Tag Archives: Islamic State

Desert Storm

The first Gulf War – initiated when moustachioed douchebag Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, defied a UN resolution, and then gassed his own people – saw the US deploy its new ‘High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) in large numbers for the first time, as president George Bush Sr. and other world leaders responded to Iraq’s aggressions.

Twelve years later and George Bush Jr. decided to finish what his dad had started, and – for reasons we’re still not sure of – defied a UN resolution and attempted to overthrow the Hussein government. There was good reason in 1991, but in 2003? Er… 911? Nope. Weapons of mass destruction? Nope…

Whatever the reason behind Bush Jr.’s invasion, overthrow the Hussein government he did, and the Humvee played as pivotal a role in the outcome as it did in the liberation of Kuwait a decade or so earlier.

This superb 10-wide recreation of the iconic military vehicle comes from previous bloggee Manuel Cara, who has recreated the desert-spec Humvee in quite astonishing detail. All doors, the roof hatch and the tailgate open, and if anything what’s underneath is even more detailed than what you can see here.

You can head over to Manuel’s photostream via the link above for the complete gallery of images, and if you’re wondering what’s become of the Humvee another decade-and-a-half on from Iraq Round 2, well the old stalwart is finally due for replacement.

The Humvee is still doing service in Iraq though, as the U.S. left many units behind upon their withdrawal from the country to equip the new non-Saddam-run Iraqi military, and because shipping them back to the U.S would have been really expensive.

However the recent rise of Islamic State – due in no small part to the vacuum left as Saddam Hussein was removed from power – has meant that many Humvees have fallen into the wrong hands. There’s an irony there that would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.

As we occasionally link to those picking up the pieces after conflict in posts such as this one, here’s are some organisations that do just that; Christian Aid, War Child, International Rescue Committee.

Terrorist’s Friend

1 Reply

The humble Japanese pick-up truck, almost always a Toyota Hilux, is the backbone of the terrorist transportation market. Tough, easily repaired, and able to withstand a machine gun being mounted in the bed, they’re seen in almost every conflict zone on the planet. Despite the Disneyfication of the world’s troubles by Fox (where there must always be ‘Goodies’ and ‘Baddies’), many such vehicles are used to fight one-another too, such is the complicated and tribal nature of war at the moment.

BrickMonkey’s creation comes right out of the U.S media’s ‘Terrorist Baddie’ playbook. White pick-up truck? Check. Dark-skinned occupants? Check. Machine gun in the back? Check. Definitely a ‘Baddie’…

Except we’re smarter than that here at TLCB, so we’re not going to adopt a lazy stereotype (except about the U.S media. Prove us wrong Fox News). Thus this particular pick-up truck is being driven by members of the Kurdistan Pershmerga, fighting to drive Islamic State from their territory and liberate the Kurds suffering under their oppression. So it’s a ‘Goodie’. Except in Turkey where the Kurds are fighting for independence and are the ‘Baddies’, even though Turkey are also themselves fighting Islamic State. See, war is complicated…

Decide who you think is driving BrickMonkey’s pick-up truck at his photostream by clicking here, and if you get stuck you can always do the secret signal.

Sukhoi Su-35

This superb recreation of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-35 fighter, exquisitely detailed in an usual tundra-camouflage, is the work of previous bloggee Lennart C of Flickr.

The real Su-35 is currently in operation over Syria, where it’ll be wearing an altogether more drab paint job to blend in with the desert beneath it, and unfortunately it’s not exactly been hitting purely military targets.

Russia’s offensive against the dick-bags in Islamic State (a good thing) is sadly masking a greater politicised conflict, and one in which civilians and rebels – themselves fighting ISIS – are dying daily at the hands of Russian airstrikes and President Assad’s trigger-happy forces.

To see how you can help those trapped in the conflict click this link to the UN Refugee Agency’s Syrian Crisis Appeal, and for more details on this magnificent but sobering recreation of one of the causes click the link above to visit Lennart C’s photostream.

%d bloggers like this: