A Shameless Pitch, Wrapped in a Nightmare

Recently I decided to become a more serious writer. The results have been mixed. I still fall back on the ridiculous, it makes me comfortable, and in the world today that is about the best you can hope for.

In my quest I have tried several approaches and the one that works the best is normally self narrative. I don't really understand why, my life is boring, indescribably so.

But, I have had this idea for several years, kicking it around, sending queries off to places, researching bits and pieces. It involves two battles, Dien Bien Phu and Khe Sanh. They took place 14 years apart, and were separated by 900 kilometers.

They had different endings, and involved different countries, at least inside the barbed wire. They were both more or less designed around the same idea, drawing a lightly armed, highly mobile indigenous army into a battle where air support and superior fire power could prevail.

The part I find most fascinating is the willingness of the United States government to discuss the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Almost as a matter of course. "Well, this did not turn out as well as we had hoped, maybe an atomic weapon would change things."

It terrified me thinking they actually contemplated the use of such awful things to solve problems that should have never been created.

Anyway, during my research I ran across a memo from the CIA Office of National Estimates, from 1966, it had been approved for release in January 2005.

It was a thorough, well written, reasoned evaluation of the possible benefits and liabilities of the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam. Two years before anybody in the US (who wasn't a specialist or Marine) had ever heard of Khe Sanh.

It was a memorandum for the director and didn't advocate for or against the use of these weapons. It laid out several possible events providing the impetus for the release of these weapons and the potential outcomes from each. It was terrifying.

How many reports had there been over the years helping senior members of the administration decide whether the repercussions of use would be worse than the battlefield results of not using atomic devices? I'm not sure I want to know.

Anyway, if you are a publisher of a magazine, or an ezine, or almost anything that would give me a byline and are interested in a piece on two battles, two endings, three armies and the political machinations of the "bomb" let me know. I have an idea for you.

Overt Ops, on the Information Super Highway.

We, here at Life Explained, circle the globe (sort of) flying by the seats of our pants, (whatever that means) facing any risk (at least any risk that comes with browsing the internet) looking for an explanation, a definition, an answer, any small clue that would provide a glimpse, no matter how vague, into the meaning of life.  So far we have had no luck, people seem reluctant to put that kind of powerful information on the world wide web, go figure.  But, sometimes we do find some cool stuff, and we like to share that with you, our loyal, articulate, informed public.

"Welcome to the CIA, and Twitter,
don't make any sudden moves."

On June 6th something fantastic happened (at least we think it was fantastic).  The CIA started tweeting!  That's right, the our International House of Espionage, the serious, tight lipped community of covert agents, and keepers of secrets has started spilling its guts in 140 characters or less, with pictures, and links, of course.   It was a tremendously gutsy decision, and all appropriately adapted citizens of the electronic world should stand and applaud.



Their first tweet is captured below.

So, the CIA has a sense of humor.  Take that 007, shaken, and not stirred.  Though James Bond could be pretty funny at times, too.  One time he was sent to this spa by the director who was lecturing him on the damaging effects of free radicals in the blood stream.  The director was informing him that these free radicals could come from alcohol consumption, exotic foods, white bread.  And he said "I don't really eat that much white bread, sir."  We all found that very amusing, and less than 140 characters, though without context it would probably fall pretty flat.

Anyway, we were so happy to find out about our chance to "watch the watchers" for a change that we started following them, right away.    We will let you know what they are up to, "Getting ready to topple a foreign government." "Planting incriminating evidence on a hostile diplomat." and then we will have to kill you.  Just kidding, we will only exile you, not really.