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I know we had Saudichat a while back, so I went out and read Inside the Kingdom. Goddamn. I have no idea how they're our allies. The poo poo that goes on in Saudi Arabia boggles the mind. - Palace Intrigue - Religious Suppression - Having a National Guard to fight the Army (Making sure weapons systems are 1-to-1 counters to Army equipment) - Supporting Terrorism (duh!) - Dragging the US into all kinds of poo poo - (Secretly) Buying ballistic missiles from China in '91
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Oct 14, 2015 16:38
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also lol at the CIA helping the Saudis build madrasas in Afghanistan in the 80's and 90's.
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Oct 14, 2015 17:04
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I picked up Relentless Strike based on the recommendations here and it's fantastic! I'd like to recommend ARVN: Life and Death in the South Vietnamese Army . It's not a very long book, and the writing is very dry and academic but it is a good read on a topic that is often overlooked. The book explains the reasons behind the ARVN's shortcomings but also highlights little-known successes. The ARVN Airborne, Rangers and Marines were all excellent, as were the armoured cavalry formations. The ARVN as a whole was plagued by conscription destabilizing the patterns of rural life, and honestly unbelievable corruption in the officer corps. The way the ARVN was trained and equipped by the Americans was in many ways a response to the Korean War and the focus of the ARVN was force-on-force engagements with massive firepower and logistics support from the US. This was very effective in 1965-66 and again at An Loc in '72. As a counterinsurgency force the ARVN was not very flexible or effective, with the exception of the Rangers and Marines. When the Americans pulled out, the ARVN was unable to rely on firepower to blunt the North Vietnamese offensive, and morale fell apart as an entire Corps was destroyed in the Central Highlands. When people complain about the Iraqi Army or ANA they often use the ARVN comparison, and I think that's a little unfair. The ARVN did very well considering the state of South Vietnam. Corruption, coups, and poor policy overall doomed the ARVN more than cowardice or failings on the part of individual soldiers.
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Oct 30, 2015 15:39
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