Thursday military linkagery
Jan. 11th, 2007 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat_sochoCool military news: Turning a Phalanx system into a death ray. This also has implications for air defense and ballistic missile defense, of course. Pretty soon we may not have to worry about whether we can hit incoming missiles with missiles.
On the other hand, this is just fucked up. If the Guardsmen are supposed to be subbing for the Border Patrol, then it seems to me they ought to be able to open fire if attacked by heavily armed jackasses, and if the law has to be changed to allow that, CHANGE THE FSCKING LAW. Border control is enough of a bipartisan issue that it might actually get dealt with in this Congress, and the sooner the better.
So what do I think of the President's speech? Don't know, didn't watch it or listen to it. I'm already on-side, so it's not like I need convincing. What I'm seeing in the milblogs today looks promising, if the Iraqis hold up their end of the deal. Using Kurdish troops in Baghdad* is a promising sign, but let's face it, there's a lot of folks in Iraq that wish our troops would pack up and leave so they can get on with the ethnic cleansing.
*note that these are Iraqi Army brigades mostly staffed by Kurds, not peshmerga units. Using the latter would be about as effective in pacification as using Mookie Sadr's militiamen.
On the other hand, this is just fucked up. If the Guardsmen are supposed to be subbing for the Border Patrol, then it seems to me they ought to be able to open fire if attacked by heavily armed jackasses, and if the law has to be changed to allow that, CHANGE THE FSCKING LAW. Border control is enough of a bipartisan issue that it might actually get dealt with in this Congress, and the sooner the better.
So what do I think of the President's speech? Don't know, didn't watch it or listen to it. I'm already on-side, so it's not like I need convincing. What I'm seeing in the milblogs today looks promising, if the Iraqis hold up their end of the deal. Using Kurdish troops in Baghdad* is a promising sign, but let's face it, there's a lot of folks in Iraq that wish our troops would pack up and leave so they can get on with the ethnic cleansing.
*note that these are Iraqi Army brigades mostly staffed by Kurds, not peshmerga units. Using the latter would be about as effective in pacification as using Mookie Sadr's militiamen.
