naraburns nihil supernum
7mo ago
(text post)
28936 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #1
This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
On War Tunnels (6 minute video; mild practical speculation by an American who fought in tunnels with the Kurds in Iraq and is now a military advisor in Ukraine)
The video is not super content-heavy, but the general point to consider here is that people may be massively overestimating what Israel can do on the ground even if they take the gloves off.
orthoxerox
I realized I can change my flair color to Barbie pink
bro 7mo ago
Ilforte's favourite milblogger from TG wasn't impressed with IDF urban warfare tactics, if walking along the street like a group of tourists on a bar crawl can be called tactics.
There are no viable boots-on-the-ground urban warfare tactics in that environment that don’t involve taking huge casualties, at least from what I’ve read. I don’t know what their plan is going into Gaza if they do, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it involves encircling the built-up areas like Khan Yunis and Jabalya and then besieging them individually while hammering them with artillery fire.
This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a
court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to
optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.
The weekly Culture War threads host the most
controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are
appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy;
if in doubt, post!
Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts.
You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.
Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
New post guidelines
If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it.
A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts
such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a
submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).
Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or
significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
On War Tunnels (6 minute video; mild practical speculation by an American who fought in tunnels with the Kurds in Iraq and is now a military advisor in Ukraine)
The video is not super content-heavy, but the general point to consider here is that people may be massively overestimating what Israel can do on the ground even if they take the gloves off.
Gaza's like 4x as dense as Stalingrad.
Ilforte's favourite milblogger from TG wasn't impressed with IDF urban warfare tactics, if walking along the street like a group of tourists on a bar crawl can be called tactics.
There are no viable boots-on-the-ground urban warfare tactics in that environment that don’t involve taking huge casualties, at least from what I’ve read. I don’t know what their plan is going into Gaza if they do, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it involves encircling the built-up areas like Khan Yunis and Jabalya and then besieging them individually while hammering them with artillery fire.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link