the myth of the surgical strike, part deux

[tim_maroney]

Despite precision of new weapons, civilians die, critics say

[T]he dream of "precision" bombing is an old and elusive one. During World War II, the Norden bombsight was the much-ballyhooed invention that, Pentagon publicists claimed, enabled bombers to "drop a bomb in a pickle barrel." Reality proved otherwise, as post-war studies showed

Comments

[khephra]

A military consultant I was working with once told me that the main advantage to ‘precision’ guided weapons wasn’t in the targeting, but in the spread.
i.e. you didn’t get a lot of ordinance ‘piling up’ on top if itself. You could maximize spread for greater effect.

[tim_maroney]

I take your meaning. If that's so, then the military value of these weapons is nearly opposite to their propaganda value.

Next: The laser-guided cluster bomb!

[khephra]

Exactly. (See my LJ entry on 'shock and awe')

Next: The laser-guided cluster bomb!
Oh, you mean the GBU-2 2000-lb cluster bomb?

[tim_maroney]

Yes, I read your entry and found it most informative.

Oh, you mean the GBU-2 2000-lb cluster bomb?

Ayup. The war jockeys on CNN don't seem to gush too much about that one, though. I think the phrase is "off-story."