I think that a lot of people who read Michael Yon have the idea that they are getting the real truth as opposed to the “lies” that they get from the mainstream media. In reality, what Michael Yon provides is the perspective of the front lines grunts. History has shown that perspective can be as misleading as any other perspective.

Nonetheless, the perspective that Yon provides is important. If nothing else, it will give you an appreciation of the stresses that the frontline soldiers are facing…..

A prime example of how good Yon can be at portraying what it is like to be in a battle can be found in his essay calledGates of Fire. It writing like this that has made him popular. Here is a brief excerpt…..

Kurilla was running when he was shot, but he didn’t seem to miss a stride; he did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting.

BamBamBamBam! Bullets were hitting all around Kurilla. The young 2nd lieutenant and specialist were the only two soldiers near. Neither had real combat experience.

Seconds count.

Kurilla, though down and unable to move, was fighting and firing, yelling at the two young soldiers to get in there; but they hesitated.

As a side note: Kurilla has since become commander of 2nd Ranger Battalion.

Wretchard at The Belmont Club asks “Why does Google Earth’s resolution suddenly improve in certain areas of the Pakistani-Afghan border?” He then provides a link to this Wired article that argues that this is because the Military has been paying independent companies to provided detailed views of the area. According to Wired, Google then gets those views about a year latter.

I wonder if this is true. I would have thought that the US has enough satellite assets that it did not need to buy feed from private companies.

For a depressing read look at this article in the New Yorker on whether the US can be made safe from nuclear terrorism. The answer is no.
That answer will surprise no one of course, but I was surprised to learn that a load of bananas were easier to detect with radiation detectors then Uranium. Click Here to continue reading.

For anyone who is curious, a former Iranian deputy defense minister has defected to the west and is being questioned. At least, that is the official story. There is lots of speculation flying round about why and how he left. The Iranian government was swearing that he had been kidnapped for awhile.

Since this dude’s last official capacity in the Iranian government was in 2005, he probably has a fair amount of knowledge that is of interest to the US. But most people seem to think that Israel is the one questioning him.

You can read the Washington Post article on the subject here. You can read the Pajamas Media article on the subject here. Hat Tip: Belmont Club

I doubt you will ever see that as a headline in any British Newspaper. But if the various blogs put out by members of the British police are any guide, my post title is not too far from the truth. The British police are a very frustrated bunch.
For a good example of what I Click Here to continue reading.

One of the great struggles of my life is the attempt to escape tribal thinking. To a large extent, I think it is natural for people to think “my country, right or wrong.” But the idea that my team is above all encompasses more then just the idea of country. We forgive things in ideological Click Here to continue reading.

The point is not that Marines blow stuff up. The point is that they like blowing stuff up.