How do you think the Palestinians will fare in the war against the well equipped army of the Zionists?
The AC-130 aerial gunship: This comes in two forms, the AC-130H "Spectre" and the more heavily armed AC-130U "Spooky," both flown by the U.S. Air Force. Versions of the AC-130 were first deployed during the Vietnam War.
It's designed to hit targets on the ground or at sea, firing Gatling guns and howitzers fore, aft and to the side. The AC-130's weakness is that it flies "low and slow," making it vulnerable to surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles.
"It can do a lot of damage," explains the Pentagon's Lt. Col. Mark Wright. "It's got a 75-millimeter cannon that can blow through buildings, vehicles. It's designed for taking out protective cover. ... The combination is very lethal — it's a very feared weapons system.
AC-130 Gunship
AC 130 Gunship Taking out Taliban
The 'bunker buster' bomb: The British military first conceived of steel-nosed bombs that dropped heavily and quickly enough to penetrate underground targets.
During the first Persian Gulf War, the U.S. military quickly rigged together similar weapons to attack Iraqi facilities, and then spent the next decade perfecting the concept.
Today's bunker busters are usually laser-guided missiles, either rocket powered or artillery fired.
"Instead of hitting the top [of the target] and exploding like a regular bomb, it will literally punch a hole through and then explode inside," explains Wright. "It's a very lethal weapon."
The Predator Short-range Assault Weapon
Laser-guided bombs: First used in Vietnam, these bombs (and some missiles) home in on a laser-illuminated target marked either by the shooter or a third party on the ground. Unpowered bombs use fins to steer themselves to the target; powered missiles use rocket or jet engines.
Laser-guided missiles and bombs were used to great effect during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, offering unparalleled precision at hitting targets; for example, a tank in an alleyway could be destroyed from miles away without hitting the adjacent buildings.
But they do have some drawbacks — they don't work well, or at all, in heavy dust, fog or smoke.
"The biggest advantage is [not hitting] innocent civilians," says Wright. "You don't want collateral damage.
"Let's say the enemy sets up a position right next to a village," he explains. "Instead of having to plaster the area with explosives and inadvertently destroy the village or religious site, you can use this to pinpoint and take it out with surgical precision."
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The .50-caliber sniper rifle: Confederate soldiers first mounted scopes on high-powered rifles during the Civil War, but the first specially designed sniper rifles for both police and military use came about in the 1970s. The barrels are precisely machined and specially mounted to minimize recoil.
Many Western sniper rifles use NATO standard 7.62-mm cartridges, but models using massive .50-caliber bullets are so powerful they can take out enemy ordnance by sheer force of impact.
One .50-caliber model, the McMillan TAC-50, set the record for longest kill in 2002 when a Canadian corporal shot a Taliban insurgent from a mile and a half away in Afghanistan.
"The advantage is range," says Wright. "You can fire 2,000 meters plus, more than a mile, and hit a target accurately. ... If it hits it's probably going to kill.
Barrett M107 .50 Caliber sniper rifle
M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine
antipersonnel landmine upclose
These are the end results of the enemy's fire power.
Pictures and texts adapted from CNN, AP, Reuters and Time.
BATU DAN LASTIK BERDEPAN DENGAN SENJATA CANGGIH
PAS JOINED FORCES WITH OTHER NGOs IN A DEMO AGAINST U.S + ISRAEL
Reports and pics by courtesy of sun2surf with thanks.
Kuala Lumpur, 30 December 2008 : About 400 people made up of Pas supporters and members of non-governmental organizations chant slogans and carry Palestinian flags during a protest against Israel's air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, in Kuala Lumpur. The protestors gathered outside the Tabung Haji building in Jalan Tun Razak, before moving to the front of the U.S. embassy at 11.30am while shouting slogans to protest the open US support for Israel's actions. The demonstrators protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, which has killed and wounded hundreds of Palestinians.
HAMAS DAN ISRAEL DI SEMENANJUNG GAZA
Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist organization whose military wing has admitted responsibility for attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The group came into being in December 1987, growing out of the Muslim Brotherhood, the religious and political organization founded in Egypt. Its goal is an Islamic fundamentalist Palestinian state. It is considered a terrorist organizations by Israel and the United States.
Hamas is an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia" or Islamic Resistance Movement, in English. The group was primarily a religious and charitable organization between the 1960s and 1980s. It has wings devoted to religious, military, political and security activities.
Hamas has an annual budget of $70 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. It gets financial support from expatriate Palestinians, private donors in the Middle East, Muslim charities in the West, and Iran.
Here are some notable events in its 21-year history:
1988 - The covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement is published. The group presents itself as an alternative to the PLO.
1989 - An Israeli court convicts Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of ordering Hamas members to kidnap and kill two Israeli soldiers.
April 1994 - Hamas orchestrates its first suicide bombing. Five are killed in the Israeli city of Hedera.
February to March 1996 - The Palestinian Authority cracks down on Hamas, after a series of Hamas-orchestrated suicide bombings in Israel kill more than 50 people. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat condemns the bombings, referring to them as "a terrorist operation." Later, the PNA arrests approximately 140 suspected Hamas members.
1997 - Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is released from prison.
1999 - King Abdullah of Jordan closes down Hamas headquarters in Jordan.
2001 - The U.S. State Department lists Hamas on its official list of terrorist groups.
June 12, 2003 - A suicide bomber disguised as an ultra-orthodox Jew detonates himself on a Jerusalem bus, killing 16 Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
August 20, 2003 - A suicide bomber detonates himself on a bus killing at least 20 Israelis. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.
January 2004 - The first Hamas female suicide bomber kills four Israelis at Erez crossing in a joint operation with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
March 14, 2004 - Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claim responsibility for a double attack at the Israeli port of Ashdod that kills 10 Israelis.
March 22, 2004 - Hamas leader Yassin is killed by Israeli air strikes.
March 23, 2004 - Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi is named as Yassin's successor.
April 17, 2004 - Rantisi is killed by an Israeli air strike on his car.
August 31, 2004 - The Islamic militant group Hamas claims responsibility for deadly simultaneous explosions on two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva that killed at least 14 people and wounding more than 80.
September 26, 2004 - A leading member of Hamas, Izz Eldin Subhi Sheikh Khalil, is killed by a car bomb as he leaves his home in Damascus, Syria.
December 12, 2004 - An attack at a checkpoint on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt kills five Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
January 14, 2005 - A bomb at the Karni crossing at the Israel-Gaza border kills six Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
January 25, 2006 - Hamas, running as the "Change and Reform Party," participates for the first time in Palestinian parliamentary elections. The group is fielding 62 candidates.
January 26, 2006 - Hamas wins a landslide victory in the Palestinian legislative elections. Hamas wins 76 seats, and Fatah 43 seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, giving Hamas a majority.
March 29, 2006 - The new Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, and his cabinet are sworn in. The governments of the United States and Canada say they will have no contact with the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
June 25, 2006 - Hamas militants attack an Israeli military post and kill two soldiers. A third, Gilad Shalit, is kidnapped. The Palestinian government denies any knowledge of the attack.
Early June 2007 - After a week of battles between Hamas and Fatah, Hamas seizes control of Gaza.
June 14, 2007 - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dissolves the government and dismisses Ismail Haniya as Prime Minister. Haniya rejects this and remains the de facto leader in Gaza.
April 18-19, 2008 - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter meets with exiled Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal, in Damascus, Syria.
June 2008 - Cease-fire truce between Hamas and Israel negotiated by Egypt goes into effect. Hamas agrees to stop firing rockets at Israeli border communities and Israel will allow limited trade into and out of Gaza. The cease-fire has a six-month deadlines.
December 19, 2008 - Hamas formally ends cease-fire with Israel. Attacks between the two had continued the entire time to some degree, escalating more in November.
From December 24, 2008 - The rocket attacks from Hamas increase and so do the retaliation air strikes from Israel.
Pictures and stories by courtesy of CNN
