Baghdad Sprawl - Is that what killed Saddam?

[el Guapo]

Sprawl is the cause of all evil. You know it and I know it. And I see sprawl, and lots of it in Baghdad. Every time I see an animated CNN map flyby or a camera shot from a embedded reporter in an armored convoy I see SPRAWL!.

I see it everywhere in Baghdad. I also see the many ways that sprawl is not conducive to expelling the American bandits, with their colonial intentions. In fact, Baghdad seems well designed for the 3rd Infantry Division’s reign of destruction. Al Jazerra has pointed out that the many civilian deaths in Baghdad have been caused by Infidel Corporate American Land Developers in particular!

So what is a good urban planner/follower of Saddam to do? How can they fight the Americans and that yellow dog urban sprawl at the same time? Would the US have bombed Saddam’s favorite restaurant in a well-designed new urbanist neighborhood? I don’t think so. The neighborhood would have been crowded with members of the Iraqi Creative Class. They wouldn’t stand for such treatment.

Could sprawl be the reason Saddam has been so upset with everyone these last twenty-five years? If his commute was shorter and it involved some form of public transportation, would the Iran-Iraq war have happened? If Saddam had a Segway HT back in 1990, would he have invaded Kuwait? I think the answer to all of these questions in no! If we solve the sprawl problem, I am sure that the Middle East situation will surely solve itself.

One planner’s opinion.

 

[BKM]

You beat me to stealing that quote, EG.

But, you are right otherwise. If Baghdad was a maze of tiny twisty medieval lanes, the invasion may have been a little more difficult.

Never fear, as the American economy spirals into depression, all of the Davidon Homes, US Homes, Kauffman and Broads, and A. E. Seenos can find new markets in Iraq for their all-American suburbia.

 

[Jeff]

I have been wondering for the past few weeks what they were thinking when they approved that 50-acre presidential palace in their flea market district. I mean like c'mon....Is that really meeting the intent of their ordinance?

 

[donk]

Mike D. asked

Is that really meeting the intent of their ordinance?

Probably not, but some heavy American ordinance will show them the correct way to implement urban renewal in the downtown.

 

[H]

Is Baghdad too sprawled or is that Iraq too centralized???

 

[el Guapo]

Little known word facts from the book of el Guapo.

or·di·nance ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôrdn-ns)
n.

An authoritative command or order.
A custom or practice established by long usage.
A Christian rite, especially the Eucharist.
A statute or regulation, especially one enacted by a city government.

ord·nance ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôrdnns)
n.
Military materiel, such as weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and equipment.
The branch of an armed force that procures, maintains, and issues weapons, ammunition, and combat vehicles.
Cannon; artillery.

Another:
Cal·va·ry also cal·va·ry ( P ) Pronunciation Key (klv-r)
n. pl. Cal·va·ries
A sculptured depiction of the Crucifixion.
calvary A great ordeal.

cav·al·ry ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kvl-r)
n. pl. cav·al·ries
A highly mobile army unit using vehicular transport, such as light armor and helicopters.
Troops trained to fight on horseback.

I'm really not trying to be a nit picking ass. It is just the first thing they taught us in Ordnance school.

 

[donk]

Damn homonyms, it sounded right, but when I typed it it only looked ok.

 

[Cardinal]

I'm really not trying to be a nit picking ass. It is just the first thing they taught us in Ordnance school.

It was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the post, too. I guess when you are in the military, lugging around and firing off tons of ordinance, you learn to treat it with respect. Of course, the military also tells you that "orientate" is a real word.

 

[Tom R]

ordnance

I just reviewed a Covenants and Restrictions document that prohibited illegal "Ordinance." I assume they ment the kind that goes kaboom.

 

[Jeff]

My ordnance. Dropped on Baghdad Sunday morning. If I can't be there at least my name can be emblazoned on a GBU-12.

That's one of my boys in the pic. On board the USS Nassau part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

 

[el Guapo]

It was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the post, too. I guess when you are in the military, lugging around and firing off tons of ordinance, you learn to treat it with respect. Of course, the military also tells you that "orientate" is a real word.

Planners could reasonably be accused of dropping ton's of Ordinances on innocent civilians

 

[Cardinal]

There is a piece of Korean War-era ordinance parked in front of the local American Legion. Somehow it is exempted from the city's inoperable vehicles ordnance. It is orientated to the east, so that it can shell the town next door (not to be confused with The Town Next Door(TM) ).

 

[el Guapo]

I knew I was on to something...

Sprawl Kills!

http://www.planetizen.com/news/item.php?id=9145

 

[prudence]

You beat me to stealing that quote, EG.

But, you are right otherwise. If Baghdad was a maze of tiny twisty medieval lanes, the invasion may have been a little more difficult.

It didn't stop the Germans from stopping by London.

 

[Tranplanner]

It didn't stop the Germans from stopping by London.

Huh? Did I miss something? I don't remember a German invasion of England...

 

[el Guapo]

Paul, I think he confusing history with his last game of Axis and Allies.

 

[The Irish One]

Huh? Did I miss something?

You didn't forget that the Germans bombed the hell out of London. I guess that's a fly by.

 

[Tranplanner]

You didn't forget that the Germans bombed the hell out of London. I guess that's a fly by.

Aerial bombardment is a lot different from land invasion.