A MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Pratt/Handout
Anatomy Of An Air Strike: Three Intelligence Streams Working In Concert -- David Axe and Robert Beckhusen, Reuters
In a fast-moving war with an elusive foe like the Islamic State militants, information is as important as guns, jet fighters and bombs.
Sometime early this summer, U.S. Special Operations Forces launched a raid into Syria in an effort to rescue several American hostages being held by the group. But the commandos’ information was out of date. The captives were no longer in the target area.
The attempted rescue, which the Obama administration revealed one day after a graphic video was posted depicting an Islamic State member beheading kidnapped American journalist James Foley, underscores the importance of timely intelligence. The Pentagon’s escalating campaign against Islamic State fighters in Iraq depends completely on reliable information.
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My Comment: Intelligence, having assets on the ground and in the air, and coordination .... these are the three critical components in a U.S. air strike. On paper this looks like something that is easy to do .... but in the real world .... I suspect that making all three work together in a timely fashion is not as easy as it looks.
1 comment:
To paraphrase this article: Look at all the neat stuff we've got, you'd be amazed at what it can do. These naughty ISIS people had better behave or we'll be forced to use it on them and they'll be sorry.
I know this is unfair, but it shouts this theme along with tons of modifiers (unclear, takes time, surely has, etc) which is indicates a lot of wishful thinking.
One final thought on one of the photos: The guys in the shiny new clothes on the earthberm. Are they there to pickup their kids from the school bus? Because these guys aren't going to stop any bad guys, that's for sure.
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