Freethought & Rationalism Archive

tdekeyser · 05-01-2003, 07:32 AM

THE DIVINE WIND
When 50,000 of our American boys were out in the middle of the Iraqi desert
a few weeks ago a DIVINE WIND blew across the desert for three days
followed by a drenching rain.
The Muslim media said it was the worst sand storm in 100 years, and the
Mullahs in 20+ Muslim countries proclaimed that the storm was sent by Allah
when our troops were bogged down and couldn't move.

The left-wing media [CNN, CBS, MSNBC & ABC, the New York Times, The Chicago
Tribune/L A Times and lots of others] trotted out politicians and military
experts that proclaimed we were in a "quagmire" and they all made dire
predictions of gloom and doom.

What they didn't report [all except for Fox News and many smaller regional
and hometown newspapers] was that after the weather cleared, the Marine
group that was mired the worst looked out at the plain they were just about
to cross. What did they see? Thousands upon thousands of anti-tank and
anti-personnel mines that had been uncovered by the wind and then washed
off by the rain. If they had proceeded as planned, many American lives
would have been lost. As it was, they simply drove around them and let the
demolition teams destroy them.

Yes, it was a DIVINE WIND!
When George Washington was asked if he thought God was on his side, he
replied: "It is not that God should be on our side, but that we be on His."

Maybe the Mullahs should switch sides.

BrotherMan · 05-01-2003, 07:39 AM

Quote:

What they didn't report [all except for Fox News and many smaller regional
and hometown newspapers]...

"They" are concerned with getting a story right the first time, unlike Fox Snooze.

Quote:

Thousands upon thousands of anti-tank and
anti-personnel mines that had been uncovered by the wind and then washed off by the rain.

I reckon it's part of the EAC, that's why there aren't any pictures of this miraculous uncovering.

wildernesse · 05-01-2003, 07:44 AM

You should send an email back about the snopes report, which says this email is false (wow).

The snopes report also contains this interesting tidbit:

Quote:

The 2003 story appears to be an updating of a tale previously told about the 1991 Gulf War, a write-up of which subsequently appered in a widely-read inspirational magazine:

[Guideposts, 2002]

The order had come down at last. The ground invasion of Kuwait was about to commence. My battalion would cross the Kuwaiti border as part of Operation Desert Storm. I was the second in command of 130 brave Marines who were about to face the most daunting challenge of their military lives.

We�d already dodged heavy artillery fire and now we�d likely face more dangers, like land mines and oil fires. Thousands of Iraqi troops waited just beyond the Kuwaiti border. It was time for us to make the final strategic push. Dear God, I prayed, help me to lead my troops wisely. Watch over us. Keep us safe.

I walked from one group of Marines to another, talking to them about the mission and trying to keep their spirits up. Hunched against the dry, biting desert winds, we wrote letters home. Maybe our last.

Just before dawn the next morning I gave the order to move out. The skies were clear. We slung our gear into our Humvees and began advancing toward the border.

I felt a drop of rain, then another. In a matter of minutes it was pouring. The rain came down hard and fast, so thick we could barely make out the desert landscape ahead of us.

It went on for days. Each morning we�d awaken soaked to the bone after another night with only camouflage netting for cover. Bad enough we had the enemy to worry about. Now the elements were against us too. Father, please make this rain stop and protect us.

The rain continued to pound us relentlessly until we finally neared the Kuwaiti border. There the battalion halted. On the other side, the enemy waited. Rain or no rain, we�d soon be going in.

We awoke on the day of the invasion to clear skies and glorious sunshine. As we closed in on the border, we couldn�t help but stare at the astounding sight before us. The torrential rains had washed away the sand to reveal metal disks planted all across our path. It was an Iraqi minefield.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/sandstorm.htm

Whenever I get urban legends, I look them up on snopes and then email the snopes page back to the person who sent it to me, and any people in the forward that passed the ridiculous story along to anyone else. I'm a reverse spammer.

--tibac

Rhea · 05-01-2003, 07:57 AM

I'm a reverse spammer, too.

Don't these people know how UTTERLY RIDICULOUS these stories are?

GET FREAKING REAL!

Okay, we're soldiers, in the desert. A storm uncovers some land mines.

We assume that's all there is and "drive around them"

Are we fucking MORONS?

Sorry for the rant, but these stories are so unbelievably flawed that I am absolutely flabbergasted that anyone can take them for real. If if the action _was_ real, the "story" screws it up.

Rhea · 05-01-2003, 08:02 AM

By the way, did Faux News actually report this false glurge?

Good Grief. Doesn't the 9th Commandment mean ANYTHING any more?

tdekeyser · 05-01-2003, 08:12 AM

Tibac,

BIG THANKS!!

Ha ha ha, I can't wait to see what he says!

GunnerJ · 05-01-2003, 08:27 AM

Interestingly, IIRC, "divine wind" translates into Japanese as "kamakaze."

lpetrich · 05-01-2003, 10:58 AM

That story seems like pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat, of believers in divine intervention getting to avoid having to consider the possibility of Allah.

The original "kamikaze" (literally, "divine wind") was a hurricane that devastated the big Mongol/Chinese/Korean invasion fleet in 1281; those invaders were stuck in their boats in the Tsushima Straits between Japan and Korea, because Japan's samurai kept them from acquiring a beachhead for three months.

But in 1944, Japan faced some other invaders from across a sea, invaders with greater numbers and superior technology, invaders that were seemingly unstoppable. Invaders that were only barely slowed down by the original kind of kamikaze in Nov. 1944 near the Philippines.

Japan's airplane-as-piloted-cruise-missile strategy was hoped to be a last-minute miracle with a similar effect on the new invaders' ships, thus the name. Though they were more officially called the "Special Attack Forces". The strategy had been an occasional desperado move by pilots on all sides, like the American Richard E. Fleming, but now it was systematic.

However, it failed, and the new invaders demonstrated another similarity to the Mongols at Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- superior expertise in explosives.

05-01-2003, 07:32 AM	#1
tdekeyser Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 341	Spam mail from girlfriends dad! THE DIVINE WIND When 50,000 of our American boys were out in the middle of the Iraqi desert a few weeks ago a DIVINE WIND blew across the desert for three days followed by a drenching rain. The Muslim media said it was the worst sand storm in 100 years, and the Mullahs in 20+ Muslim countries proclaimed that the storm was sent by Allah when our troops were bogged down and couldn't move. The left-wing media [CNN, CBS, MSNBC & ABC, the New York Times, The Chicago Tribune/L A Times and lots of others] trotted out politicians and military experts that proclaimed we were in a "quagmire" and they all made dire predictions of gloom and doom. What they didn't report [all except for Fox News and many smaller regional and hometown newspapers] was that after the weather cleared, the Marine group that was mired the worst looked out at the plain they were just about to cross. What did they see? Thousands upon thousands of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines that had been uncovered by the wind and then washed off by the rain. If they had proceeded as planned, many American lives would have been lost. As it was, they simply drove around them and let the demolition teams destroy them. Yes, it was a DIVINE WIND! When George Washington was asked if he thought God was on his side, he replied: "It is not that God should be on our side, but that we be on His." Maybe the Mullahs should switch sides.

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05-01-2003, 07:57 AM	#4
Rhea Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Recluse Posts: 9,040	I'm a reverse spammer, too. Don't these people know how UTTERLY RIDICULOUS these stories are? GET FREAKING REAL! Okay, we're soldiers, in the desert. A storm uncovers some land mines. We assume that's all there is and "drive around them" Are we fucking MORONS? Sorry for the rant, but these stories are so unbelievably flawed that I am absolutely flabbergasted that anyone can take them for real. If if the action _was_ real, the "story" screws it up.

05-01-2003, 08:02 AM	#5
Rhea Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Recluse Posts: 9,040	By the way, did Faux News actually report this false glurge? Good Grief. Doesn't the 9th Commandment mean ANYTHING any more?

05-01-2003, 08:12 AM	#6
tdekeyser Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 341	Tibac, BIG THANKS!! Ha ha ha, I can't wait to see what he says!

05-01-2003, 08:27 AM	#7
GunnerJ Banned Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: a place where i can list whatever location i want Posts: 4,871	Interestingly, IIRC, "divine wind" translates into Japanese as "kamakaze."

05-01-2003, 10:58 AM	#8
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	That story seems like pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat, of believers in divine intervention getting to avoid having to consider the possibility of Allah. The original "kamikaze" (literally, "divine wind") was a hurricane that devastated the big Mongol/Chinese/Korean invasion fleet in 1281; those invaders were stuck in their boats in the Tsushima Straits between Japan and Korea, because Japan's samurai kept them from acquiring a beachhead for three months. But in 1944, Japan faced some other invaders from across a sea, invaders with greater numbers and superior technology, invaders that were seemingly unstoppable. Invaders that were only barely slowed down by the original kind of kamikaze in Nov. 1944 near the Philippines. Japan's airplane-as-piloted-cruise-missile strategy was hoped to be a last-minute miracle with a similar effect on the new invaders' ships, thus the name. Though they were more officially called the "Special Attack Forces". The strategy had been an occasional desperado move by pilots on all sides, like the American Richard E. Fleming, but now it was systematic. However, it failed, and the new invaders demonstrated another similarity to the Mongols at Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- superior expertise in explosives.

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