Got fighter jets? Call 1-800-WIPEOUT.

[democrank]

On our local Vermont news....About 115 members of the Vermont Air Guard`s 158th Fighter Wing and their F-16s were just deployed to Iraq. A few hundred more Air Guard members will go in the next few months.

I know next to nothing about warfare but my best guess is that Junior plans to bomb the crap out of Iraq. Teach `em a lesson. Spread some more freedom. Do it in time for our `06 elections. Kill them so they can`t argue about our invasion. When enough of them are dead, it will get quiet over there and we can claim victory. Besides, we own them. They`re our prize.

Have you wondered about this? What if a nation decided to level a pre-emptive strike against us? What if they put hoods on our sons and marched them off to be tortured? What if they changed our currency and allowed the looting of The Smithsonian? What if they tore down our statues? Raided our homes? Bombed our parents? Used banned weapons? What if they set up checkpoints and shot us because they felt like it? What if they banned certain newspapers, television programs, reporters? What if they refused to restore our electricity? Water? Sewer systems? What if they brought in masked mercenaries? What if they decided who was going to have our jobs? What if they started building bases on our land? What if they bombed our universities and hospitals and churches? What if they set up mobile storage containers with ice baths and rectal thermometers? Would you fight back? If you did would you then be a terrorist?

I realize extreme everything is popular in our country. Extreme sports, extreme vacations, extreme vehicles, even extreme deodorant. Guess we like to puff up. We puffed up in Iraq. Mega-puffed with some kind of strange nationalism that made us drag out the flags at the same time we surrendered our humanity.

[MrModerate]

1. I think your litany of reasons the Iraqis hate us . . .

Is pretty comprehensive.

But let's ask this question -- do you think Americans in such a situation would react by fielding suicide bombers (and inviting them into the country via Canada and Mexico) to destablize whatever government the invaders were trying to set up? What form would an American resistance/insurgency take?

[democrank]

4. Perhaps I should have stated

that I believe there ARE terrorists in this world. Having said that, I`m not certain the best way to eradicate them is through imperialistic policies that help create MORE of them.

Would Americans invite suicide bombers into this country via Cananda and Mexico? I`m not sure what form our "coalition of the willing" would take or how deep their commitment would be to our cause.
Like I said, I know next to nothing about warfare. Our culture, our history would play a role in whatever form our resistance took. There would be a resistance and not all those resisting would be terrorists.

Perhaps there is something skewed in my thinking, but I see little difference between a suicide bomber killing innocent civilians and a drop of White Phosphorus doing the same.

What I`d like to figure out is the connection (if any) between desperation and terrorism.

[MrModerate]

7. I think American history would shape the country's response . . .

and the deliberate targeting of civilians (as opposed to a casual disregard for collateral deaths, which is what we're talking about when we bring up white phosphorus) would not be considered acceptable. Not only wicked, but ineffective.

I'm no warfare expert either, but I think you'd see vigilante/militia bands, whole communities, and a substantial part of the Armed Forces (and in particular National Guard) units resisting the imposition of an external autocratic authority.

This presumes that the populace is not -- as was the case in Iraq -- cowed by 30+ years of oppression by a dictator.

And THERE'S the connection between desperation and terrorism. The objective (and here I'm speaking authoritatively without the chops to support my arugument, but never mind) of the insurgency in Iraq is to maximize despair. To convince the people that no one can protect them and hence force them to fall back on family and clan as the only support mechanism available. The Shiite militias in the south are doing essentially the same thing, but they can do it house-to-house, one-on-one, without generally needing to resort to car bombs.

Secondarily, the insurgency assures itself the support of the worldwide islamofascist movement by providing them with the chaotic environment the movement needs to train, recruit, and inspire itself.

[CJCRANE]

10. The situation isn't quite analogous...

as Iraq is also a religious centre for Shia Islam.

The reverse analogy would be if a non-christian country* occupied Italy and fought raging battles against insurgents in and around the Vatican. The resistance would most probably be Italian nationalists but there would also be foreign Catholics (and maybe a smattering of other Christians) attracted to the conflict.

*Let's say China in this instance as it's probably the only country outside NATO big enough to take on a European country.

[Loonman]

2. They want them on hand for Iran, Iraq air coverage already being done

A fighter wing from Indiana left for there as well.

[lectrobyte]

3. Given the Bush-logic, one could make an argument that the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was justified since we were moving WMDs (B-17 bombers) into their region of the world.

[Solo_in_MD]

5. You are seriously misreading the deployment

The military is rotating units through southwest asia. OTher units came home as that squadron deployed. The F-16 is a fighter, primarily air to air though it can do air to ground.

If we were planning to do strikes in Iraq, depending on the type and size it would be B-2, Tomahawks, or F-18s from aircraft carriers.

[Oreo]

6. Unlike Iraq...

Iran has air-to-air. Do they still have all the planes that Iraq gave them after the first gulf war?

[MrModerate]

8. If they do, they're junk . . .

And only suicides would fly them against a serious attack.

[Solo_in_MD]

9. They are replacing units already there

Its good practice to escort any strike or helo operation. Also the F-16 has some ground attack capability.

If the gov decides to seriously go into Iran, there will be a lot of drumbeat and deployments ahead of time. Airstrikes we will hear about the media (maybe)

[chat_noir]

11. "Officials say this will be the largest deployment of the Air Guard..

Officials say this will be the largest deployment of the Air Guard in 10 years.

Assoc. Press: http://www.thechamplainchannel.com/news/5892504/detail.html