Afghanistan casualtys

This Toronto star article is interesting reading. Basically we have more casualties than other NATO countries. Problem is in the analysis this means maybe we should get out. Where the more obvious conclusion is that we need to get better protection. The peace tried to dismiss this by saying when we get better equipment the insurgents will be better to. This is true partially but other NATO countries apparently have this equipment now and it's saving their people.

Update: it's nice to be right.

Belinda Stronach I am shocked just shocked

Now she's gone. Somehow I'm not particularly surprised. I'm sure the press corps will be missing her. Considering Magna's Chrysler takeover bid this makes sense. Even though I don't think they really have much of a chance. So which woman is going to be the new brunt of Spector and Mckay's name calling?

theinsurgencycenter.com a web site to watch

http://theinsurgencycenter.com looks like it should be a very interesting resource for insurgency material. It was started up by a disabled war veteran. So far there is mostly links to the usual suspects but the site says they will be adding new stuff as they go along. What they do have now is an excellent list of documents. However no pictures or videos yet. Its all in one place which is good.

This will be a web site to watch in the future. I'll be very interested to see just what they come up with.

The Pacific Campaign: World War II, the U.S.-Japanese naval war, 1941-1945 by Dan Van Der Vat

The Pacific Campaign: World War II, the U.S.-Japanese naval war, 1941-1945 by Dan Van Der Vat is an excellent history of this theater of operations in World War II. The book is quite long weighing in at nearly 180,000 words but often reads like a summary due to the amount of information crammed in. It is still quite readable.

Der Vat is quite opinionated when discussing the various operations. He doesn't think much of Douglas MacArthur for instance.

There is a quite long introduction that gives a superb summary of Imperial Japanese history prior to the war. This helps explain the often bizarre decisions that to place throughout the conflict. The war with China is covered in possibly the clearest way I've come across before. All of this in about 50 pages.

Unfortunately the conclusion is about two pages long. I wonder if he had a maximum length clause in his contract and was very close to it. This being sent an excellent book.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For more WWII book reviews take a look at My World War II bookshelf.

The Blood Road:the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War by John Prados

The Blood Road:the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War by John Prados is a history of the logistics system that extended from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia and into the South. The book is much more than a discussion of the construction and attempts at interdiction of the trail. Prados manages to relate the trail to the wider Vietnam conflict and even the antiwar movement back in the United States. This is history and its best. Along the way many famous members of the American military establishment are mentioned including Norman Schwarzkopf and the usual suspects in Washington and Saigon.

The trail started out as literally a walking trail which would be covered over by porters after it was used. Eventually it would become a multi lane paved highway that even included a pipeline by the end of the conflict. The decision to invade Laos is covered in detail as well as the failure of the invasion.

A superb history recommended for anyone who has an interest in the Vietnam War.

Is available through Abebooks.

CSI:New York is not history

Flit has an excellent rant about how horrible the Canadian knockoffs of the history Channel and Discovery are. I couldn't agree more why is the History Channel showing CSI: New York and a show called Things That Move? And all this true crime stuff? As I recall there is a digital cable channel called Mystery were you figure a lot of this stuff would show up. Apparently History and Mystery are owned by different parent companies so that helps explain it.

New US Army uniform bad idea

Apparently those who designed the new U.S. Army uniform [the Army Combat Uniform] weren't terribly bright. This review describes the good, bad and ugly aspects of it. Perhaps most terrifying is that it's made from 50% cotton and 50% nylon. Let me repeat that it's made from 50% nylon! When I was in Boy Scouts we were being constantly warned about nylon and fire. Apparently these idiots never received the memo. Now they have to hand out tan Nomex flight suits to at risk personnel.

Clos the deal with some T&A

If you want a Saudi Arabian arms deal all you have to do is pay the "costs" of some actresses. Don't worry if you get caught.

Goldsmith’s move f[to shut down the bribery inquiry] ollowed a series of threats made directly to Tony Blair by the Saudi government. The Saudis warned that they would halt all payments on the contract and cut diplomatic and intelligence ties with Britain unless the criminal investigation was stopped.

Tony Blair apparently lacks a backbone when dealing with Saudis not just Bush.

Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf

Here are some of my book reviews for science fiction and fantasy. I've stopped updating this page. To see an up-to-date list try my fantasy or science fiction tags in the sidebar.

Aldiss, Brian Supertoys Last All Summer Long and Other Stories of Future Time

Brunner, John Traveller in Black

Erikson, Steven Deadhouse Gates
-- Gardens of the Moon

Fforde, Jasper The Big Over Easy
-- The Eyre Affair
-- The Fourth Bear
-- Lost in a Good Book

Garcia, Eric Casual Rex

Gerber, Michael Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody
-- Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel: The Book Nobody Has Been Waiting For

Novik, Naomi Black Powder War
-- His Majesty's Dragon
-- Throne of Jade

Piper, H. Beam The Complete Paratime

Pratchett, Terry Thud!: a novel of Discworld

Pratchett, Terry and Gaiman, Neil Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows also see The Great Harry Potter Reread

Rounding up the usual suspects?

Interesting piece from a few days ago in the Washington Post. It looks like part of the strategy may involve what amounts to racial profiling of the population. Lockup anybody that might be a terrorist and hope it works out.

The article also describes the level of paranoia that has to be used when dealing with locals. Even the food has to be brought in from another country. Obviously the insurgents have managed to make the occupation much more expensive than otherwise then would have been. It's not just the increased American footprint on the ground.

Wikipedia and insurgency

I'm just shocked an editor [Essjay] lied about his credentials on Wikipedia. The response is basically that some form of verification will be necessary for some things. Of course this doesn't deal with the major issue that is some version. Which is after all the definition of insurgency political subversion of a government. Now I'm not saying that Islamic extremists are going to hijack Wikipedia. Maybe Microsoft will though.

The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972 by James Lawton Collins

The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972 by James Lawton Collins is a recently reprinted official history first released in 1974. It is primarily interested in the activities of Military Assistance Command Vietnam [MACV]. The report is quite positive when discussing the creation of a South Vietnamese military. There is quite a bit of information here about the various programs that were set up particular focus is on the military education system created. Naturally their criticisms of the Vietnamese and even some of the Americans themselves. One interesting oversight is that the Vietnamese are criticized for problems learning English but there is no reference to the Americans inability to have enough Vietnamese speakers on hand. There is also an inability to show actual proof that improvements were taking place besides expanded class sizes and the like.

There are also several curious statements for example the South Vietnamese Army had developed an effective counterinsurgency ability as early as 1963. This flies in the face of much research that I've read on the topic.

Even when considering the books problems is an excellent study with lots of information. It is also interesting reading in light of the attempt to build an Iraqi military.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.


For more reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Bibliography of my book reviews

Here are links to my current reviews by topic. I'll be adding new topics as we go. The next one will probably be on Vietnam. Last updated on August 9th 2007.

Afghanistan bookshelf

Ancient History bookshelf

Holocaust bookshelf

Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf

Iraq bookshelf

Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf

World War II bookshelf

Stupid newspaper statement of the day

There was no political spin when Prime Minister Stephen Harper dropped in on the world of rotating rocks yesterday.

There isn't any spin? He doesn't want to portray himself as the everyman. As opposed to those Liberal espresso drinkers from Toronto? Or those raging NDP Grandmas from Vancouver?

Canadian politics
Stephen Harper
curling

The Blame Game

Apparently some people are more interested in bureaucratic infighting than getting to what actually happened with Air India.

When Major raised the issue, Jensen was quick to absolve his former police colleagues and put the blame squarely on the other side for precipitating the turf war.

"Within the RCMP I did not notice that," he said. "With respect to the new CSIS organization, yes, I felt they believed that there was an issue (of) staking out their turf."

Of course it was those damn spooks.... Give me a break.

Air India bombing
terrorism
Canadian politics