- Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:24 am
#70947
A couple books I've read in the past days should be required reading for anyone interested in current events.
"SEAL Target-Geronimo," written by former SEAL Chuck Pfarrer, though not in on the raid (but who interviewed everyone he could get to talk that WAS on the raid) that killed Osama bin Laden, has a lot of valuable information. It includes a brief history of the region and the events that led up to the radicalization of OBL. This book lays to rest several misconceptions and outright lies about the raid. Such as the helicopter that crashed. The movie "Zero Dark Thirty" asserts the helicopter crashed prior to disembarking the SEALS that were passengers. In fact, it had already unloaded those SEALs via fast ropes, onto the roof of OBL's bedroom and was moving off to the side and out of the way when TWO redundant flight control systems decided to fail at the same time. The pilots had no control at that point and was just along for the ride. The proof of that was OBL's son was shot from above by a SEAL that was already on the roof, not coming up the stairs from below.
He asserts that at most a dozen rounds were fired during the entire raid, not the fusillade we have been led to believe. This fits in with what one might expect from a group of highly disciplined special operators. One of OBL's body guards came out of the guest house on the property at the start of the raid holding an AK-47 and was shot twice. The bullets passing through his chest also killing his wife who was behind him. OBL's son was shot in the head on the stairwell. Upon entering OBL's bedroom, OBL pushed his wife towards a SEAL and was shot in the leg, then OBL was shot in the chest and head.
It is interesting to note that at the last minutes before the team lifted off the decision was made to forgo the highly advanced "Ghost Hawk" helicopters in favor of the earlier model, "Stealth Hawk." The thinking was the newer version was so advanced and so secret that they didn't want to risk one being lost.
One further item is this book fully gives the lie to the notion there were no WMDs in Iraq. In fact, coalition troops have been the victims of several nerve gas attacks. The author gives names, dates and locations and points out where further verification can be found. The Wikkileaks revelation provided much information. In one instance near the Baghdad airport, a 155mm artillery shell was seen lying against a curb with an attached timer and detonator. An EOD team was called to deal with it. Thinking it was a standard explosive device (but a very odd one given that no attempt was made to camouflage or hide the device) they proceeded to set up a small charge to blow the timer and detonator away from the shell. After activating the disarming charge one of the EOD techs approached the device and noted a sickly sweet odor and a liquid oozing out to the top of the shell. He collapsed and his (female) partner managed to drag him away as she realized this was a chemical shell loaded with nerve gas. She was able to inject both her partner and herself with a syrette antidote while instructing other members of the team to move back. Both EOD techs survived, but the shell was located upwind from both the Baghdad airport and the main camp for U.S. troops. Had the timer, a cheap digital watch, not failed, there would have been thousands of casualties.
The author fully expects there will be, eventually, a mass casualty attack using nerve gas from Saddam's horde, somewhere in the United States.
The other book is, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."
This book paints everyone in the State Department with a black brush. Everyone from the Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and all the contractors hired to provide security made (in the weeks prior to the attack) constant requests for additional security and defensive measures but were universally ignored out of a desire to not reveal the involvement of the CIA or to give the Libyans the idea that we didn't trust them. AFRICACOM commander General Ham twice offered Stevens Marine security personnel, but Stevens refused as State Department (read: Hillary Clinton) edicts denied him this option. Not wanting to go against State probably cost him his life (Ham was fired soon after this event). Security was supposed to be provided by hired Libyan militia, which nobody really trusted, and in the event, failed to live up to their commitments, although some did fight well. Even when the attack was fully underway the head of the CIA contingent, a man identified only as, "Bob" refused to allow the security contractors to come to the aid of the embassy staff who were under assault. Finally the contractors just pretty much told "Bob" to fuck off and hauled ass to the compound under assault.
Ambassador Stevens and a Diplomatic Security officer along with an IT tech had locked themselves in a safe room. The mob had set fire to the entire place using diesel fuel and the fumes and heat quickly took their toll. The DS officer managed to escape leading the way, thinking the other two were behind him but upon reaching a window and getting out, discovered they weren't behind him as he thought. He went back in several times searching through the smoke and heat but was unable to locate the others, nearly losing his life in the process.
This book reveals how upper echelon management refused to believe or trust the expertise of those contractors (former Marines, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS) hired to provide security. As a result, Americans died and Hillary lied.
Again.
Emotion driven, knee jerk reactionary derision devoid of reason, logic and facts from the Usual Suspect is anticipated and dismissed in advance.
"SEAL Target-Geronimo," written by former SEAL Chuck Pfarrer, though not in on the raid (but who interviewed everyone he could get to talk that WAS on the raid) that killed Osama bin Laden, has a lot of valuable information. It includes a brief history of the region and the events that led up to the radicalization of OBL. This book lays to rest several misconceptions and outright lies about the raid. Such as the helicopter that crashed. The movie "Zero Dark Thirty" asserts the helicopter crashed prior to disembarking the SEALS that were passengers. In fact, it had already unloaded those SEALs via fast ropes, onto the roof of OBL's bedroom and was moving off to the side and out of the way when TWO redundant flight control systems decided to fail at the same time. The pilots had no control at that point and was just along for the ride. The proof of that was OBL's son was shot from above by a SEAL that was already on the roof, not coming up the stairs from below.
He asserts that at most a dozen rounds were fired during the entire raid, not the fusillade we have been led to believe. This fits in with what one might expect from a group of highly disciplined special operators. One of OBL's body guards came out of the guest house on the property at the start of the raid holding an AK-47 and was shot twice. The bullets passing through his chest also killing his wife who was behind him. OBL's son was shot in the head on the stairwell. Upon entering OBL's bedroom, OBL pushed his wife towards a SEAL and was shot in the leg, then OBL was shot in the chest and head.
It is interesting to note that at the last minutes before the team lifted off the decision was made to forgo the highly advanced "Ghost Hawk" helicopters in favor of the earlier model, "Stealth Hawk." The thinking was the newer version was so advanced and so secret that they didn't want to risk one being lost.
One further item is this book fully gives the lie to the notion there were no WMDs in Iraq. In fact, coalition troops have been the victims of several nerve gas attacks. The author gives names, dates and locations and points out where further verification can be found. The Wikkileaks revelation provided much information. In one instance near the Baghdad airport, a 155mm artillery shell was seen lying against a curb with an attached timer and detonator. An EOD team was called to deal with it. Thinking it was a standard explosive device (but a very odd one given that no attempt was made to camouflage or hide the device) they proceeded to set up a small charge to blow the timer and detonator away from the shell. After activating the disarming charge one of the EOD techs approached the device and noted a sickly sweet odor and a liquid oozing out to the top of the shell. He collapsed and his (female) partner managed to drag him away as she realized this was a chemical shell loaded with nerve gas. She was able to inject both her partner and herself with a syrette antidote while instructing other members of the team to move back. Both EOD techs survived, but the shell was located upwind from both the Baghdad airport and the main camp for U.S. troops. Had the timer, a cheap digital watch, not failed, there would have been thousands of casualties.
The author fully expects there will be, eventually, a mass casualty attack using nerve gas from Saddam's horde, somewhere in the United States.
The other book is, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."
This book paints everyone in the State Department with a black brush. Everyone from the Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and all the contractors hired to provide security made (in the weeks prior to the attack) constant requests for additional security and defensive measures but were universally ignored out of a desire to not reveal the involvement of the CIA or to give the Libyans the idea that we didn't trust them. AFRICACOM commander General Ham twice offered Stevens Marine security personnel, but Stevens refused as State Department (read: Hillary Clinton) edicts denied him this option. Not wanting to go against State probably cost him his life (Ham was fired soon after this event). Security was supposed to be provided by hired Libyan militia, which nobody really trusted, and in the event, failed to live up to their commitments, although some did fight well. Even when the attack was fully underway the head of the CIA contingent, a man identified only as, "Bob" refused to allow the security contractors to come to the aid of the embassy staff who were under assault. Finally the contractors just pretty much told "Bob" to fuck off and hauled ass to the compound under assault.
Ambassador Stevens and a Diplomatic Security officer along with an IT tech had locked themselves in a safe room. The mob had set fire to the entire place using diesel fuel and the fumes and heat quickly took their toll. The DS officer managed to escape leading the way, thinking the other two were behind him but upon reaching a window and getting out, discovered they weren't behind him as he thought. He went back in several times searching through the smoke and heat but was unable to locate the others, nearly losing his life in the process.
This book reveals how upper echelon management refused to believe or trust the expertise of those contractors (former Marines, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS) hired to provide security. As a result, Americans died and Hillary lied.
Again.
Emotion driven, knee jerk reactionary derision devoid of reason, logic and facts from the Usual Suspect is anticipated and dismissed in advance.
- By elklindo69