While we wait to see what’ll happen in Syria, Iraq, and the rest of the Middle East, here’s some context for the fighting. In five years, about 250,000 have been killed in the Syrian civil war. In comparison, from February to December of 1916, over 300,000 combatants were killed in the Battle of Verdun. Nobody’s…
Trench warfare in Syria? Time for flamethrowers
January 25, 2016
Syria has gone back a hundred years, returning to trench warfare. For the sake of the people on our side, flamethrowers must be introduced. Here’s what Colonel Steve Warren—spokesman for Combined Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve—recently said. I’ll tell you, that’s a tough fight right now. From what I’ve seen, the imagery I’ve looked at,…
In praise of war (and flamethrowers)
August 17, 2015
Clutch your pearls, girls. Get ready to faceplant the fainting couch. This post is about the courageous, exceptionally moral decision that the Sunni Arabs and Israel have made to go to war with Iran. It’s now clear that the goal is regime change, not simply destroying the Iranian nuclear program. “Good hunting, men and women,”…
Flamethrowers! For Ellie
March 22, 2015
A post about flamethrowers dedicated to Ellie Kesselman, who brought my attention to this. It uses gasoline (petrol), and has a range of 26 feet (8 meters.) The flamethrower was first used by the Greeks in AD 673 to burn Muslim warships besieging Constantinople. This weapon consisted of a metal tube that sprayed what was…
Night Raid: Screenplay for a short war movie
June 27, 2014
I’m very critical of movies. Might as well put my money where my mouth is. Here’s a screenplay for a short war movie titled Night Raid. I wrote it this morning. It’s my first-ever screenplay. Night Raid FADE IN 1. EXT. THE WESTERN FRONT. TITLE READS “1917” – NIGHT We see the devastated, shell-pocked landscape,…