tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post1702879171721465242..comments2023-06-17T04:06:52.667-07:00Comments on Capers With Carroll: Escapade @ Qasr al YahudBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04789535627537515126noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post-65180216228612947572012-12-04T18:28:26.961-08:002012-12-04T18:28:26.961-08:00Knees! Oh, my. If the Roman legions were fouls by...Knees! Oh, my. If the Roman legions were fouls by want of a horse shoe, then I, like you, are foundered by bad knees. Give you family our best wishes and enjoy Christmas also.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14202410717147326787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post-21867354078596631252012-12-02T13:14:38.992-08:002012-12-02T13:14:38.992-08:00Ben,
Interesting. I had heard a similar thing abo...Ben,<br />Interesting. I had heard a similar thing about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979. They intended to pull up to the border in bluster, but their maps were so poor, when they finally pulled up, they found themselves ten miles inside Afghanistan, and stuck in a war from which it took them ten years to extricate themselves. Many wars have been started by brinkmanship gone sour.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789535627537515126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post-78564095441067064502012-12-02T09:59:13.432-08:002012-12-02T09:59:13.432-08:00I enjoyed the bit about the Israeli Soldiers who s...I enjoyed the bit about the Israeli Soldiers who seemed less competent than the reports of their prowess in the 6 Days War. It sounds much more realistic than the propaganda that appeared in the press. <br /><br />That is after all what the claims of 30 to 1 odds were. Israel has never been so badly outnumbered in battle against the Arab nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_battle_for_the_Six-Day_War gives the actual order of battle for each of the belligerent nations at the time. Given the complete lack of unity amongst the Arab nations, it is no surprise that Israel won in 1967. I remember reading Raphael Patai's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Arab-Mind-Raphael-Patai/dp/0967201551/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354470576&sr=8-2&keywords=Raphael+Patai" rel="nofollow"><em>The Arab Mind</em></a>, which my father highly recommended and noticing the differences between Israeli and western perceptions of the threat and actual Egyptian intentions. It was apparent that the level of hyperbole in Arabic lead Israel to conclude that Egypt wanted war when Nasser was not at all interested -- rather like Chavez today ordering 10 battalions of tanks to the Colombian border. It was only a speech designed for internal consumption to shore up domestic support and support in the rest of the Arab world. An actual war against Israel was neither desired nor contemplated.<br /><br />The actual Israeli military forces were not nearly so competent as the victory would suggest. They were, united against a perceived threat that did not really exist to the extent they thought. Your experience with those Israeli soldiers shows what the IDF was really like.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ben WheelerIbnyaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02200468798337178145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post-87998069329530541272012-12-02T08:57:37.295-08:002012-12-02T08:57:37.295-08:00Steve,
Sometimes I'd be happy just to once aga...Steve,<br />Sometimes I'd be happy just to once again have the knees of my youth. I was thinking about jumping out of the back of that truck, and realized landing like that today would put me in serious pain. I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789535627537515126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9786459.post-52496164070143411962012-12-02T06:52:52.515-08:002012-12-02T06:52:52.515-08:00Brian,
Another wonderful story of youth in our na...Brian,<br /><br />Another wonderful story of youth in our naive state, but also our boldness. Oh, that we could have the wisdom of age and the dauntlessness of youth.<br /><br />SteveStevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14202410717147326787noreply@blogger.com