shotbanner.jpeg

August 19, 2005

The Good News?

Terrorists took a pot shot at a couple of American ships docked in Jordan early today.

It was carried on an Islamist Web site not often used by other groups which say they are linked to Osama bin Laden's network.

"A group of our mujahideen have targeted U.S. vessels in Jordan and (Israel's) Eilat port with three Katyusha rockets before safely returning to their base," the statement said.

So why is this "good news?"

Well, in the sense that there are guys in Jordan shooting at our ships, it's not.

But think about this: Six years ago, Al Quada parked a boatful of explosives next to the USS Cole, killing 17 sailors. The suicide boat, like the suicide car and the bomb vest and the Kamikaze plane, is a pinpoint-accurate but supremely wasteful weapon.

The Katyusha rocket, on the other hand, is about as accurate as a Jeff Fecke election prediction; they're built to be ripple-fired by the thousands to inundate an area with explosives.

Three of them. Lobbed from way inland. At a target the size of a Navy amphibious assault ship:


And they missed (although a Jordanian soldier was killed).

They're not trying to win a war anymore. They're playing to the headlines.

Which only matters as seriously as we take the headlines.

Posted by Mitch at August 19, 2005 08:03 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Mitch, are your trackbacks working??

In any case:
http://www.eckernet.com/archives/000529.html

Posted by: Kevin at August 19, 2005 12:39 PM

No, they're not. Haven't been for a month. Not sure why.

Posted by: mitch at August 19, 2005 12:47 PM

Oh...

In that case, is it okay if I point and laugh at you?

Posted by: Kevin at August 19, 2005 01:44 PM

"And they missed"

Yeah, one of them seems to have missed the entire country.

I do have to take issue with this though:

"The suicide boat, like the suicide car and the bomb vest and the Kamikaze plane, is a pinpoint-accurate but supremely wasteful weapon."

If suicide bombers are to be the definition of pinpoint-accurate, I'd have to say, "Them's some d*mn big pins, Bubba." I do take your meaning, but my view would be more, "Suicide bombers: defining smart-bombs down."

As to the "supremely wasteful" part, at least as regards the Kamikaze, I'd put the cost:benefit ratio to Japan at well above one. The real question is not whether they were useful, but whether they were more or less useful than other tactics with the same materiel. On that scale, I'd rate them as sub-optimal, but certainly not "supremely wasteful".

Upshot: I agree with your larger point, but not with some of your details.

Posted by: Doug Sundseth at August 19, 2005 02:49 PM

Good design!
[url=http://odipukcf.com/qzbn/mqgv.html]My homepage[/url] | [url=http://nkxgefed.com/tudg/tbzy.html]Cool site[/url]

Posted by: Laura at May 8, 2006 11:39 AM

Good design!
[url=http://odipukcf.com/qzbn/mqgv.html]My homepage[/url] | [url=http://nkxgefed.com/tudg/tbzy.html]Cool site[/url]

Posted by: Laura at May 8, 2006 11:41 AM

robust?Dairylea:sovereign skies flexible incubating!Maude,

Posted by: at June 27, 2006 11:35 AM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?
hi