Posted on 08/07/2006 10:41:15 AM PDT by SJackson
In the course of a hostile interview on July 30 with Israeli spokesperson Miri Eisen, CNN International anchor Rosemary Church actually charged that Israel could shoot down the Hezbollah Katyusha rockets that have rained down on the country, but has chosen not to try:
ROSEMARY CHURCH: But they’re crude rockets aren’t they, and after all their impact has been minimal compared to the impact of Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Explain something to us, why would you not try to be shooting these missiles, these Katyusha missiles, or rockets, we should say, they’re not missiles at all, they’re rockets. Why would Israel not be trying to shoot them out of the sky? They – they have the capability to do that.
Before dealing with the implications of the CNN anchor’s assertion, let’s first dispose of the technical issue – can Israel shoot down Katyusha rockets?
The answer is unfortunately no. Israel and the United States have been jointly trying to develop such a system known as MTHEL (Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser), and even tested a prototype at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. But according to MTHEL is still only in the development phase, and is not scheduled for deployment until at least 2007.
So Ms. Church was misinformed – at this time neither Israel nor the United States has the ability to shoot down Katyusha rockets on the battlefield.
But far more disturbing than Ms. Church’s perhaps understandable ignorance about missile defense was her implied charge that Israel could shoot down the Katyushas but has chosen not to. Clearly, a country that could defend against Katyusha rockets but instead allows its citizens to be killed by them is capable of anything, no matter how monstrous. Which raises the question of what exactly is the culture in the CNN International newsroom that such extremely hostile and distorted views about Israel can apparently exist? And how heinous would an anti-Israel charge have to be for Ms. Church and her editors to think it worth fact-checking before broadcasting it?
Scheesh! maybe what I thought a joke is actually truth:
How many Hezballah to launch a rocket?
Three, one to hold, one to launch, and one to call CNN
Possibly the plan was for Israel to use as many Patriots or Arrows as possible to shoot Katyusha rockets, leaving them with reduced inventory for the big shoot that may be coming.
We're right where Germany was in the 1930's only this time, it's worldwide.
Seen this?
FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
There is a bunch of craziness floating around the MSM. That was true anyway, but this war is bringing out prime grade A bias.
Muslim reasoning
Real military expert there.
This strikes me as more likely to be rooted in sheer stupidity than anything else. The anchorette clearly knows precious little about Israel's (or anybody else's) specific military capabilities, and is also unable to think quickly enough to realize the implications of this particular burst of incorrect information. The newsroom editors probably aren't a whole lot sharper than the anchorette. I expect the light bulbs didn't start popping on in their dim heads until articles like this one started turning up and getting e-mailed to them.
They should be.
yeah, i hve two of em, but not sure one is working right.
Well, in this country it is almost certainly BDS. In the Middle East, it is probably one of countless conspiracy theories. In both cases, truth and respect for facts is totally missing. What else is new.
Here's the email that I sent to CNN:
"I reference this story regarding what Rosemary Church said about Israel purposely not shooting down Katyusha rockets: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=14&x_article=1172
First, she is incredibly uninformed, hardly a good characteristic for a news anchor. These rockets are of such short range, and reach such relatively low altitudes, that anti-missile systems cannot shoot them down. Further, Katyusha rockets are extremely cheap - they are Soviet WW2 technology, which Iran provides for nothing to Hezbollah. Even producing them is cheap - on the order of a few hundred dollars each, at most. Anti-missile missiles, on the other hand, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Anyone with any knowledge of the subject knows this - and Ms. Church is utterly ignorant. That being the case, maybe she should ASK a question, instead of hurling accusations.
Second, her entire demeanor during the interview was very hostile. Whatever happened to reporting facts? Whatever happened to being at least somewhat balanced? Evidently, such a credo doesn't exist at CNN.
If CNN wishes to have a wider audience, it should hire reporters that actually know something, or who can realize when they don't know something, and can then obtain the required knowledge base before opening their mouths. Further, viewership would be enhanced by reducing the blatant bias that CNN "reporters" have shown on a fairly constant basis for years. Until then, you'll continue to lose viewers to Fox."
Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser
The Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser project funded a chemical laser weapon system assessment and hardware design and risk reduction activities supporting design. The Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) development and integration effort was a follow-on to the combined US/Israel Tactical High Energy Laser Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (THEL ACTD) program. The goal is for the MTHEL to be deployable by a C-130 and consist of three vehicles. The laser would be based on one vehicle, the fire control radar the second, and the laser fuel on a third. The MTHEL was designed to protect soldiers from artillery and mortar rounds and rockets. the laser system can be packed into about three tractor-trailer loads. The next phase will shrink it to less than one load. Ultimately, it will be small enough to mount on a Humvee.The mission of the MTHEL is based on a Common Operational Requirement developed by the US Army Air Defense School and the Israeli Air Force. The work in this program is consistent with the Army Directed Energy Master Plan and the Army Modernization Plan. Work in this program is related to and fully coordinated with efforts in PE 0603308A (Army Missile Defense Systems Integration (DEM/VAL), PE 0605605 (DOD High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility) and PE 0602307A (Advanced Weapons Technology, Project 042 - High Energy Technology) in accordance with the ongoing Reliance joint planning process and contains no unwarranted duplication of effort among the military dep artments.
Work is performed by the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space (PEO MS), Cruise Missile Defense Systems (CMDS) Project Office in Huntsville, AL. The US Army programmed a budget plan (FYDP) of $118M for the period FY 2003 to 2007 for start of the MTHEL development effort. This budget may be supplemented by IMoD to create a combined US-Israeli MTHEL development program.
Under the terms of the Letter of Request (LOR), Israel was expected to provide $35M in $7M increments per year, FY04 thru FY08, to support the MTHEL prototype development program. The MTHEL prototype program was restructured to provide the MTHEL prototype in FY08 with limited testing in FY09 due to Israel’s reduced funding. MTHEL risk reduction/design verification tests and static/dynamic lethality tests against an extended threat set continued thru FY05 using the existing MTHEL Testbed at HELSTF. In FY04 and FY 05, Congress added $17.0 million and $8.0 million, respectively, for the MTHEL effort.
On 12 June 2001 TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA was awarded a $5,603,408 modification to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract DASG60-96-C-0155 for a MTHEL System Engineering Trade Study (SETS) for Israel. Work was performed in Redondo Beach, Calif., and was expected to be completed by Dec. 1, 2001. This is a sole source contract initiated on Feb. 28, 2001. The U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity.
In tests during late 2002, the Army used the high-energy laser to heat artillery shells, which exploded in flight. In earlier tests, the laser shot down 25 Katyushas, both singly and in salvos. Artillery shells generate far less heat than rockets do and are more difficult to track. Also, because rockets are pressurized, they are easier to blow up than shells.
On 05 November 2002 the Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) demonstrator – Mobile THEL (MTHEL) testbed – tracked, locked and fired a burst of photons on an artillery projectile. Seconds later, at a point well short of its intended destination, the projectile was destroyed. The test was conducted at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF). The event occurred as part of a new series of tests to determine MTHEL testbed capabilities. The artillery projectile is only one of the many target sets to be tested. Though their diameters are nearly the same, the artillery projectile measures about two feet in length rather than the 10 feet of a Katyusha rocket. The artillery projectile’s small size, combined with the lack of heat it gives off, makes it much more difficult to track.
On 27 June 2003 Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, CA was awarded a $12,000,000 modification to contract DASG60-96-C-0155) for 22,800 direct productive person hours (DPPH) for Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) and testbed operations and 35,500 DPPHs for MTHEL concept and technology development. Work was performed in Redondo Beach, Calif. (48%); White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (36%); and other multiple subcontractors all over the United States (16%), and was expected to be completed by Nov. 28, 2003. There was one bid solicited on March 3, 2003, and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity.
On 21 August 2003 the U.S. Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMoD) selected a Northrop Grumman Corporation design concept for the Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser (MTHEL) prototype. The laser could be in use in 2007. Since development began in 1996, the Army, the Israeli Defense Ministry and TRW had spent $250 million on the project through 2002.
The FY2005 budget request included $53.5 million in PE 63305A for Army missile defense systems integration, of which $39.0 million was for the mobile tactical high energy laser (MTHEL). The House bill would authorize the budget request. The Senate amendment would authorize an increase of $15.0 million for MTHEL. The conferees agreed to authorize an increase of $8.0 million in PE 63305A for MTHEL
MTHEL prototype development activities continued in FY05. The MTHEL acquisition strategy is to develop and integrate an operational weapon prototype using demonstrated chemical laser, advanced beam control and supporting technologies with links into both the Israeli and US Army operational architectures. Based on the detailed System Engineering Trade Studies, and static and dynamic lethality testing, the MTHEL product office in consultation with Israel Ministry of Defense Product Office selected demonstrated technologies to be integrated into a mobile tactical high energy laser system to address a common set of missions.
As part of a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the FY2006 budget request for the Army, as he did when Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz appeared before the Budget Committee, Senator Pete Domenici from New Mexico asked Army Secretary Dr. Francis J. Harvey and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker to reverse the Army’s request to zero out funding for the U.S./Israeli Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) project at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The program, for which $38.6 million was requested in 2004 for FY2005, was building a chemical laser capable of destroying enemy rockets and mortars (RAM). “MTHEL has proven successful against RAM threats. I believe we have an obligation to our troops to accelerate MTHEL operational capabilities to achieve better force protection through directed energy technology,” Domenici said.
PE 0603305A Army Missile Defense Systems Integration Project TR3 Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser funded a chemical laser weapon system assessment and hardware design and risk reduction activities supporting design. In FY05 there was a Congressional add of $8.0 million for MTHEL in project TR3. In the FY06 budget request, all funding was realigned to higher priority requirements. With the remaining FY05 funding, PM was to perform an orderly shutdown, deliver an initial engineering design to address the current mortar and rocket threat, perform limited counter-mortar testing and prepare Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) testbed for storage. Project TR3 received an FY06 Congressional Add in the amount of $2.5 million for Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL).
Yes but since ICBMs have a ballistic trajectory you have a pretty good idea where it will be at any moment in time. These little rockets wiggle all around.
Actually, I'm getting the impression that they aren't so much sick as...dumb. That is, dumb! Really, really dumb!
I think I would have tossed in something about how CNN approaches every topic from the point of view that "Israel is wrong" and then reports whatever fits that view instead of finding out what's really going on and just reporting that.
Other than that, and even that included, great job.
They are worse than dumb. They are evil. Even stupid people have some sense of right and wrong.
I suppose there is an upside. That is if these guys ever get a foothold over here, the first beheadings will be the media elitists. Talk about teaming up with the wrong team!
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