Category Archives: War Commentary

The British Civil War

in Afghanistan:

Luring jihadist Brits overseas and killing them in Afghanistan is certainly a swifter response to the problem than having them sitting at “home” plotting to blow up Glasgow Airport while the government makes ever more desperate efforts to appease them. But no doubt some obliging judge will soon rule that it’s in breach of the European Human Rights Act for British troops in Afghanistan to shoot at British passport holders.

Move along, folks, nothing to see here.

The Alternate Reality

…in which the administration lives, that results in their selling out of Israel:

I would sum it up as a growing administration belief that solid U.S. support for Israel is probably the reason for radical Islamic anti-American terrorism; and, secondly, the Palestinian issue can be best resolved with the return of Israel to the 1967 borders. Apparently, this thought stems from the assumption that there has been a radical reappraisal about Israel on the part of the Arab nations, and Islamic world at large, who in toto have now accepted Israel’s right to exist. Therefore, with the casus belli removed, in the future we should expect no more wars — like 1948, 1956, and 1967, when Israel did not hold the Golan Heights or the West Bank. Accordingly, the withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza were positive first-steps and left stability in their wake.

I suspect that Netanyahu knows that he’s on his own now.

Can I Be Tortured Please?

This is apparently some new definition of the word “torture,” with which I was previously unfamiliar:

His lawyer, Ejaz Naqvi, has filed legal papers with Mumbai magistrate’s court, claiming the “white woman” removed all his clothes and showed him pornographic films.

Well, it could have been worse. She might have actually made physical contact with his and her privates. That would have been entirely in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Anyway, what with all the hope and change in the air, I’m sure that this barbaric practice will come to a quick end. Right after there is no more rendition or holding prisoners indefinitely…

Goodie

Iran will have enough fuel for several Hiroshima-level bombs by the end of the year.

I should note that their ability to put a satellite into space isn’t quite as concerning to me as it has been portrayed by some in the news. Though we had ICBMs before we had launch vehicles, it doesn’t follow that having a launch vehicle implies ICBM capability. It’s actually a lot easier, from a guidance standpoint, to put an object into orbit than it is to hit a target precisely. Also, warhead and entry vehicle technology is a completely different beast than a launcher, so simply having throw capability doesn’t mean that you have all of the pieces in place. In addition, it’s one thing to build a bomb — it’s another to make it small enough to be able to loft it around the world.

Of course, none of this is of much consolation to Israel, because it’s a lot closer, and I would imagine that the Iranians are indifferent to how precisely they can kill hundreds of thousands of Jews.