Prometheus 6

This book review refers to the Kalashnikov assault rifle as a 'low cost weapon of mass destruction.' This is the second time. The book's author did a three page piece in the Washington Post this weekend wrapped around the phrase.

It disturbs me.

It disurbs me because the USofA pwns the global arms industry. But worse, it further dilutes the WMD term into uselessness.

I don't care whether you believe me or not, but the very first time I heard the term in the news I knew trouble was coming. It's like hearing a commercial telling you about a new three-letter acronym for a collection of symptoms...you know a new drug is about to hit the market.

Because delivery is just plain inefficient, biological and chemical weapons struggle to be worthy of the WMD appelation. If we now start calling a thing "weapon of mass destruction," not because one kills en masse but because masses of them are used to kill, how long before Saturday Night Specials qualify?

Anyway... 

The Reliable Killer
AK-47
The Weapon That Changed the Face of War
By Larry Kahaner

Here's today's puzzler: Name a Russian innovation that whips most everything America and Western Europe throws against it, has astounding firepower, and is unaffected by heat, cold, and sand. (No, it's not Maria Sharapova.) Need more hints? It's easily transported, and its familiar silhouette has made it a must-have fashion accessory certifying the rebel status of figures from the anonymous Viet Cong to Osama bin Laden. Give up? It's the Kalashnikov assault rifle, also known as the AK. Since its first large-scale production in 1947, this low-tech weapon of mass destruction has spread across the globe, doling out death from Afghanistan to the U.S.

If we need a reminder, the AK is graphic evidence that not every innovation benefits humanity. With one devastating, engrossing anecdote after another, author Larry Kahaner provides a chilling and perversely entertaining brief in AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War. Consider this:

-- The AK was first unveiled by the Soviet Army during the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Capable of 600-rounds-per-minute bursts of killing power, the weapon demonstrated its effectiveness while demanding few skills of the poorly trained, largely conscript Soviet army. The revolt was squelched. As many as 50,000 civilians were killed.

-- Since that time, around 100 million AKs have been produced. The Soviets chose not to assert patent claims or charge licensing fees, allowing "wholesale production" of the weapon in countries from Bulgaria and Poland to China.

-- During the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Soviets introduced an improved AK with a smaller, more lethal bullet. But the insurgent mujahideen likewise carried AKs, thanks to the CIA, which donated as many as 400,000 of them.

-- With the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of weapons flooded the globe. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, a huge supply prompted the rise of a thriving black market and a "Kalashnikov culture," in which AKs were everywhere.

-- The AK has become the firearm of choice for at least 50 standing armies and uncounted ragtag outfits, from insurgents and terrorists to drug dealers and street gangs.

AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War author: Larry Kahaner asin: 0471726419