Golbez posted:

Yes? A quick google search shows those to be the proper dimensions of the BLU-82.

However, that image must be from many years ago, because the last operational BLU-82 was dropped in 2008.

So... your post confuses me, what does a Reuters image from probably 14 years ago have to do with Assad supporters?

farraday posted:

Gonna guess they're claiming syrian barrel bombs are secretly daisy cutters.

Volkerball posted:

This. The resemblance is uncanny.

Disinterested posted:

It's nice of them to inform you as to what happens to the pallet.

farraday posted:

Gonna guess they're claiming syrian barrel bombs are secretly daisy cutters.

In fact I will attempt to map out the entire line of thought without looking it up.

Assad: We don't have barrel bombs
Fact checkers: Lol obviously you do. Look pictures.
Assad Supporters Bah those could be anything in fact the US drops big bombs like these daisy cutters so it's undoubtedly them doing it.

And scene.

Volkerball posted:

Fintilgin posted:

The fact that the pallet has its own parachute, presumably so it doesn't hurt someone by landing on them, is the most magical thing I've seen in a long time.

mankind.txt

fade5 posted:

Okay now that's just not fair.


The Kurds have trapped ISIL fighters in 4 separate pincer maneuvers.

Whoever said that ISIL's retreat was disorganized, looks like you were completely right, because you don't get trapped like that if you're doing an organized retreat.

E:

1337JiveTurkey gets a gold star, but didn't go far enough, because some of the ISIL forces to the south (well, north now that the Kurds have circled around them) are now completely hosed too.

Pegged Lamb posted:

I apologize if this has been posted before, but its so cool I had to take the chance

Flavahbeast posted:

Is this strictly ISIS fighters or does it include other militias?

1337JiveTurkey posted:

To be fair, they took an absolutely ludicrous amount of territory over the course of 24 hours in that encircling maneuver. The shading on the map for territory held sort of implies that there was a really ugly salient in the east when it's more like that section of the line has ceased to exist and they have no way to reform it. ISIS apparently doesn't even have reserves that they can commit to keep the Kurds from exploiting the gap and no depth to give any resilience at all.

It's like their entire strategy is to keep everyone up front fighting and to never withdraw even when the first map says they should have been hauling rear end south. If that's the case then it may be the vast majority of their fighters in the area are in that strip since the Kurds apparently have run into absolutely nothing in the area behind it.

fade5 posted:

Whoever said that ISIL's retreat was disorganized, looks like you were completely right, because you don't get trapped like that if you're doing an organized retreat.

SedanChair posted:

This isn't victory, this is fighting an enemy who knows how to retreat strategically and hold its forces in reserve.

Deteriorata posted:

I suspect that it's there to make sure the pallet separates from the bomb cleanly and is far enough away to ensure it doesn't interfere with the detonation of the bomb.

JeffersonClay posted:

Zeroisanumber posted:

If we were using Daisy Cutters in Damascus, you'd be able to see it from Lebanon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSnTICtgBwA

Young Freud posted:

No loving poo poo. I remember when the U.S. dropped one as an in-field demonstration in Iraq during the Gulf War and everyone on both sides lost their poo poo because they thought someone dropped a nuke. Daisy cutters are no loving joke.

Nagato posted:

A former Iraq FSO has made a case against it: http://wemeantwell.com/blog/2014/10/20/seven-worst-case-scenarios-in-the-battle-with-the-islamic-state/

Miltank posted:

Doesn't really make much sense to me.

Nintendo Kid posted:

ISIS holds a lot of empty sands but that's not nearly as important as holding actual centers of habitation.

Volkerball posted:

Assad supporters are going full retard now.

quote:

When Gaith Mohammed, a young man in his twenties with a degree in accounting, went to see "American Sniper" during its opening week at Baghdad’s Mansour Mall, he says the theater was full and rowdy.

“Some people watching were just concentrating, but others were screaming ‘F*ck, shoot him! He has an IED, don’t wait for permission!!’” Mohammed laughed, recounting the film’s many tense scenes when US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, radios in for authorization to take out a potential threat in his crosshairs.

The film, set during the US-led occupation of Iraq and released on Christmas Day, hit nerves in the United States immediately. Some critics and commentators lauded it as patriotic and unflinching; others dismissed it as reductionist and racist.

Many people also objected to the film's portrayal of Kyle — a man who described Iraqis as "savages" in his memoir — as a hero.

irected by Clint Eastwood, the movie is based on a book by the late Kyle, now known ubiquitously as the most lethal sniper in US military history. It has proven to be a blockbuster, breaking records and topping box office sales since its wide release on Jan. 16 and racking up Oscar nominations, including one for best picture.

It’s been stirring controversy in Iraq, too.

In Baghdad, where much of the film is set, the movie drew full crowds at one of the city’s new upscale cinemas. Dressed in a fur-collared coat and loafers, Mohammed says many of the showings were sold out, and he knows of people who had to book their tickets a day in advance during opening week.

But after just a week on screens, the Mansour Mall theater pulled the controversial war movie. A theater employee sitting at the box office says management made the decision “because the hero of this film boasts of killing more than 160 Muslims.” The employee declined to give his name because he did not have permission to speak to journalists.

Mansour Mall attracts a largely upscale crowd in Baghdad. Behind tall gates and multiple layers of security complete with metal detectors and X-ray belts, the theaters here show a mix of Western and Arab films. Moviegoers interviewed at the mall say big budget action movies are usually the most popular, but romantic comedies and family dramas also do well.

Mohammed says one of the film’s opening scenes, when Kyle spots a woman and child who appear to be preparing to attack US troops during the initial invasion of Iraq, had the entire audience on the edge of their seats.

“When the sniper was hesitating to shoot [the child holding the RPG] everyone was yelling ‘Just shoot him!’” he said.

Mohammed, who lived through the events in Baghdad the film depicts, admits that scenes where women and children were killed were hard for him to watch. But all in all he liked the movie.

“I love watching war movies because especially now they give me the strength to face ISIS,” he said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State. When asked if he thought the movie was racist or anti-Arab — a charge made by some critics in the West — he replied, “No, why? The sniper was killing terrorists, the only thing that bothered me was when he said he didn’t know anything about the Quran!”

quote:

But not all Iraqis were cheering on "Chief" Kyle’s kills. Wael, a government ministry employee in his thirties, says the film was too violent. He’s happy it’s no longer being shown in some Baghdad theaters.

“To some extent, I considered it against all Muslims,” he said. He also referred to the opening scene in Fallujah where a woman and child are killed.

“The sniper, he has a chance to hit the child and his mother in their foot or anywhere without killing them, but he didn’t because he’s bloodthirsty like all the American troops.”

Wael, who asked to only be referred to by his first name because he fears for his security, says he still watched the movie three times: twice at the cinema and again at his friend’s house.

Young Freud posted:

In lighter news, I ran across an article about American Sniper being shown in Iraq and it's reaction to Iraqi audiences, which was not what I expected...


Not all of the reviews were positive...

Ardennes posted:

Eh it could very well be that the people they were quoting maybe had their investment in the war especially considering the statement about ISIS. Basically, it is quite likely those guys were Shia Iraqis getting psyched about an American dude plastering some Sunnis.

Ardennes posted:

Eh it could very well be that the people they were quoting had a emotional investment in the war especially considering the statement about ISIS. Basically, it is quite likely those guys were Shia Iraqis getting psyched about an American dude plastering some Sunnis.

False Flag Rape posted:

Have shia ever attacked US on US soil?

False Flag Rape posted:

Both shia and sunny are completely nuts, but honestly seems like shia are the better of the two and deserves international support in their holy war thing.

Have shia ever attacked US on US soil?

False Flag Rape posted:

Both shia and sunny are completely nuts, but honestly seems like shia are the better of the two and deserves international support in their holy war thing.

Have shia ever attacked US on US soil?

False Flag Rape posted:

Both shia and sunny are completely nuts, but honestly seems like shia are the better of the two and deserves international support in their holy war thing.

Have shia ever attacked US on US soil?

Dolash posted:

Also I'm going to assume that during the long, painful occupation of Iraq, American troops fought just about everybody and every faction in the country at some point or another. Except possibly the Kurds, I guess.

Miltank posted:

So this guy is operating under the impression that Iraq will still exist in a recognizable form when this is all over? Doesn't really make much sense to me.

Invicta{HOG}, M.D. posted:

Middle East thread, Muslims, maybe it belongs somewhere else but something I have been worried about seems to have happened in the US with a "radical atheist" charged in the murder of three North Carolina Muslims. I wouldn't expect this to become frequent but it seemed like just a matter of time until some US nutjob got tired of watching people executed on youtube and decided to target someone wearing a hijab:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/us/shooting-deaths-university-of-north-carolina-murder-charges.html?_r=0

Sergg posted:

But a statement released by the Chapel Hill police said, “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking," adding that the man arrested, Craig Stephen Hicks, was “cooperating with investigators.”