Red Dawn 2012, part 1

The plot is one big inaccuracy but lets talk military hardware and what hollywood decides to show us.

OK the invasion by North Korean airborne forces shows troops descending from a medium sized transport aircraft with the distinct drone of a turbo propellor. Its a Russian Antonov A10, NATO designation Cat. An aircraft not operated by the North Korean military. Let us for argument sake take the leap that we have somehow missed these missions lining up on runways in presumably in Taechon North Korea could they reach North America. With an operational range of 4075 km. North Korea to the mainland United States is roughly 9000 km. The a10 cannot be refueled  in air. Unless anyone wants to venture a better flight root, that magically allows this to work please let me know. Otherwise not happening.

Homemade rocketry , cheap for HAMAS and costly for Israel.

The concept of a city being bombarded by rockets seem’s reminiscent of the period of the Blitz when V1 and V2 rockets attacked London from sites on the continent (Belgium and France). As I type Israel is feeling the effects of roughly 500 euros worth of engineering.

The Qassam rocket, is militarily ineffective , inaccurate but the fear it induces is to quote modern advertising priceless. The psychological price of this weapon, sleeping pills. 30% of citizens have taken them for a period greater then one month. It would be interesting if some health centric bloggers and economists would do some study on this issue. To calculate the fiscal cost these rockets exhibit.

The simplicity of the design and the spread of rocket engineering , I use this loosely these guys are no NASA, has seen a ridiculous increases from 896 rockets in 2007 to 2048 in 2008. Though we should also factor in the amount of failed rockets into each year to get a more exact picture / cost benefit analysis.

Economically I wonder does 500 (rockets cost) x 2046 (no. of working rockets) which comes to a total of Euro 1023000 warrant the retaliation of modern military hardware lets say an F15 strike (28 million) , the ineffective rockets huge money drain for the Israel government. Would said money be better spent in other possible areas. (here one’s own view of the Israeli – Palestinian debate comes into play, please comment)

Could this be a long term thousand cut scenario during a period of global economic strife and a tenuous Isreali – American future.

The Swiss Dirt and Weather: an invaders guide to mountains or a refugees trip to the freezer!

All conflicts involve as Americans like to put it “boots on the ground” , the physical presence of armed forces. A presence no amount of airpower can beat as you now have someone to literally eyeball and direct all your new found hate against. So lets discuss geography in Switzerland. This will help to put the future posts about the nations history in context. As relatively few other nations could viably maintain a “neutral stance” and invasion free living for so long.

Climatically Switzerland has a relatively temperate climate provided your not in the mountains. People in general do not enjoy living in frozen wastes unless your Russian and welcome the saving embrace of winter and death to your enemies! While the Alps feature never ending snow and ice. Making them very unappealing to invaders and the modern logistic trains of the 21st century and the subsequent fast  food industries that follow.

Switzerland is literally ringed with these mountains, keeping the French, Germans and well the Italians out. The only real geographical entrances excluding tunnels (I’ll get to tunnel’s, best avoided) are passes. Roughly 7 all year passes exist and 20 seasonal invasion / defense points exist. The nation resembles a large bowl with the outer edges being sharp and razor like, very unpleasant making the passes the only sane route. This sane route for invasion or for a flood of refugee turns the passes into inevitable kill boxes on a large scale.  Swiss military planners are afforded so many geographical luxuries, that others would have dreamed of , no endless coastline , the joy of only defending ones own country (conquerers hate to give up someone else’s dirt) , an inevitable harsh winter. Possibly should they situation truly go to hell a terrain so suited to insurgent tactics , the Nazi’s thought of a similar ploy as the war was grinding closer to home in 1945. Head to the mountains , make the invaders slowly bleed out from a thousand pin pricks.

So geographically invading is complicated , the Swiss know this yet are still planning for it. Refugees can be kept on the border as it so definitive those who want to cross the Alps will become future relics , historical time capsules akin to the occasional Napoleonic ice cube man we find!

Next the politics of the Swiss, the mindset thats not exactly all chocolate and cheese with parts missing.

Quick Book Recommendation

Daniel Silva and his long suffering assassin Gabriel Allon have been a favorite of mine for the past few years. Silva depicts a slightly different Swiss state with a slightly darker side to the chocolate makers. Check out the “English Assassin” and “The Rembrandt Affair”.  If you are like me and like delving deeper into the factoids of a thriller these touch on fine art and the creepy Swiss counterpart of the NSA. You are going to question more as I blog more.

The Swiss Miss and Europe

“Switzerland is a country where very few things begin, but many things end” – F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Stability concerning the European nation states though somewhat divisive concerning fiscal matters , the Union is still strong. Since the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, armed conflict in the traditional military sense on European soil has seemed like a chapter from a Tom Clancy novel. Featuring plots born forth from cigar smoke filled rooms in the Lubyanka. But the Swiss are preparing for anarchy amongst its neighbors and once more hiding behind the natural mountain fortress that has encapsulated them for generations.

Within my next few posts I hope to delve into the Swiss military ability and the theory of European collapse. Theorising what they think is going to happen to the rest of the continent.

So some history and military thinking to follow.