The case against “smart” bombs and drones in the war on terror.

Vanity | 3/1/2015 | Feckless

[Future Snake Eater]

Wanting to kill the enemy is wanting to “play nicey-nice”? Explain that one to me.

[null and void]

When your opponents are willing eager to to burn a caged man alive, and are so delighted to be able to do it that they rent out high end video equipment and lovingly edit every detail with slow-mo special effects and proudly show it to the world, and you're not willing to make one terrorist feel a few minute's pain in active combat, to take the fight out of his comrades, one side is playing nicey-nice.

And it ain't them.

Quiz question:

Is an anti-personel mine designed to kill an enemy soldier?

If yes, why?

If not, why?

Bonus question:

What made the German S-mine "the most feared device encountered by Allied troops in the war."?

[Future Snake Eater]

That’s a mine. You’re talking about a person purposefully, methodically torturing someone with a rifle. And you think this will win a war? You think it will have no psychological repercussions on the trigger-puller? Do you even care?

[null and void]

That’s a mine.

You think the mines are not deliberately, purposefully, painstaking and methodically designed to grievously wound and not kill?

In what universe?

You’re talking about a person purposefully, methodically torturing someone with a rifle.

Pretty much.

Only it's not a 'someone' it's a terrorist literally Hell bent on destroying my entire civilization. At the end of the day he's every bit as dead as he would have been with a head shot, but the big difference is rather than celebrating his instant and painless induction into that whorehouse-in-the-sky they call paradise, his fellow terrorists know the transition wasn't pleasant. Worse they know he's not going to be in any condition to take advantage of the young-boys-like-pearls or the houri. (As an aside, did you know it's fairly common for suicide bombers to wrap their tinkletoys in aluminum foil so they can enjoy the virgins in the after life?)

Heck, If it were up to me I'd set up loudspeakers to announce after every such shot: "BAD TERRORIST - NO VIRGINS FOR YOU!"

And you think this will win a war?

No. I think being unwilling to do whatever it takes to break the enemy's spirit will lose the war.

You think it will have no psychological repercussions on the trigger-puller?

Sure it will. Do you think there will be no psychological repercussions from shooting scores of men in the head and still losing the war?

Do you think there are nor repercussions now???

Better to suffer as a loser, warm and secure in the knowledge that we don't even pour water on a terrorist's face, eh?

Better to allow them to win there, and ultimately invade here than compromise our Marquess of Queensberry rules.

Better to allow them to play by their Marquis de Sade rules here, after our defeat, as long as our hands are clean.

Do you even care?

More than you can imagine.

[cynwoody]

Let's hear it for dumb bombs!

Like this old B53 about to be dismantled at the Pantex plant in Amarillo.

[Future Snake Eater]

You would have us act, deliberately, like the terrorists themselves. Destroying them at every opportunity is a good thing, but what you propose is ridiculous and I'd never allow any of my Soldiers to do any such thing. They'll kill the enemy, accomplish their missions, and go home while still being able to look themselves in the mirror and tell their grandchildren what they did to protect Western civilization.

You advocate turning us into the Russian Army in Chechnya. No thanks.

[null and void]

I hope we win.

[Future Snake Eater]

Tactically and operationally, there’s no doubt.

Strategic victory isn’t terribly likely, not with our current leadership and multicultural mentality.

[null and void]

*sigh* Wars are won by generals and lost by politicians.

[Future Snake Eater]

There’s a strong argument for this war that it was lost by generals, too.