Greyhawk has a pair of nifty pictures that illustrate our Fallujah urban renewal project. There won't be any Charles Whitmans operating from this place anytime soon.

TMG also brings us warning of the Arab street's eventual rise. However, it may yet to our advantage, for it seems that the Mahdi army is having a little bit of trouble maintaining discipline with the wearing of the uniform.

I like hearing reports of al-Sadr's fish getting eaten in the peasant sea. Take that, Chairman Mao.

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The militant Palestinian group Hamas has apparently replaced Mr. Rantisi, who ran afoul of an Israeli weapons exercise most recently.¹ This is now several days old and the link in their original post doesn't display the right story. Nevertheless:

GAZA CITY – Hamas has quietly appointed Mahmoud A-Zahar to head the movement in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas sources said Mahmoud A-Zahar, 53, was selected as the organization's new head in the Gaza Strip. A-Zahar succeeds Abdul Aziz Rantisi, who was assassinated in an Israeli missile strike on Saturday.

I suppose that if I were a lawyer in Gaza, I'd start trying to take over the "assassinated Hamas leader" estate management business, or something. One of the posters at the DGCI site has opined that this current bum could be something of a missile magnet, or perhaps the loser in a power struggle. After all, he's probably now got a missile or a guided munition with his name painted on it. Poor fellow.

That being said, I support the policy of anti-Hamas operations. When these goons start seeing that there is a price for standing up and hollering how you're gonna slaughter Jews and make the streets run red with Jewish blood, then perhaps they might start rethinking their policies. Good.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion. more...

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Jen Martinez points the way to an analysis of Arabist/Islamist warfighting doctrine /theory appearing in the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute's March 2003 issue.

The article, entitled "The New Arab Way of War" is authored by Captain Peter Layton, of the Royal Australian Air Force. The piece is short, and brutal in several ways. On the other hand, it draws upon history and recent Western (particularly NATO) experience to suggest a way forward. more...

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On the issue of the death of the now-former leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, The Country Pundit has this to say:

"I note without sorrow the death of Abdelaziz Rantisi. I imagine that he is now explaining his misdeeds to Allah."

The preceding quotes were inspired by Tom Clancy's writings, specifically Executive Orders and The Sum of All Fears.

I am, as are others in the blogosphere, amused by the reports of Palestinians swarming into the streets and swearing vengeance while firing Kalashnikovs into the air. (Come to think of it, I'd like to do that some time.) Nota bene: If you (i.e. the Palestinians) persist in supporting leaders who speak of war and authorize asymmetric warfare against a nation with a standing defense establishment, then you run the risk of there being a military response. Had the Israelis zapped a Palestinian Gandhi, then I would not be so cavalier in dismissing the cries for revenge. However, they killed a man who advocated death to Israel and who was at the helm of an organization which regularly put advocacy into practice. Borrowing from what Valentin Zhukovsky said in Goldeneye, "He was a ruthless man. He got what he deserved."

Getting what he deserved seems to be Israeli policy at this point, according to the Washington Post:

"We are preventing terrorist attacks, and part of the prevention is to go after terrorists like Rantisi," said Gideon Meir, deputy director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "Anyone who will replace him and will continue this business of terrorism against Israel is a legitimate target."

I approve of the Israeli policy, for what it's worth. This is what you call a protective reaction strike, and better for Rantisi to die than for innocent Jews and brainwashed Palestinians to be killed as result of Rantisi's odious leadership.

On the day Rantisi took over as the Gaza leader of Hamas, he told thousands of supporters at the city soccer stadium that his organization would strike Israel wherever possible.

"We will chase them everywhere," he told the crowd. "We will teach them lessons in confrontation."

It would appear that the Israelis have learned, Mr. Rantisi.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to The Politburo Diktat.

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I've been thinking the last week or so that we need to just flat out kill Moqtada al-Sadr and quit wasting time. What I didn't figure out, however, was how to get around the consequences of that, i.e. a period of increased violence and the likely creation of yet another "martyr of Islam".

My bright idea was to endorse letting the guy off the hook for the time being. He would get to save some face by backing off from his current uprising and show humility to this Sistani fellow, followed by an "isn't-that-awful" car accident or something a few months later that just happens to claim his life. Darn. Funny how that happens, ain't it?

Anyways, I found a better solution that brings an evil Calvin grin:

You can't give al-Sadr his own zone (for obvious reasons), but you can promise it to Sadr's successor. Some greedy underling will betray him in a short period of time, or Sadr will be too busy watching his back to lead any kind of rebellion.

All we need to do is have Bremer or the CPA spokesman make some casual remark that while we have nothing to say to al-Sadr, we are interested in discussions with the man who succeeds him. This can be done shortly, because we've put a whipping on al-Sadr, enough for him to say 'no mas' to some extent. If luck holds, he's got some disgusted subordinates who want to take his place, some of whom might be able to try. This works on the "colonels shoot the generals" notion that Tom Clancy used in Executive Orders and the like, so it's at least plausible in this instance.

I don't know if this would work, but I'm really fond of it. It's a pleasant way to get al-Sadr's attention in a way that turns him inward, and which basically amounts to tossing a bundle of dynamite over the fence into a hostile neighbor's back yard, with a detonator that will go off, if at all, when it feels like it. And best of all, we could repeat the thing if necessary, assuming we honor the initial promise, which I don't categorically suggest.

The obvious problem is replacing the devil we know with the devil we don't, and I'm not entirely convinced that such a course of action is called for here. Had al-Sadr gotten more backing from non-subordinate forces, then maybe we could consider him skilled and crafty, in need of the bundle of dynamite. As it is, he's not the greatest operator in the world, and apparently couldn't talk anyone else into helping him. It may be better to have the bumbler you know. Still, it'd be funny if nothing else.

Heh heh heh.

This is part of a message board for the blog of a guy named TMLutas, who I found through den Beste.

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This news, from Iraq:

"ROME, April 15 (Reuters) -...Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian security guards abducted [in Iraq] earlier this week, was shot dead on Wednesday after Italy refused to bow to the kidnappers' demands that it withdraw its troops from Iraq. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said a video recording of the killing showed that Quattrocchi was hooded when his kidnappers put a gun to his head. "When the murderers were pointing a pistol at him, this man tried to take off his hood and shouted: 'Now I'm going to show you how an Italian dies'. And they killed him," Frattini said. "He died a hero," he added..."

Godspeed, Mr. Quattrocchi. Somewhere in the recesses of the Italian people lies the the spirit that once led Romans to dominate the world. We have seen it on display in front of savages yet again.

The only thing that I can say is that I hung my head and closed my eyes in regret---or some other ill-defined emotion---when I read this. I remain sorrowful that brave men and women have to give their lives against these bestial savages and their murderous theology. Good God, when will it end?

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Andrew Stuttaford.

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In a previous post, I complained about the 700:70 kill ratio reported by Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, USMC. It now appears that this number isn't the right ratio, and that our operations in Fallujah turned out better than I understood.

In reading The Happy Carpenter, I came across his recounting of a story run in the Moscow Times.

The Fallujah numbers, the ones I'm most interested in, are as follows: 600 al-Sadr forces killed; 1,000 wounded. United States KIA: 20.

Friends and neighbors, that's 30:1. That's fantastic. Good hunting, Marines! I am well pleased with these results, and I'm glad to see that our people are putting a grievous hurt on the al-Sadr forces. Of course, it would be a mistake copied from the 1960s and the example of Robert S. McNamara to focus solely upon the numbers game. However, when one needs a tidy box score to cheer about, such numbers will do nicely.

At the same time, I regret the loss of our people in battle, and I regret (well, sorta) the fact that the new Iraq requires the wasted lives of many young Iraqis who cling to an impossible and malignant ideal. There must be no Islamic Republic of Iraq, and we must ensure that no such polity comes about.

Forward for victory.

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Dodd Harris has this story, covering the death of what has to be the last Crimean War veteran.

Read his entry, and then read this for the full story. Call me a soft-hearted guy, but it's hard not to smile charitably at the tag attached to this particular veteran, or when you read about his conduct during World War II.

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In an earlier post, I had grumped about the apparent kill ratio resulting from the operations against Moqtada al-Sadr's forces in the suburbs (?) of Baghdad. As the fighting went on, I lost count of what the number was, and so therefore it's time for an update.

This information comes courtesy of the California Yankee, by way of the Associated Press:

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Monday that U.S. troops killed about 700 insurgents across Iraq since the beginning of the month. Around 70 coalition troops - almost all Americans - were also killed.

Rounding the numbers, that's 700 of theirs for 70 of ours, i.e. 10:1. That's not bad. I don't have comparable figures---if even they can be compared---for other American operations throughout history, but I can live with 10:1. I wish we could move that to 20:1 or higher. Would that the number was 700:0, but alas, we'll probably not be that lucky. Similarly, I can't help but wish that we didn't have to do this. I'd rather the considerable efforts in planning and execution---on both sides---could be directed towards building an American-friendly prosperous and free Iraq, but it does not appear that circumstances would allow that. Pity.

A certain simple lesson can be drawn from the number, though: "Don't fight Americans unless you can sustain hideous casualties, for they shall inflict them." I've read somewhere---thought it was Mark Bowden in the WSJ, but that's not it---that after engagement which claimed the life of, among others, Randall Shugart, the Somalis were in a funk due to the demoralizing effect of losing lots of their people in exchange for a handful of our people. One wonders if this same effect translates to al-Sadr's militia, and if so, what our leadership will do about it.

As a Jacksonian, I suggest giving them an opportunity to give up their weapons and go home. Anyone who doesn't do so can keep fighting and be annihilated. I am distinctly tired of this al-Sadr and his private army, and I am suspicious of any attempt to deal with him that doesn't involve a laser-guided bomb.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to California Yankee.

UPDATE: I had to cut out the Mark Bowden reference, because it wasn't exactly what I thought he had said, and the actual statement did not support the premise I was fronting. Enh, this journalistic integrity thing, it is hard.

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You've got to love the Soviet Union's Voyska PVO. If it moves, they'll shoot at it. It seems that flying the Russian skies was equally unfriendly, whether it be American reconnaisance aircraft (Hey, Open Skies means you, Ivan!) or alien invaders from beyond space. This just in from The American Kestrel:

Soviet military encountered many UFOs, maybe for this reason in the end of the 60s a secret laboratory of researching "flying objects" was created in the USSR.

UFO researchers often blame the military of hiding the cases of alien rockets and disseminating false information of UFO. Army officers are not interested in the disputes about alien civilizations, they are interested in knowing what impact UFO can impose to military equipment and personnel.

1947. Antiaircraft guns of Transcaucasian Military District fired on the flying cigar-shaped object which came from the side of the Turkish border. The object"s flying altitude was below 4,000 meters, and the guns were capable of reaching a target at the altitudes up to 12,000 meters, but that time the fire made no harm to the "cigar". Then the cigar increased its speed and flew away over the mountains.

The English is bad because the Kestrel quotes from the English-language Pravda article of 23 January 2004. I am, nevertheless, highly amused. Holy shades of Delta Green, Batman! Heh heh heh. The article goes on to describe several other instances where the Soviet air defenses challenged seemingly invulnerable things, and ultimately failed to intercept them. Also included is some questionable story of a recovered unidentified craft that later vanished from a hangar. A word of analysis: I doubt it went back to Tatooine. More likely that it wound up in a scrap yard so the local KGB officers could have more money for vodka. Ahem.

And no, I'm not going to start covering UFOs and all that extra-terrestrial stuff, unless you think that me writing about movies or TV programs falls within that gap. I'll leave that sort of thing to Chris Carter and the Cigarette-Smoking Man.

Tip of the Eldridge hat to Donald Sensing. Snicker snicker.

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On 11 April 1966, the USAF started using B-52D (more than likely) Stratofortresses as God and Boeing intended, striking targets in North Vietnam. Specifically hit was the Mu Gia Pass, which constituted an entry point for the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. I think they would have been drawn from the 28th Bomb Wing, if my sources are right. These strikes were ordered by General William C. Westmoreland, with their targets being in the southernmost area of North Vietnam.

A number of B-52D units had been modified to the BIG BELLY standard, which gave them the ability to carry nearly 60,000 pounds of ordnance to targets in Southeast Asia. The raids against the Mu Gia Pass took place on 11 and 26 April, for a total of 44 sorties. Sorry, Charlie; death from above, baby!

I added A Collection of Thoughts to the blogroll a while back, because she's a gal who writes about AC-47s and B-52s. Any gal who's at home with a minigun-toting cargo plane or the most excellent conventional & nuclear bomber in all of history can't be bad, now can she?

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Miss Jennifer Martinez.

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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning last flown by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, positively identified, and will be placed on display at Marseille, in southern France.

Saint-Ex, as I first heard of him, was a French military pilot and writer active during World War II. He vanished on 31 July 1944, flying "one last mission", nighttime reconnaisance of German troop movements in the Rhone River Valley.

Why do I cover this? First, I'm a sucker for aviation history. Secondly, I try to be a literate man, and I generally focus my efforts in literature on things that I already like. Saint-Exupéry is an aviation author of note; therefore I ought to be reading his stuff. Besides, you can't like World War II aviation and not have heard of this guy.

Three little anecdotes or vignettes about Saint-Ex and me:

1. When I was a wee little nipper, I watched a lot of Nickelodeon. (Marc Summers' Double Dare was years in the future.) Included in this programming was something called The Little Prince, where a kid caught passing comets with a butterfly net and went to other worlds. I remember nothing else about it than that, but the source for this was none other than Saint-Exupéry.

2. I had been reading something on trial practice this past week, and a quote popped up: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing more to take away." It is worth noting that the uncredited author was none other than Mr. Saint-Exupéry himself.

3. He's mentioned several times in one of my favorite books, Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. Unfortunately, all I can find is the reference where Wolfe quotes him during the re-entry John Glenn's Friendship 7. I suppose it's just another one of those interesting coincidences that humans seem to have on a regular basis. Funny; I was reading The Right Stuff just this week.

I am glad that his aircraft was recovered, and I hope that the display in which it will be incorporated is a worthy one.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Comrade Commissar.

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I've been looking at pictures of Moqtada al-Sadr recently, and it occurred to me that he looks like an adult Eric Cartman. One association led to another, and I wound up wondering if the rotund youth---he's not much older than me---would break out and say,

"HEY! I am a mullah, and you will respect mah authoritah!"

I don't know if he's a mullah, an imam, or if he's like the Islamic Jesse Jackson, and frankly I don't care. I wonder if his madrasa yearbook had, "Most likely to attempt the establishment of an Islamic Republic of Iraq" under his picture.

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Allow me to quote General M.D. Meridius, RIA (ret.) at this point:

"At my signal, unleash Hell."

FALLUJAH, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines on Monday closed all roads into Fallujah, the site of last week's slayings of four U.S. civilian contractors and the horrific mutilations of their bodies. The Marines engaged in firefights inside and around the city, sources there said.

CNN reports that we have sustained a casualty---!@#$---and there are between five and seven Iraqi casualties. That's not a good enough kill ratio. I want twenty to one, or better. These vermin, or more accurately those who survive them, must understand that there will not be any further attacks such as the ones that claimed the lives of four private military contractors last week.

As for the people who dare slaughter our people, well then, the words of LCDR Anavel Gato will once again suffice: "DIE!" International law be hung; we've got an obligation to our people to live up to here, and that comes first. The "human rights establishment" of Europe can bellyache all it wants, but Americans can not and should not tolerate that sort of uncivilized violence against the remains of our people.

On a related note, Grim of Grim's Hall has pointed me to the legal definition of "mercenary", and I thank him for it. It came up in the discussion of the Kos thing, which I won't go into. I had my suspicions that "mercenary" was a defined term under the old traditions of war, and I am pleased to see that it does not apply to the individuals lost in Fallujah.¹ For further information, see Southern Appeal.

From the halls of Montezuma to the walls of Fallujah. Semper fidelis, Marines, and get even for our boys. Good luck, God bless, and good hunting.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Jonah Goldberg.

Now Playing: "The Battle", Hans Zimmer from the Gladiator OST.

¹ I have been told that a woman was included in the dead. As a good Southerner, color me outraged. There's no call for that kind of behavior and I'm hoping that we find someone to apply a little extra pain to.

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I've refrained from commentary on the loss of four private military contractors due to the fact that I've been trying to figure out what to say.

My initial reaction was just like everyone else, i.e. call the Stratofortresses from Diego Garcia, load 'em up with the Mark 82 500 pound bomb and send a three-ship cell in broad daylight to retaliate. That, or implement the Darth Sidious solution, which is summed up as, "Wipe them out. All of them."

This is, of course, a purely visceral and most unproductive response. I would also hate to have to explain support for such an action to a fellow named Jesus Christ, so that's the ultimate double whammy. It would also smack heavily of the German National Socialist response to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by British-backed Czech irregulars.¹ Hitler, enraged at this affront by the Czechs (the very nerve, killing the man sent to oversee their liquidation!) ordered the annihilation of the town of Lidice, right down to having it taken off of maps. If memory serves, their "crime" was being less than enthusiastic about the presence of the unsmiling men with the skull-and-crossbones on their hats and a hankering for violence.

I would prefer for the name of American forces to not be associated with Fallujah as was the German politico-military establishment with Lidice.

At the same time, the individuals who did this must die. Insofar as we can identify the guilty parties, they should be captured, marched out into a public place, and shot. An abject lesson must be taught: To kill Americans is to invite an unyielding and excruciatingly accurate retaliation, especially if you're stupid enough to talk to Sky News or whoever it was that taped this.

I would like to point out to the Iraqi man that claimed Fallujah was an American graveyard that perhaps his syntax is garbled and that his luck was with him. Much more of these kinds of actions, and the Americans may turn Fallujah into a graveyard, if not a giant glassy crater.

The important objective will be to carry out the lesson from two paragraphs up without killing non-combatants or Fallujahns who're willing to participate in the peaceful and pro-Western new Iraq. Hopefully, our people will retaliate at the time and the place of our choosing.

¹ SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich had been set up as the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (former Czechoslovakia, if I have my geography right) and was generally a man who deserved a far more brutal death than he received. He was Adolf Eichmann's boss, and participated at the Wannsee Conference, where it was decided that the Jews of Europe would be exterminated.

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