fire4effect

Certainly, wasn't trying to stir anyone's pot just an observation on the handling of the airframe. Tail dragger types do raise the operational risk level.

Was taxiing at a midwestern airport a few days ago and watched one of these log at least 2 landings on one pass down the runway. In fairness there was a decent gusting x-wind but it appears the pilot had his hands full. I admit I probably would have too.

DIY exploding drones are changing the game in Ukraine war | Watch

Hopefully something like this.

Not saying it happened here but so many infractions it seems especially at the federal level have the potential for some pretty draconian penalties. Prosecutors love when something can carry a 25-year sentence even when they rarely get that much because it's a really big club to coerce a plea deal and they don't have to actually prove anything in court. Trial penalty is real especially when most of us can't afford a high-priced legal team to keep the government honest. They have unlimited taxpayer money and will go home at the end of the day no matter the outcome.

Ironically the cumbersome and widely varying (read inefficient) processes across states makes it more difficult to instigate large scale fraud.

Another case involving Alexander Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh (2 of the 4 "Beatles" terrorist cell) got life in SuperMax because the Brits don't have the death penalty and that was the condition for cooperation. To me the solution is easy. Put them all in general population in USP Hazelton WV where Whitey Bulger lasted less than an hour. This time they'll get a real "jury of their peers" and the problem will take care of itself.

Sooner

You know as I stood in line to vote yesterday, I thought back to 2005 and Iraq's first election post Sadam. No armored vehicles surrounded my polling location, and I felt pretty sure a VBIED wasn't going to plow into the parking lot. What a country we have.

A lot is the daily grind for a solid year. Riding a dirt road in a Humvee day in day out wondering if the next turn has an IED. Think Bob Woodruff of ABC News north of Baghdad in 2006. He did a special where he returned to the scene of the attack about a year ago. Pretty powerful and its online. IDF can put everyone on the front line or as some would say the enemy is airmailing you the IED. Hell a guy in the gym on the squat rack was killed by a rocket in the Green Zone. I will certainly admit flying an aircraft any aircraft is way more fun. Though Tammy Duckworth and her Blackhawk caught the RPG not far away near a town called Tarmiya in late 2003. The town was a former "resort" on the Tigris River for the Bath Party, so they didn't think much of Americans. One way to look at it is the randomness of it all. You can patrol all day long and nothing happens so nothing memorable. The Humvee 5 minutes behind you gets hit and for them certainly a "significant emotional event" As many of you noted Afghanistan deployments had a wide variety of flavors depending on when you were there and your mission at the time. Same as it was in Iraq. My trip to Afghanistan was for me actually pretty tame by comparison but back to that one word "random"

I can't really argue with much in your post. Comparing Viet Nam will never be perfect on any level, but it did remind me of a number of conversations I had with the Air Force relative (EB-66 pilot) that if they'd had even a small amount of precision/stand-off weapons we have now then the whole thing would have been over in short order. No way they could've massed forces for the Tet Offensive. Or the Dragon Jaw would have been a pile of rubble in the river in a matter of hours. etc. Of course, communists are generally more pragmatic than religious fanatics. I completely agree a lot of bad individuals were taken off the board and I can't help but wonder what the remaining Taliban over there in their hovels are thinking like us saying "what the hell did we gain" Several weeks ago, I talked to an Afghan who has done very well assimilating into US culture and he hears from relatives still in country and in a perfect example of rules for thee but not for me the Taliban leadership send their daughters outside Afghanistan to be educated. Can I prove that? No but it wouldn't surprise me.

I had a family member (actually two) who was a Viet Nam Veteran. When I was young, I never really comprehended his bitterness to the political establishment for pissing away the mission there. After Aug 2021 I had a much better understanding of his point of view.

Point taken. I was thinking if they were going to hit their oil production it would be after the election to avoid a spike in prices. Of course, Israel is pragmatic enough to know they can't predict which administration they'll be dealing going forward so they try to maintain some semblance of balance between parties.

From an economic perspective Saudi would make bank with a spike in oil prices as long as they could still ship oil. On a somewhat related note, a fair number on this forum make their money in the Part 121 transportation industry so a lot of economic skin in the game to go around. One way the US could be sucked into this would be the Iranian Navy trying to cut off the Strait of Hormuz and given Israel isn't known as a naval power that doesn't leave a lot of options to counter outside the US. Not that I have a problem with turning the Iranian Fleet into multiple artificial reefs that they have no real way to replace in a timely manner. No way they could really keep up in a sustained conflict. Final question. Doesn't China get most of its oil from Iran? Interesting how they might react to this trainwreck. If this happens, I don't see it before November 6.