Urban Warfare - Disputations Posted by Tom (Tuesday April 01 2003 @ 10:24AM EST)

I hesitate to post this article after this site starting quoting Ghandi but here goes... According to Sun Tsu, there are in descending order, four policies for pursuing war: Best policy in war -- thwart the enemy's strategy, second best, disrupt his alliances through diplomacy, third best, attack his armies in the field worst strategy -- attack walled cities. I would say that the US failed at the first two, would easily succeed with the third were the Iraqis stay in the field, and will inevitably and indeed already are being drawn into block by block actions in the cities of Iraq. I've pulled together a short intro to concepts and recent history on urban warfare.

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By Mailer (Wednesday April 02 2003 @ 11:29AM EST)

Is this posting supposed to be intresting?

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By Tom (Wednesday April 02 2003 @ 02:19PM EST) Mailer -- I'll assume that you clicked through to the main body of the article --> HERE <-- and still did not find it to your standards. That out of the way, if you are up on current affairs you might find this relevant. I will point out that since I wrote this Sunday night, the first paragraph has pretty much happened as described. Finally, if Urban Warfare comes to a city near you, and my prediction is that this type of warfare will be one of the themes of the 21st century, you may find yourself saying: "Damn, I wish I'd paid more attention to that post, I might not find myself living in a bombed out basement eating roaches wondering when a sudden increase in air pressure (from 15 psi to 400 they say) is going to end my miserable ennui-soaked life in a way that will prevent future generations from even marking my existence." Have a nice day Mailer. [ reply | parent ]

By Mailer (Wednesday April 02 2003 @ 03:40PM EST)

If Urban Warfare does come to the good ole USA I think that pedantic bookworms will be the ones who find themselves living in a bombed out basement eating roaches as they search through their thesaurus looking for a new way to say "this sucks".

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By Tom (Thursday April 03 2003 @ 08:53AM EST) That they may Mr. Frodo, that they may. But as for me Mr. Mailer, or may I call you Norman? As for me, no thesaurus. I've never cotton'd to them. My word-hoard is my own. I'd prefer an etymology, although an entomology might be more useful. And what about you Mr Good ole USA, or may I call you Mr. Good ole Boy? If I had to guess what book Americana-American would have in a hole I'd say the Wholey Bible, American Standard Edition -- with pictures. [ reply | parent ]

By Mailer (Thursday April 03 2003 @ 12:00PM EST)

Why Norman, that is strange? As for me, if that day does come my focus will be clear. This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will . . . . My rifle and I know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit . . . . My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights, and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will . . . . Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace!

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By Tom (Thursday April 03 2003 @ 05:13PM EST) Norman Mailer, the American author. Everytime I saw the word Mailer, Norman's picture and turgid prose popped into my head. No reflection on you personally. Some info on N. Mailer: Here and here As for the Rifle Creed: hey I'm a big fan of takin care of your gear, cause it'll take care of you...and as for victory for America...who better? Now here's a creed I think we can live by: The Blogger's Creed This is my blog. There are many like it but this one is mine. My blog is my favorite diversion. But it is not my life. If I do not master it as I master my life, nothing catastrophic will happen. My blog, without me, is boring and will eventually be deleted, even from the Google cache. Without my blog, I am just a guy with an opinion, like I was before I started blogging. I must blog with wit, or at least with a point. I must entertain and illuminate better than other bloggers, or they will get more hits and I will become irrelevant. I must make them irrelevant. I will.... My blog knows nothing, because it is just an arrangement of electrons on a little piece of silicon somewhere, but I know that what counts in blogging is not merely the number of posts I blog, the force of my rhetoric, nor the smoke I blow. I know that it is the hits that count. I will get hits . . . My blog is inanimate and intangible, unlike me, and I'd have to be pretty pathetic to say it was my life. But I like it anyway, so I will learn blogging well. I will learn the art of Fisking, the value of a clever caption, how to do cool things in my template using HTML I ripped off from others' websites using "reveal code," and the art of weaseling a link from Instapundit or one of the other blog-gods. I will keep my blog fresh, interesting and up-to-date, even when I am not. I must make my blog ever better. I will... Before God I swear this creed. My blog and myself are the defenders of my delusions of grandeur. We are the masters of the blogosphere. We are the saviors of my sense of self-worth. So be it, until victory is mine and I get all the hits. Borrowed from Stop the Bleating [ reply | parent ]

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