Posted by
Catmman on Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:55:23 PM
Here's evidence of what a small craft can do to a US warship when political correctness (or a Commander in Chiefs timidness) shapes commanders actions rather than prudence:
The USS Cole:
After:
"The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Cole, was the target of a terrorist attack in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000 during a scheduled refueling. The attack killed 17 crew members and injured 39 others."
And this from a 2002 wargame playing out the scenario Herr Doktor (or his Ronulan) supporters) doesn't think is a big deal: (
From Hot Air)
Amphibious vessels, cruisers, even a carrier were easy pickings. The military was shocked, which is itself shocking in light of recent lessons about what an asymmetrical, suicidal enemy can accomplish. If Paul Yingling’s looking for a new topic to write about, he’s found it.
In the simulation, General Van Riper sent wave after wave of relatively inexpensive speedboats to charge at the costlier, more advanced fleet approaching the Persian Gulf. His force of small boats attacked with machine guns and rockets, reinforced with missiles launched from land and air. Some of the small boats were loaded with explosives to detonate alongside American warships in suicide attacks. That core tactic of swarming played out in real life last weekend, though on a much more limited scale and without any shots fired…
In the war game, scores of adversary speedboats and larger naval vessels had been shadowing and hectoring the Blue Team fleet for days. The Blue Team defenses also faced cruise missiles fired simultaneously from land and from warplanes, as well as the swarm of speedboats firing heavy machine guns and rockets — and pulling alongside to detonate explosives on board.
In fact there was a shot fired last weekend, although only as a warning.
Seems on top of not reading any of his newsletters, he doesn't read much about what happens in the real world when fanatical enemies will use any means to kill our own.
This attack resulted in 17 dead and 39 wounded Americans Herr Doktor. Is this your recomendation for all US Navy warships when confronted by "such small vwesswells"?