Fire When Ready - Why we should consider using flamethrowers in Afghanistan

slate.com ^ | 10-31-01 | By Scott Shuger

[antivenom]

Open to discussion

[Smartaleck]

"Because flamethrowers spew jellied fuel that sticks to skin and clothes, the fire they produce is extremely difficult to put out."

Just like the people in the WTC that were vaporized by jet fuel.

... "fight fire with fire"

[this_ol_patriot]

I had a "discussion" with a liberal clinton lover yesterday, we were talking about weapons like this and indeed he thought they were inhumane but he did have another solution. He said we should unshield and dump all our old nuclear waste into all the caves in Afghanistan before or after they get there, then pack our bags and go home.

[Vulpes]

I would say a flamethrower is just the thing for a simple cave and will probably be used if our land forces have to mop up an area.

But I don't think the Afghan caves are that simple...remember flamethrowers and gas and high explosives did not do much to the tunnel complexes in Vietnam. It took brave men (tunnel rats) to go in and see what was what.

Besides I like the idea of bunker buster bombs and bulldozers to seal off the caves and leave the occupants in place.

[wienerdog.com]

Ouch, that was cold. Let's roll.

[ppaul]

:

[George Smiley]

FAEs. Lots of them.

[Lurker]

I like it.

The only problem with flamethrowers is that someone has to walk around with several gallons of pressuring, highly flammable napalm on their back.

L

[ppaul]

...dump all our old nuclear waste into all the caves in Afghanistan...

Finally, a solution to our spent nuclear fuel rod disposal problem.
Let those caves, and not our backyards, remain "hot" for the next 10,000 years!

[hang 'em]

Every munition in the US arsenal should have some small quanty of pig lard in or on it. Every FAE, mine, bullet and bomb.

[ppaul]

Link to CNN article and cool video:

Flame Thrower now an option on S. African Cars

:

[uncommonsense]

What a coincidence. I had a dream this Sunday that my neighbors and I were facing off against a much larger group of Islamic militants who were seeking to purge the earth from us “infidels” by attacking our neighborhood. My strategy was to open up on them with a flamethrower to prevent their forward movement (homemade gas thrower using gas siphoned from our cars) while others used street-sweeper 12 gauges from the tops of their house to maximize coverage.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Caves may rise or decline from the entrances. Hydrogen or propane gas releases solve that issue: Fuel/air mixture detonations offer far reaching flame front propagation solutions preceding the sealing of entrances/exits.

"Smells like victory" may vary, but victory shall follow the smell of death.

[antivenom]

Let's discuss in Paltalk...

[KC_Conspirator]

I was thinking the same thing days ago. We will have to flush them out WWII style.

[Grampa Dave]

GS posted, "FAEs. Lots of them.!"

Yep! We have thousands of FAE's. Fire kills even better from a FAE than a flame thrower! Why risk one of our guys carrying that flameable mixture on his back! Find a cave and "light" it up for the fire death from the air!

[antivenom]

Thought this would be an interesting approach to eliminating creepy things that lurk in caves...

[Nineteen_Kilo]

In discussion with an officemate a few weeks ago, it occured to me that we should be looking at ways to make the caves uninhabitable. Filling them with carbon dioxide would work (and would seem to avoid any issues with the Geneva convention's prohbitions against poison gas, since CO2 is harmless). Sealing the cave entrances is also a good option ... provided we're sure we seal ALL the entrances, to prevent them sneaking out a 'back door'.

Sadly, mustard gas and similar heavier-than-air gasses would be ideal for this purpose, but are outlawed by the Geneva Convention. This, of course, raises the interesting question: does the Geneva Convention apply only to military forces? And, if so, would the CIA be considered a military force? You can see my train of thought developing, I'm sure ...

[connectthedots]

Because flame-broiled is better than fried. Just like Burger King, tell them they can either surrender or be broiled. Then tell them they can "Have it your way".

[gunshy]

If it was good enough to use on the people at Waco, it ought to be good enough to use on the Talibans.