"New tactic". That's what you called it. Stressed a "new tactic". As if the military just discovered it.

It's a tactic as old as warfare. Probably older. Nothing new about it. Why do they have checkpoints, examine vehicles of all types? Because they might have something hidden.

Now, why would the military all at once announce a "new tactic", when cursory examination shows them to be full of BS?

The only reason I can think of is to excuse the wasting of more civilian vehicles. Losing more hearts and minds. If you're going to kill everything that could, would or does hate you, that could or might hide a threat, you might as well nuke the area and be done with it. Because the survivors will have every valid reason in this world and the afterlife to hate every American would is or will be breathing.

And the premise, that this is a "new tactic" is nonsense. It has to be embarassing to try to defend it as a "new tactic".

One of my best friends in the '60s was a guy who was in charge of two Swift Boats in the Mekong Delta. To make a long story short, when he finished over there he came back to Treasure Island. The Navy had a full-sized junk there for training new Swift Boat crews in searches and he was the "captain" of the junk and it's crew.

My friend said that on occasion they would trail a stick of TNT about 75 feet behind the junk, under water. When the trainees came up they would detonate it. Loud boom, a plume of water, and laughter on the junk.

I asked him why they did that. His reply was that it was probably to show those crews that if the VC really wanted to get them the VC would get them.

Arf