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To: LindyBill who wrote (37758)	4/4/2004 7:38:10 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793964

Military News - ARMORED WARFARE: Stryker Vehicles in Iraq April 3, 2004: After four months in Iraq, the Stryker brigade up in Mosul lost its first Stryke armored vehicle to an RPG attack on March 28th. Two RPGs were fired at the vehicle and one was not stopped by the Slat Armor. The vehicle caught fire and was destroyed. None of the crew were hurt. Only the driver was aboard, and he got out. The rest of the crew (an infantry squad) were on foot patrol at the time. About half a dozen RPG rounds have previously been fired at the brigades 309 Strykers, only causing minor damage. Two Strykers were damaged when hit by a roadside bomb. Only one soldier was injured. Three Stryker crewmen were killed, back in December, when a Stryker rolled over when part of the dirt embankment underneath it collapsed. The troops like the Stryker, mainly because it's faster than the M-2 Bradley tracked armored infantry vehicle that many of the troops had used earlier in their careers. The Stryker has a smoother ride and it is quiet. This has proved to be a significant advantage when going on raids, or just patrolling. The road wheels and metal pads of a tracked armored vehicle make a lot more noise. The Iraqis are unnerved by silent Strykers sneaking up on them. Being a new combat vehicle, the Stryker has come under a lot of criticism. But so far, the troops using it are enthusiastic. That is also largely due to the fact that the Stryker is a new vehicle and has a lot of new stuff in it. The vehicle has a .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine-gun that can be fired from inside the vehicle via an automated mechanism and video cameras on the outside of the vehicle. The driver also has a video camera, which provides the driver with more protection (although a narrower view of what's up ahead) when the vehicle is under fire, or in hazardous country. The Strykers are also equipped with the new FBCB2 "battlefield Internet." This means each vehicle has a computer, and is linked to all the other via satellite. This gives unit commanders a much better sense of where everyone is, especially at night. This stuff, in a less complete form, was used during the 2003 march on Baghdad, and worked well. The more complete FBCB2 has more bells and whistles and the troops seem to like it. The Stryker brigade is stationed up north, around Mosul. This city has a large Sunni Arab population, a lot of Saddam loyalists, but not as much violence as there is further south in the "Sunni Triangle." About a dozen Strykers have suffered serious damage so far, including several that were totaled. But casualties have not been high, and the troops still have that rush from being the first kids on the block with a new toy. The Stryker has not failed miserably as some critics predicted, and the Stryker troopers are constantly developing new ways to use vehicle. But a full assessment won't be possible until the Stryker brigade completes its one year tour in the Fall, and an after-action report is written.

To: LindyBill who wrote (37758)	4/4/2004 8:22:46 AM
From: D. Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

I wondered about the timing of the seige in Waziristan and the sudden outbreak of terrorism in Uzbekistan. Derek

To: LindyBill who wrote (37758)	4/4/2004 11:25:53 AM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

One positive benefit of 911 - that I would gladly do without - is a good knowledge of where all these central Asia countries are up on the "roof of the world." A very strong book recommendation for you, particularly given what I know about your reading tastes is Steve Coll's Ghost Wars. I'm 3/4s through and am very impressed. The focus is bin Laden, Afghanistan, and the CIA from the time the Soviets invaded Afghan to 9-11. I know you've already read a good bit on this, as have I, including Milt Bearden's memoirs. This eclipses all of that. He's got a great deal of documents and interviews from CIA types, from the Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Turki, from State Department types, the list just goes on and on and on. If Clarke's book had not come out simultaneously, it would have been a hands down recommendation as THE book to read to understand the 9-11 Commissions eventual report. You may recall Tom Kean waved it around at one of the hearings. My own recommendation is that one needs to read both. You will get a much better handle on what successive administration missed from Reagan forward. In addition to a great deal of new evidence, at least to me and it looks as if new to almost everyone, he offers a timeline of how each relevant institutional body addressed these issues, using their own words. Also, it's very readable, hung on individual stories as opposed to bland policy arguments.