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It'd either have to be really sturdy or really cheap.
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Mar 6, 2015 00:06
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^^^ Yep, I got your solution right here! warderenator posted:Someone needs to design a robot that can clear minefields. Seems like it should be doable. Human life is cheaper, especially in places recently devastated by years of civil war. 
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Mar 6, 2015 00:07
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My dad took part in the revolution (Iranian), and he put it really well. Iran has always been a leader based culture, one of the reason the Arab spring really didn't gain ground there and partially why the green revolution puttered out. There was no leaders for the communists and the war with Iraq sped things up post revolution. After that a bunch of them were executed and a lot just fled the country. It will be hard for Iran to really give up the idea of having revolutions or try change without leading them. Look at the sect of Islam that they follow, it is all about 12 divinely inspired imams coming back and leading them.
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Mar 6, 2015 00:17
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fade5 posted:Well, the Kurds taking Gire Sipi/Tal Abyad may have just gotten harder/more bloody: Mines are warfare 101, of course they will use mines if they have any available. Everyone uses them when possible. But worry not, they will not inconvenience combat operations that much!
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Mar 6, 2015 00:26
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Mozi posted:It'd either have to be really sturdy or really cheap. http://www.wired.com/2013/03/minesweeper/ 
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Mar 6, 2015 00:39
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That really is a beautiful design/photo
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Mar 6, 2015 01:22
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i am like 95% certain that the job could be done cheaper and better by trained dudes with the appropriate gear clearing mines really isn't that expensive, which only makes it more atrocious that we're so loving slow about it
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Mar 6, 2015 01:24
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When the US invaded Iraq I recall one member of the coalition offered monkeys that you would set loose in a minefield to disarm it.
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Mar 6, 2015 02:22
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I remember that. Where did Canada even find those monkeys?
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Mar 6, 2015 02:56
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McDowell posted:When the US invaded Iraq I recall one member of the coalition offered monkeys that you would set loose in a minefield to disarm it.
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Mar 6, 2015 02:58
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Grouchio posted:Were they french? No I think they were from Southeast Asia.
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Mar 6, 2015 03:04
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Grouchio posted:Were they french? The French weren't part of the Coalition, don't you remember the era of "Freedom Fries" and all that dumb poo poo?
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Mar 6, 2015 03:39
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Zeroisanumber posted:The French weren't part of the Coalition, don't you remember the era of "Freedom Fries" and all that dumb poo poo?
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Mar 6, 2015 04:37
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Guys it was Morocco with the monkeys, in the lounge
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Mar 6, 2015 04:47
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Jagchosis posted:Guys it was Morocco with the monkeys, in the lounge Monkeys are an effective means of mine disposal. Too bad the Assyrians chopped down all the forests of the mid-east, those monkeys would've come in real handy right about now.
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Mar 6, 2015 05:11
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There are actually specially bred/trained rats that can smell and identify mines. It's kinda neat.
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Mar 6, 2015 05:23
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I like the solution after World War 2 where the allies made the Germans clean up their own mines, and then made them march over the locations afterward to make sure that they were extra thorough.
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Mar 6, 2015 05:38
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http://news.yahoo.com/bulldozed-ancient-assyrian-city-nimrud-iraq-govt-203312292.html God it breaks my heart seeing priceless historical sites being needlessly destroyed. 
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Mar 6, 2015 06:03
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BattleMaster posted:I like the solution after World War 2 where the allies made the Germans clean up their own mines, and then made them march over the locations afterward to make sure that they were extra thorough. Except the Germans, being Germans, had marked the location of every mine and kept the records. The fun came when they had to clean up other people's mines.
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Mar 6, 2015 06:10
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achillesforever6 posted:http://news.yahoo.com/bulldozed-ancient-assyrian-city-nimrud-iraq-govt-203312292.html Seeing historical artifacts destroyed is preferable than seeing ISIS earn money from selling them on the black market. Not that it matters for historical sites like this. I doubt they'd rake in the tourist dollars anyway.
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Mar 6, 2015 06:10
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Cat Army 
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Scaramouche posted:There are actually specially bred/trained rats that can smell and identify mines. It's kinda neat. Yeah. They're three feet long and commonly found in Brooklyn. No, I'm not joking. Nambian Pouched Rats, if I recall correctly.
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Mar 6, 2015 10:58
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My Imaginary GF posted:Monkeys are an effective means of mine disposal. How about unleash some honey badgers on the minefields, they are tough little critters quote:During the British occupation of Basra, in 2007 rumours of "man-eating badgers" emerged from the local population, including allegations that these beasts were released by the British troops, something that the British categorically denied. A British army spokesperson said that the badgers were "native to the region but rare in Iraq" and "are usually only dangerous to humans if provoked". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_badger
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Mar 6, 2015 11:07
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Scaramouche posted:There are actually specially bred/trained rats that can smell and identify mines. It's kinda neat. There's also this. Not practical for this situation but might be handy for places that aren't active battlefields.
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Mar 6, 2015 13:29
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Scapegoat posted:How about unleash some honey badgers on the minefields, they are tough little critters Military simulation software program Far Cry 4 demonstrates that Honey Badgers could be quite effective in solving the ISIS problem as well.
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Mar 6, 2015 13:37
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Jonad posted:Military simulation software program Far Cry 4 demonstrates that Honey Badgers could be quite effective in solving the ISIS problem as well. As it also suggests that eagles would be by far the most affective tool in taking care of any armed militias and religious fundamentalist, I'm not sure it's predictions can be entirely trusted....
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Mar 6, 2015 13:59
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Warcabbit posted:Yeah. They're three feet long and commonly found in Brooklyn. Spelling error aside, he's really not kidding.
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Mar 6, 2015 14:09
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achillesforever6 posted:http://news.yahoo.com/bulldozed-ancient-assyrian-city-nimrud-iraq-govt-203312292.html
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Mar 6, 2015 14:40
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Al-Saqr posted:because it's a natural ending to a dictator who with full support from the west destroyed any possibility for democracy and peaceful change in his country through a huge police state, and when the revolution kicked off he killed thousands of people with the army, leading to only the most radical people to end up being strong enough to take control once he hosed off. Besides there being more head scarves in the streets, the youth of Iran is still very much in touch with Western fashion trends, actually. It didn't die out with the Shah's fall.
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Mar 6, 2015 15:12
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The Iron Rose posted:Seeing historical artifacts destroyed is preferable than seeing ISIS earn money from selling them on the black market. The cynical view is that ISIS have already looted the portable stuff from the museum in order to sell; what's being smashed and bulldozed is the stuff that's too inconvenient to move. Rather than being a high-minded religious thing, it's quite a useful distraction from where the rest of the exhibits went. As distractions go it's a good one, because it's appalling.
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Mar 6, 2015 15:49
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In the book version of Fight Club Tyler Durden wants to blow up museums to free people from the past.
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Mar 6, 2015 15:53
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richardm posted:The cynical view is that ISIS have already looted the portable stuff from the museum in order to sell; what's being smashed and bulldozed is the stuff that's too inconvenient to move. Rather than being a high-minded religious thing, it's quite a useful distraction from where the rest of the exhibits went. As distractions go it's a good one, because it's appalling. P.sure this is true. On the radio the other week someone who used to head the Mets art crime unit said there's been a huge spike in artifacts from the middle east being sold.
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Mar 6, 2015 15:56
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fade5 posted:
If you think thats depressing then just go Google Afghanistan in the 60s.
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Mar 6, 2015 16:15
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So it looks like those tiny pockets of ISIL fighters are just about gone on the Euphrates river. Shiyukh is now fully in YPG/J control, and ISIL has retreated to Jarabulus.  https://twitter.com/mib___/status/573733812674433024 quote:Shiyukh now fully in YPG/J control. ISIS blew up the bridge to Jarablus when their remaining forces fled.     
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Mar 6, 2015 16:17
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Dilkington posted:I'm going to plagarise myself: Can you recommend some reading material?
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Mar 6, 2015 16:18
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So I've heard it mentioned that when Iraq fell and the army was disbanded, a good chunk of the now unemployed officer corps ran off to join the various islamist militias. I've always wondered why? Wasn't the officer corps nominally Baathist? And wasn't Baathism supposed to be a secularish pan-arab ideology? Did they just pay better than the non-islamist militias?
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Mar 6, 2015 16:18
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Grouchio posted:I was trying to make the zinger you cheese.  4-lyfe
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Mar 6, 2015 16:21
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fade5 posted:So it looks like those tiny pockets of ISIL fighters are just about gone on the Euphrates river. Shiyukh is now fully in YPG/J control, and ISIL has retreated to Jarabulus. Blowing bridges to slow the progress of your opponents is retreating 101
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Mar 6, 2015 16:21
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:Blowing bridges to slow the progress of your opponents is retreating 101 Yeah I wouldn't put the destruction of bridges on the same level as looting and destroying museums or scorched-earth tactics.
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Mar 6, 2015 17:08
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:Blowing bridges to slow the progress of your opponents is retreating 101 Bulldozing Nimrud is not. We can't kill these fucks fast enough.
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Mar 6, 2015 17:13
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richardm posted:The cynical view is that ISIS have already looted the portable stuff from the museum in order to sell; what's being smashed and bulldozed is the stuff that's too inconvenient to move. Rather than being a high-minded religious thing, it's quite a useful distraction from where the rest of the exhibits went. As distractions go it's a good one, because it's appalling. This is exactly what it is. Your typical agencies have been cracking down in response, but it's still a huge source of revenue for ISIS.
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Mar 6, 2015 17:50
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