Fox News Ratings Slip - ANALYSIS

Nobody asked me, but I'm going to comment on this and maybe somebody at Fox will read it. Maybe they won't and I've wasted all of these perfectly good electrons.

(CNN) So far this week, Fox has ranked No. 3 in prime time behind both CNN and MSNBC, which almost never happens.

Fox News has led the cable ratings for as long as most people can recall. Why the slip to #3 behind two channels which pride themselves on making the news rather than reporting the news, partisanship and outright lies?

1. Bill O'Reilly anchored the Fox News line-up. There are people who read this blog who didn't like him. It's not about liking or not liking, he provided the sort of input that many viewers wanted. Now he's gone, Fox threw him under the bus and that's reason one for the decline.

I hope that ratings notwithstanding, it's worth it to get your progressive advertisers back now that O'Reilly is gone.

2. I've watched the new line-up. The new producers for all of the evening shows have the very same stories being told (a little news, a lot of whining) over-and-over-and-over again. Viewers are not tuning into CNN. They're tuning out. Who can blame them?

3. Fox has shifted from telling an unbiased story (fair and balanced) to a hard lean toward the so-called "Deep State Message". Fox - you need to put me or somebody like me on your commentary line up. I'd provide some entertainment - wait for the call-in lines to light up. And I'd only tell the truth.

There are a lot of stories that could be told if you had genuine investigative journalism going on. HINT: Hire Sharyl Attkisson, give her a staff and an open budget. Have her as your lead-off hitter in the O'Reilly slot. Let her bring in people like herself who tell the truth. Allow them to tell the truth, and don't cave into the progressive lobby this time.

But first, get rid of the people who are purveying bad advice to you -- that put you in as #3 and caused your loyal viewers to turn off their televisions - or tune into the cooking channel because they'll get more out of it.

RPG-7's - A Changing Role

US Variant - Carl Gustaf M3A1

Some of you prefer the Carl Gustaf M3A1 (M3A1 is the US version of the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle) to the RPG-7. I'm with you. I've always liked the Carl Gustaf, but were heavy to haul around with you (about the same weight as a .50 Barrett with much heavier ammo).

The new, US demand for a lighter version works brilliantly and only weighs about 8 lbs. The load-out for a SEAL platoon used to require distributed weight of at least 2 and often 4 AT-4 anti-tank launchers (disposable) for missions in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. That gave you one shot per launcher. Depending on the mission that was enough, but the ammunition was not flexible to give you different options with each round. This is the new way forward for light infantry and SPECWAR troops. One launcher and the distributed weight of ammunition.

OR

There is the RPG-7, now made by AirTronic in the USA. There are very few weapons that are as iconic as the venerable RPG-7, and you can resupply yourself with rockets on any third world battlefield - or on the mean streets of Guadalajara, Tijuana or Juarez, Mexico, if you're so disposed.

US Variant of the RPG-7

The RPG-7 (РПГ-7) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched weapon with a variety of rounds available.  The RPG-7 (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт – Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot – Hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher) is used by drug cartels in Mexico, revolutionaries in Africa and is still being produced in very large numbers by the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (GRAU).

In the news: RPG-7's are being used to halt urban renewal in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Interior Ministry said that a Saudi special forces soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack in the Qatif area of Eastern Province late on 16 May. Five soldiers were injured.

The details of the attack have not been released to the public, but this is the second violent incident in Qatif in a week. Last week one child and one adult were killed and 10 people were injured at the redevelopment site. 

The most important threat element in this story is the use of an RPG to disrupt an urban renewal project. RPGs are weapons of war, not instruments of political protest. They are common enough among the Taliban in Afghanistan and in other countries at war. They are not common in Qatif or anywhere in Saudi Arabia. 

This probably was the first time this type of weapon has been used by anti-government elements in Qatif or anywhere in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The use of this weapon represents an escalation in the outside support for the Shiites activists/terrorists in Qatif. Conversely, it means Saudi security has lapsed badly.

From the Saudi Press: Violence between Saudi security forces and Shiite militants in Eastern Province is commonplace. Authorities are now redeveloping some of the neighborhoods in the area as part of a major development push. The work includes the demolition of nearly 500 structures, including residential buildings, and could be a reason for the recent increase in violence. 

According to the Interior Ministry, suspected terrorists used rockets, explosive devices and land mines to obstruct work at the development project, attacking security personnel and construction workers.

Additional Background: Qatif is predominantly Shiite Muslim and is perennially restive. Iran presumes to act as the protector of the Shiites there. The Saudi government accuses Iran of fomenting unrest, supplying military-grade weapons to and infiltrating agents among Shiite communities in Saudi Arabia.

The disruption caused by the redevelopment project focuses Shiite grievances against the Sunni government. More attacks at the renewal project are likely. More attacks by RPGs mean that Iran has escalated its support for the local terrorists.