FLATEOTM: March 2003
We Are Not in a Quagmire
Today is being called by the press a “bad” day for the war. Allied forces have taken more casualties today, including two Army Apache crewmen taken prisoner after a hard landing. Michael Savage today was saying we aren’t prepared for stuff like this. Bull.
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Site News: 24Mar2003
I’ve upgraded the GreyMatter behind mm.net to 1.21d (which, btw, if you plan to do, archive your template settings) and made some minor changes in various locations. I’m also considering changing the site colors. Click below to see the options and please vote for the one you want.
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Is Iraq running Microsoft Exchange Server?
I’m listening to ABC Radio at work. One of their retired military commanders is speculating that the reason the power is still on in Baghdad is that we’re communicating surrender terms to the Iraqis via e-mail, ergo, the power is on because the computers need to be on. That gives a totally new meaning to the phrase “mission critical software”. There’s a tool called nmap (runs on Linux, check it out at www.insecure.org) that can remotely determine what OS you’re runnning. I’m curious: are Baghdad computers running MS Exchange or Linux + sendmail?
WATB? In the air
Fox News is reporting that 8 BUFFs departed from RAF Fairford, while 6 left on Wednesday for prepositioning. That means that as many as 280 CALCMs could be headed into Iraq tonight (or today, if you’re in the US). Shock and Awe, or Hyperwar, as Tom Clancy prefers to call it, may be very close. 
21Mar2003 1115 MST: Ka-BOOM! Baghdad is under aerial siege.
Shock and Awe – Later
Last night’s (early morning Baghdad time) strike against Hussein was military genius. It showed how flexible the U.S. Military has become, able to launch a strike at least 12 hours early against a target under surveillance on a moment’s notice. Because of long, unnecessary debate in the U.N. we lost our strategic surprise advantage. However, people think they can predict the behavior of the military based on its previous actions. Hah! We can strike whenever we want, and no one expected us to strike at dawn. Oops. The strike was executed with total tactical surprise, and is a good portent of the coming war.
Oh, and one more thing: the F-117 does not carry the Bunker Buster. It can carry two 2000 pound bombs in its internal bays. The Bunker Buster is physically larger than the 2000 pound bombs the Nighthawk can carry. Please stop saying that the Nighthawk dropped those bombs. More Air Force Fact Sheets can be found here. 20Mar2003 12:44 MST: I’m full of it. I did some research on the Bunker Buster, and I found some interesting stuff. Apparently one particular BB can be fitted into the F-117. My bad. 20Mar2003 16:26 MST: From the Associated Press: The officials said the attack began with about three dozen naval cruise missiles that leveled the aboveground structures. Air Force F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters then dropped a new 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb, called the EGBU-27.
Assassination
Remember Gerald Ford? He was the only President the US has had that was not elected. During his time in office, he signed an Executive Order forbidding the US from conducting assassinations against heads of state (section 5g). I haven’t heard it yet, but I bet that someone, somewhere, is saying or will say that the first strike against Iraq in the most recent unpleasantness is an illegal action. That may be true, but the strike is not immoral. The executive order should be amended so that clause 5g is removed.
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Coin Toss
Bill Cosby once likened war to a football game in a stand-up routine. The coin toss determined who set the rules of war instead of who kicked off. George Bush has set the rules. Saddam Hussein must disarm completely or face serious consequences, including war to enforce disarmament via regime change. Listening to his speeches of the past week and reading his press conference transcript from Sunday, I can see he understands the fundamental problem.
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Gun Shows and Girl Scouts
There was a Gun Show at the TCC this past weekend. I went, looking for some ambidextrous parts for my 1991A1 (I’m a lefty). I found a slide release and a thumb safety from Semi Auto Tech, a 1911 specialist. He was at one end of a row of tables. The Girl Scouts were at the other, selling cookies.
Only in America.
Boomerangs
The B-2s have deployed. According to this article, they left Wednesday (12Mar2003) night from Whiteman. That means there are now, if the numbers I’ve gathered are accurate, at least 59 heavy long-range bombers within striking range of Baghdad. And Pyongyang. And Tehran.
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