Posted on 07/20/2006 10:33:33 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
An Israeli soldier scouts the area near the Israel-Lebanon border, July 20, 2006.
For those who have not seen it:
http://www.theotheriraq.com/
Thermobaric weapons distinguish themselves from conventional weapons by using atmospheric oxygen, instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosives. They are also called high-impulse thermobaric weapons (HITs), fuel-air explosives (FAE or FAX) or sometimes "fuel-air munitions", "heat and pressure" weapons, or vacuum bombs.
They produce more explosive energy for a given size than do other explosives.
Some thermobaric weapons work by first expelling a cloud of explosive mist using a small charge, then igniting it with a second charge. These consist of a container of a volatile liquid (or a finely powdered explosive or a metal powder) and, typically, two separate explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge (or some other dispersal mechanism) bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen. Once the fuel is appropriately mixed, the second charge detonates, propagating an explosion (blast wave) through the cloud.
IAF likely has Thermobaric drop muni's.
In the 82 war in Lebanon,IAF dropped napalm,white phosphorus and cluster on Hamdi.
Such weapons do not appear in arsenal lists for Israel at present,...although Rafael does build a Thermobaric mine clearing system.
Thermobarics will work on Hez and his tunnels,...also burn away folliage ..helping IDF to see entrances.
we may not hear about this stuff until after the war.
U.S. was cited as using Thermobaric weapons in Fallujah.
I think they did....Pentagon was quiet about that
and ya...you say nothing....Thermobarics are gruesome hurt weapons which media love to use as WMD.
U.S. hammered Saddam in GULF WAR 1 with them....B-52 drop even...I believe.
Does hamdi get cooked in the Lebanon?
we'll know soon.
Everybody may be reading this site already but if not, there are some good 'reads' on the site.
http://www.newsbusters.org/
Estimates put Hezb regulars at 2000, (1500-4000, take your pick), reserves probably below division strength (10,000).
Hezbollah may not be the only enemy in the field.
re Olmert syaing no massive ground invasion -
either a) he's not in the loop! or b) massive is defined by the entire population of Israel invading.
obviously you think they are going in big then
Just on my way out so it has to be a quick answer. My guess is that the men manning the tunnels are their front line "soldiers" (no, front line terrorists). From reports (truthful or not) it appeared that in the first tunnel at least there were 10 to 15 enemoes. In that case 100 equates to about 6 - 10 tunnels.
Of course their main force is probably in the Bekaa valley.
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2006 – Watching TV coverage of Marines from their former unit helping Americans leave Beirut churns up a host of emotions for former Marines who served there when a barracks was bombed in October 1983.
Randy Gaddo was a Marine staff sergeant with the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit serving in Lebanon when a terrorist attack in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, 1983, claimed the lives of 241 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers. Hundreds more were wounded or disabled when a truck laden with the equivalent of 20,000 pounds of TNT detonated on the ground floor of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team barracks.
Four days after the attack, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan praised the fallen troops for their sacrifice in helping bring a better future to the people of Lebanon. "We cannot and will not dishonor them ... and the sacrifices they've made by failing to remain as faithful to the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace as they have been," Reagan said in a broadcast to the American people.
Yesterday, Gaddo and his former boss in Beirut, retired Maj. Bob Jordan, juggled their emotions as they watched televised images of Marines and sailors making good on that promise. Marines returned to Beirut this week for the first time in more than 20 years to help U.S. citizens caught in the crossfire between Hezbollah terrorists and Israeli air and artillery forces.
Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- the new name for Gaddo's and Jordan's former unit -- ferried some 1,200 Americans from a Beirut beach to the USS Nashville yesterday.
Gaddo said he felt immensely proud watching the Marines carry out their mission. "They're going in there to bring people out and following on what we established there," he said from his Peachtree City, Ga., home. "It makes you feel pretty proud."
"We're in awe," Jordan said of the Marines. "These young men and women are so professional, so well-trained and so well-equipped. ... Their motivation is so high."
Jordan said he's particularly proud that Marines from 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment -- the first and last unit he served with during a career that spanned almost 30 years -- are conducting the mission.
But Gaddo acknowledged that he's also concerned about the Marines' well-being. "Those of us who were there can picture exactly what the Marines are seeing," he said.
He remembers all too clearly the events of a beautiful Sunday morning 23 years ago when a terrorist truck bomb exploded in his barracks building.
Gaddo, 31 at the time, was a photojournalist from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., attached to the 24th MEU for the peacekeeping mission in Beirut. He had awakened early to process some film in a makeshift photo lab he'd set up on the third floor of the barracks building. After that, Gaddo had planned to join other Marines in laying plastic sheets and sandbags over a bunker to prepare it for the upcoming rainy season.
But before tackling the day's work, Gaddo headed to the command operations center in a tent about 250 yards away from the barracks to grab a quick cup of coffee. He figures it was that decision that ultimately saved his life. "Another three minutes and I would have been in the (barracks) building," he said.
From the command tent, Gaddo heard M-16 rifle fire, then a blast that threw him back 6 feet from where he was standing. "It was an amazing concussion," he said. "It was like somebody hit me with a two-by-four. I could feel my face being pushed back as the shock wave approached."
Dazed, Gaddo looked over the two- or three-story building that stood between him and the barracks building and saw a big mushroom cloud rising from the area. The leaves had been blown off all the trees. Gaddo realized that he could see the air traffic control tower of Beirut International Airport -- a landmark the barracks building should have blocked from his vantage point.
Suddenly the realization sunk in: the barracks had been hit. "What had normally been a four-story building was down to a story and a half of rubble," he recalled. "The dust was all still rising and it started to all become clear."
Gaddo and his fellow Marines sprung into action, grabbing cots and litters and running toward the building to search for survivors. They dodged incoming sniper fire and worked amid the fires throughout the area, some sparked by exploding ammunition that had been in the barracks building.
"There was a lot of chaos. We were all in shock," he said.
The rescuers struggled to get a grip on their emotions: anger at their attackers, sadness for those lost, and for some, guilt that their lives had been spared when others' had not.
"You go through a whole range of emotions," Gaddo said. "We lost a lot of Marines that day."
Gaddo, Jordan and fellow veterans continue to remember those Marines through the Beirut Veterans of America, a group dedicated to ensuring that servicemembers killed in Beirut aren't forgotten.
As founding vice president of the group, Gaddo is busy planning the "23rd Remembrance" event Oct. 21 to 23 in Jacksonville, N.C., home of the Beirut Memorial. The memorial includes a wall with the names of all those willed during the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon from 1982 to 1984.
The event will include a candlelight vigil at 6 a.m. on Oct. 23, when all the names on the wall will be read aloud. "Reading their names aloud ensures that these men are remembered for their courage and their sacrifice," said Jordan, the group's founding president.
Jordan expressed hope that Americans will remember not just those lost, but also the lessons of Oct. 23, 1983. "We were being tested, and we failed the test," he said of the U.S. response to the attack.
Jordan calls the attack on the Marine barracks "the first skirmish in ... the battle against terror" and said it's critical that the United States not falter in its war on terror.
The United States must work with Muslims to counter the threat Islamic extremists present, he said. "We need to understand that these people believe in what they are doing" and won't stop until they re-establish an extremist state under a supreme Islamic ruler, he said of the terrorists.
"We need to understand that they are willing to die for it and willing to kill us to achieve it," he said.
Gee .. Letting Israel defend herself is wrong??
IMO .. he's another jew hater
With Voinovich change of opinion of Bolton .. it doesn't matter what the dems say .. he will be voted out of conference
Though the Dems may try to filibuster on the Senate floor
Hillary got out in front of a hugh contingent of New York Jewish people the other day..and was very vocal about how she stands behind Israel and whatever is necessary....
HHHnmmm...now that the MSM is showing all of the deaths in Lebanon..how long can she hold that position without getting in trouble with Soros and gang?
Israel doesn't care about UN headaches, they just want the missiles and kidnappings to stop. Today's reports of a late call-up are interesting.
On an entirely different topic...
...did you know that Tommy Franks chose not to start OIF with his full force in place, preferring instead to flow forces into the battle as it progressed, due to narrow LOCs?
If Hezb south of the Litani prove easier than expected, there might be an entire IDF division all dressed up with no place to go.
Options, options...
Yes, Debka was reporting Farsi was being heard out there.
Looks like he's borrowing heavily from enemy sources.
Out till late, PM if necessary.
LOL>..OBL praised Chirac for backing the Islamic terrorists???
Great...I bet the Muslims in his country will LOVE to hear that.
I just called Joe Biden's office to see if this was true and the man that answered the phone,sighed, and said yes it is and thank G-d. My response was that I'm Jewish and he's the best friend Israel has ever had. His response, so I guess you being Jewish is more important than you being an American. I then told him how Bolton is great for America. The cursing out I gave him I won't write
Man, I bet those people are glad to see that ship. The reason the media is dropping the evacuation story is because of all the positive reports from people. I saw a report from Anderson Cooper that was taped Wednesday morning in Beirut, with a great number of happy evacuees, and wondering why it was airing on Friday morning US time....50 something hours later?
LOL!
you already know that she will find a way to be on both sides of this....
Halutz: Hizbullah loses 100 fighters
Cool. That's the appetizer. I'm ready for the main meal ;)
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