Sorry,
Steven, thanks for at least chiming in.
No, the answer, a factoid from my brief tenure as a licensed general contractor, is
"Critical Path Management"
The Lane County Contractor's Board saw fit to include in their 16 hour regimen of training, a segment on the above.
It's a brilliant system, so brilliant it makes one wonder why it had to be thought of at all, much less given a name.
But then, had I been running the Hoover Dam project, the damned river would still be ...undammed.
So, it's obviously a useful tool for the organizationally impaired (Hey, that's me) or for very complex projects, like the invasion of Normandy.
On an unrelated subject; The above photo:
On this date in 1967 the USS Liberty(AGTR 5), while performing operations in international waters, was attacked by ostensible "friendlies".
Not just a hit-and-run either. The initial air assault, jets and helo's was then followed by three motor torpedo boats.
The ship suffered numerous rocket and artillery hits and had a hole punched in her side by a torpedo. The photo at top is of her bridge area.
Her Captain, then Cdr, William L. McGonagle, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack although the award was presented, atypically, at a Navy yard rather than the While House, the reason for that little breach of tradition being made clear momentarily.
Punchline: It's 1967. Vietnam. It's obvious where this attack would have taken place, isn't it?
Well, Isn't it?
Actually, it was the Eastern Mediterranean, just off the Sinai Peninsula; the "offending air/watercraft"; Israel.
An hour after the attack an Israeli helicopter came by to render assistance and was politely told to fuck off.
Perhaps not politely. I'm just assuming, thinking of how the officer class generally communicates.
Israel ultimately apologized and paid reparations to the families of the 34 killed (plus 170 wounded - out of a total crew strength of around 250 sailors and marines).
The official story was that they mistook the Liberty for another, an Egyptian ship.
It's just that that ship, a cattle hauler, 1/4 the size and painted white, was in drydock at the time.
Go to the website linked to above to see official USN photos of torpedo boats close enough that they folks in them should have been able to tell the difference.
Not going to speculate on the whys of our "friends" behaving thusly.
Haven't a clue.
4 comments:
oh well, thanks for the chance
Well, the Liberty shouldn't be meddling during a time when Israel had already destroyed the Egyptian Air Force and sending her army back across the Sinai and into the Suez while fighting on at least two other fronts in the matter of just days. Don't hang around a tiger that is already winning a fight against an enemy on at least three fronts. The the only clue I can offer is that Israel fucked up the Liberty. Than again the Liberty was transmitting a shit load and could have been an Egyptian ship. I mean Egypt had already fooled everyone into thinking they could defeat Israel there was nothing in the rule book that stated they would not be spying close to Israel using a ship flying an American flag as subterfuge. Israel homed in on the Liberty because she left a huge electronic signature and Israel was already trigger happy to survive. It was the USA spying on the Six Day War that got it attacked. Shit happens when your surrounded by bad guys.
Okay...
Then the Lusitania should have known better than to be in the North Sea during Germany and Britain's pissing contest.
One theory for the attack is that, although a peace treaty had been signed ending the six-day-war, Israel intended to keep fighting until they had acquired the Golon Heights.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/909552.html
The above link shows that the Israelis knew at the time it was an American ship.
Besides, US warships tend to be distinctive. They're gray, have big numbers painted on the side... Oh, and they identify themselves as American when hailed.
Just so I can be clear though, any boat emitting a "huge electronic signature" is fair game as long as you're involved in some imperialist venture.
Does that sound about right?
And, did you miss the "international waters" reference?
Your "excuses" for the behavior of the Chosen People is exactly parallel to those offered time and again by our incompetent government.
Israel can do no wrong.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is anti-Semitic. just like Jimmy Carter.
No, in my opinion, Israel thought to sink a US vessel to draw us into their stupid little conflict, hoping that;
A. They'd be sucessfull and,
B. It would be blamed on the Arabs.
The Israelis are above such behavior?
Sez who?
I'm aware of the arguments you present and they are not anti-semitic. But you brought up people making stupid decisions like the Lusitania being in the North Sea. The Liberty was 12 miles off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula on business communicating with the National Security Agency on a complex series of frequencies and time tables. Also, the IDF asked the USA to identify her ships in the area. The Liberty was not reported among the ships in the area. Israel screwed up in the tense atmosphere of the Six Day War or what the Arabs refer to as "The Setback". The United States ordered the Liberty to back off further but didn't get the order in time due to our own method of screwing up communications. Both sides screwed up. I'm sorry but it was just a chain of errors on both sides. Israel took most the blame. The United States has done its fair share of killing its own troops and allies like the time the Air Corps decided to help the break out during the battle of Normandy by bombing over the Allied lines rather than parallel. Or even more recently with the US bombing Canadian allies in Afghanistan. All mistakes in judgment and communication no different than what happened to the Liberty. I just don't see a conspiracy at all. I see a tragedy that resulted in the loss of life during a time of war. What else is new? But than again. The Jews did kill Jesus. And forward air controllers have been known to mistakenly call an air strike on their own positions. The possibilities of screwing up with the loss of life is endless during times of armed conflict. The Liberty is no different. Somebody screwed up but there was no larger sinister plan. Especially one based on attacking an allied vessel to get the ally to enter a war on their side.
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