Never Too Late to Spread a Little Fear
You have to give credit where credit is due: the Washington Post isn't quite ready to surrender to victory in Iraq, and they're not above hyping a desperate bid for relevance by waning Shia militias as a significant tactical adaptation.
U.S. Troops in Iraq Face A Powerful New Weapon by Ernesto Londoño of the Washington Post Foreign Service was a much better article the first time I read it over a month ago in Bill Roggio's far more useful Long War Journal article, which the Post mentions but doesn't link. I can only assume that the Post failed to link Roggio's article because is so much more competently written. While Londoño seems intent on describing a weapon system that is a an improvement over past improvised devices in describing a weapon that has killed at least 21 people, he buries the fact that 18 of those 21 (16 civilians, two Madhi Army militiamen) were killed as a result of the jury-rigged bombs failing, and detonating in their launchers. The so-called IRAM is a crude, desperate weapon apparently designed by the Judean People's Front. I'm not surprised that the Post would try to hype potential bad news in Iraq, but a crude weapon that has killed six times more people on the launching end than the receiving end seems more ripe for mocking than fear.
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:50 AM
Comments
1
Nonsense! It was designed by the People's Front of Judea!
Posted by: Will T. Power at July 10, 2008 10:03 AM (ViOls)
2
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 07/10/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Posted by: David M at July 10, 2008 12:02 PM (gIAM9)
3
Splitter.
Posted by: Stan at July 10, 2008 01:08 PM (3Wewy)
4
It's a home-made katyusha, and those have been around for about 65 years.
Posted by: Mikey NTH at July 10, 2008 02:43 PM (O9Cc8)
5
Something like this was used against US Forces in Japan in the mid 1980's, fired against Yokota AFB while we were stationed there, but with a single rocket. The launch truck was burned out to destroy identification/evidence. I've got to say, the Japanese Red Army Faction did a better job of design...the rocket flew right down the airfield and "detonated" (not much warhead, they primarily wanted to show what they could have done) between the runway and a housing area....where we lived.
Posted by: doug in Colorado at July 11, 2008 06:49 PM (BX0Pj)
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