Wednesday, August 10, 2011
I really wanted to leave this alone...
But this press release from ISAF raises questions in my mind.....
Does that mean that the SEALs weren't actually on a rescue mission but were being used as a blocking force and that later they were going to cordon and search the area?
I'm also curious how they can be so certain that they caught the shooter.
More questions than answers and I'll put any further questions or speculations on hold until the report is released.
ISAF Joint Command - AfghanistanI hate parsing words. To me thats what the truly arrogant do. But this paragraph from the dispatch has me scratching my head.
2011-08-S-025
For Immediate Release
KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 10, 2011) – Coalition forces killed the Taliban insurgents involved with the recent downing of the CH-47 helicopter, with a precision airstrike in Chak district, Wardak province, yesterday.
The strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the shot associated with the Aug. 6 downing of the CH-47 helicopter, which resulted in the deaths of 38 Afghan and coalition service members.
Mullah Mohibullah was a key facilitator in an insurgent attack cell led by Din Mohammad, a Taliban leader killed in a previous Special Operations mission. As a leader in Mohammad’s network in Tangi valley, Mohibullah had as many as 12 Taliban fighters under his command, including potential suicide bombers.
On the night of the crash, the inbound CH-47 carried Special Operations Forces intended to pursue insurgents from Mohammad’s network that were fleeing an engagement in which six militants had already been killed. While it has not been determined if enemy fire was the sole reason for the helicopter crash, it did take fire from several insurgent locations on its approach.
After an exhaustive manhunt, Special Operations forces located Mullah Mohibullah and the shooter after receiving multiple intelligence leads and tips from local citizens. The two men were attempting to flee the country in order to avoid capture.
The security force located and followed the insurgents to a wooded area in Chak district. After ensuring no civilians were in the area, the force called for the airstrike which resulted in the deaths of the Mullah Mohibullah, the shooter, and several of their Taliban associates.
The security force assesses no civilians were harmed during the strike.
On the night of the crash, the inbound CH-47 carried Special Operations Forces intended to pursue insurgents from Mohammad’s network that were fleeing an engagement in which six militants had already been killed. While it has not been determined if enemy fire was the sole reason for the helicopter crash, it did take fire from several insurgent locations on its approach.Man!
Does that mean that the SEALs weren't actually on a rescue mission but were being used as a blocking force and that later they were going to cordon and search the area?
I'm also curious how they can be so certain that they caught the shooter.
More questions than answers and I'll put any further questions or speculations on hold until the report is released.
The rumors are true. Israel seeks 20 more F-35's.
TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The Israeli air force reportedly plans to buy another 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters under a multiyear procurement plan under review by military chiefs.Love it.
Last October, Israel purchased 20 of the stealth jets, considered the most advanced combat aircraft in existence, for $2.75 billion.
If the second tranche is approved, amid competing demands for such big-ticket weapons as more warships and missile defense systems, Israel could have 40 F-35s operational by the end of the decade, depending on when contract for the second batch is signed.
That would allow Israel's air force, the most powerful in the region, to maintain its supremacy at a time when Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are upgrading their air power with massive arms deals with the United States, largely to counter an expansionist Iran.
Now if the F-35 can get back in the air either this week or next and Lockheed Martin would finally MAN UP and cancel its advertising on Aviation Week then I'm well on the way to having a great week.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Colbert goes off on preppers....
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| America's Credit Downgrade | ||||
| ||||
Funny as hell.
But with the riots in London.
Stagflation here in the US.
Joblessness in the US.
Reports that crime is starting to spike. And finally with the downgrade in the US credit rating, could it be that people that are stocking up on ammo for personal defense, making every effort to cut personal debt to zero and having more than FEMA's 3 days worth of food on hand might actually be right?
Elements of Power scores a direct hit on Trimble!
I couldn't decide what video to use. It was either a direct hit by a bomb on a target or the "Down goes Frazier" vid.
I went with the bomb because Elements of Power scores a direct hit. He shatters Trimble's latest contribution to the Dark Lord and his merry band of sycophants.
Just joking.
Well sorta.
Anyway here's a tidbit. Go to his site for the whole thing.
I had a bifurcated response to Steve Trimble’s latest post “The vast bipartisan conspiracy against F-35 & V-22”It just gets better from there. Just a word to the "conspirators" in the APA clubhouse...you know who you are...Sweetman...Horde....Trimble....Cox....many others.....we're all watching and some military bloggers are willing to challenge your spin and lies.
My first response focused on the use of “Bipartisan”:
In my head I replayed Inigo Montoya: ” You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Then I remembered a favorite George Carlin quote: “The word bipartisan means some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out”
After I really studied Trimble's post, I decided the latter response was most applicable.
Within his post Trimble iterates (Warning: English-English spelling ahead):
“Our review of eight budget reduction proposals by a hodge-podge of centrist, leftist and libertarian think tanks reveals a startling insight: All of them agree that two military aircraft programmes should be terminated or scaled back, and all of them agree those two programmes should be the BellBoeing V-22 and the Lockheed Martin F-35.”
My next thought was someone needed to tell Mr. Trimble that the opposite of ‘leftist’ isn’t ‘libertarian’. Do you see what is missing from that “centrist, leftist and libertarian think tanks” list? That’s right: “Conservative”. If we are talking spectrum of priorities on ‘defense thinking’ conservative is to ‘approve’ as leftist is to ‘disapprove’ as to libertarian is to ‘ambivalent’. [A ‘centrist’ BTW is just voting ‘present’.]
Just a heads up.
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