Friday, March 21, 2003

Combined Ops Has Issued A CommuniquŽ. The outbursts of faux patriotism and shouts of "kick ass" make me wonder if the whole country has gone nuts. The Rhodesians were among the best fighters the world has seen but they were dead serious and under no illusions about how cool it was to kill people and risk your life and limb. Americans are acting today like this is no more than a Hollywood movie. I find it very annoying and I suspect I'm not the only one. [LewRockwell.com] Some thoughts on the war by a man who actually has fought for what he believes in--unlike most of the Crusaders, who are happy to send others off to fight for them. He's right, I find the macho blowhards very annoying myself. 11:28:32 PM    comment () Turkey Moves 1,000 Soldiers Into N. Iraq [AP World News] Turkey moved 1,000 soldiers into northern Iraq (news - web sites) on Friday to beef up its forces there, a Turkish military official said. Turkey already maintains several thousand soldiers backed by a few dozen tanks in northern Iraq to chase Turkish Kurdish guerrillas. Turkey is also shifting some 5,000 soldiers to the border region, the military official said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. The Turkish foreign minister said Friday his nation was determined to send its troops over the border into northern Iraq to contain a possible refugee flow and prevent any attempt by Iraqi Kurds to break away from Iraq. It's probably inevitable that the Kurds in northern Iraq will be "liberated" from the independence they've achieved--if not by Turkey, then by US soldiers. 8:25:14 PM    comment () Capitalism, Democracy, America. Ross says, "Look, there were what, 10 Democratic nations by WWII?  Now there are over 100. Look what is happening in Africa. You can not argue against a capitalist society.  The world doesn't argue against it." America is the example for the world.  Even in war.  [Tara Sue's Weblog News] After the Cold War ended there was a lot of talk about how wonderful it was that those countries were becoming democratic, because democracies supposedly don't go around attacking other people without provocation. Sadly, the American government has been working hard for the past decade to prove this idea wrong. Sometimes America isn't a very good example. 4:47:28 PM    comment () Shock & Awe. Okay, a whole bunch of wussies have been hoping that the United States and the other coalitioners don't unleash the Mother Of All Ass-Kickings (known as "Shock & Awe"). Lemme tell you, if they don't unleash it, I'm gonna vote for Ralph Nader in the next election. Note to the Pentagon/Tommy Franks/Rummy/whoever makes these decisions: I do not pay a king's fucking ransom in taxes just to... [Kim du Toit] This post nicely illustrates just what sort of people the Crusaders are. 4:41:00 PM    comment () Purge and Counterpurge. I have problems with both guys' world views and would likely prefer a colicky baby to either one as a row-buddy on a long flight, but when David Frum and Justin Raimondo trade direct fire on the war, conservatism, and everything the results are entertaining, illuminating even. I think Raimondo has a good point that Frum weakens his case by not providing links to all the source material he cites. Enjoy, but take a flak jacket. [Hit & Run] 4:29:17 PM    comment () Shock and awe. 16:30 GMT: If my time-of-flight guestimate is correct, the B-52s which took off earlier from RAF Fairford in Britain will be over Iraq in the next hour. Stand by for the promised 'shock and awe'. More information from the just finished Ministry of Defence briefing suggests the fighting in Umm Qasr was considerably harder that expected as the last section of the town containing some Iraqi die hards has only recently fallen. Reports are also... [Samizdata.net] Here's an interesting question: why do Bush and his Crusader supporters keep using the phrase "shock and awe" for a blitzkrieg? 12:54:56 PM    comment ()

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