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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug R who wrote (4311)	3/28/2003 12:35:03 AM
From: Just_Observing	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21614

They're not about to go down with the shrubbies The longer this goes on, the worse this invasion adventure will become. There will be finger pointing and resignations. And Rummy will no longer be smiling so confidently. What is of the most concern is the inevitable shift in military strategy to overcome the ongoing invasion problems. In their frustration, the pentagon players may ramp up the bombing since we control the skies. And shift to cheap fuel-air weapons like the MOAB. Apparently, we have already used up a third of all our Tomahawks. That will increase the casualties exponentially. And cause enormous suffering. They kill in the most shocking manner as described below. This is going to end very badly. Especially for the Iraqis. Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs") According to one Russian military scientist writing for the Russian military magazine Voyennyye Znaniya (Military Knowledge), FAE weapons are effective against exposed personnel, combat equipment, fortified areas and individual defensive fortifications, clearing passages in minefields, clearing landing sites for helicopters, destroying communication centers, and neutralizing strongholds in house-to-house fighting in a city.(2) In addition, he stated that "fuel-air explosives are capable…of completely destroying in a given area vegetation and agricultural crops that have been planted." "In its destructive capability, it is comparable to low-yield nuclear munitions."(3) Blast Injuries Blast explosives kill or injure in three ways: with the blast wave; with flying debris or by collapsing buildings; and by the blast wind throwing bodies against the ground, equipment, structures, and other stationary objects. According to a 1993 study by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency: The [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique--and unpleasant.... What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs.… If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents.(8) According to a separate U.S. Central Intelligence Agency study, "the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness."(9) Another Defense Intelligence Agency document speculates that because the "shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue…it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate."(10) hrw.org