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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
 Posted - 08/09/2006 : 15:21:11
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This came in my Weekly Spin e-mail from PR Watch. I am not convinced it's true or false but it certainly was interesting. The whole transcript is a hodgepodge but worth reading.
1. "FIASCO" AUTHOR SAYS ISRAEL ALLOWS MISSILE ATTACKS FOR PR PURPOSES
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0608/06/rs.01.html
On his CNN
TV program, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post
interviewed Thomas Ricks, the Post's Pentagon reporter and author of
the book Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Ricks told
Kurtz, "One of the things that is going on, according to some U.S.
military analysts, is that Israel purposely has left pockets of
Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon, because as long as they're being
rocketed, they can continue to have a sort of moral equivalency in
their operations in Lebanon." Kurtz responded, "Hold on, you're
suggesting that Israel has deliberately allowed Hezbollah to retain
some of its fire power, essentially for PR purposes, because having
Israeli civilians killed helps them in the public relations war
here?" Ricks replied, "Yes, that's what military analysts have told
me." Kurtz remarked "that's an extraordinary testament to the notion
that having people on your own side killed actually works to your
benefit in that nobody wants to see your own citizens killed but it
works to your benefit in terms of the battle of perceptions here."
Ricks replied "It helps you with the moral high ground problem,
because you know your operations in Lebanon are going to be killing
civilians as well."
SOURCE: CNN Reliable Sources, August 6, 2006
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/5066
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Edited by - beskeptigal on 08/10/2006 13:16:49
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 15:38:29 [Permalink]
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I think this extraordinary claim requires evidence.
Katusha rockets can be easily hidden, as I recently saw in a photo of rockets piled in a Lebanese orchard. In its many years of sporadic launching of Katushas at Israel, Hezbollah has doubtless learned many concealment tricks. Katushas also can be buried until "needed," or stored in underground bunkers, homes, or caves. Many of the longer-ranged missiles are apparently based in the southern suburbs of Tyre. This claim of Israeli complicity in their own destruction smacks of the same kind of nonsense as the 9/11 conspiracy buff claims. I'm open to evidence, but I won't begin to accept this claim without some real proof.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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sts60
Skeptic Friend
141 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 19:32:50 [Permalink]
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My expertise in this is limited to being a regular Aviation Week reader, but I call BS on it. The facts are that ballistic missile defenses like Patriot and Arrow aren't suited for such short-range missiles, and that it's still really hard to identify, target, and engage small launchers in a complex landscape, high tech notwithstanding.
This sort of threat is addressed by directed-energy systems like the Tactical High Energy Laser, which has succesfully knocked down a slew of missiles and shells over New Mexico in tests, but practical field systems aren't quite there yet - especially ones that can engage a swarm of shells or short-range missiles simultaneously. |
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