Urban warfare: Is Iraq a rehearsal for US hoods?

[ConcernedCanuk]

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Urban warfare: Is Iraq a rehearsal for US hoods?

by Mike Davis

The young American Marine is exultant. “It’s a sniper’s dream,’ he tells a Los Angeles Times reporter on the outskirts of Fallujah. “You can go anywhere, and there so many ways to fire at the enemy without him knowing where you are.”

“Sometimes a guy will go down, and I’ll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies. Then I’ll use a second shot.”

/snip/

The Mogadishu debacle of 1993, when neighborhood militias inflicted 60 percent casualties on elite Army Rangers, forced U.S. strategists to rethink what is known in Pentagonese as MOUT: “Militarized Operations on Urbanized Terrain.” Ultimately, a National Defense Panel review in December 1997 castigated the Army as unprepared for protracted combat in the near impassable, maze-like streets of the poverty-stricken cities of the Third World.

/snip/

The occupation of Iraq has, of course, been portrayed by Bush ideologues as a “laboratory for democracy” in the Middle East. To MOUT geeks, on the other hand, it is a laboratory of a different kind, where Marine snipers and Air Force pilots test out new killing techniques in an emergent world war against the urban poor.


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I have read other analyses that go further in suggesting it is also a great testing ground for all the "smart" weapons, and also an experiment to see how many of the population will continue to die from the effects of DU (depleted uranium) that is used in most of their ammunition.

What is being called "Gulf War Syndrome" is in reality the effects of the Uranium the soldiers in the Gulf War were exposed to, both from the ammunition, and in the dust created from the heavier armour on most of their assault vehicles. Just breathing the dust after their vehicle is hit will shorten their lives.

I am convinced that the military leaders are well aware that most of their personnel will survive the Iraqis bullets, but will end up suffering and dying later from the effects of their own(ordnance with DU).

Although disturbing, I recommend reading the rest of the article

(sigh)

[ShaneGR]

1. It will be interesting to see them come home

Getting sick, turning to the VA, and still defending Bush even after they realize he's been cutting VA funding.

[FlemingsGhost]

2. This man is already sick.

“Sometimes a guy will go down, and I’ll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies. Then I’ll use a second shot.”

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. Read the article, it get's sicker - -

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[Codeblue]

4. Herein lies the problem

They are talking about rooting terrorists out of the "slums" of the world.

Well maybe if we helped get rid of "slums" there wouldn't be many terrorists in the first place.

[Syncronaut Seven]

5. Blink, blink

We have well armed paramilitary units in most larger US cities RIGHT NOW! SHit! Hasn't anyone been paying attention?!

[TeeYiYi]

6. Interesting observation . . .

It would appear that we are creating our own brand of 'terrra-ests' and unleashing them on the population at large.

TYY