Me: Doug took some grief for raising "blitzkrieg" and, while I think the parallels aren't supportable...

Well, if I were more honest (about the issue that I probably skirted), I guess I'd say that you took some grief for drawing a US=Hitler parallel (I think that was the real issue)...but you didn't directly draw that parallel, yn0t_ did, so perhaps I should be taking him more to task. Let me think about that...

I'll probably take some more grief for this, but go ahead, I'll just pout for awhile, then go to bed and turn my electric blanket up to "9".

I will tell you my electric blanket story sometime.... Nine.... Mmmmmmm.

Perhaps I have a basic misunderstanding about the nature of Blitzkrieg. Isn't the literal translation of Blitzkrieg "Lightning War"? To me, it means extremely rapid military advance, crushing all opposition with overwhelming technical superiority. (Think of Panzers blowing through horseback-mounted Polish cavalry.) Isn't this what we are attempting to do in Iraq?

I think this is mostly correct, save for the elements of precision and very selective targeting ('decapitation strikes'). At this point, I don't think I have to tell you how skeptical I am of the actual distinctions (as I said, I don't think our high McNamara-esque opinion of our precise, humane bombing capabilities will matter one whit to that little girl when the bomb drops on her), but I am going to guess that Guderian's blitzkrieg philosophy didn't so much as pay lip service to avoidance of civilian casualties (while Tommy Franks and Co certainly do more than that) and the precision of Stukas and massed artillery/armor circa 1939 didn't allow nearly the degree of distinction/precision ... (He says, archly) in principle.

I do not associate Blitzkrieg with indiscriminate slaughter. The Nazis didn't waste time destroying things that were not militarily significant. Their intent was to attain their objectives as quickly as possible with the least expenditure of materials.

Yes, I think that is correct, but I can't separate "Blitzkrieg" from its context -- "How handy that we didn't kill all the civilians! We get to turn them into slave laborers!"

I imagine that a lot of people in Poland, Belgium, France, etc. were pretty much in "Shock and Awe" when Germany's Blitzkrieg rolled across their borders.

Absolutely. But... (and I'm waffling here....) I have a hard time thinking of our actions in the same breath as (capital B) "Blitzkrieg", but like I've said, I think the distinctions between evil fascist blitzkrieg and kinder, gentler, democratic Shock and Awe will be lost on that little girl.

So, Tony, what do you think?