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I've read that is easier for inexperienced people to fight from built up positions, which a city can probably be viewed as. The people of Misrata had the misfortune of not having anyplace to run to...

JMA that was a completely fascinating article. SWJ evolved from the Urban Operations Journal I think and this article is the partial story of one hell of an urban operation. I hope we get the full...

I don't know if I can frame this properly but looking at these videos and reading various stories, it appears as if there are some high quality people amongst the rebels. You read of this guy being...

JMA:

I saw a bit of footage by a British reporter and cameraman who were in Misrata. There was a shot of a tank taken through what was in effect a peephole. They said the tank was one of the...

To add to Tequila's earlier post. Here is a link to a story about how the rebels set up a cell network in eastern Libya. They did with wit and a lot of equipment purchased for them by the U.A.E....

It might be well to recognize the limitations of the study of the origins of the foreign jihadi types who went to Iraq. The authors were careful to note the limits of the data they had and cautioned...

For better or for worse, the west is in it now. It seems to me that the longer this goes on, the worse things will be and the more unpredictable the outcome. It also seems to me, as several others...

I wish I had thought of that.:(

Maybe too they want to take the dictator down quick as possible in order to avoid a clandestine insurgency. If one of those started the influence of the regional...

The news reports I read said it was the French who struck the ground targets near Benghazi and the only American airplanes so far are some B-2s.
No matter, we'll find out for sure soon enough and...

All very true. But officers are the ones who educate the politicians and officers are the ones who come up with the doctrine and make the force requests. And, officers are the ones who oversell and...

Why? Ground forces caught in the open with no defense have been sitting ducks for airplanes since World War I. If NATO draws the wrong conclusions from this I'd say there is something seriously...

Well at least in this place my fretting about being able or not able to destroy the dictator's heavy equipment was for naught. The French don't fool around.

That is quite possible. And we won't know for a while if ever. Either we have hand wringers, and I use that phrase in the pejorative sense, or the genii inside the beltway had it all figured from...

That may be true and the actions of the US gov may be the result of forethought. We won't know unless Woodward can ferret it out and then we still have to wait for the next book. But if I had to...

JMA:

I was just wondering what might happen if a lot of "ifs" came to be. It does seem as if there is no real hard core of morale in many of the dictators forces, but then the rebels are a mob. ...

I was thinking of the various Jihadi extremists. I didn't think of the Iranians but maybe they would want to get in on it too.

I wonder if we will end up in the very odd position of having to help the dictator in some way. An Egyptian commenter at Tom Ricks' blog raised that point.

If the dictator wins and drives out all...

In that case you could only lay it if there were people living full time very close to the point of emplacement. If you did that perhaps the dictator's forces would figure it out and tell the people...

How would you keep the wrong people from driving over them and blowing themselves up?

I would like to ask the guys with experience a technical question. How feasible is it to stop the advance on Benghazi by disrupting the coastal road supply line with multiple small groups of pickup...

A policy on testicular regeneration is currently in the planning stage. It can be expected to proceed further after in depth consultations with all the stakeholders. A cutting edge process is...

Nightwatch reported that the French Foreign Minister stated that '"Qadhafi has fewer than "20 operational fighter planes and not many more helicopters,"'.

If words were deeds they would all be...

You're probably right. The guy over at Nightwatch says the end of the week.

I've been reading a lot of things though and I wonder if we can judge the true strength of the opposing forces...

Ken:

I figure if you ask the question: Can a man's actions be moral or immoral? The answer will be yes. To the question: Can a group of men's actions be moral of immoral? I would say yes. By...

Surferbeetle:

Your good natured sarcasm is noted but I have no trust and faith in the ability of the world's leaders to handle crisis' at all. I have a little faith in our ability and good...