Not That I Need A Reason...

[Bill Bove]

But today I am proud to be a U.S. Air Force veteran.

[93legendti]

You have good reason to be proud!

[shinomaster]

why what happened?

[Jason E]

Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (June 8) - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose bloody campaign of beheadings and suicide bombings made him the most-wanted terrorist in Iraq, was killed when U.S. warplanes dropped 500-pound bombs on his isolated safe house, officials said Thursday. His death was a long-sought victory in the war in Iraq.

[shinomaster]

That's cute. :beer:

[dave thompson]

Me, former USAF also.

According to the official blurb, the two USAF F-16s targeted the house and dropped a 500lb bomb. Then they circled, came back and dropped a 2nd 500 pounder.

Love the 500lb bombs. Make sure he's really dead, willya?

[bobscott]

With all due respect, I find it hard to love any bomb.

[dave thompson]

With all due respect, I find it hard to love any bomb.
I sincerely understand your point. However, watch the video of Daniel Pearl being beheaded, some say by Zarqawi himself, and maybe you can understand why I said what I did.

[shinomaster]

Bad guys should be blown away.

[neverraced]

Big deal. 2.5 billion eager to fill his shoes.
How about going after his boss?

[Ray]

Big deal. 2.5 billion eager to fill his shoes.
How about going after his boss?
I couldn't be more opposed to this war and I agree that he'll just serve as a martyr for a whole bunch of new kids, but I'm still extremely pleased that they got this SOB. The same thing could be said about getting Osama, btw - he'll just become a martyr but I still hope he goes down.

Good on the Air Force and the intel folks who figured out what was going on in this meeting.

-Ray

[shinomaster]

I hope they didn't kill a whole neighborhood of innocent civilians in the process.

[Bill Bove]

Big deal. 2.5 billion eager to fill his shoes.
How about going after his boss?
Tactically I think Mr. Z was a better get, he was an operational leader whereas UBL is more of a cheerleader at this point. A cheerleader with a very big pocketbook. Taking Z out will definitely help the new Iraqi goverment get off it's feet and hasten the day we can get our troops out of there.

[parallelfish]

With all due respect, I find it hard to love any bomb.

Given the thousands of innocents now free of the animal, I love that bomb, as well as the nation that put it where it belonged.

[93legendti]

All Muslims are NOT terrorists. To say 2.5 billion will replace him is silly and of the ilk that brought us such dandys as y2k, the bubble will burst on the housing market, Afghanistan can not be defeated by the USA and "the Arab street will rise up as a result of ___". (To wit, does anyone hear Palestinians mention the name of Arafat anymore?) This argument was used against Israel many times in the past 6 years--despite the terror being reduced 95-99% as a result of the systematic elimination of the heads of the terror groups. These actions force the remaining live leaders underground and force them to run and hide rather than plan and execute. The truth is, (based upon my research, knowledge of Islamic terrorism and meetings with 3 of the World's top anti-terror experts, as well as dozens of military officers engaged in daily anti-terror work) that stopping the money AND cutting off the head of the snake works extremely well.

[Lunar Probe]

I prefer martyrs to terrorists. Haven't read any details, but this was almost certainly a joint effort with troops on the ground. Reportedly they obtained visual and fingerprint ID.

[Bruce K]

If you see the video and read the reports the house was fairly isolated and there seemed to be no significant collateral damage.

It kind of looked like the videos from Desert Storm where the smart bombs would go through the front door of the house.

Big dust cloud but fairly contained explosion.

The snake is more like a hydra, but one head at a time is a good way to go..

BK

[Lunar Probe]

If you see the video and read the reports the house was fairly isolated and there seemed to be no significant collateral damage.

It kind of looked like the videos from Desert Storm where the smart bombs would go through the front door of the house.

Big dust cloud but fairly contained explosion.

The snake is more like a hydra, but one head at a time is a good way to go..

BK

Don't ground units have handheld lasers for guiding smart bombs?

[shinomaster]

All Muslims are NOT terrorists. To say 2.5 billion will replace him is silly and of the ilk that brought us such dandys as y2k, the bubble will burst on the housing market, Afghanistan can not be defeated by the USA and "the Arab street will rise up as a result of ___". (To wit, does anyone hear Palestinians mention the name of Arafat anymore?) This argument was used against Israel many times in the past 6 years--despite the terror being reduced 95-99% as a result of the systematic elimination of the heads of the terror groups. These actions force the remaining live leaders underground and force them to run and hide rather than plan and execute. The truth is, (based upon my research, knowledge of Islamic terrorism and meetings with 3 of the World's top anti-terror experts, as well as dozens of military officers engaged in daily anti-terror work) that stopping the money AND cutting off the head of the snake works extremely well.


wow, sounds like you have an interesting job.

[spincycle]

laser guided bombs may be targeted by ground forces, air force combat controllers do that for example. smart weapons can also be directed from the aircraft, just depends on the tactical scenario.

[Dekonick]

I Believe it was George Patton who said:

(I'll try to get this right)

" Don't die for your country, make the other S.O.B. die for his country! "

:banana:

[93legendti]

wow, sounds like you have an interesting job.

It is not a job-- but it is a pursuit that has dominated my thinking ever since 1974 when I saw the school building in Ma'alot where 21 school children were murdered by PLO sub humans and the apartment building in Kiryat Shmona were 18 people, nine of them children, were also murdered by PLO sub humans. I have never been able to get the vision of the scores of bullet holes that pock marked those 2 buildings out of my memory.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma'alot_massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryat_Shmona_massacre

[Serotta_Andrew]

Please keep the politics at a minimum.

[shinomaster]

Well...1974 was good for other reasons...I was born! And Eddy won the Tour again!

[93legendti]

Sorry Andrew. I had a Peugot bicycle in '74 (once my brother's and a handmedown, but it was mine!).

[dirtdigger88]

http://www.pictureiraq.com/cspaulding/Iraq/Images/River-shoreline5.jpg

Jason

[dirtdigger88]

http://www.pictureiraq.com/cspaulding/Iraq/Images/River-shoreline5.jpg

Jason

I was 4 in 1974. . .

[Lunar Probe]

It is not a job-- but it is a pursuit that has dominated my thinking ever since 1974 when I saw the school building in Ma'alot where 21 school children were murdered by PLO sub humans and the apartment building in Kiryat Shmona were 18 people, nine of them children, were also murdered by PLO sub humans. I have never been able to get the vision of the scores of bullet holes that pock marked those 2 buildings out of my memory.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma'alot_massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryat_Shmona_massacre

They're not "sub humans", they're humans that need to be taken out.

[dirtdigger88]

did someone mention bikes-

http://www.denisondesign.com/gallery/wheathins3.jpg

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/GDF/GREY38.jpg

http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8500000/8508006.jpg

Jason

[dbrk]

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

John Donne, Meditation XVII.


Back on topic: Has anyone noticed that Mercian has its hands on the new Reynolds 953 and is building bikes? I wonder if this stuff can be swagged to Serotta redwood: a clearcoat finish over plain steel would be quite the looker.

dbrk

[Fixed]

bro who is the serotta dealer for the middle east?
cheers

[Fixed]

Well...1974 was good for other reasons...I was born! And Eddy won the Tour again!
bill shook won the nat crit champs . my bud

[Tailwinds]

In 1974, I was a baby... too young for a bike.

[catulle]

The military profession could hardly be a more noble calling. Military men submit their lives to the protection of the commonwealth. Therefore, there is no greater evil than when politicians abuse their mandate and send the military to certain death on the basis of self-interest or petty considerations.

[Gothard]

Difficult to have an opinion that is not tainted by politic or personal beliefs, and not conditionned by what the media tell us.

Trying to remove all emotions, *if* the man indeed killed anyone by beheading, or killed anyone rendered unable to defend himself, what he got was deserved.

"any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind" is very true. Now with a twist: if this man's death prevents many other deaths, is it a bad for a good?

Still, I am sad for what goes on in the name of religion. This is not islam, and this is not crhistianity.

[Grant McLean]

Back on topic: Has anyone noticed that Mercian has its hands on the new Reynolds 953 and is building bikes? I wonder if this stuff can be swagged to Serotta redwood: a clearcoat finish over plain steel would be quite the looker.

dbrk

speaking of brits,

those guys at condor are still doing the lugged steel thing,
i hadn't seen one of those for a while...

http://www.condorcycles.com/showBike.php?id=50

g

[Tailwinds]

speaking of brits,

those guys at condor are still doing the lugged steel thing,
i hadn't seen one of those for a while...

http://www.condorcycles.com/showBike.php?id=50



Oh my... another orange lugged beauty!

[Grant McLean]

Oh my... another orange lugged beauty!

good thing there's an ocean between us, eh?

g

INTJ

[dirtdigger88]

In 1974, I was a baby....

http://www.heybabymusic.com/HBanim200.gif

Jason

[PanTerra]

The military profession could hardly be a more noble calling. Military men submit their lives to the protection of the commonwealth. Therefore, there is no greater evil than when politicians abuse their mandate and send the military to certain death on the basis of self-interest or petty considerations. Glad that didn't happen here.