Israel and Leba-nin

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/VIDEO_Hezbollah_takes_BBC_into_wasteland_0720.html

Damn. This is WWII level destruction.

 

War is ugly. But I'm impressed.

This is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

 

Is that the same technology that won't allow us to find bin Laden? Or that has given us little to no intelligence on what's going on inside North Korea? There are always ways around technology, no matter how much we think otherwise.
Satellite photos? Move stuff around at night or when it's cloudy.
Infrared or thermal images? Start a few fires to confuse the sensors.
Other satellites? Just wait until they're over another country, then move stuff around.

 

You are kidding me right?

We've known what has gone on in N. Korea for quite some time. We know what is there. We know what they have. We know where their military is.

If you think a few fires can distract "sensors" enough to move stockpiles of weapons outside the country, you are very naive.

As to the comment on Bin Laden... he's a human being. As such, human beings can be disguised and transported with little watch. It also depends on how high the priority is, which OBL isn't very high.

 

I still contend that we are better with OBL controlled but still at large. Its provides us with a better opportunity to round up all of his associates and close in around him. If he is taken out a vacuum would be created for Al queda leadership. It would be a jail break.

As far as WMD's there is a very solid article in MAY/ June Foreign Affairs Magazine - "Saddam Delusion's" - a analysis by US military that basically says that Sadamm over stated Iraq capabilities because he was mislead by his advisor's and scientists.

People were afraid to tell Saddam that that things did not work so they lied.

I think that is a very plausible story.

Here is link - long but well worth read :

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060501faessay85301/kevin-woods-james-lacey-williamson-murray/saddam-s-delusions-the-view-from-the-inside.html

 

I read that story, too, Boom. It was interesting. Basically, Saddam was a cocky fucker who got the serious ramrod WITHOUT the K-Y.

Good read.

Edit: But he was only misled because he didn't want to hear anything else, so his advisors told him only what he wanted to hear lest they get, how you say, killed.

 

Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes when you cut the head off, the body dies. It really depends on what OBL is doing these days.

What is interesting is that it seems that Fredo has also surrounded him with a bunch of yes-men who are afraid to tell him the truth lest they be removed from their position or harmed politically.

Now, with the Saddam, it is possible that they told him more than what they had, but don't you think Saddam would have been asking for the mobilization of those weapons when the attack was coming? He may have realized that some of his weapons weren't there and that many of them were just dead.

It still doesn't mean that we didn't know what weapons he had. We did.

 

Those were just some examples of ways to beat the technology. We know when stuff is being moved, but how hard is it to disguise a truck of missile parts as, say, a truck full of auto parts? You're telling me you can easily disguise a human that every law enforcement agency in the world has on its most wanted list, but not a bunch of spare parts? You disassemble the stuff and reassemble it in a building where the cameras can't see, or store it in plain sight -- like in a motor pool or factory. Problem solved.
Without hard human intelligence satellite photos are like staring at a movie with the sound turned off. You think you know what's happening, but you can never be sure.

All that said, I have thought the story about Saddam overestimating Iraq's WMD capabilities was probably right. His scientists were smart enough to know that it's better to not have WMDs than to actually have a few bullets -- in their heads.

 

Again, you believe those are ways of beating technology. They aren't.

Damn near impossible in a country like Iraq.

First, you believe that every law enforcement agency is hunting him. That isn't necessarily the case.
Second, there is a difference between bodies and "spare parts." Bodies come and go and move constantly. "Spare parts" that come from weapons do not.

Again, you imply that the building can't be seen. There are not very many buildings that are hidden from satellite view. And those that are hidden are well known about by satellite images. You don't go through the expense of hiding contents because you don't want the US government to see how the Volkswagon plant in Syria works.

To a limited degree this is true. However, if you know there is a weapons depot at Location X. Then you monitor Location X. If a bunch of trucks leave from Location X with the label "Volkswagon" it is followed. The destination is watched and then monitored.

And what happens when Saddam goes to use those weapons? Those scientists just scurry along? What about the inspectors that were there? What do the scientists say to Saddam about where the weapons are supposedly hidden?

All it takes is one guy to know they are lying to have a bit of political ambition. "Hey Saddam. I am loyal to you. Those scientists are lying. The weapons do not exist."

 

Good news for you, rapture righties.

Israelis massing on the Lebanon border ....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/21/world/main1824289.shtml

Don't forget, when you rise to heaven, I get your car.

 

You must be watching CNN. All they got is a pansy battalion or two to pick up some litter along the fence.

 

OK Pastor, so there's no way to defeat our invincible technology? If that's the case, why don't we just round up every insurgent in Iraq, every terrorist in Afghanistan and every nutjob here at home? If we can't find them, we ought to be able to at least find their weapons and disarm them, right?
If the ways I mentioned aren't some of the simplest, low-tech ways to nullify our techonological advantage -- I'm sure there are others -- then what are?

As for the comment about bin Laden...while the hunt for him may have slacked off a bit, I'm sure if he were to show up in Kabul and go "Hey, stupid American, here I am!" someone would see fit to take a shot at him.

And the Saddam/scientist angle? It was probably less of a "We have nukes (but not really)" than a case of the scientists saying "We're close and working on it. We just need a little more time and money, and we'll whip up that warhead in no time!"