Super Size Me
Spurlock: [showing child a picture] Who's that? Child: George W. Bush?
Spurlock: No. That's a good guess though.
[It is actually a picture of Jesus]
--Super Size Me (2004)
"Of course, a war is entertaining,"
but I am finding too many and must skip on to favorites
--The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (1942)
__________
Some final thoughts on the facile thinking that upgrading the Iraqi's munitions -- like replacing their AK-47's with M-16's -- will somehow enable them to strike a victory for democracy.
A quick review of guns in modern warfare shows the foolishness of this approach.
In Korea, the North Korean Army and later Chinese forces fought the UN forces to a standstill using captured Japanese WW II bolt action rifles, as well as Soviet 1891 Mosyn Nagant bolt rifles. Largely, they fought without heavy artillery. N.K. forces today still use the AK-47, and South Korea does not use the M-16, but rather a home-grown variant, the Daewoo.
In Vietnam, the entire South Vietnamese forces including the police were armed with the vaunted M-16. They probably enjoyed a larger force structure than the North and at the time, and had a large armored force and modern Air Force for support. The SVN field commanders enjoyed impressive heavy artillery, as well.
The North Vietnamese forces wore sandals and carried AK-47's, yet SVN could not pull their own bacon out of the fire even with the help of $100's of billions of U.S.-manufactured military hardware. The SVN couldn't repulse the NVN offensive because the South couldn't marshal the will, nor did their army reflect any nationalistic unity. They could not issue a cohesive list of goals. All the M-16 rifles in the world could not compensate for that lack.
Americanizing an army does not necessarily lead to military success. Especially when that army (Iraq) is not engaged in military combat. Especially when they don't share in other Americanizing features, like democracy -- something we seem tragically ill-poised to export these days.
All of the -ologies and -isms don't change the reality. The reality is our invasion stomped upon and destroyed the equilibrium of Iraqi society. Arming such a broken society is not the answer to to their, or our, problems.
The Iraqi army is simply a super-sized police force, sans foreign enemies.
Labels: moderninzing iraqi weapons not the solution, supersizing iraq army
posted by rangeragainstwar at 10:39 PM
7 Comments:
I don't think the point is to make the Iraqi army more effective. I think the point is to sell some weapons.
o.b.,
A tad cynical, but I think you've got it.
I have to agree with old bogus. The sad thing we buy the weapons ship them there were half are stolen and sold on the black market. Free enterprise at work but not helping the GIs.
jo6pac
Ranger said:
"Some final thoughts on the facile thinking that upgrading the Iraqi's munitions -- like replacing their AK-47's with M-16's -- will somehow enable them to strike a victory for democracy.
A quick review of guns in modern warfare shows the foolishness of this approach."
"
Agreed, but a different victory has already been struck for militarized free market capitalism.
Profit is profit for weapons sellers. Victory is theirs.
Kevin,
Well-said. Ranger sometimes misses the sunny side.
jo,
Right--not helping the GI's, not helping anyone with right intention. But sure lining the pockets of the war profiteers.
jo,
It doesn't help Turkey any, either, where most end up on the black market.
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