[1rudeboy]

I'll say that caves provide a unique challenge. Incindiary, or chemical?

[Brad C.]

Saw something for use against gophers the other day. Cute little device using oxygen and propane and an ignitor. The gases were pumped into the gopher tunnel, the oxygen causing the gophers lungs to expand while breathing it. When the fire gets lit, it just blows up the tunnel, without much gopher left.

[Ymani Cricket]

Said a Navy source, ...If I had my way, we'd be filling those caves and tunnels with napalm and fuel air explosives and torching the rats out."

Well put!

[Charles Henrickson]

Song Parody: "Hello Mullah, Hello Fatah (Camp Osama)"

[Imperial Warrior]

Gas them out and burn them like rats. Their own cowardice and gutlessness have dictated this method. Why should these piles of subhuman excrement be treated any differently or better than the Japanese at Iwo Jima?

[aristeides]

What we most need in this war is intelligence about the organizations and operations of bin Laden and the other Islamists. The records we need to capture may well be stored in one or more of these caves. That needs to be considered in deciding tactics.

[jwalsh07]

Sounds like a buy for whoever makes Napalm.

[itsinthebag]

"If confronted with an enemy in a cave, why go in after him?" said the Army officer. "Fire in the entrance would suck out all the oxygen, or seal the entrance for a calm, slow death."

Sounds good to me! LET'S ROLL!!

[bigjoesaddle]

THis might sound silly, but can't they train dogs to go in the caves with cameras on their heads?

[Skooz]

Caves pose unusual challenge for Army

Yeah. So did Normandy and Okinawa.

I once read a quote by a US General, I can't recall his name, but it goes like this: "The US Army does not solve problems, it overwhelms them."

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Sigh. I hope we follow the same policy they did in the movie "Starship Troopers". Whenever you find a cave full of critters you nuke'em. Saves our lives and is enviromentally friendly.

[Bill Rice]

I hope we retained the valuable lessons on tunnel warfare that were bought and paid for in blood by our tunnel rats! Osama owns a construction company, his tunnels will be way more elaborate than what we faced in Viet Nam. (And THEY gave us fits!)

These guys had big ones!

This page is about the excellent book I mentioned on an earlier thread.
"Cu Chi: The underground war" -Go check it out!

[bluetoad]

I suggest we use the same techniques used in WWII with the Japanese. Seal the caves with Bulldozers and Explosives.

[The Wizard]

indeed, caves are easy, you blow up the opening and move to the next one......

[tacticalogic]

Some of the larger bunkers will probably have to have powered ventilation systems, and may have air-reprocessing equipment for the living quarters. That means diesel generators for power, with ventilation shafts to provide air for the motors. Torching these shafts will suck all the O2 out and stall the motors, but they can be re-started as soon as there is air again. Might be better to dump ether down the shafts without lighting it, and let the motors suck it up.

[wattsmag2]

If I had my way, we'd be filling those caves and tunnels with napalm and fuel air explosives and torching the rats out."

Works for me.

[Grig]

Whats the problem with caves? Just cave in the entrance and bury them alive

[McGavin999]

Said a Navy source, "It's time to get down and dirty. We have to send in ground troops of some quantity and root the bad guys out of the caves and tunnels. If I had my way, we'd be filling those caves and tunnels with napalm and fuel air explosives and torching the rats out."

We already know that these people actually hate us, they don't want to conquor and co-exist, they want to utterly distroy us. I think this is the only way to handle the situation. It will also cause the others, outside of Afganistan to pause. If they don't, I'm in favor of using the same tactics against them.

Face it folks, it's not our foreign policy, it's not our religion, it's not that they think we back Israel (Bush wanted to completely stay out of it), it's that they have to hate. The world will never be safe as long as they are allowed to exist. This isn't something we wanted, they've proved it themselves over the past few week.

I have no problem with the Muslim people, I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about the extremists who have stirred this pot to the point it has become a dangerous brew for the entire world.

[TKEman]

Said a Navy source, "It's time to get down and dirty. We have to send in ground troops of some quantity and root the bad guys out of the caves and tunnels. If I had my way, we'd be filling those caves and tunnels with napalm and fuel air explosives and torching the rats out."

I would imagine this cave fighting will be a no holds barred deal. Particularly if heavy causalities start to roll in. These cave deals are probably booby trapped to the max. And in a war zone, it's unlikely that serious rescue operations will be mounted in hot zones.

It could get rough.

[Jeff Head]

new kind of combat — cave warfare

These people really get to me. New?

Heck, the Japs were experts at caves in WWII.

Get some of those old marines that my Dad was landing on the beaches from his LCI (and since my Dad is still amongst us, healthy, alert, etc ... I have to figure a bunch of them are still among us) and have them train our guys if nothing else.

They used special flame throwers and other devices. A horrible way for those in the caves to die ... but better than letting them kill our guys by applying less obtrusive or extreme methods. The Japanese soldiers came to fear it greatly ... but they fought hard and died hard anyway.

IMHO, we need to allow these terrorists the opportunity to do the same ... die hard.