tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post2375321936449349497..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: How many bullets are we firing in anger in Iraq?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-74612694858368544522014-03-21T01:36:00.679-07:002014-03-21T01:36:00.679-07:00http://www.edu-huayu.com/再入荷☆ミキハウス☆【ホットビスケッツ】ふわふわ☆...http://www.edu-huayu.com/再入荷☆ミキハウス☆【ホットビスケッツ】ふわふわ☆クリンクルフリースベスト80cm90cmmikih-jp-2406.html<br />http://www.edu-huayu.com/miki-house-hot-biscults-【ホットビスケッツ】Traffic-jam!!☆タン-jp-2218.html<br />http://www.edu-huayu.com/日本正規代理店Hpオープン特別価格送料込一部地域除く)【フィル&テッズ】2人乗りベビーカーエクスプロ-jp-2941.html<br />http://www.edu-huayu.com/【Toodo】Long-legs-seriestd9258 ライオン 歯がため【新商品続々入荷中】--jp-2031.html<br />http://www.edu-huayu.com/【ホットビスケッツ】Hot-biscuits-3足1050円☆hbソックスパックMikihouseh-jp-2161.html<br /> <br />http://www.irandior.com/【品質保証】【Ruca:リュカ】ミルクシェード1灯ペンダントライト|ソケットセット|オールドキャッス-jp-2082.html<br />http://www.irandior.com/プチシャンデリア-japan-10.html<br />http://www.irandior.com/【大幅値下げ中】【Valencia:ヴァレンシア】アンティーク調ブラックシャンデリア6灯|インテリア-jp-3101.html<br />http://www.irandior.com/【大幅値下げ中】Ledイルミネーション、-スティック型スターパスライト、-35球、電球色、白カラーチ-jp-3403.html<br />http://www.irandior.com/【大幅値下げ中】【Woodcircle-t:ウッドサークル-t-】|spot|スポットライト|テーブ-jp-2836.html<br /> <br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/選べる4色-ダストボックス-12l-スチールゴミ箱-ペダル式角ゴミ箱15d12l☆-jp-2185.html]スチールゴミ箱[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/エアドリル-エアードライバー-12エアードリル-ハンドル付-逆回転-穴アケ作業-タッピング-エアドリ-jp-2262.html]穴アケ作業[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/プール-ビニールプール-家庭用プール-大型200×150×50cmプール-ビッグ-家庭用-ビニールプ-jp-2230.html]大型プール[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/サイドワゴン-サイドチェスト-サイドラック-2段ラック-キャスター付き-扉付きキャスター付き-w39-jp-2198.html]キャスター付き[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/パイプバイス-据置き型-thq2-鉄工-パイプバイスthq2-jp-2265.html]鉄工-パイプバイス[/url]<br /> <br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/エアドリル-エアードライバー-12エアードリル-ハンドル付-逆回転-穴アケ作業-タッピング-エアドリ-jp-2262.html]ハンドル付[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/ペットキャリー-犬-猫-用-304-新型-スケルトン扉ペットキャリkn0304☆-jp-2220.html]犬-猫-用[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/リュックサック-army-molle-チューブ水筒付リュックxksd黒★-jp-2204.html]水筒付リュック[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/折り畳みパイプ椅子-6脚セット-頑丈!-イス6脚Xy3037☆-jp-2348.html]椅子-6脚セット[/url]<br />[url=http://www.lntele1000.com/キャスター付き作業椅子パーツボックス★工具箱ボックスg594☆-jp-2172.html]作業椅子パーツ[/url]<br /> <br />http://www.locsites.com/coach★コーチ★パッチワーク★シグネチャー★ラウンド長財布?【中古】【中古】【Rcp】-jp-2214.htmlラウンド長財布<br />http://www.locsites.com/louis-vuitton-ルイヴィトンモノグラム-ポシェット?ダム-セカンドバッグ-クラッチバッグ-jp-2710.htmllouis vuitton ルイヴィトンモノグラム<br />http://www.locsites.com/louis-vuitton-ルイヴィトンモノグラム-サック?スクウォッシュ-斜め掛けショルダーバッグ-jp-3979.html斜め掛けショルダーバッグ<br />http://www.locsites.com/burberrys-バーバリーズ-英国チェック-二つ折りがま口財布-ベージュチェック×ブラウン?がま-jp-2084.htmlburberrys バーバリーズ<br />http://www.locsites.com/gucci-グッチ-シルバー925-wgモチーフ-シルバーネックレス-美品?保存袋?箱付き-ユニセッ-jp-3034.htmlシルバーネックレス<br /> <br />http://www.macrolink.biz/パタゴニア-patagonia-メンズ-ビビー-ダウンベスト-mens-bivy-down-vest-jp-2142.htmlpatagoniaダウンベスト<br />http://www.macrolink.biz/グレゴリー-gregory-デイパック-day-pack【22リットル】【バックパック】【デイパック-jp-2292.htmlグレゴリー gregory<br />http://www.macrolink.biz/スキーウェア-レディース-上下セット-1314-【送料無料】-激安-ジャケットパンツ上下セット-レデ-jp-2321.htmlジャケットパンツ<br />http://www.macrolink.biz/パタゴニア-patagonia-メンズ-サーフパンツ-ボードショーツ-水着 wavefarer-bo-jp-2059.htmlメンズ 水着<br />http://www.macrolink.biz/【70%Off】スノーボードウェア上下セット-ユニセックス-女性用-男性用-スノボ-ウェア-スノーボ-jp-2260.htmlスノーボードウェア<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-17932794151721565512007-08-23T17:01:00.000-07:002007-08-23T17:01:00.000-07:00Last I heard Russia was thinking of selling it to ...<I>Last I heard Russia was thinking of selling it to Germany. I know a few people here who are descendent from former residents of that city who had to flee the Soviet advance, and would love to move back. </I><BR/><BR/>Wouldn't it be nice to have a bit of land connecting Konigsberg to the rest of Germany?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-41178654012074996082007-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:002007-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:00I don't know how this article ended up in a discu...I don't know how this article ended up in a discussion of the morals of bombing Dresden, but I have two comments: 1) I don't think a $13 trillion GDP is going to have any trouble coping with the number os small calibre bullets being fired in Iraq/Afghanistan. 2) In this age of moral equivalence, it's hard to remember that once the allies adopted and announced that unconditional surrender would be our position with respect to the Axis powers, peace was in the hands of the enemy. All they had to do was surrender. When they finally did they became affluent and welcomed in the family of nations. Curtis Lemay and Harris understood then. Why is it so hard to understand now? JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-15691521140087416452007-08-23T09:06:00.000-07:002007-08-23T09:06:00.000-07:00"Herr A. German, when will you guys take Konigsber..."Herr A. German, when will you guys take Konigsberg back, and re-beautify that historic city?"<BR/><BR/>Last I heard Russia was thinking of selling it to Germany. I know a few people here who are descendent from former residents of that city who had to flee the Soviet advance, and would love to move back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-16524852911781389282007-08-22T14:26:00.000-07:002007-08-22T14:26:00.000-07:00In The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William S...In <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Third-Reich-William-Shirer/dp/0671728687/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-3855004-9172031?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187817786&sr=1-2" REL="nofollow">The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich</A>, William Shirer guessed that Stalin wrongly figured Hitler would make war with the nations to his west (like France) and that this would exhaust all parties involved. An unscathed Russia would be left in a position to pick up the pieces in a weakened Europe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-44143528762101470462007-08-22T08:12:00.000-07:002007-08-22T08:12:00.000-07:00David Davenport:..inevitable…says the armchair gen...<B>David Davenport</B>:<I>..inevitable…says the armchair general…</I><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Meltyukhov" REL="nofollow">Mikhail Meltyukhov</A> is a respected Russian military historian but the archives he cites supporting the "<A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin's_Missed_Chance#Soviet_and_German_offensive_plans" REL="nofollow">inevitability</A>" claim are based upon a number of war plans drawn up by the General Staff of the Red Army (many Soviet generals) and advocated for by <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov" REL="nofollow">Gen. Georgy Zhukov</A>.<BR/><BR/>Even without these recently-revealed facts from the Soviet archives, the preponderance of evidence combined with a little logical reasoning leads to the same conclusion regarding the inevitableness of the Nazi-Soviet conflict. In the spirit of iSteve’s “live not by lies”, this is one of history’s bigger lies and is as often repeated as it is easily exposed. It seemed apropos in what was evolving into a “war nerd” and “armchair general” thread here.<BR/><BR/>You seem to hold the mainstream opinion that Stalin was yet another unprepared innocent victim of Hitler’s evil rapaciousness. That Stalin would be fine with Hitler building a militarized fascist European megastate along Russia’s boarders. If you advocate this canard, you are uncritically naïve, uneducated in the history, men and events of the time and/or have some new facts that undermine Meltyukhov’s and other’s recent research (as well as by looking at simple intelligent answers that arise from asking Lenin’s “Who whom?”). Any productive counterarguments you can field will help explain where your skepticism comes from (silence or insults are just as explanatory).<BR/><BR/>“Knowledge is Good” – Emil Faber, philanthropist and father of the modern American lead pencil.<BR/><BR/>- JANAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-32663379168632445592007-08-22T01:15:00.000-07:002007-08-22T01:15:00.000-07:00anon 9:24: Yes, although at least Gen Petraeus see...anon 9:24: Yes, although at least Gen Petraeus seems to be aware of basic counter-insurgency techniques, which is a big step up, hence successes in western (Sunni) Iraq. I think Lind's big point re 4th gen warfare is that all States have a vital interest in the maintenance of other States and the Westphalian State system. This argues for doing everything to maintain and validate opposing States even in war; giving defeated armies the 'honours of war'. This was the common wisdom of the West until very recently.<BR/><BR/>This is the exact opposite of neocon 'creative destruction' approach of deliberately destroying hostile (to Israel) States, thus opening the door to 4th gen forces. -SNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-12753781055947185082007-08-21T09:24:00.000-07:002007-08-21T09:24:00.000-07:00Lind actually is an student of 4th generation warf...Lind actually is an student of 4th generation warfare (state vs. non-state forces) which he believes will be the pattern of future conflict. His 3rd generation category is blitzkrieg (maneuver warfare). Patton was its major American advocate in WW II with opposition coming from the traditional infantry generals who had learned 2nd generation warfare in WW I. Incidentally, we stink at 4th generation warfare. If only those damned insurgents would put on uniforms and stay in one place long enough to be blasted by artillery and aerial bombs!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-47917528767427422332007-08-21T08:36:00.000-07:002007-08-21T08:36:00.000-07:00... War with Russia was inevitable ... “Inevitable...<I> ... War with Russia was inevitable ... </I><BR/><BR/><BR/>“Inevitable, inevitable, inevitable!” says the armchair general, handing holding drink waving in air.<BR/><BR/><I> "Most Germans can accept the fact that they were not innocent bystanders. What irks them is the intentional destruction of heritage which can never be rebuilt. The enormous investments in Dresden since reunification have only managed to rebuild the most important buildings. Most of the inner city was irretrieveably destroyed. Surely it was possible to win the war without such wanton destruction?</I><BR/><BR/><I>By A German, at 8/19/2007 4:27 AM" </I><BR/><BR/>Herr A. German, when will you guys take Konigsberg back, and re-beautify that historic city?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-67208259838746435292007-08-20T16:25:00.000-07:002007-08-20T16:25:00.000-07:00My understanding is that Grant Doctrine/Zhukov Doc...My understanding is that Grant Doctrine/Zhukov Doctrine means hammer-blow tactics that emphasise using all reserves to exploit success (rather than eg shore up a weak part of the battle line) and avoid any pause for the enemy to recover. It uses superior resources in men, artillery etc to the best effect, and is a good approach for states with superior military-industrial capacity, such as the WW2 Soviet military and US Civil War Union army. If done well it doesn't necessarily lead to high casualties - the 1991 Gulf War was a classic Grant-Doctrine war, massive force employed to maximum effect, up until the ceasefire, which was called earlier than you'd expect for political reasons. <BR/><BR/>Lind's Generations of War don't seem to distinguish Grant-Zhukov from the French artillery-centric approach, possibly to make 2nd gen war seem something foreign and French. In reality it seems to me that it's the Union way of war, it suits US military psychology, and it's not surprising that switching to 3rd gen war tactics is proving very difficult.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-58346151939274646202007-08-20T15:59:00.000-07:002007-08-20T15:59:00.000-07:00Rising materials cost based on Chinese buying, buy...Rising materials cost based on Chinese buying, buying, buying is a big factor. <BR/><BR/> It's possible to use steel or aluminum cases for centerfire cartridges, and in some calibers steel core projectiles are feasible. <BR/><BR/> But the big use of ammo is training, and every year the reduced interest in marksmanship and shooting is taking a toll on the quality of shooting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-35754468150604508062007-08-20T12:49:00.000-07:002007-08-20T12:49:00.000-07:00American war tactics using overwhelming fire-power...American war tactics using overwhelming fire-power to subdue the enemy is called second-generation warfare and was learned from the French in WW I (not US Grant). Grant's tactic was the holding attack: pinning the enemy down on one front while reaching around his flank with a separate force (still used by the US Army as recently as Gulf War I). Incidentally, although Grant has been tarred as a butcher, he preferred maneuver warfare and his casualty percentages were actually lower than Robert E. Lee's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-28758503886563414722007-08-20T08:17:00.000-07:002007-08-20T08:17:00.000-07:00a jew said: Of course, that wouldn't have been an...<B>a jew said</B>: <I> Of course, that wouldn't have been an issue if Germany hadn't invaded Stalin's Russia.</I><BR/><BR/>Hitler didn’t have a choice with regards to invading Stalin’s Russia. Both sides detested each other, were natural enemies and were actively arming, massing men/material along the boarder in preparation for attacks timed to their best advantage. <BR/><BR/>Meltyukhov’s book, <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin's_Missed_Chance" REL="nofollow"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin's_Missed_Chance</A>, is based upon recently declassified Soviet archival material. In it, he concurs with <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_%28Suvorov%29" REL="nofollow">Viktor Suvorov’s book Icebreaker</A> that claim that Stalin was planning to attack Germany in 1941. From wikipedia on Meltyukhov’s book:<BR/><BR/><I>”The Soviet economy had been on war footing from 1939 on, and preparations for mobilisation (sic) were made from that time on… According to Meltyukhov, the material resources and the system of mobilization ensured the development of the army, considerably exceeding the German army in the quantity of armament and combat materials.<BR/>…<BR/>As Meltyukhov shows with his study, the General Staff of Red Army had already begun developing a plan for an assault on Germany in October 1939. This process intensified in March 1940, and at least four different versions of the plan were developed throughout 1940 and 1941. The concentration of troops was disguised as maneuvers; in May/June 1941 the preparation for Soviet invasion in Germany reached the final stage, as the full-scale concentration of troops began.”</I><BR/><BR/>With the Battle of Britain decided and the Western front stalemated, time and inaction were Hitler’s enemies. Roosevelt was doing all he could to enter the war against Germany despite American popular opinion and the major powers in the industrial world were ramping up war machines Germany would be clearly be overwhelmed by. Hitler needed to use what little temporary advantage in quality of men and material Germany had to quickly move towards an early victory or face inevitable defeat. At the opening of hostilities, Russia had 2.1x more men, 2.4x more artillery, 4.4x more aircraft and 8.7x more tanks than the advancing Germans.<BR/><BR/>War with Russia was inevitable, it had the natural resources Germany’s war machine desperately needed and the East was the only meaningful front the decisive action could be made to bring the war closer to a victorious end for Germany. Despite popularization of the irrational myth of a defenseless, unprepared peace-loving Stalin, history (and common sense) shows that Hitler made the only and best decision available in attacking Russia when he did with his <A HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/OPERATION_BARBAROSSA” HREF="”" REL="nofollow">Operation Barbarossa</A>. If he didn’t have to bail out the Italians in Albania, deal with a coup in Yugoslavia and spring 1941 had been drier, he may have been able to seize key southern oil fields and Moscow and drag out the war a little longer before losing. <BR/><BR/>Hilter may have been evil, but people let this cloud the fact that he was demonstrably very clever especially when things initially went well for him. It’s exactly because he combines these traits in such extremes that he was able to mastermind the system he did. Check out an interesting <A HREF="http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003155.html" REL="nofollow">gnxp.com</A> discussion that touches on this issue of the unusually high IQ of many Nazi leaders.<BR/><BR/>- JANAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-44778420000899515562007-08-20T04:27:00.000-07:002007-08-20T04:27:00.000-07:00An excellent study of the development of terror b...An excellent study of the development of terror bombing in WW2 is FJP Veale's <I>Advance to Barbarism.</I><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Advance-Barbarism-Development-Sarajevo-Hiroshima/dp/0939484455togohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02564696576032840221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-72643660527041412142007-08-20T02:16:00.000-07:002007-08-20T02:16:00.000-07:00A Jew:"Unfortunately for Germany and the world, Hi...A Jew:<BR/>"Unfortunately for Germany and the world, Hitler converted Mussolini and not the other way around."<BR/><BR/>As with money supply, bad fascism drives out good?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-87293057991338556052007-08-20T00:37:00.000-07:002007-08-20T00:37:00.000-07:00"I guess had to burn up all the little blond goyim...<I>"I guess had to burn up all the little blond goyim because of the Holocaust."</I><BR/><BR/>Anonymous, the British didn't bomb Dresden because of the Holocaust. If they were that concerned with the genocide at the time, they could have bombed the rail links leading to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. They weren't and they didn't. <BR/><BR/>This is the short history of the the savage bombing campaigns between Germany and Britain in WWII. Initially, Germany's bombing campaign against Britain had a military logic: to target Britain's airfields, to destroy its airpower and prepare it for German invasion. During one of these raids, bombs accidentally fell on London. The British reciprocated by bombing German cities. Hitler was so enraged that he scrapped his targeted bombing campaign and launched The Blitz against Britain. Britain again reciprocated. <BR/><BR/>Jörg Friedrich, the author of <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Bombing-Germany-1940-1945/dp/0231133804/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8063700-6627342?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187593849&sr=8-1" REL="nofollow">The Fire</A>, a book about the allied bombing campaign against Germany, was on C-Span's Book TV a few months ago, speaking and answering questions at a Jewish-owned bookstore in D.C. Interesting discussion. <BR/><BR/>When a questioner asked why Germany didn't surrender earlier, to avoid this destruction, Friedrich pointed out that elderly German civilians didn't have any influence on the Nazi regime; in response to a similar question about why the German military didn't surrender earlier, he responded that they would have been willing to do so to the Americans, but were unwilling to surrender unconditionally to Stalin's Red Army. Of course, that wouldn't have been an issue if Germany hadn't invaded Stalin's Russia.<BR/><BR/>The irony is that had Nazism been more like Mussolini's early fascism, Germany wouldn't have come to such grief. It could have had the authoritarian government keeping Communism at bay, the spiffy uniforms, and the healthy command-capitalist economy, without the pointless genocide and disasterous world war. Unfortunately for Germany and the world, Hitler converted Mussolini and not the other way around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-82649595814642286562007-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:002007-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00I just want to put in a few words on behalf of Sta...I just want to put in a few words on behalf of State Department. No doubt we aren't perfect, but there are quite a few of us in Iraq. I am spending the year in Basra, with at least 10 other State colleagues. And, I have other colleagues serving in the field all over Iraq, including those embedded into military units.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-84942532869350969102007-08-19T22:23:00.000-07:002007-08-19T22:23:00.000-07:00Check out the "Deuce House Killaz" and maybe you'l...Check out the <A HREF="http://youtube.com/watch?v=tC48X5xGkA0" REL="nofollow">"Deuce House Killaz"</A> and maybe you'll get a sense of where a lot of our ammo is going in Iraq. <BR/><BR/>Funny, but kind of sad too, in a Clockwork Orange sort of way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-42819250659215216222007-08-19T20:56:00.000-07:002007-08-19T20:56:00.000-07:00David Davenport Extensively and exclusively citing...<B>David Davenport</B> Extensively and exclusively citing the USAF’s own historical analysis of its (or its predecessor, the US Army Air Corp) justification for the bombing of Dresden in your initial argument about the morality of such action was disingenuous. Did you really expect anything but vindication, no matter what the reality, from the very party under question?<BR/><BR/>Your second post seems to be justifying the bombing:<BR/><BR/><I> <BR/>The firebombing of Dresden was a major war crime. It was the intentional targeting of innocent men, women, and children. In a word, mass murder. In the name of what principle were we fighting the Nazis? <BR/>David Davenport said...<BR/>The basic principles were: defeat and unconditional surrender of the Nazi regime, while keeping Allied casualties relatively low. <BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Is this an acknowledgement of war crimes or are you implying war crimes can only be committed by the defeated or simply do not exist in the practical pursuit of ends? It seems the latter which renders the term “war crime” pretty meaningless.<BR/><BR/>You seem to take one further step back in your third post by selecting quotes from Frederick Taylor who evades the entire subject of war crimes on his study of the Dresden bombing: “But a war crime is a very specific thing which international lawyers argue about all the time and I would not be prepared to commit myself nor do I see why I should”.<BR/><BR/>I prefer the refreshing honesty of General Curtis Lemay who remarked about his similar firebombing and targeting of civilians in Japan:<BR/><BR/>“LeMay was quite aware of both the brutality of his actions and the Japanese opinion of him — he once remarked that had the U.S. lost the war, he fully expected to be tried for war crimes, especially in view of Japanese executions of uniformed American flight crews during the 1942 Doolittle raid. However, he argued that it was his duty to carry out the attacks in order to end the war as quickly as possible, sparing further loss of life.”<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_LeMay#World_War_II<BR/><BR/>- JANAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-28956091425569039432007-08-19T19:18:00.000-07:002007-08-19T19:18:00.000-07:00Right. As I pointed out in 2006:"The military's an...Right. As I pointed out in 2006:<BR/><BR/>"The military's annual need increased from 733 million small arms rounds (.50 caliber or less) in 2000 to 1,790 million rounds in 2005, but training requirements were greatly increased, so it's hard to figure out how much of the 1,057,000,000 bullets increase in annual demand goes to combat operations."<BR/><BR/>So, the question is, what % of that increase of over a billion rounds per year went to training. I'm assuming, based on testimony to Congress in 2004, that increased training ate up 90% of the increased consumption, which would still leave over 100,000,000 rounds per year being expended in fighting. By that calculation, we're firing 10,000 bullets per hour round the clock in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, which might help explain why we aren't all that popular over there.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, if the government has actually released any new documents on combat usage of bullets in the ten months since I researched it, please let me know. But it does appear that the government isn't too enthusiastic about publicizing whatever the precise figure is, and that the media isn't in much of a hurry to find out (although that may just reflect the press' innumeracy).Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-2566549879835935262007-08-19T18:36:00.000-07:002007-08-19T18:36:00.000-07:00Most of the ammunition bought by the Pentagon is u...Most of the ammunition bought by the Pentagon is used for training. Prior to Iraq and Afghanistan, the army (but not the Marines) had cut back marksmanship training for soldiers with non-combat specialties. As a result of things like ambushes on supply convoys, the army began to realize that the marines had something when they stated that every marine is a rifleman first. As a result, the live fire training for soldiers with non-combat specialties was drastically beefed up. Since most soldiers have non-combat jobs, the ammo usage for training went way up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-44072707658056299382007-08-19T15:50:00.000-07:002007-08-19T15:50:00.000-07:00SPIEGEL ONLINE: The neo-Nazi National Democratic P...<I>SPIEGEL ONLINE: The neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) recently referred to the bombing as the "Holocaust of bombs." This is, of course, a viewpoint held by more than just the German right wing. What is the problem with this viewpoint? <BR/><BR/>Taylor: The whole "Holocaust of bombs" thing has been around on far-right Web sites for years and is only now emerging into the NPD's antics in the (Saxony state government). I frankly don't understand what they're saying. All sides bombed each other's cities during the war. Half a million Soviet citizens, for example, died from German bombing during the invasion and occupation of Russia. That's roughly equivalent to the number of German citizens who died from Allied raids. But the Allied bombing campaign was attached to military operations and ceased as soon as military operations ceased. But the Holocaust and the murder of all those millions would not have ceased if the Germans had won the war. Bombing is ruthless war making, but to use the word Holocaust to describe ruthless war making is to confuse two entirely different things. </I><BR/><BR/><BR/>http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,341239,00.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-74639472893014097022007-08-19T15:46:00.000-07:002007-08-19T15:46:00.000-07:00The Feb. 13, 1945 bombing of Dresden by the Britis...<I>The Feb. 13, 1945 bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force has become a symbol for excessive, gratuitous violence on the part of the Allies during World War II. But with the 60th anniversary of the bombing on Sunday, a new book by British historian Frederick Taylor argues that this view may not be quite accurate. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with the author.<BR/><BR/> AP<BR/>August Schreitmueller's sandstone sculpture "The Goodness" looks over destroyed Dresden from the Town Hall Tower in 1945.<BR/>SPIEGEL ONLINE: <BR/>Some critics have accused you of writing a justification of the bombing of the city of Dresden. Is this accusation misplaced? <BR/><BR/>Taylor: Yes it is. Some people mistake the attempt at rational analysis of a historical event for a celebration of it. My book attempts to be distanced and rational and where possible I try to separate the myths and legends from the realities. I personally find the attack on Dresden horrific. It was overdone, it was excessive and is to be regretted enormously. But there is no reason to pretend that it was completely irrational on the part of the Allies. Dresden had war industries and was a major transportation hub. As soon as you start explaining the reasons for the attack, though, people think you are justifying it. <BR/><BR/>SPIEGEL ONLINE: Was it a war crime? <BR/><BR/><BR/>About the Author<BR/><BR/>Frederick Taylor is the author of a new book about the Allied bombing of Dresden in World War II called "Dresden: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1945" (HarperCollins Publishers, 2004). Conventional wisdom has long had it that the bombing of the cultural pearl in eastern Germany was gratuitous violence and an inhuman attempt to kill as many civilians as possible in a city that had little in the way of an armaments industry or strategic importance. It is exactly this image of the Dresden bombing that Taylor's book goes a long way toward correcting. He shows that, in fact, Dresden hosted dozens of factories, many of them smaller but important workshops located in the old town, devoted to the war effort. His book also presents a much lower death toll (25,000 to 40,000) than previous estimates, some of which claim that hundreds of thousands died. At the same time, however, Taylor doesn't seek to minimize the horrors visited upon the city. He has sympathy for the suffering of the population and has grave misgivings about air warfare in general and the Dresden raid in particular.<BR/><BR/>Taylor studied history and modern languages at Oxford and Sussex universities in Britain and focused on the history of the extreme right in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. He traveled widely in both East and West Germany during the Cold War and has edited and translated a number of works from German. He lives in Cornwall, England with his wife and three children. more... Taylor: I really don't know. From a practical point of view, rules of war are something of a gray area. It was pretty borderline stuff in terms of the extent of the raid and the amount of force used. It's comparable with other air attacks in the war such as the German attack on Belgrade or even Stalingrad before it was besieged and of course other British and American attacks as well including the big ones in Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). These are examples where you get close to saying "you absolutely cannot do this," and I think bombing is the most dubious form of warfare possible. But a war crime is a very specific thing which international lawyers argue about all the time and I would not be prepared to commit myself nor do I see why I should. I'm a historian. ... </I><BR/><BR/>http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,341239,00.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-51478164991571039262007-08-19T15:29:00.000-07:002007-08-19T15:29:00.000-07:00The firebombing of Dresden was a major war crime. ...<I>The firebombing of Dresden was a major war crime. It was the intentional targeting of innocent men, women, and children. In a word, mass murder. In the name of what principle were we fighting the Nazis? </I><BR/><BR/>The basic principles were: defeat and unconditional surrender of the Nazi regime, while keeping Allied casualties relatively low.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-20055930976421464752007-08-19T14:39:00.000-07:002007-08-19T14:39:00.000-07:00"Now we're in fresh pastures, killing all the litt..."Now we're in fresh pastures, killing all the little brown Palis, Sunnis, Arabs...If we don't kill them there, they'll kill us here! cries David. Say, David, aren't they already here?"<BR/><BR/>This puts me in mind of the as yet unresolved cognitive dissonance that plagues our society. You can be vilified to the point of having your life destroyed for holding the "wrong" beliefs about ethnicities other than your own. Yet, no one blinks an eye at the slaughter of innocent civilians in Iraq which may well be occurring because our government refuses to respect or even acknowledge cultural differences between Westerners who prefer secular states and Muslims who want to live in theocracies.<BR/><BR/>Build a few foot baths in Michigan and all is forgiven? And what happens when we keep importing these Muslims who want to live in theocracies? That elementary school in California that gives its Somali students an hour session of Muslim prayer each day might give you some idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com