37 killed in attack on Tunisian tourist beach resort

[frogwoman]

Jihad related or some random nutter?

 

[Pickman's model]

Jihad related or some random nutter?

not necessarily mutually exclusive

 

[kebabking]

http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/me...camerons-phony-war-against-the-islamic-state/

the above article has some errors, and some - frankly - misunderstandings.

i'll skim the Tunisia stuff - sending a C-17 to repatriate the dead was, imv, entirely reasonable, and once you'd made that decision you had to ask whether civil funeral directors were able to bring coffins down the ramp of an aircraft, or whether they'd have to use a forklift. so much for dignity...

as for the resources devoted to our bearded friends, the author seems to have got his information from the Sun, or Viz.

its not 6 Tornado GR4 bombers, its 8. not a fantastic number, but its about 15% of the immediately available UK bomber force. he then fails to notice that the RAF is providing (through the RAF's only RC-135W) about 100% of the non-US SIGINT cover, through about 60% of the RAF's Reaper UAV fleet, about 100% of the non-US armed UAV capability, through about 40% of the RAF's Sentinal ground surveilance radar aircraft, about 100% of the non-US airborne ground surveilance radar cover, and about 10% of the RAF's current tanking aircraft.

its still providing a C-130 cargo aircraft to support logistics in northern Iraq, and about 25% of the UK's Special Forces.

you get the picture...

this all does not mean that the UK policy on IS is a beacon of logic and vigour - people here know my views of what else is (imv) needed and what would produce much greater, quicker results - but this bloke is either a lazy, ill-informed idiot, or he's being very selective, and deceitful, in what he writes in order purely to have a pop at Cameron.

you are, of course, free to decide what weight to give his views...