A military expert speaks out.

[Carl]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2946792

ThomWV  (1000+ posts)        Sat Mar-01-08 11:20 AM
Original message
Here's A Buzz-Word That Really Fries My Ass
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Anytime you hear a person in uniform testifying before either a Senate or House Committee and they describe a threat to this nation as "Asymmetrical" you know that they are exaggerating that threat to an outrageous degree.

Asymmetrical threat means that whoever it is that is fighting against us is armed with sticks and spears rather than full electronics and automatic weapons, a fighter that hides behind trees and rocks rather than behind 50,000 feet of sky in a B-1 Bomber, an enemy that hurls spears where we use cruise missiles, laser guided 'smart bombs'.

Thursday a military man told a Senate Committee that we should be concerned about Venezuela, they were procuring assault rifles. Another asymmetric threat for us to fear. For christ sakes, every drug dealer in Birmingham has an assault rifle.

Do you know what an asymmetrical threat is? Its a term. Just a couple of words that sound ominous, instill fear, and the asshats use it all the time.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

God dam, it fries my ass.

Maybe our real life military folks can weigh in but I suspect that Thom is full of bs.

provis99  (1000+ posts)       Sat Mar-01-08 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
2. it's easy. Assymetrical = unwinnable.
   They used this in the Vietnam War, too.
   

 

KG (1000+ posts)        Sat Mar-01-08 11:37 AM
Response to Original message
4. asymmetrical: world power getting its ass kicked by guerrilas forces.

Believe in Santa too?

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

They like to claim we're losing.

Then moan we've killed 1,200,000 at the cost of 4,000.

[TheSarge]

Asymmetrical threat means that whoever it is that is fighting against us is armed with sticks and spears rather than full electronics and automatic weapons, a fighter that hides behind trees and rocks rather than behind 50,000 feet of sky in a B-1 Bomber, an enemy that hurls spears where we use cruise missiles, laser guided 'smart bombs'.

Once again the tom thumb primitive is showing a stunning lack of knowledge of military terminology specifically and the armed forces in general.

Symmetrical warfare means we are fighting a known enemy...wearing easily recognizable uniforms...insignia and 99.9% of the time fighting for a standing Army under the flag of a specific nation.


Asymmetrical war is the polar opposite of that.

The shoe shine boy....the old man selling oranges....the twenty something kid riding on a wagon pulled by a donkey....all wearing civilian clothes like the rest of the general population...using any weapon they can get their hands on fighting for the highest bidder.


9/11 was the ultimate act of asymmetrical warfare.


Secondly...this jackass wants to bitch about us using B-1 Bombers...cruise missiles and other high tech equipment in our current fight...and he'd be the first one to complain if we WEREN'T using them...and "why are billions being wasted on equipment we don't use"
 

[DumbAss Tanker]

There is a minimal amount of truth and a maximum of spin in that.  The term is actually professional military usage rather political, though, it simply is used to describe conflict in which the two sides have vastly different means to conduct the war (often vastly different objectives as well), and therefore generally entirely different measures of success, i.e. one side has lots of technology and wealth but is casualty-averse, while life means nothing to the other side and they have tons of people and infantry weapons.

[jukin]

Someday we will be as terrible as the world believes and just nuke a country, go in with our glass drills and start producing oil in theree months. 

[Carl]

Thank you guys.

I am not a military person and will not pretend to be so appreciate the insight into the terminology.

Somehow I just knew that the primitive was misrepresenting the meaning of the term.

[Airwolf]

Never seek the advice the the globally stupid that is DU.

[Chris_]

That's what happens when you look up "asymetrical" in the dictionary and fill in the blanks by watching Chuck Norris movies.   

[daveman]

Hey, ThomWV:

[BlueStateSaint]

Someday we will be as terrible as the world believes and just nuke a country, go in with our glass drills and start producing oil in theree months. 

Can we start with Berkeley CA?

[miskie]

They like to claim we're losing.

Then moan we've killed 1,200,000 at the cost of 4,000.

No kidding, the raw kill rate these moonbats propose is 300 to 1. Leaving all concern for our troops aside, (just for the pure statistics of the moonbat-pushed theory) It would only take about 65 thousand more American lives to reduce the population of Iraq to 0.

The Viet-Nam war cost us 58 thousand souls. In my book -- again just statistically -- we have come a long way in efficiency since that time.

to stretch this even further - the lost Americans during Viet Nam accounts for about 3% of United States total population at the time, and the projected moonbat scenario above shows total victory can be achieved at a reduction of about 2.3%

Face it libtards. We arent losing according to your numbers, not by a long stretch.

* This post wasn't intended to offend - it was to point out how absurd the 1.2M Iraqi death figure is.

[Splashdown]

I'm shocked that TomInTib hasn't weighed in on this subject. Didn't he graduate first in his class from the USNA with a specialty in assymetrical warfare?

[Attero Dominatus]

I also thought TomInFib would chime in with his bullshit

[BlueStateSaint]

I'm shocked that TomInTib hasn't weighed in on this subject. Didn't he graduate first in his class from the USNA with a specialty in assymetrical warfare?

Not only that, but he did his doctoral thesis on "Population Reduction from 30,000 Feet."