Yes, the Middle East is complicated. Unless you are a simpleton.

Useful Idiots – American Students Who Support Hamas  . . ."There can be no justification for purposefully hunting and slaughtering 1,400 Israelis as if they were animals.

"This is not really about Israeli policies.  Hamas is committed to killing Jews wherever they are. (https://www.adl.org/resources/news/hamas-their-own-words)

"And the university students who are supporting Hamas really should be spending their tuition dollars on other pursuits.  Like computer games, social media apps, or a new tricycle.  Instead of pretending to be critical thinkers.

"Because Hamas is a proxy for Iran. The same Iran whose “morality police” killed 22 year-old Masha Amini for not wearing a head scarf, jailed thousands of those who protested that killing, and executed others for the crime of “enmity against God.”

"The students who protest here would not last a minute in either Iran or Gaza if they protested there.  And yet we see those same students – in their tens of thousands – marching for regimes that would deny them their  basic human rights.

"People can support whomever they want.  At least, in democracies.  But let us be clear.  This is not a movement about issues.  It is a movement of the mindless locked into a conclusion without reference to facts.  Worse – in their intellectual stupor, these students are walking on Masha Amini’s grave and delegitimizing the continuing oppression and suffering of millions of Iranian women.  While loudly proclaiming their direct (and indirect) support of groups for whom human rights is not even a tagline.

 When It Comes to Israel, These People Are Idiots - The American Spectator

"Israel represents Western Civilization and that makes support uncomfortable for Democrats."

Video: Activists Chant 'Death To America And Israel' In Farsi At Chicago Left-Wing Meet - News18  "Over a week after activists chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” at a high-profile rally in US’ Michigan, anti-Israel activists raised the same slogan in Farsi [Iranian] at a “break out session” for the Anti-War Committee in Chicago on Saturday.

"The video of the shocking incident was widely shared on social media, where the organizer of the session, Shabbir Rizvi was seen teaching the “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” slogans in Iran’s native language to participants attending the event." . . .

Activists Chant 'Death To America And Israel' In Farsi At Chicago Left-Wing Meet

NBC Forced to Admit Lying about Kamala Harris Meeting with Families of Murdered U.S. Soldiers

  The Lid (lidblog.com)

"NBC News’s fake “journalist” Kristen Welker lied on the air and said that Kamala Harris met with the families of murdered U.S. soldiers. And now NBC has been forced to admit it all.

"Welker was interviewing Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and told him that Harris met with the families of the 13 U.S. soldiers killed by Biden’s disastrous pullout of Abbey Gate at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

"Gold Star families blasted Biden and Harris for ignoring the anniversary of their death last week. Trump did go to Arlington Cemetery to commemorate the anniversary.

"During the TV interview, Welker insisted that, “Well, they did meet with them at the dignified transfer. They were with them at the dignified transfer,” Welker said about the return of the soldiers’ remains to U.S. soil." . . .

NBC's @kwelkernbc tried to excuse the fact that Kamala has never reached out to the Gold Star families of the 13 fallen service members from Abbey Gate by saying she and Biden "met with them during the dignified transfer."

There's only one problem: Kamala was not in fact at the… pic.twitter.com/BJK6RmlodB

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 1, 2024 

DNC Crowd Chants 'Bring Them Home' for Parents of American-Israeli Son Held by Hamas—but Miss the Point

  Becca Lower – RedState  . . ."Rachel said that her son's "left forearm, his dominant arm was blown off, before he was loaded onto a pickup truck--and stolen from his life, and me and Jon, into Gaza. That was 320 days ago." You can see the number signified on the parents' clothing.

Never forget those pro-Hamas people who ripped down these posters.

"Anyone with a beating heart feels for this family, and all of the loved ones of the hostages. But they and the crowd at the convention missed the plot on two crucial points: 

"Near the end of the remarks, father Jon insisted that there could be some "Kumbaya" scenario that spares the citizens of Gaza. Again, you feel for the pain he must be going through, but the notion that Israel is responsible for what happens to civilians in Gaza has been debunked over and over again. Hamas makes its bases in civilian areas, which the IDF must bomb to kill the terrorists and destroy their hideouts." . . .

"I get the emotion of wanting to root for the family, and for all of the loved ones of the hostages. But they fall down when they insist the solution is to look to the Democrats and Kamala Harris as the potential next president to bring their son home. It's total delusion to keep pretending that Harris has not been a heartbeat away from the presidency for nearly four years. 

"This is the administration that has done nothing but thwart Israel's ability to end the war quickly. Biden blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly over his policy towards Hamas, and more recently placed a hold on shipments of weapons to Israel. I wrote about White House national security advisor John Kirby, just the other day, lashing out at a Netanyahu cabinet minister who rightly called out the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan as a joke. Nothing would be different with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The best bet for all Americans is to hope former President Donald Trump can regain the White House, and actually respect our ally in its quest to defeat the terror group once and for all--and bring the hostages home."

Netanyahu Vows to Destroy Hamas after IDF Recovers Bodies of Slain Hostages | National Review  

“I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our hostages and I say to their leaders: You will pay the price,” Netanyahu pronounced. “We will not rest, nor will be silent. We will pursue you, we will find you, and we will settle accounts with you . . . We saw the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas murderers on October 7 and we have seen it again in the tunnels under Rafah. The fact that Hamas is continuing to perpetrate atrocities like those it carried out on October 7 requires us to do everything so that it will be unable to perpetuate these atrocities again.”

Sadly, Hamas knows that thousands of scarf people on the streets and campuses rally in support of them, chanting the "Death to..." chants taught them by those Iranian mentors.

A year after Richard Lakin, a 76-year-old retired Connecticut elementary school principal, was brutally murdered, Senator Kamala Harris visited the terror university that had honored his killer.
Below: be careful, as these will be disturbing, yet so many college students chant in support of these men and what they have done:

'Don't Look Away': Israel Releases Video of Hamas Atrocities at Music Festival

Another one: Imagine Terrorists breach your house while shouting Allah Akbar.💔
Everyone in Gaza supports this act.#BringThemBack #BringThemHome pic.twitter.com/fWndITPAFE

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) November 3, 2023

Tom Cotton Takes Down NBC News Anchor After She Shamelessly Lies Defending Kamala Harris

 Bonchie – RedState 

"The rush by these hack journalists to defend Harris has them now telling outright lies on national television. If Welker wants to play the live "fact-checking" game, she should get her facts straight first. NBC News owes the Gold Star families an apology and a correction." . . .

Las Vegas Review-Journal

. . ."It didn't take long after the event for the truth to come out, which was that the Gold Star families involved invited Trump to come and asked to pose for pictures with him. Still, the press pushed forward with the story in an egregious fashion, including Maggie Haberman of The New York Times calling up the mother of one of the names seen on a gravestone to harass her for a response. 

"Then, on Saturday morning, Kamala Harris jumped headfirst into the fray, releasing a scathing statement claiming she respected America's war dead but that Trump doesn't. That led to a massive backlash in which eight Gold Star families who were at the ceremony put out video statements slamming the former vice president and noting that she has never agreed to meet with any of them.

"You might think that would be the end of the story. After all, how do you keep pushing a false story that has even been rebuked by the very families involved who lost their loved ones due to Harris' incompetence? The press took that as a challenge, though, and when Welker faced off against Cotton on Sunday morning, she told an inexcusable lie as she desperately tried to defend the vice president." . . . 

"What Welker did at the end of that exchange is just inexcusable, though. Cotton specifically said Harris has never spoken to or met with the Abbey Gate Gold Star families, and the anchor jumps in to insist "they" (as in both Biden and Harris) were at the dignified transfer. Kamala Harris was not there, and every attempt by the families to connect with her since has been rebuffed. Biden was there, but he infamously checked his watch multiple times." . . .

 Kamala Harris Just Keeps Digging With Latest Jab at Gold Star Families

. . ."Instead of focusing on their memories, though, both the press and Harris have tried to make an issue of cameras being present, claiming that Trump disrespected "sacred ground." That talking point was technically put to rest on Saturday when eight of the Gold Star families released videos lambasting the vice president for politicizing the issue and stating that they asked for the event to be videoed and photographed so they would have a memory of the day. 

"The smart move would have been to drop the issue, but on Monday, NBC News released a report citing a Harris aide claiming that the vice president wasn't invited to be there. That was meant to push back on Sen. Tom Cotton's claim on Sunday that both Harris and Joe Biden had the opportunity to show up."

"Harris has had the opportunity to do the right thing for years. She hasn't done so. She has no moral authority to criticize others over respecting America's war dead when she clearly doesn't do so herself." . . . 

Kamala’s tin-eared attack on Trump’s visit to Arlington and Jamie Raskin investigates - Andrea Widburg  

. . ."Now, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the radical Maryland Democrat who vows to keep Trump out of the White House when he wins the election, announced that he will launch a formal investigation into the matter:" . . .

Guess which picture regime media are trying to pretend is the real scandal? pic.twitter.com/9iR1IW8epy

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 29, 2024

. . ."One wonders if the Pentagon has the capacity to answer Raskin’s request honestly. I have my doubts, but Pentagon personnel would be wise to tread carefully in case Trump wins (which I believe he will because I think Kamala has now passed her “sell-by” date).

"The first rule of holes is to stop digging, but the Democrats can’t seem to quit this one. They took a small, non-political event and elevated it into a cause célèbre, even though it reflects poorly on the administration, the media, and the military. This is not a winning issue for them. They think they’ve painted Trump as a monster, but they’ve only succeeded in showing that they will stop at nothing, including using the honored dead to smear their political opponent." . . .

Obama gets dragged like a rag doll over his new Kamala tweet—did he rip his mask off with this photo?

 "Enough about you. Let's talk about me some more." –Obama, always - Revolver News   

"Barry Obama took to X, where he published a pro-Kamala post that grabbed a lot of attention, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Obama, who absolutely loves “identity politics,” sent out a dog whistle for his latest underwhelming DEI candidate. He posted a “how it started/how it’s going” tweet, featuring a photo of himself from 10 years ago alongside a photo of Kamala, not-so-subtly suggesting that it’s still “fashionable” to elect someone based on race. Yawn. Once again, the Democrats are focused on gender and skin color, not substance, qualifications, or policy. This is the cornerstone of their failed DEI agenda that is destroying companies all over the nation. Why on earth would we allow it to continue to destroy our country?

"Well, Obama doesn’t care about that; he just wants his fourth term.

How it started. How it's going.
Ten years later, and it's still a good look! https://t.co/NKXRGNgJPv pic.twitter.com/KeI1gn7HSg

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 28, 2024

. . . " What was really interesting was the overwhelming number of negative comments. Sure, Obama has always attracted vitriol, but it was usually balanced by plenty of positive, adoring remarks. This time, however, those positive comments are either far less or buried under a wave of negativity. This seems to signal a shift in public reaction and opinion toward an Obama post. Has he lost his luster? It may be that the American people are starting to see that the only reason the Dems push these mentally soft DEI candidates is because there are much smarter and more power-hungry people standing behind them, pulling the strings and calling the shots. The bottom line is that this country can’t withstand a fourth Obama term, and the online pushback he’s experiencing could be a sign that Americans have finally had enough." . . .

Nobody's special occasions were without Barack injecting himself front and center into them. An homage to Rosa Parks had to picture Obama in her famous seat.

And we see the fireworks on the 2009 Fourth of July:

This man with his intellect and education could have been so much better as President than he was.  TD

Douglas Murray GOES Nuclear on Anti-Israel Host in live debate

  Aryeh Weinstein:  "Well said, Douglas; Don’t start a war and then cry! Return the hostages and Hamas stop hiding behind your civilians."

This Is What They're Supporting: Hamas Terrorist Casually Describes Murdering Crying Children – Bob Hoge    

"Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a chilling video of a Hamas terrorist casually describing how he mowed down innocent, crying children during the October 7 horror attack. This is the kind of savagery being celebrated on U.S. campuses and at rallies around the globe." . . .

. . ."The terrorist said that he and his partner entered the house through a window, heard children crying, and shot at the door until there was no more sound—meaning the kids were dead. “I shot and Ahmad Abu Kamil shot, we shot at the door," he said. "Until we didn’t hear noise anymore."

"At least 1,400 Israelis were killed in the attack, including over 250 young people who were massacred while attending a music festival by paragliding killers. Well over 200 hostages are still in Hamas custody, yet there have been numerous incidents where pro-Palestinan advocates are ripping down posters with their faces on them. This is the kind of stuff that a Cornell professor said he was “exhilarated” by."

Terry McAteer: Another side to Kamala Harris

  Columns | theunion.com  . . ."While I have nothing against now-Senator Harris as she is a good orator and has done some fine things while holding elective office, I believe, however, how she treats her staff is as important as an individual’s legislative accomplishments. A person’s character is probably one of the most important attributes for someone wanting to obtain the office of President.

"Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar had drawn scrutiny for her berating treatment of her staff. This particular flaw by elected officials in dealing with common courtesy and respect toward staff is something for which most people in this country have little tolerance. Sure, the job is stressful and we’ve all dealt with an angry boss in our lives but there is another side of Kamala Harris which the general public does not know.

"Gregory had an eye-opening experience in Kamala Harris’ office that none of us expected. For his sake, the month could not pass quickly enough. Needless to say, he was delighted to work in Feinstein’s office for the rest of the summer.

"Four short episodes I would like to share of his month-long internship for Kamala Harris:

"Senator Harris vocally throws around “F-bombs” and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day.

"As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, “Good Morning General.”

"Never once during the month-long internship did Harris introduce herself to our son (as he was only in an office with 20 paid employees) and staff was too intimidated by her to introduce him. The only acknowledgment was a form letter of “thanks” signed by Harris given to him on his last day of service.

"Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.

"I don’t know about you but this is not the workplace of someone who respects her staff. For a woman of color to have employees stand when she enters the room smacks of a bygone era that we, as Americans, deplore and find demeaning. Furthermore, that she didn’t show the quality of leadership skills or even being a decent boss — much less the “class” to approach Gregory at least once during the month to say “Hi, I’m Kamala Harris and I want to thank you for volunteering in my office” — is really troubling. Finally, what is up with the “don’t look her in the eye” instruction? I know I wouldn’t want to work in that hostile environment!

"I had Gregory read this piece before submitting it and he is willing to put his own integrity on the line because the truth is important to him. In fact, integrity and character are still virtues that can and should be upheld in our politicians and politics; we just haven’t seen them in a while." . . .

Woke Ideology and the Bizarre Tale of a Venezuelan Gang's Takeover of American Cities

 The Gateway Pundit | by Antonio Graceffo 

. . ."We are living in dangerous times where the fear of offending people outweighs the fear of being killed. Our elected officials are failing to protect us, which is a primary function of government. The media is complicit, either too afraid to report the story or unwilling to acknowledge that it exists." . . . 

NY Post

"Open borders, woke ideology, hate speech regulations, and other liberal constructs are weakening U.S. national security. Illegal immigrants are no longer called illegal, and even a violent gang, recognized by the U.S. government as a national security threat, is being handled with kid gloves to avoid offending law-abiding illegal immigrants from Venezuela and their supporters.

"Back in June, I reported on Tren de Aragua, a violent transnational Venezuelan gang that entered the USA through the southern border and is now operating in states across the country. The existence and threat of this group, as well as its growth in America, are well-documented in government reports. The National Security Council has issued a statement on this new threat to national security, the Treasury Department has recognized them as a transnational crime organization, and the U.S. Department of State is offering a $12 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of several of its leaders.

"Clearly, the group exists and poses a major threat to the nation. However, in recent days, a series of stories have appeared in second-tier, regional, and right-leaning media outlets, claiming that Tren de Aragua is taking over several towns in Colorado, specifically Aurora and Denver. These reports state that the mayors have asked the governor for help, but the governor said the gang takeover was simply a figment of their “imagination.” Simultaneously, other media outlets are claiming that the story of a gang takeover is false. For the most part, the largest mainstream, national media are not covering the story.

"According to the New York Post, the gang has taken over numerous apartment buildings, and viral videos circulating on social media apparently support these claims. These videos are also being aired by local affiliates of larger news organizations, such as KDVR in Denver, NBC Montana, and CBN News. The Denver Post, however, claims that landlords are inventing this story to distract from their own shoddy maintenance of the buildings, which seems extremely unlikely. This landlord narrative would be a first in the documented history of gang violence. The story reported by Fox seems more plausible—that the landlords were unable to perform maintenance because the gang had taken over the properties." . . .

SHOWDOWN: President Trump's Lawyers Dismantle Jack Smith's Superseding Indictment in Joint Status Report

 The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

. . .“ 'President Trump holds the right to challenge the new indictment, and the underlying grand jury process, as a matter of law,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

“Here, President Trump is considering several challenges to the Superseding Indictment, each of which should be resolved in his favor as a matter of law and would obviate the need for further proceedings,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

“We believe, and expect to demonstrate, that this case must end as a matter of law,” they said.

"Trump’s lawyers argued that the former president is immune from prosecution following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.

"Additionally, Trump’s attorneys pointed out that the Supreme Court already determined that his communications with then-Vice President Mike Pence were “presumptively immune.”

“ 'Namely, in Trump, the Supreme Court held that President Trump is “at least presumptively immune from prosecution for” all alleged efforts “to pressure the Vice President to take particular acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding.”” Trump’s lawyers said.

"However, Jack Smith kept Trump’s communications with Mike Pence in his superseding indictment." . . .

Why Gold Star Parents Are Torching the Harris Campaign Right Now

 Matt Vespa (townhall.com)

"Former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery this week to honor the 13 servicemembers who were killed in the Abbey Gate suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, is still being attacked by the liberal press. It’s reached a point where it’s become a Rorschach test, where liberals think the visit was a public relations disaster. At the same time, conservatives view it as another explicit example of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris not caring about our men and women in uniform. Trump was at Arlington Cemetery, whereas Biden-Harris were AWOL."  . . .

"Gold Star family releases response to Kamala Harris political grandstanding about Trump going to Arlington National Cemetery.

Asks why Kamala Harris won’t even return her call. Brutal. pic.twitter.com/tOK0mwtiFu

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 31, 2024. . .

. . ."Harris opened her mouth about this alleged incident and  repeated the 'loser and suckers' lie about Trump: "

. . ."Yeah, there's too much stupidity in this statement to analyze. It's not worth it, especially coming from this unqualified woman with zero grasp of our issues. You got embarrassed. Trump looked presidential, and you didn't. Also, Ms. Harris, I don't remember you speaking to the family members of these servicemembers. 

You were invited to Arlington and didn't respond. It's indicative of this Mickey Mouse administration that can't do anything right. . . .

BREAKING: Gold Star Family Member confirms Biden and Kamala were invited to the Arlington Memorial service
"We never heard back from them"pic.twitter.com/HrwgnJhXme

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 30, 2024

Woke and Politicized US Army Condemns Trump for Taking Photos with Gold Star Families in Arlington Cemetery - But Said NOTHING When Joe Biden Did It | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft 

 . . ."The families of the victims invited President Trump to join them in Arlington Cemetery that day for the ceremony. Joe Biden was NOT invited by the Gold Star families to attend the event.

"The far-left legacy media spent the rest of this week — not honoring the fallen heroes (they really don’t care) but instead attacking President Trump for taking photos in Arlington Cemetery.

"On Thursday, the US Army condemned President Trump for taking a photo — NOT Joe Biden for his role in the murder of the 13 American heroes.

"The Army blamed President Trump’s camp for breaking the rules by taking a photo in Arlington Cemetery." . . . 

 The US Army condemned President Trump for taking photos with the family of a Gold Star hero in Arlington Cemetery this week. The US Army did not condemn Joe Biden for taking photos in Arlington in 2010.

Do those pro-Hamas scarf people know about this?

Hamas Shot 6 Hostages in Head in Last 48 Hours to Prevent IDF Rescue

All six hostages whose bodies were discovered and recovered from Gaza on Sunday were found with gunshot wounds to their head and other areas, their autopsies showed.
According to the post-mortem, they were executed no more than 48 hours before being found and signs of neglect in captivity were found on their bodies.
Except for one of the hostages, who showed signs of being bound, no evidence of torture was found. However, the condition of their bodies indicated systematic neglect, including a lack of hygiene over a long period. Additionally, indications were present of previous injuries sustained during their abduction, which had been treated over time.

 Netanyahu: "Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal" (Reuters)

HEARTBREAK: American Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 Others Murdered by Hamas   . . ."We had reported earlier that the IDF had found bodies in the war-torn region, but they hadn’t been identified. Now, some of them have.

"There are also reports that six other murdered hostages were also recovered:

"According to the IDF, the six were murdered by Hamas a short while, possibly around a day or two, before troops found them. "The entire Jewish people is wrapped in grief. Our hearts are broken for the 6 souls we couldn’t bring home and for their shattered families."

IDF Working to Identify Several Bodies Found in Gaza; Rumors and Heartache Surge Online

"Update: Moments after publication, I was alerted to this tweet, which alleges that the poor hostages were murdered moments before being saved. Sick:. . ."

Aviva Klompas   

IDF Spokesman Hagari says the six hostages recovered from Gaza were "brutally murdered" by Hamas shortly before troops arrived.

The bodies of six hostages have retrieved from Gaza - The Jerusalem Post

The Valor Forum, which represents bereaved families demanding IDF continues operations until Hamas is defeated, said in a Sunday morning statement, "We received another reminder that we are at war against a cruel enemy that spares no means and that we must not stop for a moment. We must continue with all our might until all our enemies are destroyed."

This Is What They're Supporting: Hamas Terrorist Casually Describes Murdering Crying Children – RedState

Yet the most evil of all blames the innocent for the deaths. And their allies on campuses fall into line.

Lessons From the U.S. Civil War – What the Victorian-Era British Army Learned By Observing the Fighting in America

  MilitaryHistoryNow.com

"THE AMERICAN Civil War is often regarded a key moment in the history of warfare — the first ‘modern’ war. European armies of the period are usually thought of as conservative in comparison, retaining obsolete traditions and tactics. The slaughter of August 1914 is attributed to a failure to see what the American war had foretold. Probably no army has been more criticized than the British, for retaining an aristocratic and incompetent officer corps, and an offensive doctrine based upon the bayonet and the cavalry charge, impossible against modern weapons.

These views can be traced back to British military writers of the 1930s, principally Basil Liddell Hart and JFC Fuller, who were both strong critics of the army’s performance in 1914-18 and, crucially, used the study of the American Civil War to illustrate their ideas. Their influence continues to this day and has resulted in many myths, both regarding the novelty of the Civil War, and the extent to which it was ignored in Britain. The Civil War did demonstrate new trends in warfare – but it was neither unique nor disregarded.

A Union mortar battery near Yorktown, Virginia. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

The Industrialized Battlefield

"The First World War saw casualties on an unprecedented scale, caused mostly by high explosive artillery and the machine gun, with the dead and wounded never seeing the men who killed them. This industrialization of warfare is often traced back to the American Civil War, which introduced mass-produced weapons such as the Springfield rifled musket. It was a concern noted at the time in Britain, where politician John Bright described warfare as becoming “a mere mechanical mode of slaughtering your fellow-men.”[i] But the war that triggered this comment was the Franco-Austrian War in Italy (1859), not the American war. The military were very aware that the latest “weapons of precision” as the rifled artillery and muskets were termed, had the power to kill from much greater distances than before, and theorized on how this would change tactics. One of the main reasons that the British sent observers to the Civil War was to see the new technology in action.

"The problem is that the Civil War did not offer any obvious lessons in this respect. Several British artillerymen visited America, but they saw little unusual in American practice; they found more value in looking at American production technology in munitions factories. The extended range of the rifled guns was not particularly useful in the heavily wooded American terrain, and observers found it difficult to assess their effectiveness."

British infantry armed with bolt-action rifles and a Maxim gun. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

"Many artillerists in the U.S. Army preferred the 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore, which was deadlier at short range. Breech-loading artillery (usually European imports) were deemed too complex and unreliable in campaign conditions. The same was true of the prototype machine guns seen in the war, such as the Agar gun, which the U.S. Army abandoned in the York Peninsula in 1862.

"Whereas the evidence from supposedly modern America seemed to favour older and simpler technology, the supposedly conservative British nevertheless embraced the new. In 1863 the British decided to equip all field and horse artillery with rifled guns, the following year they did the same for siege artillery. They were also early adopters of the machine-gun – looking to America for both the Gatling in the 1870s and the Maxim in the 1880s. This was in contrast to Germany for example, which initially ignored the machine-gun because of the poor performance of the French Mitrailleuse in 1870." . . .  Full article here.