Playstation Controller Runs Syrian Rebel Tank

SternisheFan writes "As Syria's rebels work to overthrow the tank-equipped Assad regime, they've learned that it helps to have tanks of their own. They deserve bonus points for integrating video game technology. This is no exaggeration. Have a look at the opposition forces' "100 percent made in Syria" armored vehicle, the Sham II. Named for ancient Syria and assembled out of spare parts over the course of a month, the Sham II is sort of rough around the edges, but it's got impressive guts. It rides on the chassis of an old diesel car and is fully encased in light steel that's rusted from the elements. Five cameras are mounted around the tank's outside, and there's a machine gun mounted on a turning turret. Inside, it kind of looks like a man cave. A couple of flat screen TVs are mounted on opposite walls. The driver sits in front of one, controlling the vehicle with a steering wheel, and the gunner sits at the other, aiming the machine gun with a Playstation controller."

Comments

Re:Novel

[swb]

I think you give OPFOR too much credit.

The dependence on PGMs is more about politics than tactics. Iron bombs or unguided rockets could easily accomplish the same thing, but the US is always trying to hit those three guys standing in some courtyard without killing the 14 kids in the adjacent building.

Like in Viet Nam, we're trying to win at politics harder than we're trying to win at war, and using overwhelming force against a guerrilla force embedded in the civilian population results in too much collateral damage for the political leadership.

We could fight a war of conquest instead of counter-insurgency and treat civilians as enemy support resources. With enough civilian losses, they might stop providing aid and comfort to the guerrilla forces and instead resist them, further diluting the effective strength of the guerrillas if they choose to try to maintain control of a hostile population. The good news is that if the opposite occurs and the civilians join forces with the guerrillas, it doesn't really matter -- you're already willing to treat them as hostile forces.