Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Desert Rats Return ....


Forget why - this is a job any professional wants a part of.

I love bug hunts.
British Special Forces are engaged in a frantic desert manhunt for Colonel Gaddafi’s fugitive son Saif al-Islam.

The London-educated playboy, 39, is the last member of the hated despot’s family still feared to be at large in Libya.
Yesterday the southern border area with Niger was the focus of an intense search operation said to include elite troops from Britain and Qatar.

25 comments:

  1. ewok40k01:50

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/sas-to-the-rescue-british-oil-workers-flown-from-desert-2226892.html
    this was nice mission too, and I bet there were many more kept secret for obvious reasons...
    Brits might have shrinking armed forces, but quality is still top-notch!

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  2. Adversus Omnes Dissident08:36

    Why does anyone in the western world really care where this turd is?  Do we think that we'll score points with the next islamo-fascist regime that shows up?  NOT.

    STOP.

    FEEDING.

    THEM.

    RED.

    MEAT.

    LET THEM KILL EACH OTHER.

    We have no dog in this fight.  Learn it.  Accept it.  MOVE ON!

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  3. Grumpy Old Ham09:01

    Because -- to quote a crusty Marine CWO I used to work with -- "There's people out there that just need killin'!"

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  4. Anonymous09:10

    The way it sounded to me when I heard it was.... "They's people out dere what jes nids killin'!"

    CDR - the link is showing extra stuff in front when I clicked it in Firefox, so you may need to trim out some text.

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  5. Adversus Omnes Dissident09:54

    Not good enough, Ham!  Sometimes it is best to just let the bad guys kill each other.  China has made an art out of letting its enemies duke it out.  We don't have the cash to go after every single bad guy that needs a killin or every single horse that needs a stealin.  And, by the way, what do we get out of him being dead?  Nothing.  What do we get out of him being alive?  Potentially de-stabilizing an up and coming islamo-fascist regime.  I like it!  We get no oil from them anyway!

    (They are not our friends, dude!)

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  6. Old Farter10:21

    Cool ride. A twin Vickers would be nice.

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  7. DeltaBravo10:25

    Agree with AOD on some things here.  But I can't help but wonder if $$ is at the basis of any search for Saif.  That family pillaged the country for decades and there are billions hidden in lots of places.  I bet whoever finds Saif finds info and $$.  (He could be a useful source of info on lots of subjects and it might be in someone's interest to take him alive since we've seen what the Libyans do when they get to them first....)

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  8. The Usual Suspect11:53

    In case the link at the beginning doesn't work
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053467/SAS-leading-desert-race-trap-Gaddafis-son-Saif-al-Islam-heads-Niger.html#ixzz1bqUO0rdU

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  9. ewok40k12:22

    They still cling to tradition of packing most firepower into smallest vehicle ... I've counted a MILAN with few reloads, FN MAG plus whatever personal arms soldiers carry, probably with M-203 somewhere along for the ride. Few such cars can mess up a mechanised battalion of poor quality troops.

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  10. Old Farter13:29

    Kind of looks like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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  11. which side of the road do they drive on in that country?

    or is it one of those places where they take their half out of the middle and M1A1's have the right of way.

    C

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  12. UltimaRatioRegis14:06

    You'd think you would be able to find someone seven-foot two in Libya....

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  13. C-dore 1415:52

    For an outstanding fictional account of these guys' historical predecessors...the Long Range Desert Group...I recommend <span>Killing Rommel</span> by Stephen Pressfield.

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  14. Wstr15:53

    I've seen twin 7.62mm GPMGs (FN MAG/ M240 equivalent) that's close enough.
    The standard weapons kit mod for Landies (WMIK - Weapons Mount Installation Kit) was a front GPMG mount for the Commander and a Gunner's ring mount for various fits e.g. Single/Twin GPMG; .50 Cal HMG, 40mm GMG, Milan ATGW launcher (as here). The article image is a 3 PARA vehicle (green DZ flashes on sleeves) probably at the time of the Iraq invasion, given the number of anti-tank rounds and the recognition panels still up. One way of spotting a Land Rover closer to the SF community was the presence of smoke dischargers on the front and M4/M16s small arms hanging off the side instead of SA80s. Given that the newer Jackal vehicle has the former fitted as standard its even harder now to spot the difference!
    My fav WIMK shot below, a massed machine gun zeroing by a line of vehicles belonging to 3 Commando Brigade's BRF (Brigade Recon Force).

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  15. LCDR Black17:12

    Sir,
       I just finished reading his book on Alexander's Afghan campaign.  Not bad.  It is my first time reading any of his stuff.

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  16. C-dore 1417:19

    LCDR B, <span>The Afghan Campaign</span> is decent, although a bit predictable if you've read his other stuff.  My favorites are <span>Killing Rommel</span> and The <span>Gates of Fire</span>.

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  17. Therapist 123:29

    Beware the grenade jump hook, it is deadly!

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  18. ewok40k02:44

    some serious firepower... :)

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  19. ewok40k02:57

    I just imagined Abrams with a sticker "we brake for nobody"

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  20. Yes, "Gates of Fire" is a definite future classic. "The Afghan Campaign" has too much of a contemporary feel for me for a historical novel (but that's why it hit home). Haven't yet read "Killing Rommel" though it sits on one of my shelves.

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  21. Wstr07:39

    <p>Sigh! Damn you '300' for denying me a 'Gates of Fire' movie!
    </p><p>If you can find it, for a factual account of the LRDG the book 'The Long Range Desert Group 1940-45: Providence Their Guide' is especially good. It's authored by Major General David Lloyd Owen the commander of the LRDG from 1943-45 (sadly passed away in 2001) and covers not only their operations in North Africa but the later moves into Italy & the Balkans.
    </p>

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  22. UltimaRatioRegis08:05

    <span>TBR,  
     
    Actually, "Gates of Fire" was an instant classic.  Nearly every Marine Officer and SNCO, and a number of NCOs and junior Marines in my battalion read it in a 90 day period after it was published.  My copy is badly dog-eared from lending it out a dozen times.  The book was and still is a part of discussions about building and maintaining a warrior ethos.</span>

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  23. <span>Saif better present himself to the Brits before the crew that captured his dad catches up to him.
    </span>

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  24. ewok40k10:14

    rescue in disguise of capture? :p

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  25. C-dore 1413:04

    URR, Agree.  I gave a copy of it to my (now) Gunnery Sergeant son-in-law years ago.

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