacious-class central battery ironclad."

"She became the flagship of the China Station on 31 August 1871"

A ship formidably armed:

* 10 × 12 ton, 9 inch (229 mm) RML guns
* 4 × 6 in (152 mm), 64 pounder (29 kg) [the "shell" weighed 64 pounds!]
* 6 × 20 pounder (9 kg) guns
* Ram [a ram, yes, a ram!! Ramming as a means of naval warfare was still vogue in 1871!!]

(2) The second "Iron Duke" - - "HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class . . . She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during World War I, including at the Battle of Jutland."



"Iron Duke was launched on 12 October 1912 at Portsmouth, England, the first of her class."

Even more formidably armed then her predecessor:

* 10 × 13.5 inch/45 guns in five twin turrets
* 12 × 6 inch/45 guns in single casemate mountings
* 2 × 3 inch/20 anti-aircraft guns
* 4 × 21 inch submerged beam torpedo tubes

At the time [1912] the second Iron Duke was the MOST ADVANCED AND DEADLY naval vessel in the world? NOTHING else compared to it anywhere? Especially with regard to naval gunfire.

Well, the current "Iron Duke" DOES have one gun, a 4.5 inch [110mm] turret mounted piece. NOT designed to be a match to a battleship. Mission is so much different. Naval vessels of the modern era are NOT armored [would be cost prohibitive] and fire missiles rather than engage in battle in the traditional sense [gunfire broadside against opposing naval broadside!]!

Just to build a naval war craft equal to the second Iron Duke would bankrupt the British government? AND NO NEED FOR IT ANYMORE!! Those enormous navies of pelagic water fleets are gone FOREVER!

coolbert.

Medal of Dishonor!

This is coolbert:

“his tongue shall be cut out, and his face branded with the rune of Loki!!"

From the Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2008:

More on the motives of the liar/prevaricator/military impostor/poseur’/fake war hero.

The Legion of Valor. A private, nation-wide organization [club], membership limited to those persons who have been awarded:

* Medal of Honor.

* Navy Cross.

* Air Force Cross.

* Distinguished Service Cross [Army].

ONLY eight hundred members total. Persons who have been awarded a high decoration for valor in combat!

A number of impostors claim to be members of the Legion of Valor. When discovered, are being “outed” and exposed for what they are.

I had thought that the primary motivation for the fake war hero would be psychological. “Sad Sack” individuals who make false claims to bolster low self-esteem. Distressed persons who live a fantasy life in their own head. Persons with “issues” that cannot be resolved in the normal manner.

Motivations in some cases are not strictly psychological, however.

“Half-a-dozen states currently offer special license plates to members of the Legion of Valor.” To include Texas and Illinois, for instance. Clearly marked as to the designation, conspicuous.

There are marked benefits [not that marked, but nonetheless, valid!] for those displaying the special license plate. With regard to Texas:

“Dallas and other Texas cities allow drivers who display them to ignore parking meters and to park for free at state facilities, including airports such a DFW [Dallas/Ft. Worth], where valet parking for travelers can run to $24 a day.”

[to those that would assert that such “benefits” are chickenshit, think how often you have seen someone with a handicapped license plate use a reserved parking space and NOT appear to be handicapped in the normal, generally accepted, commonly defined meaning of the word HANDICAPPED!!]

Making claims as to false decorations and claims of valor can now earn you a trip to prison or a stiff fine.

AND IT SHOULD BE SO!! No mercy on the liar/prevaricator/military impostor/poseur’/fake war hero!!

coolbert.

Fox Conner.

This is coolbert:

"Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. ... This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war ..." - - Napoleon.

"'Nice chap, no General.' - - General Bernard Law Montgomery on his first impressions of American General Dwight D. Eisenhower"

Here is the man credited with having "made" Dwight David Eisenhower.

Fox Conner.

"Fox Conner (November 2, 1874-October 13, 1951) was a major general of the United States Army . . . is best remembered as 'the man who made Eisenhower'."

And outstanding U.S. Army general officer during World War One [WW1] and subsequently in the years after. Acted as a mentor for talented younger career officers, to include Dwight David Eisenhower.

"Conner set out to identify and guide the most talented younger officers, those who were likely to become the future leaders of the American Army." To include:

* George Catlett Marshall.

* George S. Patton, Jr.

* Dwight David Eisenhower.

Conner paid special attention to Eisenhower, seeking to develop through a systematic study of military history, Ike's analytical and intellectual capabilities.

"For the next three years Fox Conner taught graduate courses in military history, strategy, and leadership in a 'virtual' classroom located in the humid jungle of Panama. This classroom contained a single student, Dwight David Eisenhower. Military history classes at West Point had been poorly taught. But Fox Conner stirred Ike’s interest in history — he taught Ike how to read it, think it, and intelligently discuss its lessons"

Military science and military history would have been sparsely and poorly taught at West Point during the era while Eisenhower was a student [early 1900's]. Cadets graduating from the Military Academy would have obtained an engineering degree, the vast majority of class time spent on mathematics and similar engineering curriculum subjects. NOT military oriented subject matter!

This "virtual classroom" tutorial method of instruction was successful? Consider that:

"Conner helped Ike in gaining admission to the Army’s Command and General Staff School. Ike graduated first in his class."

Eisenhower's reputation as a staff officer was without peer. Ike prior to his assuming senior command during World War Two [WW2] HAD NEVER COMMANDED TROOPS AT ANY ECHELON - - PERIOD!! Strictly a staff man - - but the best that there was!!

Conner constantly stressed [admonitions heeded by Eisenhower during WW2] of the need for harmonious relations between partners engaged in coalition warfare [U.S./France/England] versus Germany in any future European war!

"dealing with the enemy can be a simple and straightforward matter when contrasted to securing close cooperation with an ally."

Ike also was considered to be, within the U.S. Army, the foremost expert on the campaigns of Napoleon. Was appreciative of the fact that in many instances, Napoleon was very successful in fighting and defeating opposition that consisted of coalitions. Coalitions traditionally do not fight well. Acrimony and dissension make for a lack of concentrated force and focused effort!

Maintaining a harmonious relationship between the various allied powers during WW2 was HIGH on the agenda for Ike. In this regard Eisenhower again was without peer? NO ONE ELSE could have done the job as well? Another legacy of the tutoring as administered many years earlier by Fox Conner?

"Montgomery even admitted that Eisenhower was the only one who had the personality to get all the Allies to cooperate and win the war"

Without Eisenhower, NO unconditional surrender of Germany in WW2? And, without Conner, NO Eisenhower?

coolbert.

Man or Woman?

This is coolbert:

Please read this incredible stuff from the Daniel Pipes weblog:

Recent incidents [the known ones] where men dressing in women's Islamic dress committed crimes or acts of war. Just like what occurred in Philadelphia just a week or so ago now. [the thugs in Philly were evidently wearing silver sunglasses over their eyes. EVEN THE EYE SLIT FOR THE FACE MASK WAS COVERED, ALBEIT WITH SUNGLASSES!!]

"The Niqab and Burqa as Security Threats"

"the niqab and burqa should both be banned on security grounds, 'as one cannot have faceless persons walking the streets, driving cars, or otherwise entering public spaces.' . . . this blog [the particular entry of Pipes] will document the current dangers, especially in the West, of the burqa and niqab as a disguise"

I was somewhat surprised that SO MANY incidents of this type have occurred. Easy for the villains to commit crimes and NOT EVER be caught or convicted? Even security cameras do you NO GOOD when the bad guy is covered from head to toe AND YOU CANNOT TELL EVEN AT CLOSE INSPECTION IF IT IS A WOMAN OR A MAN!!

coolbert.

Security Clearance.

This is k’oolbert:

"Do you know why we are so strong? Because we are a unit, each of us is part of the greater whole, always under surveillance, even a Commander such as myself. Always under surveillance." - - Commander Kor of the Klingon Empire, as related to Captain Kirk of the Federation.

From a comment to the blog by JS Bolton:

"This is very alarming that the FBI and CIA would employ people [Nada Nadim Prouty] with obvious gaps in their identification, such that they have to just take some one's word as to who that person really is, and what their real connections might be."

Within the U.S. military, my understanding of the issuance of security clearances is that:

* A clearance level of CONFIDENTIAL can be issued merely upon the authority of the unit commander, at his/her discretion.

* A clearance level of SECRET can be issued by a national agency check alone. Clearance being granted by a records check turning up “no derogatory” information.

* A clearance level of TOP SECRET might require “levels” of investigation, each level more intrusive and exhaustive. Perhaps even including a polygraph exam [lie detector]!

All of this of course, normally accomplished AFTER a person has been enlisted and is serving in the U.S. military.

In contrast, according to Suvorov, within the Soviet military, the question of categorization and trustworthiness was handled in a far different manner:

"It does not occur to any of them [a convoy of raw recruits to the Red Army] that each of them has already been assessed, taking into account his POLITICAL RELIABILITY [my emphasis], his family's criminal record (or absence of one), participation (or failure to participate) in Communist mass meetings . . . They [the raw recruits] have no idea . . . that files exist on them which have long ago been checked and passed by the KGB."

We are speaking here of DRAFTEES inducted to serve two years of military service in a Soviet infantry division. A convoy [2,500 inductees] would have only two to three persons of Category Zero [0]. Zero being the highest level category, from the standpoint of physical and mental aptitude, AND political reliability, according to the judgements of the communist party!

Draftees, NOT KNOWING THAT AN EXHAUSTIVE BACKGROUND CHECK HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE INDUCTION INTO THE SOVIET MILITARY.

The two to three inductees per convoy rated as category zero [0] would be assigned to the Eighth [8th] Department of a Soviet divisional staff. Troops handling all cryptographic matters, securing the secret communications of the commander and his subordinates. ONLY TEN PERSONS TOTAL OUT OF A TEN THOUSAND TROOP STRONG DIVISIONAL UNIT WOULD BE CATEGORIZED AS BELONGING TO CATEGORY ZERO [0]!!

In addition, even with reliability and trustworthiness established, all these various defectors, from the old Soviet Union intelligence services tell stories of INFORMERS [STUKACHI] AND DELIBERATE AND MALICIOUS PROVOCATIONS PLACED IN FRONT OF “TRUSTED” PERSONNEL.

“Let us see what he will do in this situation!”

[I think that the big problem with Nada Prouty is that neither the FBI or the CIA was able to determine that Nada was [1] an illegal alien or [2] the sister-in-law and employee of a man [has fled the country] known to be a fund-raiser and money-launderer [alleged] for Hezbollah!!]

k’oolbert.

Colombia.

This is coolbert:

Thanks here to the BBC.

"Leader's death harsh blow to Farc"

"The legendary leader and founder of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) is dead."

Pedro Marin, the real name of 'Manuel Marulanda' [nom de guerre]!

Unexpectedly, the most numerous, vicious, and effective guerrilla insurgency in all the world [??], has had some serious set-backs. The very top command echelon is being decapitated, and all at once it seems too. A hitherto seemingly invincible and unstoppable group of insurgents is now being beaten?

Just this year alone, Farc has suffered some serious losses. To include of course the death of Pedro Marin, and in addition:

* "March was a disastrous month for the Farc and their ruling body the Secretariat, as three of the seven members died or were killed."

* "right hand man, alias Raul Reyes was killed on 1 March when the Colombian military bombed a Farc camp two kilometres inside Ecuadorean territory."

[privileged sanctuary that in one fell swoop became not-so-privileged sanctuary.]

* "A week later 'Ivan Rios', the youngest member of the Secretariat, was murdered by one of his bodyguards"

* "desertion had become the Achilles Heel of the guerrillas. More than 220 rebels deserted in the first quarter of this year alone."

* "An unexpected coup came in the form of a woman with the alias 'Karina', who deserted on 19 May . . . She was an iconic figure in the Farc"

The Farc are famous for having many women included in their ranks. Combat fighters who acquit themselves quite well? Similar to the Nepalese Maoist guerrillas. Woman fighters are also largely instrumental in the quasi-governmental ruling apparatus within Farc controlled areas of Columbia.



[woman are felt to be better negotiators and lest inclined to use violence to solve disputes. Also, when one of these Farc women "officials" tells someone to do something, YOU DO IT!!]

Pedro Marin was a guerrilla commander who spent FOUR DECADES IN THE WILDERNESS FIGHTING A COMMUNIST INSURRECTION THAT IS NOW COMING APART!! Farc for some time has controlled large portions of Columbia, extortion, kidnapping, involvement in the drug trade being their trademarks! Have a very big regional influence, in some cases almost global in nature!

Farc is now in trouble??!!

coolbert.

Naval Base.

This is coolbert:

Please check out the latest TOP SECRET intelligence [not really] of a nature that not so long ago was once available ONLY to the highest governmental echelons of the United States and the Soviet Union.

Here courtesy of KTB Sharkhunters. [thanks as always to Harry!]

Satellite photos of Chinese naval base [Hainan], seem to indicate an ability on the part of the Chinese to hide nuclear submarines inside a mountain. Nuclear "boomers" that will be all but impervious to anything other than a direct hit from an atomic bomb?



Click on picture to see a larger photo.

The comments of the editor KTB are very prescient?

"Hiding submarine bases inside mountains is not a new idea, but with the massive influx of money to China from their trade goods sold in just about every major nation in the world, the Chinese military is moving forward at great speed to build a huge military force and is rapidly becoming a full-fledged blue water navy. It would be foolish to take them lightly."

"While it once was a good idea to hide submarine bases inside mountains - with the advent of the always present 'eye in the sky' of the satellites, is it really a good idea still? Once inside, the submarines are invisible to the satellites - but they have to surface to come into the mountain bases and at that time, they are visible to the satellites."

"but they have to surface to come into the mountain bases" - - Harry.

Is this so? Exit and entry can only be done by surfacing? Perhaps NOT? An area could be dredged from the cave entrance outward for a certain distance that would be deep enough to allow the sub to enter or exit without breaking the surface? Captain Nemo and Nautilus like!

coolbert.

Quick Kill.

This is coolbert:

Here is a training technique as instituted by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

Quick Kill. A method of point shooting designed to be used by those wielding the M-16 rifle as carried by the infantryman of the Vietnam era.

"Point Shooting is a method of shooting a firearm that relies on a shooter's instinctive reactions and kinematics to quickly engage close targets. Point Shooting does not rely on sights . . . the shooter focuses on the target."

[emphasis here upon CLOSE TARGETS!!]

A technique and training method instituted in response to the close-quarters, jungle warfare fire fight type of engagement as fought between American and Viet Cong/North Vietnamese [VC/NVA] soldiers. Gun battles fought at a range of twenty [20] meters or less were the rule and not the exception in Vietnam.

American infantrymen, taught rifle marksmanship in the classical style, Breath-Relax-Aim-Sight-Squeeze [BRASS], were ill-prepared for the type of combat as found in the jungles of South Vietnam? Carefully aimed and sighted shots were the exception. State-side training did not suffice for the type of instantaneous and instinctive reaction required to kill the enemy [VC/NVA]?

Surprisingly to many, Quick Kill was taught using a sightless, Daisy BB gun. An air rifle. Proficiency first obtained at hitting targets with the BB gun, only later graduating to the M-16!

"Another method of point shooting, developed by 'Lucky' McDaniels [a trick shot artist] and taught by the US Army beginning in 1967, was the 'Quick Kill' method. It was taught using an air rifle . . . a special Daisy BB gun that had no sights . . . The students began by firing at 3.5" diameter metal disks thrown in the air slightly in front of the student and 2-4 meters above the student's head. After an 80% hit rate is attained firing at 3.5" disks, the student is then presented with 2.5" diameter disks. Once proficiency is attained with the aerial targets, it shows the student has mastered the fundamentals, and training moves on to stationary targets on the ground, first with the BB gun and then with a service rifle [M-16]"

Quick Kill was used by soldiers in Vietnam when engaging suddenly appearing targets at a range of twenty [20] meters or less? I am attempting to confirm or deny with someone who should know.

Is this method still taught? I would suspect not. Modern battles such as fought in Iraq seldom require an instinctive and immediate reaction with the rifle AT CLOSE RANGE??!!

The intuitive reaction is that this is chickenshit!!?? The response from a marksman trained in the classical manner [BRASS] would be that if you can hit a target at three hundred [300] meters with the M-16, surely you can hit a target at twenty meters or less just as easily [quite more so]? I guess reaction time and instantaneous response are much more critical during a close-range fire fight than careful sighting, breath control, etc.?

coolbert.

Indoctrination!

This is coolbert:

"The moral is to the physical as three is to one" - - Napoleon.

From a previous blog entry:

"There was also the ideological training. They [members of the Waffen SS] were taught why they were fighting"

"Similar to the practice of the various Soviet and Chinese Red communist armies and even the Marine Raiders under Evans Carlson. Political indoctrination! WHY WE FIGHT being stressed."

Here is another attempt at political indoctrination of troops. As espoused by the American Major General Edwin A. Walker.

Indoctrination of an anti-communist sort. At the height of the Cold War. Backfired on the general. Resulting in the resignation of a very seasoned and skillful combat officer.

"Major General Edwin Anderson Walker (November 10, 1909 – October 31, 1993) of the U.S. Army was known for his right wing political views and for being a target of Lee Harvey Oswald."

"During World War II, Walker commanded a subunit of the Canadian-American First Special Service Force [FSSF] in the invasion of Anzio, Italy in January 1944. In August 1944, the FSSF landed on the Hyeres Islands off of the French Riviera, taking out a strong German garrison."

"Walker again saw combat in the Korean War, commanding the Third Infantry Division's Seventh Regiment, and was senior advisor to the First Korean Corps"

Walker was a man with a very distinguished war record, both in World War Two [WW2] and Korea. Saw tough combat, leading with elan' special operations forces [FSSF]!!

"In 1959, General Walker was sent to Germany to command the 24th Infantry Division. In 1961, however, he became involved in controversy. Walker initiated an anti-communist indoctrination program for troops called 'Pro Blue' (due to Free World troops being coloured blue on maps) and was accused of distributing right-wing literature from the John Birch Society to the soldiers of his division."

"Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara relieved Walker of his command, while an inquiry was conducted, and in October Walker was reassigned to Hawaii to become assistant chief of staff for training and operations in the Pacific. Instead, Walker resigned from the Army on November 2, 1961"

The Kennedy administration felt that Walker had stepped over a line. Indoctrination of this sort is not desired within the U.S. military. Has the "smell" of authoritarianism about it? Something [political indoctrination] that is used by totalitarian regimes is NOT something the U.S. government can allow or condone?

[please recall that even up unto WW2, military officers eschewed voting!! An informal practice career officers had agreed upon to totally eliminate even the slightest semblance of political involvement!!]

It is reputed that Walker was also the target of Lee Harvey Oswald. Early in 1963, it is alleged, Oswald took pot-shots at Walker, the intent to kill this "fascist". Walker was living in Dallas and had certainly gotten the attention of a lot of folks with strong and extreme political opinions. The man who killed Kennedy ironically was also out to "get" Walker??!!

[the picture of Walker accompanying this blog entry shows Walker while he was at the rank of Colonel. A much earlier incarnation!]

coolbert.

Mask

This is coolbert:

“in most locales, it is against the law to wear a mask in public - - unless part of a gala event!!” - - Bert.

“Unless part of a gala event!!” = Halloween, etc.

Three bad ass thugs recently robbing a bank in Philadelphia, DRESSED IN FULL ISLAMIC FEMALE REGALIA!! The robe, the headdress, the face mask with eye slit. Maybe even gloves? [wearing women’s shoes??]

During their escape, one of the miscreants was killed in a shoot-out with cops, but not before killing one police officer. The second and third robber have been caught and are now behind bars!

"The dead officer, Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, a 12-year veteran who would have turned 40 on Tuesday, was responding to a report of a robbery of a bank inside a grocery store around 11:30 a.m. Saturday." [we mourn the loss of this valiant officer!!]

[the police officer was killed by a SKS carbine. Carried under the robe by one of the reprobates during actual commission of the bank robbery? I would be curious to know if that was so!]

Make no mistake about it! These three are really bad eggs if there ever were any! Hard core totally rotten-apple criminals not hesitant to take a life or two or even beyond that if necessary [or even for the fun of it]!

AND ARE ALSO DEVOUT MUSLIMS AND EVIDENTLY SERIOUS PRACTITIONERS OF THE FAITH [ISLAM]!

All three have beards [see the picture with two of the villains shown], two growing them in the Islamic style, one villain even having the habiba [“the raisin”] on his forehead. A calloused “scab” gotten from prostrating oneself five times a day and praying toward Mecca.



Islamic female dress can be and is a weapon of war? See my previous blog entry on the subject. This is intuitive? That person approaching you, dressed in full robes, headdress, face mask, gloves, slippers - - is it a woman or a man - - and what is under that robe? Was this bank robbery done with the intention of financing jihad? NOTHING seems to suggest that is the case?

coolbert.

Trying?

This is coolbert:

"I am trying!!" "I am doing the best I can!!" "I have sent a second letter!!"

These are the words of the Secretary General [Sec Gen] Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations, during his interview on the PBS broadcast "The News Hour", this last Friday night.

Regarding the situation in Burma. The ruling junta will NOT allow foreign aid workers to enter the country and presently ONLY a limited [small fraction] amount of relief aid is reaching the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

[Nargis was the strongest cyclone to strike this part of Burma in 100 years!! As with the tsunami of 2005, people in this part of the world [Irrawaddy delta] have no experience with this type of damage and devastation!]

The Sec Gen is TRY-ING to get the junta to cooperate with the international community, but it seems to be of no avail.

With regard to rice production, according to Ban Ki-moon:

* 20 % of the land devoted to rice agriculture is no longer fertile and cannot be productive due to inundation from salt water.

* Right NOW is the time for planting rice. SOMETHING needs to be done now to get the people of the Irrawaddy delta back on their feet or there will be future widespread starvation throughout all of Burma.

Ban Ki-moon also mentions in passing the concept of "forced" humanitarian intervention. It is obvious what he is talking about here. Military operations using combat action if necessary to bring aid to the victims of Nargis. Or even overthrowing the government of Burma!

A concept ["forced" humanitarian intervention] broached by Tony Blair in 1999. But, has been a concept around ever since the time of Hugo Grotius, but rarely implemented.

"scholars as far back as Grotius have argued for a right to use force for humanitarian intervention"

See this web site which discusses: "Humanitarian Intervention:The Case for Legitimacy"

"Forced" humanitarian intervention is a concept the international community is leery about? Interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation-state is NOT usually advisable?

"the underlying legal basis for the international system since the Treaties of Westphalia in 1648, recent events have led to what amounts to a serious rethinking of the strict adherence to non-intervention in the domestic affairs of states under certain circumstances."

"Under customary international law, sovereign states are protected by the rule of noninterference or nonintervention: states must refrain from interfering in the domestic affairs of other states"

"The right of intervention must be restricted to the most egregious violations of human rights, such as genocide and violent mass ethnic expulsions."

"Forced" humanitarian intervention to be used, ONLY in response to the "most egregious violations"! Violations to include:

* Genocide. [think here Rwanda.]

* "Mass ethnic expulsions".

* War crimes.

* Crimes against humanity.

If "forced" humanitarian intervention was decided upon and implemented in Burma, rely ONLY UPON the U.S. military to carry out such an operation. With a smattering of military units from England, France, India, and probably just about no other. ONLY the U.S. military has the global reach, combined arms, ground, naval, and air assets to be effective, sustaining operations over a long period!

"Forced humanitarian intervention in Burma"? Do I see it happening? NO!

Without contradicting my self, please see this headline from the BBC [recent]:

"Burma neighbours in cyclone talks"

"Burma's handling of the crisis has caused a storm of international outrage
The Association of South East Asian Nation (Asean) is due to hold urgent talks to discuss ways of helping Burma's cyclone victims."

"We are discussing!", "I am trying!" Etc.

coolbert.

Victoria Cross.

This is coolbert:

"... most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."

"I have a reactionary army, a National Socialist air force, and a CHRISTIAN navy!!" - - A. Hitler.

The Victoria Cross [VC] is of course the highest British military decoration that can be awarded. Analogous to the American Medal of Honor [MoH].

On two occasions, both during World War Two [WW2], the VC was awarded upon the recommendation of the enemy.

[thanks here to the wiki entry on the VC!]

1. New Zealand Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg, has the distinction of being the only serviceman ever awarded a VC on evidence solely provided by the enemy, for an action in which there were no surviving Allied witnesses. The recommendation was made by the captain of the German U-boat U-468 sunk by Trigg's aircraft.

[in the case of Trigg, the plane he was flying was shot down, there being no survivors, the U-boat as well was sunk, crew members of the U-boat being rescued!]

2. Lieutenant-Commander Gerard Roope was also awarded a VC on recommendation of the enemy, the captain of the Admiral Hipper, but there were also numerous surviving Allied witnesses to corroborate his actions.

Here, however, is a third instance of a man being awarded the VC upon the recommendation of the enemy?

3. [??] Sergeant T. F. Durrant who had manned a Lewis gun during the clash kept firing despite being severely wounded having been shot over 16 times, eventually he passed out from loss of blood and died. He was later posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross upon the personal recommendation of Kapitänleutnant F. K. Paul - the German officer in command of the Jaguar.

[this "clash" was an at-sea battle in the aftermath of the St. Nazaire raid. It should be noted that on all three occasions, the VC was awarded during combat actions with German naval vessels! A CHRISTIAN navy not above praising and admiring the courage of the enemy!?]

The wiki is incorrect here? I am seeking clarification!

Has there ever been an instance of the American MoH being awarded upon recommendation of the enemy??!! Seeking clarification on this too!

coolbert.

Davidka.

This is coolbert:

From the wiki entry on the Israeli spigot mortar Davidka, here are some interesting extracts:

[my comments in BOLD!! Please note that a grand total of only six Davidka were ever manufactured. The number actually used in military operations is even less than that?]

"Its shells were reported to be extremely loud, but otherwise of little value, besides that of using fear tactics against the Arab forces. Due to their extreme noise and horrific explosions, they proved particularly useful in scaring away Arab forces, despite the fact that they were very inaccurate."

"the blast effects of the weapon were completely random, and of dubious efficacy as an anti-personnel weapon and of no practical value for siege combat or other light artillery purposes. It did make a loud bang, though."

"completely random - - dubious efficacy - - no practical value - -"! But DID MAKE A LOUD BANG!! THAT IS ALL THAT WAS NEEDED.

"Small pieces of metal and tubes were welded onto the outside of casing, reducing the weapon's accuracy even further . . . but contributing greatly to the whistles and shrieks which it made when in flight. The noise was its most important effect, so that anyone near a Davidka mortar would hear the shell seeming to fall very near to them before bursting very loudly, increasing the fear factor."

A deliberate effort was made to increase the noise made by the mortar "bomb" as it flew through the air. As a consequence, accuracy was reduced even further. But of no significance to the Israeli. The INTENT was to scare and intimidate!

"According to Walid Khalidi:

The unsuspecting reader might think that here was some harmless and rather quaint engine. But the fact is that the Davidka tossed a shell containing 60 lbs. of TNT usually into crowded built-up civilian quarters where the noise and blast maddened women and children into a frenzy of fear and panic"

"There is no actual evidence that the Davidka was ever used deliberately against concentrations of civilians."

It DID NOT have to be used in a deliberate manner against concentrations of civilians. The noise and blast, even if totally ineffective militarily, had a profound psychological effect. NOT totally even appreciated or anticipated at the time the "bombs" were fired?

Hamas NOW has their own "Davidka". Called, however, the Qassam?

coolbert.

Mortars.

This is coolbert:

Hamas now has a capability, [and has had for some time?], to manufacture and field their OWN mortars?

This is addition to the Qassam rocket artillery of which Hamas has become famous for?

I would imagine that these are smooth bore, cast-iron mortars firing a cast-iron mortar round [mortar rounds are called the world-over, except for in the U.S., a “bomb”!]!

Mortars [and “bombs”] of this most simple and elementary variety can be easily built and in profusion? All you need is a basic foundry and machine shop and you are ready to go?

"Various Palestinian terror groups manufacture mortars in workshops and factories throughout the Gaza Strip . . . the Palestinian Sariya-1 is a 240 mm mortar with a 15 kilometer range."

Hamas also appreciates that “size does matter”? Mortars of 240 mm are being built and are going to be [are already?] deployed! Again, as with the Qassam rockets, effectiveness from the military standpoint is not a consideration. The accuracy of these homemade mortars will be poor? But this - - AGAIN - - is not of importance to Hamas? Rather, a mortar round of prodigious size, creating a lot of dust and noise AND APPREHENSIVENESS IN THE MINDS OF TARGETED ISRAELI CIVILIANS is of paramount concern in this instance!

"'This is not an exceptionally accurate weapon, but that is not important to us. Even if the mortar does not hit the target, we want to cause confusion and panic.'" - - Abu Jemal - - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Is Hamas fielding a spigot type mortar? Big-bore mortar of unusual variety as used by the Japanese at Iwo Jima! How could anyone ever imagine the resurrection and use of such a weapon?

During their War of Independence [1948], the Israeli military employed with effectiveness the “Davidka” spigot type mortar! Mentioned with a degree of glee [?] by Leon Uris in his book, “Exodus”!!

Now - - the Israeli - - finds themselves - - on the receiving end??!!

coolbert.

Nada - - yet even more!!

This is coolbert:

I thought the final word on Nada Nadim Prouty had been spoken, but guess again!

The illegal alien Nada Prouty [derisively called “Jihad Jane” in some quarters], even after pleading GUILTY to a felony, and having illegally obtained citizenship by fraud [in addition to being an illegal alien in the first place], NOW cannot be deported! She is now LEGAL?

Even after first engaging in an illegal sham marriage, she HAS SINCE THEN TWICE [1999 and 2004] MARRIED AMERICAN CITIZENS. Can claim legal status and not be deported!?

This is incomprehensible to me! Nada certainly seems to have an attraction to American men, and they for her! For a Muslim woman, from the Middle East, this is not normal?

And not just any men. Consider the background of her third husband:

"Her third hubby, Gordon Prouty is a State Department employee who has held sensitive posts in Middle Eastern embassies. . . He had been stationed at American embassies in Egypt and Pakistan . . . A Justice Department spokesman . . . refused to comment on Gordon Prouty's job"

Please read closely too what some “authorities” [CIA men] think of this case:

* A dismissive CIA source - - "That's not uncommon - people do it all the time [create a sham marriage]."

* Another senior official [CIA] - - "As far as I can tell, she was just looking out for her family"

* Vince Cannistraro, an ex-CIA counterterror chief - - "Prouty was worried for her sister Elfat" - - "It looks more like she was concerned about her brother-in-law being involved in Hezbollah and was legitimately worried about her sister"

NO ONE IS EVEN WILLING TO ENTERTAIN THE THOUGHT THAT NADA IS A PENETRATION AGENT SENT ON A SECRET MISSION FROM THE VERY START??!!

As I said before, I must be getting old!!

coolbert.

Return of the Daleks!

This is coolbert:

“The purpose of terror is to terrorize!!” - - V.I. Lenin.

Here is a weapons system I had not heard of. Already deployed and doing good work in Iraq - - and for some time now? C-RAM!

The naval Phalanx [“Goalkeeper”] system placed on a flatbed truck, with all the necessary impedimenta.

Currently being used to shoot down mortar and rocket artillery rounds lobbed at U.S. military Forward Operating Bases [FOB’s] and the “Green Zone” in Iraq. Has had very good success [85 %]. Incoming mortar and rocket artillery rounds fired by the jihadi villain are intercepted in mid-course, either destroyed or deflected by the spew of 20 mm cannon fire from the C-RAM.

[also referred to as the Land-based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS)]

Israel is contemplating the purchase and use of the C-RAM, OR IS IN THE PROCESS OF ACTUALLY DEPLOYING - - RIGHT NOW - - THE C-RAM SYSTEM!

Will be used to counter the continuous barrage of Qassam rocket artillery fired at Israeli towns such as Sderot!? Debatable if C-RAM can protect an entire town?

Hamas has shown an amazing ability to develop and field in numbers Qassam rocket artillery rounds of only increasing capability. Greater size, longer range, more destructiveness. What was ONCE a minor nuisance now must be considered by the Israeli to be a very serious threat!

The C-RAM system is ONLY a partial solution to the Qassam problem? Residents of Sderot [and now even other Israeli towns!] still will live under the threat of being targeted on a constant basis by someone who wants to kill you and is attempting to do so! EVEN IF NOT EFFECTIVE IN A MILITARY SENSE, THE QASSAM ROCKETS HAVE THE DESIRED EFFECT! Create a state of apprehension, anxiety, and hypertension amongst the Israeli that makes for living a normal, peaceful life impossible!



There is something else here that must be considered regarding the deployment of the C-RAM, if and when it is fielded by the Israeli. EVEN IF NOT TOTALLY 100 % EFFECTIVE [AND YOU MUST ASSUME THAT NO SYSTEM WILL EVER BE 100 % EFFECTIVE], THE USE OF THE C-RAM WILL CONSTITUTE A MORALE BOOSTER!! We are not just taking it, we ARE FIGHTING BACK!!

coolbert.

Cyanide.

This is coolbert:

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.

Lebanon.

This is coolbert:

"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.

Nada.

This is coolbert:

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.

Nadire.

This is coolbert:

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.

Degrelle II. [Conclusion]

This is coolbert:

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.

Gliders?

This is coolbert:

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.

Cyclone Nargis.

This is coolbert:

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.

Rangoon!

This is coolbert:

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.