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  • From: "Michael D. Thomas" <mdthomas AT mindspring.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Window of Opportunity For Iraq War?
  • Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 10:59:05 -0500


> My son, Chris, is in the Army (in Kuwait with the third infantry
> (mechanized). I remember him telling me that when the guys are on
> manoeuvres, and it is really, really cold, they put on parts of their
> Chemical/Biological/Nuclear suits because, while they aren't very heavy,
> they are very warm. The army claims to have issued them new, cooler,
> protective gear but I'm betting it is still not something you would want to
> wear on a hot day. So it's not a matter of hot-weather-weakened troops
> being more susceptible to chemicals, exactly, it is a matter of not being
> able to wear the rubber suit for more than so long without dying of heat
> stroke.

Yeah, this leads me to suspect that we may see many Grenada-esque episodes.

"Urgent Fury," the operation to liberate the Caribbean island of Grenada, is
the butt of many jokes. But it also marked a turning point for the U.S.
military. Aylett & I vacationed there last year and I researched the island
and its history extensively before the trip.

(BTW, Grenada is one of the best values in the Caribbean because Americans
don't want to go there. Check out the Flamboyant: http://www.flamboyant.com .
This was our hotel. The closet Communist may delight in staying at the old
Russian Embassy, which is right above the Flamboyant and has some of the best
vistas on the island: http://grenadagrandview.com/ . It's a 5-10 minute walk
to the beach, but is cheaper. Everyone is very friendly and there is a large
American presence b/c of the medical school down there. Going to the grocery
store at Grande Anse beach -- the popular tourist beach -- is like going to
the Harris Teeter in Carrboro. Lots of American students talking about their
tests and homework.

We never felt any animosity and were treated as welcome tourists. Many
Grenadians consider the military action as a rescue and like America, but many
don't. If you love talking politics with the locals on your vacations, Grenada
probably isn't the place for you. But it is a great place to confront your
inner-American.)

Grenada inspired the movie "Heartbreak Ridge" and was the first unqualified
victory for the U.S. military after Vietnam. But there were many missteps. As
with Iraq today, military victory for the U.S. was inevitable and obvious.
However, the determination of the enemy was misjudged. They shot back. As
today, we thought that the civilians would welcome us with open arms. Here are
good examples of this attitude:

"Those conducting the mission were provided with operations orders, maps
(photocopies of tourist maps), and an execution checklist. The task force
received an intelligence briefing stating that the operation would be a "walk
in the park," that there were approximately six hostile Cuban nationals on the
island, and that they could even expect the locals to "wave at them" as they
flew onto shore. Based on this briefing, the crews were armed only with
38-caliber pistols with six rounds of ammunition and their privately owned
weapons."

"Pilots, tuning into the local radio station en route from Barbados to
Grenada, were shocked when they heard the announcer urging all listeners to
grab their weapons and shoot down the American aircraft as they came to shore.
Although ordered at an earlier briefing not to test fire any of their weapons,
the aircraft crews immediately test fired all of their M60 machine guns upon
hearing this radio transmission. As soon as the nine Blackhawks rounded a
hill south of the prison, they were immediately the targets of massive ground
anti-aircraft artillery (AAA). Upon arrival at the prison, they attempted to
insert the special forces troops, however the gunfire was so intense that
doing so was not possible."

http://www.nightstalkers.com/history/2.html#_ftn10

One of the best stories to come from the Grenada conflict is the one about the
soldier that called in air support by calling Fort Bragg on a public
telephone:

"...it was reported that one member of the invasion force placed a long
distance, commercial telephone call to Fort Bragg, N.C. to obtain C-130
gunship support for his unit which was under fire. His message was relayed via
satellite and the gunship responded."

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/urgent_fury.htm

(I think this story perfectly illustrates the juxtaposition of old-school
nation-on-nation warfare and globalization. Historically, the two sides have
traditionally been very disconnected from each other, except in the case of
civil wars. But as the world becomes more globalized and civilized, all wars
become civil wars.)

This time, the military has had longer to plan this operation, but it is also
a much larger, better defended and more motivated enemy.




















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