TMF

Who knows. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes; a lot. The only way to get wind is through "leaks" or someone getting a book deal. Neither one I would deem as even halfway reliable; everyone has an agenda. Something else to think about, although we're saying that ALL troops will be out by the end of the year, that statement isn't true. We'll still have advisors on the ground and a support structure there to keep them doing what they're doing. With the revised SOFA and continued threat I would assume that these advisors won't be leaving the wire at all under any circumstances. Still, the potential exists for a situation to occur where an American uses deadly force in self-defense, especially since the few Americans there would be high value targets to the enemy. It would be very interesting to see how Obama and Hillary handle that.

I like Heat simply for the break contact SOP near the end.

Crap, I forgot how that works. Well, still poor form on their part. Asking for a HCP should have ended the whole thing.

Ha, well I was told that all the big guys carried the M60 in basic and somehow in 11B AIT I ended up humping that thing around for a few weeks being 5' 10'' and 130 lbs... yeah, I was the epitome of dumb private.

So that answers that. It doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary was conducted other than the involvement of the TSA (which I agree is a waste of time and not their lane). Now, the question is their involvement at bus stations.

I spent 3 years of my life there. I have a lot to say about it if there was a thread dedicated to the topic, however, everything I have to say is a tangent off the original topic. In regards to this topic, the success from the strategy used in the surge (reconciliation of Sunnis/no quarter for the hard-liners) is why we were able to reduce troop levels and eventually remove all combat forces. Obama had nothing to do with it. Even if a half-wit Republican had taken office (hypothetical candidate; not at all talking about McCain) the results would be the same. Obama shouldn't be thumping his chest as if he is the reason for this.

Yeah, I'd be contacting a representative at the PD that pulled you over. It might not go any good, but this is unacceptable. It's one thing to ask questions, another to detain and disarm for no probable cause. Looking young is not probable cause.

Mine was a "just for fun" purchase when I was younger. I got it at an auction for 80 bucks and just wanted it because of the hammer and sickle stamped on the receiver (mine is a russian). I took it out back with some ammo that came with it and when I fired a 3 foot flame came out the end (daytime). I've never shot past 50 meters and probably never will. I just like having it in the collection and occasionally take it out for family and friends for a good shoulder bruising muzzle flash action.

Ahhh, no way, I love mine! Why didn't you like it?

I still don't see how this "ended" the war. When Bush was there for the SOFA years back that was the official end in my book. The troops we've had there since are akin to what we've had in South Korea since the '50s. Obama is going to include this in his campaign as a victory for himself when he only inherited the success from the surge.

Wow, that looks like a winner to me.

From what I recall on the History Channel, it was related to the ammo and not having chrome lined barrels. This problem was fixed by the late '60s through refit. M16 series weapons still get a bad rap in today's military because of that (mostly from pogs) but it works fine if you clean it. In the hundreds of thousands of rounds I fired over my time in the military, I never had my M4 malfunction unless it was related to the magazine, cleanliness or the weapon actually breaking from use (I had a bolt lug break off while firing once).

Wow... I bet you were one hell of a cannon cocker, huh?

That's why I have to be here to temper the distrust of the government, that way the FBI doesn't focus on the whole site.... just a "select few".

If I didn't have a wife and kids I'd probably live in my truck and put all my money towards savings (and a few gun purchases). When I was in college I lived on around the same amount as this guy and still had beer money. Having a family completely removes you from that category of Americans that can live as a "free spirit".

hahaha... good one.

Me too.

I think a LEO here can probably answer that. I was under the impression that commercial trucking was subject to regulations that made them searchable by DOT to ensure they're complying to certain laws. Now, here's the next question, local law enforcement sets up sobriety checkpoints all the time; is this not similar with the exception of it being a federal agency?

I was just thinking FAMAS. Fire two mags through that peice of crap and you can't even touch the handguards anymore. Plus it's French.

Unenforceable. Sounds like the lawyers consulted when writing this law weren't at the top of their class.

+1 The TSA simply doesn't have this capability but want to believe they do. I think someone is trying to stay off the budget cut hit list and is coming up with ways to remain relevant.

I would agree with you if this had actually happened. The only stops that took place were at weigh stations, where trucks are often inspected anyway. This time the TSA just happened to be there. Now, if a trucker had told the TSA to pound sand and was subsequently detained and had his vehicle searched without probable cause then I would agree that this was a gross violation of rights. I have a question about commercial trucking: aren't trailers being hauled for commercial purposes subject to searches at weigh stations anyway?

I think it was better if he was still in power. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was an evil bastard and deserves to die, but he kept things under control. Now, we're going to have to deal with an extremist movement taking hold in that country and dominating it's politics. It's going to end up like post-Russia Afghanistan, only with lots of oil, which is bad. Hopefully some evil western corporations will get in there and corrupt their politics.

I had them for almost 6 years. 2 years ago I fired them because their customer service was so incredibly bad. It was to the point that it wasn't worth it even if the service was half the price.

The reason it caught on in the airports is because 4 planes were hijacked and around 3,000 people were killed in one day. If that happens on the highway at the hands of terrorists, then yes, I believe that TSA would play a much more active role. For now, I'm not too worried.... money drives everything and this looks like it will cost too much to reproduce on a regular basis.