Well it's almost a month, Olympics are over, school started, IB's going to send me to hell, and I finally decided or bothered to haul my ass to write something.
So, while debating with people, we came across the subject of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. Problem is, he is evil, brutal, and bloodthirsty. Nevertheless, he united a people through his iron fist, standardized the language into what became known as Chinese, and also standardizing system of measurements and such.
Some, however, do not believe he deserves so much recognition, because he was responsible for the deaths of millions.
I strongly disagree. As much as Qin Shi Huang is ruthless, he was decisive in uniting China. He was the man who set the precedent for the concept of an ‘emperor’, and thus, gave rise to Imperial China. Without him setting the precedent, the future dynasties may not have existed at all.
Although millions may have died at his hands, it would do no justice to the millions who will live in the Middle Kingdom for the remainder of the near-three thousand years until modern times to live in civil strife.
In the end, the result justifies the deed.
Death haunted Fallujah for over an hour now; bodies lay on the streets, blood drained into the sewers. It was a full moon. A beautiful full moon. One could see the glimmering lights of distant constellations. There was one constellation, however, that did not belong to nature.
It was a Predator drone, circling over the battlefield, providing real-time tactical data to field commanders and REMFs alike.
The Captain glanced at his computer screen. Not bad, he thought. He traded one of his men, O’Malley, for dozens of armed insurgents. The claymores and M203 grenade launchers must have done the trick. Killed the bastards before they could fire, leaving smoldering craters in the ancient streets.
Fire Team Echo was screwed. After expending all their high explosives, they had to rely on their rifles. That means the chalk had to disperse into surrounding buildings. Close quarters combat. Rangers own the real estate, for now.
The bodies of their dead comrades did not deter the insurgents from trying to kill the Americans; it was retribution. Sweet retribution for the suffering they had to endure for years. Anger and frustration, readily directed at the nearest threat. In this case, the Rangers.
The Rangers could only kill so much. Each M16A4 and SCAR-L magazine holds 30 rounds only. That means on average each Ranger could only kill twenty or so insurgents each, while they couldn’t stem the flow of the rising tide. Their reload cycles couldn’t catch up with the number of people trying to break into the doors.
Desperate, they barricaded themselves in the buildings with what’s left of their grenades. It would slow the advance, but time is on the insurgents’ side.
Hours passed, shell casings lined the floor, bodies lined the streets. The Rangers suffered heavy casualties, with over half of the original fire team killed in action.
Thirty minutes remain until the arrival of the cavalry.
Winters issued a final order, “Alright men, I need you guys to blow a whole, and charge to the market. Consolidate on the eastern flank, and hold the goddamned line while we try raising air assets.”
Rangers made a dash for the market, but between them and the market lie dozens of armed men. Winters and another rifleman had to provide cover fire for the advancing Rangers, but it seemed futile to him. Running dangerously low on ammunition, even those scavenged from the dead insurgents, Winters glanced around. He saw a pickup truck, which gave him an idea. He ordered the remnants of his chalk to conserve ammo and head for the vehicle.
“What do we do with this, sir?”
“We get the hell out of Dodge. Head for the direction Big Red One is coming from.”
“But sir, isn’t this retreating?”
“No, Corporal. We ain’t got much use for our country if we’re dead, right?”
“Yes sir.”
“Now haul ass.”
His reply:
Sorry, I did not mean "you are completely wrong" to mean you are full of shit (kinda sounded like that though right?).
It's just shocked by your post on Qiu's wall. Sorry.
America does station troops outside of China which obviously could be perceived as a threat. Supposedly though, these troops are to prevent any Chinese invasion into allied countries. Of course with Bush in office, you never know...
I've never heard Americans calling itself the "world's sole megapower." I have heard it quoting itself having the strongest military in the world which might be true technology wise but China is catching up pretty fast. A big fear of the American people is not that China will interfere with American foreign affairs, but rather that the Chinese will be lax in the selling of weapons and technology to the nations that the US sees as a threat (of course China has every right to sell weapons to whomever they want).
I think in this case recognizing and respecting mean totally the same thing, especially when the military is concerned. I hope that you do not hear the term "slant eyed f_cks" all the time because that would be horrible. I have been living in America my entire life and have never been exposed to racism (and I live in Texas!). Of course there are racist jokes and derogatory stereotypes for all races which unfortunately are still prevalent in America (even for whites eg. dumb blonde, white trash). But overall I still think the US is relatively tolerant considering it still offers healthcare and education to non-citizens.
I hope this helps! Again sorry if I came off rudely.
"You feel that China is not recognized as a military might in the US.
Well, you are completely wrong, the US is well aware of China's might and I think that eagerness to invade a country to demonstrate military might will probably not help any US-China relationships. While the US frequently calls itself a "military superpower" it also frequently uses the same term about China.
China is a military and economic powerhouse and therefore a peaceful relationship between the US and China would be more productive for both countries than a rocky one. Let me know your thoughts!"
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(My response)
Excuse me, but YOU are completely wrong. I do not appreciate your innate ability to act in a condescending manner upon others. And I hope you refrain from calling someone's bullshit when they got no shit to start with, so to speak.
The United States is aware of China's potential as a strategic rival, coining a new term within the bowels of the Department of Defense: the 'Long War'. Obviously, directed against China.
I believe I did not clarify myself when you assumed I mean China is not recognized as a military might.
Recognizing and respecting something has two completely different meanings. The US recognizes China as a potential clear and present danger to its interests, but in no way does it RESPECT the military capabilities of China.
Calling China's military hardware as 'cheapass knockoffs from the Soviets' is a clear reflection of the stupidity of many men in the United States armed services.
Racism, discrimination, and bigotry against the military of China can be clearly seen in many spectrums of Western society. 'Slant eyed f_cks' does not begin to describe the lip service given by the 'premiere Western militaries.'
What would be the reaction of Washington if servicemen of the People’s Liberation Army started demonizing the American military as ‘druggies’ and ‘foreign devils’?
America calls itself the 'world's sole megapower'. Superpower has been an archaic term now; since the fall of the Soviet Union, America perceives the world as being unipolar.
Of course America would describe China as a dangerous superpower, otherwise how can the Pentagon justify the outrageous military budget?
In response to the perceived American threat and encirclement of China, it is not surprising that the People's Army has undergone rapid militarization and transformation from basic warfighters to its fighting doctrine.
A peaceful relationship between China and the United States is most welcome, but, based on the facts provided, and the lessons taught by history. One can suspect that the relationship will be anything but peaceful in the future.
So, in case you somehow still do not get my point, here it is, in a nutshell: America recognizes China as a threat, but that doesn’t mean America respects China.
The butterflies in Winter’s stomach have died off. Winters hoped it would be the only part of him that dies today. That, and the fact that one of his men already took a bullet from a sniper.
“Alright men, listen up. They can’t exfil us, so we’re stuck here until the groundpounders of Big Red One blow their way through this hellhole. In the meantime, I want this chalk to split up into two man teams, and cover this sector”
Winters took out a marker and started making diagrams and drawings on his map.
“So, that’s how it’s going to work. In a nutshell, we hold out for a few hours, kill as many of them Hadjis as we can, and try not to get shot. Hooah?”
“Hooah!”
“Alright men, godspeed. Dismissed.”
The Captain could not but wonder how many men have been condemned to death on this evening. Every man in his chalk had a history, a story to tell. Each had their own beliefs and ideals for fighting. They were from different backgrounds; different ethnicity. Death, however, does not discriminate.
“Sir, we got men pinned down in the heart of Fallujah. Enemy forces are enveloping the Rangers; they got SAMs around the area. Our UAV is taking small arms fire. They got one KIA.”
“Dammit, ETA for the Big Red One?”
“Few hours. We sent a squadron of Apaches, except they were pinged with close to a hundred SAM launchers, so we told them to get the hell out of there.”
“What about UCAVs and bombers?”
“Negatory sir, Fallujah still contains civilians, so if we waste them it’ll be bad PR for the nightly news.”
“Shit, tell the Rangers to hold the line. Help will be on the way.”
“Don’t worry sir, they live for this shit.”
"Echo Actual, hold position and continue with objective. Be advised, intel reports sightings of hostiles in your sector. Rules of engagement in effect. Over.”
“Roger that, good copy. Fire Team Echo, over and out.”
Mission parameters for Fire Team Echo were clear; they were to not open fire indiscriminately towards civilians, even if there were gunmen embedded among them. Winters cursed the REMFs for their impeccable ability to screw up their political objectives while compromising the military objectives. Then again, that is how the chain of command and Murphy’s Law work; if one received contradictory orders, he was to follow them both.
He was too young to remember Vietnam.
Fire Team Echo continued surveying the surrounding areas, reporting enemy movements and lying in wait for the imams to enter the mosque. Spreading the hatred against the American occupiers, the imams inspired men, women, and even children to strap on suicide vests in this ‘Holy War’ against the Americans.
Little did the Americans know how their own network of informants was infiltrated by the insurgents. Realizing Americans were preparing to stage an assault on Fallujah, the de facto leadership of the resistance movement evacuated to their respective strongholds in the ‘countryside’, while fighters poured into Fallujah via road networks. Men had already prepared their guns, waiting to repel the invaders.
Winters woke up to the report of a 7.62 mm high-velocity sniper round whistling past somewhere in the room. He found a pool of blood at one of the window ledges.
“What the hell happened?” Winters demanded.
“Sniper fire sir, we don’t know where it came from. O’Malley is dead.” Reported the sergeant.
“Shit, raise headquarters.” Ordered the Captain.
As Winters issued his order, he could hear trucks in the distance, with the sound of something akin to an angry mob out to hunt the witches.
“Command, this is Echo, we don’t know how, but we have been discovered. One of my men is dead. We got hostiles approaching our location. Requesting new orders, over.”
“Copy that, Echo. You are weapons free. Say again, you are weapons free. Latest flybys report extreme troop activity in the region. The shit has hit the fan. Hold your position, and wait for the -----” and the transmission broke off.
“Shit, they got jammers.”
They were up against men who wanted to kill them. Badly.
So, I found inspiration to write this small (and hopefully one of the many that I will write in the near future) account of present events. Hope you enjoy.
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Captain Jefferson Winters was worried. Very worried. Ever since he and his men made the drop in the middle of the night, with years of training and skills unmatched on the battlefield, something still made the butterflies churn in his stomach. Staring at the clear night sky and the shining constellations, he could only wonder if the fates smiled upon him.
Winters was part of the 101st Airborne. Elite American Special Forces, they were usually the vanguard of the invasion force. The tradition dates back to the Second World War, when they led the way against the feared and mighty Wehrmact – Nazi Germany. The Captain could only wonder what the squad leaders thought about their missions back then. The equipment and wars change, but their flesh and blood still pay for the ambitions of leaders. They were men, carrying with them the burden of leaders.
The covert insertion went smoothly. In fact, his chalk made it all the way to the mission-designated location without problem. Winters was still worried. But he showed none of it to his men. Leaders were supposed to inspire men to fight, not frighten them.
As they set up surveillance gear inside the garrisoned building, they lie in wait.
In waiting for orders from the powers that be.
Two hundred meters from the Ranger’s encampment, in a similar discreet building, men were preparing their Kalashnikovs. They heard word the Occupiers will come to their houses.
They were waiting to kill.
The fates promised a long night to the men.
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