Free Republic

Check out a contour map of Iran. It is tough to turn a mountain ito a parking lot. Even nukes are linear and can't bend around maountain valleys. Sadam made the mistake of trying to takeout Iran. Even with the financial backing of the USA and Saudi Arabia and the use of chemical weapons, Iraqi forces got turfed out of the low lying floodplains after the Iranians regrouped in the mountains and came screaming back for revenge. I am no trying to be pro-Iranian; just stating the facts.

Not dealing with the facts is exactly how we got into this mess. Don't take a knife to gun fight.

During the peak of the last ice age, the oceans were several hundred feet lower than now. The arable land area was 5o% higher than now and there was more surface vegetation present at that time then at any other time in earth's history.

Higher temperatures cause higher evapouration. The soil holds less moisture therefore the land generates lower crop yields. It's called a drought. DUH!!!!!

If you were a sport fisherman you would realize that spawning times have been wacked for ten years due to unpredictable ice off. Hell ice fishing has almost become impossible in the last 10 years due to lack of ice.

With embedded journalists in a internet connected world coupled with knowledge of civilian hostages, such tactical constraint's in today's undecleared theatre's of war is a reality that must be accepted. If reaction speed in the chain of command permitted MOAB, C130, or B52's before such battlefield contraints were known then the a scorched earth implementation would have been the ideal solution.

As such, we are left with squeezing the box and sniping jurisprudently.

The officer making such a tactical decision carries the same risk that an infantry soldier faces from random shelling, though, the career ending result of the decision from making the wrong call can not be fully equated to the result of loosing your life.

The statement "Truth is the biggest casualty of War" is exampled here. One officer's perception or tolerance of an acceptable truth may differ greatly from your own perception. In the long run the embedded journalism along with instant telecommunication is a good thing as it will enforce consistent application of policy.

It is up to the policy makers or the speed of chain of command to maintain the organizations efficient lethality.

War is the failure of politics not a political tool. It should never be entered into unless unconditional surrender of the enemey is the only allowable outcome: or MAD. Do not enter a gunfight with a knife.

Merry Christmas and may peace and love make the need for such arguements mute and irrelevant.