Fire As A Force Of Nature And Man

So fire is a tool for heating and cooking, but obviously it is also a destructive force that can be and is weaponized.

From tales and mythologies of old, dragons would spew fire from their mouths and destroy the enemy leaving only maybe their charred remains (likely, we will get to see more of that in Season 8 of Game of Thrones coming up soon).

In the 20th century, flamethrowers were widely used in World War I and II, and today thermonuclear weapons create great fireballs and mushroom clouds.

But already as far back as the Bible, Samson fought with fire against the Philistines.

He caught 300 foxes, tied them tail to tail in pairs and put a lite torch between them and they ran terror and havoc through his enemy’s encampment.

By the time of the Greek and Roman Empires, they would use catapults to hurl pots or bundles of flaming materials at their enemies.

In the Movie, Gladiator, upon releasing these catapults, he orders: “Unleash Hell!”

During the Spanish Inquisition, the inquisitor and his henchman would force Jews and others to convert or face execution by fire in the auto-da-fe.

Again in the Salem Witch Hunts, they would burn suspected witches at the stake.

And in more recent times, in the War Against Terror, ISIS was shown in videos that went viral torching those they considered infidels.

The other night watching a movie, “Redbad,” there was a riveting scene, where the Franks pour accelerants on live pigs and then light them up with torches and send them darting like crazy into the enemy ranks and villages.

Fire for good or for evil, those flaming pigs, I will never forget. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Israel On Fire

Please see my new article in Times of Israel, “Israel Must Fight Fire With Fire.”

When the Hamas terrorist’s from Gaza are trying to burn the State of Israel, Israel needs to make sure it’s the terrorists are the ones getting burnt.  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Tiptoeing Or Delivering A Knockout Punch

Russia (and many others countries) develop some really kick-a*s weapons–especially, when they are so simple, yet so devastatingly effective.

Like this TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system–it is a multi-rocket launcher mounted on a T-72 main battle tank chassis.

The TOS-1A carries 30 (newer version 24) 220-mm incendiary or thermobaric unguided rockets that it can shoot up to 3 km (newer version 6 km), and it destroys everything within 300 square meters using high-pressure and temperature.

What is cool is that the technology seems boiled down to the basics–shoot and eliminate. And when multiple TOS-1As roll unto the battlefield–they unleash what looks like a ruthless barrage of destructive fire.

Of course, precision targeting weapons have the added benefit of mitigating civilian casualties–but from the looks of things, that is not what this weapon is all about.

The question is do you go half way or finish the job–do you hit below the belt or keep it a clean fight?

In war, if you leave the enemy intact or with fighting capabilities, then you may just have to fight them another day.

While the rules of war protect people from the cruelties of all out hostilities, we need to make sure that in the end, it keeps them safe over the long-term, and does not just prolong the inevitable cat-fight.

Good, kind, and just people often don’t feel comfortable delivering a knockout punch, but sometimes (not all the time) that is just what is needed to restore the peace. 😉