Re: B-17 Wing Covering Thickness

I can understand the Red Chinese being opposed. What I don't understand is how any of our allies, or for that matter any Americans, can be opposed.

Simple, IMO. The Red Chinese would love to see MAD reborn, and we don't intend to let it happen.

I can't say that I'm surprised...

I don't disagree with that.

Why? I'm not the one that keeps contradicting myself.

I think the Red Chinese are quite capable of causing major mayhem. So could any number of other countries but that doesn't make them first-rate military powers either.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but there's only one set of facts.

Is that why the so-called insurgents in Iraq have moved their focus from Coalition troops to Iraqi security forces and civilians?

But the real key to the effectiveness of the US Army and USMC in battle is the professionalism and authority of their NCO corps. US combat elements at the platoon and company level are capable of independent and effective action with little guidance from higher HQ.

BS. Our forces in Viet Nam grew ever more capable and effective the longer the war went on. The same thing is happening in Iraq - the only question, again, is whether or not we will have the political will to prevail.

Don't you mean 'believes'?

is that ala carte or carte blanche?

hmmmm. some new ways to view.

You should try building models on commission, people usually have to change their pants after the quote. My base charge for a 1/350 carrier is $2000...........

rufus has the skills to do that. i'm still a beginner after my 30 year break. i can see building a carrier for $2000 and basically earning $.50 an hour. i wish i could do aht for money....

Tell it to the Afghans. And add in the 'Palestinians', Iraqis, Georgians, Ukranians, Lebanese, and Kyrgs while you're at it...

Which system besides democracy gives people personal freedom? Maybe anarchy, but that's less than desirable.

role in underiming

Information is the key. That's why the Chicoms are so desperate to censor internet access.

Once people see how the rest of the world lives, especially the West, they begin to wonder why they can't live that way too. Even the North Korean people are slowly starting to find out the truth about South Korea.

I know what you mean. Once I raised my prices to realistic levels my business fell way off. Not that I mind...

they're have been benign dictators and monarchies. and earlier, primitive societies that fucntioned with minimal government. like i said, i like the jeffersonian ideal.

like with religion, persecution makes a freedom stronger. i bet lots of chinese circumvent the censorship. the pc has replaced the mimeograph machine for info.

I suppose in the context of marterdom, it would fall into the "ability to better oneself" bin...

I know there is an attempt to force the forgetting...on barometer as to the efficacy at present.

Yeah - that one eludes me too.

I sort of take it that thier primary battle/defense plan hinges on the ability to hit at least the west coast with ballistic missiles - nuclear or conventional...and that any ability to defend against such leaves them without a plan. Yeah...I like that part.

...but I'd keep an eye on thier fledgling space program in the meantime.

And cellphones are great for organizing and co-ordinating protests.

Me too! ;)

I'd keep an eye on *everything* they do. There's an old saying about holding one's friends close, but holding one's enemies even closer...

A gilded cage, etc. And what happens when the benign tyrant dies?

But the US isn't an early, primitive society.

We're no longer an agrarian society either. Jeffersonian ideals lost out to Federalism long ago.

I'm doing it on purpose...

I don't think I've contradicted myself...I just haven't explained myself in detail. And I don't intend to.

Does in my book - sometimes mayhem is all that is required.

Agreed. And I don't think you have all of them. But then niether do I...but I am at least aware that there is more to know.

Yes - politically speaking, they are a much more "newsworthy" target, as well as just plain being an easier one. To an ideologist whom doesn't value lives, choosing to turn on the civilian population to gain more attention is inevitable. Even the Viet Cong murdered any village that wouldn't comply with thier wishes.

But I think that that will ferment the eventual downfall of the insurgents. But I also think it will take some time.

Maybe they used to be...things are a bit different now. Particuarly in the air. I can only speculate how current trends flow into the doctrines of ground forces.

And that's the problem - modern war is now a political tool. Your troops may have been capable, but they were certainly not effective, or there would have been an entirely different outcome. The outcome wasn't the fault of the troops. It was the fault of the politicians whom underestimated an enemy and then used the forces they could bring to bear badly, IMO.

What was true then is even more so today, I think. And I also think current trends in connectivity may serve to amplify this effect...but we haven't had that test yet. Hope I'm wrong.

Yes - "believes"...as in "with a religious ferver". Back to the cultural factor I mentioned. How do you defeat an ideology that espouses that the best thing one can do is raise your children to be suicide bombers, because in the end your cause will eventually succeed? Not saying you can't defeat such, only that it is a bit tougher problem.

But I was speaking for myself - I just paused to "realize" how my enemy might think. I "believe" something different.