Murder, American Style!

 Gary Hunt,
Outpost of Freedom
December 22, 2002

 The Race for Superiority 

In this modern age, warfare has begun to change at a much greater rate than ever before. In the past, horses, siege devices, gunpowder, automatic weapons, and bombs were among the substantial advancements in the art of killing. With the exception of the bomb, all of the others were directed at the opposing force. Bombs, however, were far less discriminate, though in their initial usage, were dropped only on the opposing force. By World War II, bombs were, for the first time, directed at civilian populations. 

In each of the above instances, it was only a matter of a relatively short period of time before the opposing side was able to arm itself with similar or better weapons. The technology was available, and the means always existed to develop, or steal the processes. 

With the first utilization of an Atomic Bomb, the ability to obtain such weapons was, for the first time, limited to a select few. Those select few were so desirous of maintaining military superiority that they conspired, intimidated and proposed treaties, to limit or prohibit others from acquiring the same weapons. This select few became known as the “Super Powers”.  

After decades of superiority, the remaining “Super Power” is intent on prohibiting any effort to duplicate the arsenals that it maintains. To that extent, it is willing to go to war with (destroy) any nation which attempts to built an arsenal, defensive or offensive, compatible with what the “Super Power” had in its possession over fifty years ago. 

To enforce this arbitrarily imposed ban (“we will go to war to maintain peace”), the “Super Power” uses the high-tech arsenal to seek out any opposition to the ban, and destroy them. This is becoming apparent in the current “war” in Afghanistan. 

Though most of the people of Afghanistan were funded and supported by the Super Power, just over a decade ago, in defeating the other contender for Super Power balance, they have now become an object of a new effort to revert their military capacity to something comparable to World War I. 

Afghanistan, even during Soviet occupation, was a land of warlords. The culture and religion had evolved this system of political control over centuries. Each of the warlords did, and continues to maintain its own arsenal. Many of these arsenals are comprised of US military equipment (given to them by the US government) and supplemented with captured Soviet equipment. 

In Afghanistan, nearly every adult male and many juvenile males carry rifles. It is a way of life. 

In an effort to weed out an elusive “enemy”, the US government has developed “Rules of Engagement” in Afghanistan that are little different than those that the FBI and BATF adopted at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. If you are armed (in a country where most are armed), you can be killed. 

Rather than impose this penalty in a circumstance that allows an evaluation of threat, the US government, in a zealous effort to protect its soldiers, has developed a method that is based upon intelligence. No, not the kind that demonstrates a superior knowledge, it is the far less reliable (and often faulty) intelligence gathered through whatever source it can pay for, or coerce from, other people.  

In Afghanistan, the warlords have already learned that they can provide “intelligence” which has the effect of safely removing elements of opposing warlords. The US government is not known for substantiating the information it receives, and often acts in the hopes of the accuracy thereof.  

Though the particulars are not known about the circumstances surrounding this video, what we can be sure of is that it is a night-time operation; The imagery is infrared; It was conducted by an AC-130 Gunship; There appears to be a degree of uncertainty on the part of some of the crew members as to what the targets were; And, that there was a desire to kill anything that moved. 

What we must assume to maintain a moral sense of right and wrong is that these buildings and people are not homes and families. We must convince ourselves that the Church (Mosque) is solely for military personnel, and that the other buildings do not contain food or medical supplies. We must assume that no women and children were present, and that the scene of the “crime” was void of any innocent people. 

Even after all of this, we must also assume that the victims of this crime were Al Qaida or Taliban. After all, we have declared that we are not taking sides in the political realm in Afghanistan.  

Finally, you must not look at this Gunship crew as godlike in their abilities. Just because they are flying at an altitude that probably precluded their even being heard by those on the ground; Even though the destruction of the possibly military materials might will have been sufficient (you can’t fight without weapons); Even though there was an absolute impossibility of ascertaining the validity of their targets, the proceeded with enthusiasm, to destroy anything that moved – Reaching out from the heavens, stretching their arm of justice – into the world below, striking like lightening from an invisible platform in the sky. 

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  Murder, American Style!   

This video provides an insight into the push-button, arcade game aspect that has taken the place of warfare. As you view this video, and listen to the sounds of the voices, you will begin to understand the casual aspect of “Murder, American Style”.  

Note that an effort is made to destroy any person seen to move, during the operation. Unlike conventional warfare, where you see the face of the enemy, and know that he is your enemy, in this new game, you have to rely on the quality of the intelligence that is coming to you from other sources. And, the multitude of participants in the immediate game (there are at least six voices on the video). 

Consider, also, that in conventional warfare, if you err, and kill a civilian, you, quite often, will know that you did. In this game, however, you can sense the distance – and lack of concern or emotion, as the ‘crew’ emulates their favorite roll-playing game. 

Are we all without conscience and morality? We must be so, since we continue to support and finance this playtime activity for our military. 

 Got a Quarter? I want to play "Murder, American Style!"  

View Video

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The AC-130 Gunship 

The AC-130 Gunship is a modified C-130, which was a workhorse in military transportation. The Gunship concept began in Vietnam, though the C-47 was the original platform for the gun mounts. The design allows firing off of the left side of the aircraft, and a long sweeping turn is the effective position for aiming and firing. 

Since the early version of the Gunship, the armament has been substantially increased. High-Tech instrumentation has also increased the accuracy and capability of the aircraft. The current version supports:
1-40 mm Cannon
1-105 mm Cannon
2-20 mm Guns or 1-25 mm Gun 

The crew consists of five officers: pilot; co-pilot; navigator; fire control office; and, electronic warfare officer. And, either eight or nine enlisted personnel: flight engineer; TV operator; infrared detection set operator; loadmaster; and, four or five aerial gunners 

Aiming capabilities are visual or infrared, and are operated using sophisticated imagery systems. 

The cost of the Gunship is between $50 million and $80 million, depending on which of the two primary configurations is used. 

The result: A very sophisticated Killing Machine