Airborne Combat Engineer

Trends in Iraq

[LINK] Strategy Page, 29 MAY 2006

Strategy Page notes a number of mostly positive trends, rarely mentioned in the MSM.

The insurgents and terrorists are the ones seeing no light at the end of the tunnel (unless the US pulls out prematurely).

Ultimately, the Iraqi people will have to make a unified, democratic Iraq work.

KAC 6x35mm PDW

[LINK] Knight's Armament Company

This little 4.5 lb. "personal defense weapon" fires a new 6mm short cartridge for which the company makes some bold claims.

David Crane at Defense Review had given us a heads-up (without photos) on this on 24 MAY 2006.

A comparison to the 5.7x28mm PDW cartridge (per KAC) is in the continuation

It's a little hard to believe a 6x35mm cartridge can be that much better than a 5.7x28mm cartridge, but until we see independent tests, we'll have to take their word for it.

Somalia: a rat's nest left to grow

[LINK] Ralph Peters, NY Post

THIRTEEN years ago, our troops won a lopsided battlefield victory in Mogadishu. President Clinton declared defeat and pulled out. We've been paying the price in terror ever since - and it might be about to soar.

When it comes to strategy and military affairs, folk wisdom is worth a century of scribbling theorists. Your father could have told you how to handle the Mogadishu warlords: "If you start something, son, finish it."

We were close to finishing it. And a cowardly president quit.

Osama bin Laden repeatedly cited the pullout from Somalia as evidence that Americans were weak and wouldn't fight. Our rewards for quitting were the attacks on our troops housed in the Saudi Khobar Towers complex and on our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya - next door to Somalia - followed by the USS Cole bombing.

Somalia was a global sideshow. We walked away. Now it threatens to become a prime refuge for terrorists. And a much tougher nut to crack.

Send a brick to a Senator

[LINK] Carl Hulse, NY Times

Leaders of the campaign, which has delivered an estimated 10,000 bricks since it began in April, said they had hit on the idea as a way to emphasize the benefits of a fence along the border with Mexico.

"Given the approval ratings of Congress these days, I guess we should all be grateful the bricks are coming through the mail, not the window," said Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana.

[LINK] Send a Brick

Senate immigration bill would DOUBLE immigration

[LINK] Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post

By rough projections, the Senate bill would double the legal immigration that would occur during the next two decades from about 20 million (under present law) to about 40 million.

A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center asked whether the present level of legal immigration should be changed. The response: 40 percent favored a decrease, 37 percent would hold it steady and 17 percent wanted an increase. There seems to be scant support for a doubling.

Saiga 20 semi-auto shotgun

[LINK] Ishmash (Russia)

A 20-gauge based on the AK-47.

Check out the variants.

Big Green drops out of JCP program

[LINK] Wikipedia (via Wash Park Prophet)

The Joint Combat Pistol was the name for a US progam for a new military sidearm to replace the M9 Pistol, extant from late 2005 to early 2006. The program is being run by USSOCOM as of 2005. It is the result of a merger of two earlier programs, the Army's Future Handgun System (FHS) and the Special Operations Forces Combat Pistol. Among the current requirments for the JCP, include being chambered for .45 ACP, having an integrated rail, Day/Night sights, and capable of accepting a suppressor.

On March 10, 2006 a modification to the earlier request was made, changing the name from Joint Combat Pistol to Combat Pistol. The number of pistols sought was reduced from 645,000 handguns to 50,000. This basically reverted back to the SOF Combat Pistol program in terms of its scale, as the Army dropped its participation.

Oh, well! Our officers and some of our support personnel are stuck with the anemic 9mm idefinitely.

Don't attempt to rob a Marine

[LINK] AJC

A pack of would-be robbers including, a pregnant 17-year-old, figured a Midtown waiter walking to his girlfriend's house Monday night would be an easy mark, according to police.

But, in Thomas Autry, 36, the bandits picked the wrong victim ...

What are YOU doing to offset global warming?

[LINK] AP (reporting on Duke study)

The negative impact of global warming is far wider than many of us ever suspected. AP reports:

Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday.

And a CO2-driven vine also produces more of its rash-causing chemical, urushiol, conclude experiments conducted in a forest at Duke University where scientists increased carbon-dioxide levels to those expected in 2050.

OK, let's share what we're each doing to offset global warming.

I'll go first, followed by Al Gore, in the continuation. You can continue in comments.

Media coverage of the War on Terror

[LINK] Rantingprofs

This blog specializes in watching media coverage on the "War on Terror."

The author, Cori Dauber, is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies (and of Peace, War, and Defense) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I've not yet read enough of it to ascertain if it has a bias. But just having one link with this focus saves time. Like her by-line suggests: She'll rant. You decide.