Posted on 02/14/2015 4:01:30 PM PST by rey
If you are a student of ancient military history — or actually an action movie buff — you know the significance of the number 300. It is a number associated with a brave stand made by Spartan warriors led by their king, Leonidas. They stood against a numerically superior force but wrought much violence and death against the invading Persian Army of Xerxes, until they were betrayed. Could it be a modern day episode of the brave 300 playing out before our eyes?
In case you haven’t heard, unlike the characterization of President Obama on Wednesday, ISIS is not on the defense and their morale is certainly not low. ISIS has taken a western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi not far from Ramadi. Nearby al-Baghdadi is an Iraqi base, al-Asad, where 300 Marines are training Iraqi forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at allenbwest.com ...
I’m commenting on the picture — just so you know
Damn, if I could I would join those 300 today.
from Henry V (1599) by William Shakespeare:
KING. What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day
The Marines can fire in self defense however they should never have to. The ISFs form the defensive buffer with US and coalition forces providing training, logistics and command oversight. The ISFs around US and coalition bases are of very good quality as Iraqis go. The buffers around these bases are typically measured in kilometers.
But will they?
If Obama wants another Benghazi our guys need to ignore his stand down stuff and save our troops.
IMO, if the Marines could get some A-10 and AC-130 Spectre Gunship support, this would be over quickly. Choppers are nice but as mentioned previously tough to maintain in sandy weather. I was talking to my Dad about these guys and he believes they only have one artillery battery at the base— it would be better if they had multiple batteries. Also as mentioned I agree the Crips won’t be making any kind of full frontal assault, but rather pull what the VC used to do initially with guerilla tactics. The trick is to find them where they are massed and inflict the pain on a massive scale.
While they do not present a realistic threat to lose the facility, the fact that there really will be no quarter given makes it imperative we unleash hell on them. The fact that the AC-130 has thermal targeting enables the fight to be even more unfair in our favor.
There is no question that the pain needs to be inflicted on a scale comparable to the Highway of Death, to discourage the enemy from engaging us further and to help quell some of their recruiting.
If the Emperor actually SUPPORTED our Marines, that airbase would be seeing reinforcements and supplies flown in like it was the Berlin Airlift. And if the Marines are allowed to do what they do best, the amateurs would not stand a chance.
One... One Spooky in Somalia would have prevented black hawk down but the pathetic CIC at the time wouldn’t send even one, what makes anyone think this CIC will, just perplexes me.
God Please Protect our Troops, none of the pansies in DC seem willing to step up to the plate.
You're right. Insightful comment.
Fighting against half-assed hajis is one thing. Fighting against a professional force is quite another. What professional force has ISIS gone up against to this point? If I have a damn about them, I’d almost feel sorry for any ISIS going against them. Part of me does wonder, though, if ISIS is that strategically stupid.
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