Dancing with Fire's definitions

IRA

Irish Republican Army; a militant organization of Irish nationalists founded with the aim of striving for a united independent Ireland by means of guerrilla warfare.

The IRA wishes to drive the British forces out of Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland.

by Dancing with Fire September 3, 2012

Little Satan

What the Arabs call Israel.

Little Satan = Israel

by Dancing with Fire August 1, 2011

Bolshevik

The left-wing majority group of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party that adopted Lenin's theses on party organization in 1903.

The word Bolshevik, an emotionally charged term in English, is derived from an ordinary word in Russian, bol'she, "bigger, more," the comparative form of bol'sho, "big." The plural form Bol'sheviki was the name given to the majority faction at the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1903 (the term is first recorded in English in 1907). The smaller faction was known as Men'sheviki, from men'she, "less, smaller," the comparative of maly, "little, few." The Bol'sheviki, who sided with Lenin in the split that followed the Congress, subsequently became the Russian Communist Party. In 1952 the word Bol'shevik was dropped as an official term in the Soviet Union, but it had long since passed into other languages, including English.

by Dancing with Fire September 7, 2012

Vo Nguyen Giap

Giap served as minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the People's Army of Vietnam. With the outbreak of hostilities with South Vietnam, and later the United States, Giap led North Vietnam's strategy and command. In 1967, Giap oversaw the planning for the massive Tet Offensive. While initially against a conventional attack, Giap's goals were both military and political. In addition to achieving a military victory, Giap desired the offensive to spark an uprising in South Vietnam and show that American claims about the war's progress were wrong.

While the 1968 Tet Offensive proved to be a military disaster for North Vietnam, Vo Nguyen Giap was able to achieve some of his political objectives. The offensive showed that North Vietnam was far from being defeated and significantly contributed to changing American perceptions about the conflict. Following Tet, peace talks began and the US ultimately withdrew from the war in 1973. Following the American departure, Giap remained in command of North Vietnamese forces and directed General Van Tien Dung and the Ho Chi Minh campaign that finally captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1975.

by Dancing with Fire July 2, 2011

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation; an agency of the Justice Department responsible for investigating violations of Federal laws.

The FBI is primarily a law enforcement agency. They collect intelligence related to domestic security and perform crime investigations.

by Dancing with Fire September 5, 2012

Antoine-Henri Jomini

Swiss-French general and military theorist. After a volunteer stint with the French army (1798 – 1800), he wrote his Treatise on Grand Military Operations, 5 vol. (1805). He was appointed staff colonel in 1805 by Napoleon I, who had read his book. He was created a baron after the Treaties of Tilsit (1807). He rose to the post of chief of staff, but unjust treatment by his superiors prompted him to resign (1813), and thereafter he fought for France's enemy, Russia. Of his numerous later works on military history and strategy, the best known are Principles of Strategy (1818) and Summary of the Art of War (1838). He was the first to fix divisions between strategy, tactics, and logistics, and his systematic attempt to define the principles of warfare made him a founder of modern military thought.

"A state attacked by another which renews an old claim rarely yields it without a war: it prefers to defend its territory, as is always more honorable. But it may be advantageous to take the offensive, instead of awaiting the attack on the frontiers." - Antoine-Henri Jomini

by Dancing with Fire October 12, 2011

Napalm

Jelly-like gasoline enclosed in bombs dropped by an airplane. It sticks to whatever it lands on and burns for a long time.

A reported three quarters of all napalm victims in Vietnam were burned through to the muscle and bone (fifth degree burns). The pain caused by the burning is so traumatic that it often causes death.

by Dancing with Fire June 24, 2011