Re: Communication and Travel

You wrote: 

>either. A guy with a rifle (ten guys with rifles... 100 guys with 
>rifles?) Aren't much threat to state of the art systems. (q.v. road 
>to basrah)

Speaking as someone who has, in exercises, "killed" fighting vehicles 
by placing a simulated satchel charge on them while they were parked in 
defensive positions, I'd say "Bullshit".  You've never tried MOUT 
personally, either, have you?  Remember, a war of occupation is not the 
same as sitting in the desert dropping bombs on everything that moves.	
You gotta sleep some time, and that's when nasty light infantry like me 
are ruining your entire incarnation.  Or how about just having locals 
stabbing your troops with low-tech knives as they stumble drunkenly out 
of whorehouses (and don't tell me you'll prevent them from visiting 
whorehouses--never been an army yet that managed that, 'cept in Desert 
Storm, and that's coz the Saudis don't tolerate whorehouses, and at any 
rate there aren't any in the desert.)  Or we could ask the Chechens 
about whether or not light troops can stop tanks cold.	I think they'd 
have a few choice comments.  Guerilla wars rarely win by themselves in 
the long run, but they can cause a hell of a lot of damage in the 
meantime.

>'feel). However, elite units have come a long way (and learned a lot 
>of lessons) as well as advanced technolgy and sensor systems looking 
>carefully down from space.

All the sensors in the world won't penetrate triple-canopy jungle, or 
mangrove forests, or tell you if those peasants are hiding SMGs in the 
basement.

John M. Atkinson