3/20: Enemy body count
 

http://cellar.org/2002/bodycount.jpg

In light of the recent threads mentioning body count, and the pentagon's insistence that body count is not a proper way to assess the success or failure of the operations, this one came by... telling us that at least *someone* was trying to figure out how many bad guys were blown up.

Er, that's actually not so much "blown up" as it is "casualties inflicted on al Qaeda by US ground troops in the past few weeks". Or that's what I remember from TWIP or whereever it was that I saw it.

Man, I was thinking about posting this one too. Damn I am good at that. Don't wanna steal your thunder though :)

Soldiers have a sense of humor. Look at the frownie faces on those guys.

I know this may be some way of dealing with the psychological effects of war and combat (and God knows I have no experience with it) and may help the soliders cope, but I couldn't see myself making humor from killing people and seeing them killed. It just seems like a few steps away from taking a picture with you smiling over an enemy solider you just killed (the IOTD from not too long ago).

Don't get me wrong, I support our troops and want them to get home safely. I'm just concerned about anyone that kills people and keeps (a humourous) count.

That's a nasty motherfucker of a knife.
The whoel bodycount thing remindsme of vietnam, where it was the only ide aof progress thepentagon putout, and its equally meaningless. Its unconfirmable, unrelaible, and well, meaningless, what i want to know is how many are left =)
Maps to put little flags in WW2 style are far more patriotic.

Afghanistan was the Soviets Vietnam, lets see if the US suffers teh same fate.

It's an M9 bayonet.

Yeah, and he's holding it like a pencil. Something tells me he didn't really draw all those little guys with that knife.

that's not a knife...
 

That's damn near a short sword.

Re: that's not a knife...
 

<b>THIS</b> is a knife. :)

What might that something be?

Wasn't that a scene from "Cast Away"?

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0162222

I would cry "Photoshop!" but I think that's an MSNBC pic.

Oh yeah! That <b>is</b> a scene from Cast Away!

That rock there is the give-away. They must have photoshopped in the soldier's arm... and the "War on Terrorism" text... and the "Body Count" text... and the little stick figures... and the big knife.

Good job pointing that out! :)

A nail, a utility belt clip, I dunno... just think of how hard it would be to draw those little features with that big ol' knife. Especially the eyes.. they aren't small lines like a knife would make; they're actually points.

Not to mention, I doubt someone with that knife would abuse it like that.. it would sure ruin the tip in a hurry.

I'm reminded of the scene in Crocodile Dundee, where he's shaving with a Bic until he hears the woman coming and switches to his knife. It just looks too much like a photo-op.

Eh, some of the eyes look like lines to me. More so than points. It wouldn't surprise me.

Maybe Hubris can weigh in - is that bayonet > rock? I know a cheap shitty little knife would wreck itself in a heartbeat on a rock like that (I know! I've done it!), but I don't imagine the US military has those imported from Taiwan for $8 each. Thoughts?

Well... I wouldn't use mine on a rock. It would ruin the tip in a hurry and, they're really sharp. Holding the blade the way the guy in the picture is doing is a good way to lose a finger.

The M9 comes with a handy-dandy wirecutter/screwdriver attachment... maybe they used the screwdriver tip? More likely, they used something else altogether and just shot this photo for giggles.

And no, you're right Dave. They're not cheap. They're made by Buck (yep... the people who make Buck knives), and if you lose yours, you get to pay for it. $80 or $90, I think. I can find out if you're really curious.

So there ya have it folks... that soldier is either really dumb or tricking the journalist. :)

Buck makes pretty good knives, I think. I used to be a knife enthusiast when I was younger, but I now tend to learn toward computers. Knives are still pretty fascinating to me.

Wanna lose yours to me for $90 and get a brand new one? :) hehe