the obverse of "shock and awe"

Post #91,014 by rcareaga 3/24/03 10:29:19 AM Reply	the obverse of "shock and awe" --seems to be that if after announcing this intent in the hopes of inducing early capitulation your tactics do not in fact sufficiently intimidate the foe, then you have simply stiffened his backbone. cordially, "Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist."
Post #91,024 by jake123 3/24/03 10:44:53 AM Reply	Bombing is a bad way to break a people's will WWII demonstrated that... the more the Germans bombed London, the more the English hardened against the Germans. Japan was a different case, as atomic weapons threaten not just defeat but extinction, and there was little doubt that the US would take that route if they had to. Since it's clear that it's not possible for the US to use nukes, that's not a stick that can be used. Bombing would on the face of it seem to help break morale, but history generally shows that it does the opposite. --\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca \n [link\|http://consultron.ca\|http://consultron.ca] [link\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca\|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] \n Kingston Ontario Canada [link\|news://news.consultron.ca\|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #91,162 by dmarker 3/24/03 6:41:41 PM Reply	Blitz point true until V2 rockets started raining England was shaken & had to redivert massive effort to stopping & destroying V2 launch sites. Churchill admitted that V2 was the closest UK came to capitulation. Conventional bombs stiffened their resolve, the V1s shook them but because they could be heard coming most people adjusted. With V2s there was no noise, first a building would disintegrate, split second later a blast, then split second after the blast you could hear the whistling sound the rocket had made previously. That was the rattle factor that was effectively harming morale. Doug Spectres from our past: Beware the future when your children & theirs come after you for what you may have been willing to condone today - dsm 2003 Motivational: When performing activities, ask yourself if the person you most want to be would do, or say, it - dsm 2003
Post #91,281 by JayMehaffey 3/25/03 12:49:48 AM Reply	Bombing stiffening resistance [link\|http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/battle/la-war-baghdad25mar25,1,4615409.story?coll=la%2Dhome%2Dheadlines\|LA Times] iwethey/iwethey works for registration. But the deaths and injuries from misdirected or errant bombs, or from shrapnel and fragments that spray out into nearby homes even when the munitions find their desired target, are making more and more people believe that the United States is heedless of the Iraqi public. The danger is that when the decisive battle comes, many will rally to Saddam and take up arms against the U.S. and British troops. So far, the population has shown itself more willing to shoot at the Americans and British than to welcome them. This has been true even in cities and towns with large Shiite populations that rose up against Saddam after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The question is whether the same thing will happen in Baghdad. In Radiha Khatoun, the answer after Monday's bombing seemed to be yes. Residents said they discounted U.S. claims that it seeks to avoid civilian targets and that the bombing must have been in error. "This is not the first time that they have targeted civilian buildings," Atef insisted. "They would like to destroy the civilian population." In response, he said, "we will sacrifice ourselves. We are not frightened by the bombing -- we are motivated to be stronger." It appears that the bombing campaign is actually building support for Saddam. People that would otherwise welcome regime change are getting angry at the massive US bombing campaign. This is a serious problem not only over the short term, but each day of bombing is making it that much harder for the government that will replace Saddam. Jay

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