Obama sends US combat troops to Uganda

[Zippyjuan]

you're kidding, right? progress? US sent green berets. their "progress" doesn't get directly reported.

media focus has shifted to Somalia again, for the moment.

we have our answer as to where the drone attacks on east central africa will be officially launched:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...-operational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.html



i was beginning to wonder... Mogadishu and Djbouti just seemed too far logistically speaking.

it's funny that when .mil is fighting against al-qaeda it can officially be called a "proxy war" yet when .gov is enabling al-qaeda (as in libya's case) it's "kinetic military (in)action". whole thoughts and ideas and the words used to describe them are literally being redefined in a matter of hours to justify the injustice right before our very eyes.

what the hell, though. nobody seems to care all that much. it's all just semantics i suppose.

Ethiopia to Uganda is about 800 miles. Only our biggest drones have that kind of range.

 

[flightlesskiwi]

Ethiopia to Uganda is about 800 miles. Only our biggest drones have that kind of range.

no. Arba Minich Ethiopia is 521 miles away from Kampala, Uganda.

wiki (and this isn't necessarily accurate, just sayin'): MQ-1 has a "range" of 400 nautical miles with a loiter time of 14 hours. MQ-9 has a 3200 nautical mile range.

it's do-able.

also, pretty sure the Green Berets have their own drone platforms.

there's also other stuff that we all don't necessarily know about when it comes to RPA's.

so, yeah, drone surveillance over east-central AFRICOM is not a pipe dream. not sure what you're getting at...?

 

[Pericles]

There are loads of drones, but only the larger AF drones are armed. The US has less than 300 armed drones.

 

[flightlesskiwi]

There are loads of drones, but only the larger AF drones are armed. The US has less than 300 armed drones.

ISR, ISR, ISR.

still a killing (enabling) machine. and still have no business helping wage overt/covert war in 3rd world African nations.

Our Dear Leaders just drool at the thought of drones.

 

[Pericles]

ISR, ISR, ISR.

still a killing (enabling) machine. and still have no business helping wage overt/covert war in 3rd world African nations.

Our Dear Leaders just drool at the thought of drones.

Yes they do, don't actually risk a pilot, and can just press the kill button. No muss, no fuss. Until some nerd in his parent's basement takes control of the drone and proceeds to have some fun.

 

[flightlesskiwi]

Yes they do, don't actually risk a pilot, and can just press the kill button. No muss, no fuss. Until some nerd in his parent's basement takes control of the drone and proceeds to have some fun.

right, right.

bugsplat and collateral damages. making war from halfway around the world.

i'm reminded of Pink Floyd's song "Comfortably Numb".

 

[JK/SEA]

With only 100 troops it truly does seem humanitarian. But given Obama's past, this will turn into something redonkulous.

yeah, i think they're going to just hand out sandwiches and juice.

 

[flightlesskiwi]

yeah, i think they're going to just hand out sandwiches and juice.

ROFL!!!!

 

[tommyzDad]

He is gonna free the shit out of Africa.

 

[economics102]

Someone else asked where the outrage is. I can oblige...

This is fucking OUTRAGEOUS. This is even a step beyond Libya. At least in the case of Libya there was a theoretical rationale for why Obama didn't have time to wait for Congress' approval. (Not that the Libya actions were in any way defensible) In this case, there is not only no imminent threat to US interests, there isn't even an imminent threat to the people in Uganda!!! Obama even begins his letter with the prosaic "For more than two decades" in reference to the LRA "threat."

Also, W-T-F, the letter says the initial team of troops deployed all the way back in October!!!

Let's see if I understand something here, the anti-war people who supported Obama in 2008 were critical of the Bush Doctrine, which was Bush's assertion that the United States had the right to pre-emptively strike any nation that posed an imminent threat to the United States.

In the good ol' Bush era (can't believe I'm saying that), Congress voted to AUTHORIZE the military action -- even though it wasn't an actual declaration of war. In the Bush era, "imminent threat" meant the nation in question posed a plausible capability of attacking us (even if the claims turned out to be lies).

Seriously, this is getting insane.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

right, right.

bugsplat and collateral damages. making war from halfway around the world.

i'm reminded of Pink Floyd's song "Comfortably Numb".

Or Roger Waters. Same difference...

"The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range"

...

I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris
I swam in your pools
And lay under your palm trees
I looked in the eyes of the Indian
Who lay on the Federal Building steps
And through the range finder over the hill
I saw the frontline boys popping their pills
Sick of the mess they find
On their desert stage
And the bravery of being out of range
Yeah the question is vexed
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next
Old timer who you gonna kill next
Hey bartender over here
Two more shots
And two more beers
Sir turn up the TV sound
The war has started on the ground
Just love those laser guided bombs
They're really great
For righting wrongs
You hit the target
And win the game
From bars 3,000 miles away
3,000 miles away
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range
We zap and maim
With the bravery of being out of range
We strafe the train
With the bravery of being out of range
We gained terrain
With the bravery of being out of range
With the bravery of being out of range
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range