5 things you don't know about Ak-47

Guns have always been a fascinating topic in America. From who's using them to what model, make and brand they are, guns have become a staple in our modern society. Now, whether that's a sad or thrilling fact, we've decided to let our readers in on some interesting facts about one of America's most loved (and hated) assault rifles: the AK-47.

With a new book on the market entitled AK-47: The Story of the People's Gun, Michael Hodges is an expert on this particular weapon, and we got Hodges to let us in on a few little-known facts about the AK-47 while researching his work.  

1- The inventor of the AK-47 did not profit from the gun

Although by some estimates there are 100 million AK-47-style assault rifles in circulation around the world, the gun's inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, did not become rich (unlike Eugene Stoner, the inventor of the American M16 assault rifle, who died a wealthy man). Communist states had no patents, and until its collapse in 1991, Kalashnikov was simply an employee of the Soviet Union. “I invented a weapon to save the motherland, to save the state from fascism,” he said. “My career has been dedicated to my country.”

Despite that country awarding him the Hero of Socialist Labor medal and many other accolades, this particular Socialist hero, who just happened to change the world, started life as an enemy of the Soviet Union. Kalashnikov narrowly escaped being shot by Stalin's special police after his family was denounced as Kulaks in 1932, and exiled to Siberia. Kalashnikov escaped again when a Panzer shell blew him from his tank in 1941, as the Soviets fought desperately to halt the Nazi advance on Moscow.

2- The AK-47 is the perfect weapon for children

The AK-47 can be stripped in under a minute and cleaned quickly in almost any climatic condition. Even if it isn’t cleaned, an AK-47 is still more likely to fire than any of its rivals given similar treatment on the battlefield. With only eight moving parts the AK-47 is cheap to manufacture and easy to use — so easy in fact that children can be taught how to properly handle this weapon in a single hour. Sudanese child soldier Emmanuel Jal picked up his first AK-47 when he was 9 years old. A fully loaded AK-47 weighs four kilograms: “I don’t know how I lifted the AK when I was tired. It was so heavy,” he remembers. “We only had a few AKs but we weren’t scared, it was like a game with toy guns. When the fighting starts you can put the gun down and run away, or pull the trigger. Once you’ve done that you are hooked; it makes you think that no one can touch you. Once you've fired an AK-47 you become brave.”

3- America may have given bin Laden his first AK-47

Since 1998, Osama bin Laden has regularly included an AK-47 in the propaganda videos he releases after terrorist outrages. Consequently, the gun has come to represent the global jihad, and AK-47 is an integral part of the regime at fundamentalist camps, as far apart as the English home counties and the jungles of the Philippines.

These groups and their adherents are dedicated to the destruction of Israel and America — yet it is highly likely that it was Israel and America that inadvertently put an AK-47 into bin Laden’s hands. When the Israel Defense Forces invaded Lebanon in 1982 to “crush” the Palestinian Liberation Organization they captured thousands of AK-47s.These guns found their way, via the CIA and the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Agency, to the Mujahadeen resisting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. It is probable that amongst them would have been the AK-47 that equips bin Laden.

4- The AK-47 is the U.S. army’s most resilient enemy

U.S. forces first came into large-scale contact with the AK-47 during the Vietnam War. Their own M16s malfunctioned in the heat and damp of the jungle, but the Chinese-supplied AK-47s used by the communists continued to fire. Consequently, thousands of GIs picked up AK-47s from fallen Viet Cong guerrillas. This led Americans to open fire on their own side because they presumed the distinctive pop-pop-pop sound of an AK-47 revealed an enemy position. So many GIs threw away their guns in favor of AK-47s that a House of Representatives hearing in 1971 discovered that the U.S. Army attempted to stop the media reporting the phenomenon. Today, nearly 40 years later, in the sand and heat of Iraq, American soldiers are once again giving up their own U.S.-manufactured weapons in favor of the AK-47.

5- The AK-47 is the weapon of choice for U.S. mass murderers

On January 17, 1989, Patrick Purdey walked into the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, armed with a Chinese-manufactured AK-47. It was fitted with a barrel magazine holding 75 rounds — both of which he bought legally over a gun-shop counter. When he walked out again five children were dead and 29 were injured. In December 1997, Arturo Reyes Torres entered his former place of work, the Caltrans Maintenance Yard, with an AK-47, killed four and wounded two. There are many more examples of AK-47 murders in the U.S. The online Urban Dictionary defines “Columbine” like so: “The constant bullying of the preppies and jocks has caused him to pick up his AK-47 and go Columbine on everyone.”

Ironically, the Columbine killers did not use AK-47s, but it doesn’t matter; in America gun crime is now perceived as AK crime.

rifle-ing through history

From the killing grounds of Sadr City to the murderous barrios of Bogotá, from the battlefields of Somalia to the ghettos of the United States, the AK-47 dominates the world. Invented by a Russian tank commander at the end of World War II, by rights it should be in the dustbin of history. However, such was the genius of his design that 60 years later — for millions of unfortunate people around the world, and scores of countries wracked by conflict — Mikhail Kalashnikov's iconic assault rifle is both the present and, tragically, the future.

Collected from askmen

Ukraine conflict: Why is east hit by conflict

Pro-Russian rebels have entered the strategic town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine after heavy fighting - despite a ceasefire agreement.

Most of the Ukrainian government forces have pulled out of the town, a key transport hub.

A new truce deal was reached on 12 February through international mediation, in an attempt to stop the fighting spiralling out of control.

What prompted the flare-up in a conflict that has cost more than 5,600 lives and few saw coming?
How did eastern Ukraine return to full-scale conflict?

Fighting started in April 2014 and raged for months until Ukraine and the separatists came to a deal on 5 September to halt the violence and free prisoners.

But the ceasefire never held entirely. Both sides used the relative lull to build up their forces and for months the rebels tried to seize Donetsk airport, a strategic and symbolic asset, from government forces.
Ukrainian forces finally succumbed to a rebel onslaught against the strategic town of Debaltseve

With the start of 2015, a new rebel push began and by 22 January the airport was in their hands.

Donetsk airport - coveted prize

Violence flared the length of the September ceasefire line and casualties mounted:

    Civilians killed by shells and rockets in rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk
    Thirty people killed in Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, in artillery attack said by observers to come from rebel-held areas
    Rebels besiege major road and rail hub of Debaltseve, where thousands of Ukrainian troops are based, leading to a withdrawal on 18 February
    Rebels fire rockets at civilian areas in Kramatorsk, government-controlled city and military HQ far beyond conflict zone
    Ultra-nationalist volunteer battalion linked to the government seizes villages from rebels outside Mariupol in south

Ghost town captured by rebels
Will the new ceasefire work?

The deal struck on 12 February in Minsk by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia is similar to the old one, but tries to tackle some of its shortcomings.

For the rebels, the new ceasefire line is the same as the old one, so they lose some of the territory they have gained. But government forces must pull back from the current front-line, and territory they have lost since January is confirmed as lost.

But a key omission from the deal was Debaltseve - because the sides could not agree about who would end up controlling it.

Even if the bloodshed stops and the guns fall silent, the future status of the rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk remains unclear.

Ukraine is adamant there is no new deal on autonomy for the rebel areas, only decentralisation - so that could anger the rebels.

And it is difficult imagining the rebels agreeing to hold elections under Ukrainian law in their areas, just as it is seeing Ukraine getting back control of its eastern border.

Both conditions are part of the 13-point plan agreed in Minsk.
Hundreds of civilians have had to flee the rebel advance
So what is in the 13-point plan?

    Immediate ceasefire from 0000 on 15 February (2200 GMT on 14 February)
    Buffer zone separating heavy weapons of both sides. Before, big guns had to pull back by 15km (9 miles)
    Now, minimum buffer zone of 50km for 100mm artillery and up to 140km for rockets
    Effective verification by international security group OSCE
    Amnesty and release of all hostages and illegally detained people by fifth day of pull-out
    Restoration of government pensions and other welfare payments for civilians in the east
    Full Ukrainian control over eastern border, after local elections under Ukrainian law and a constitutional deal on future of Donetsk and Luhansk by end of 2015

Ukraine's war: The human cost

    5,665 people killed and 13,961 wounded in eastern Ukraine
    Fatalities include 298 people on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down on 17 July
    5.2 million people estimated to be living in conflict areas
    978,482 internally displaced people within Ukraine, including 119,832 children
    600,000 fled to neighbouring countries, of whom more than 400,000 have gone to Russia

Source: Figures from UN reports, 6 and 17 February
Why did the September ceasefire break down?

Each side accused the other of tearing up the peace deal.

For the government, it was the rebels' decision to hold their own local elections in November 2014, in defiance of the Kiev authorities.

The separatists were then angered by the government decision to scrap the special status of their two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Alexander Zakharchenko was declared head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic after a disputed vote

Among the terms of the truce were a commitment to pull back heavy guns from the front line by at least 15km (9 miles), a release of prisoners and an agreement for international observers to monitor the truce and a buffer zone on the Ukrainian border with Russia.

Ukraine would also grant wider self-rule to Donetsk and Luhansk.

Both sides used the ceasefire to rearm, but the rebels now appear to have better quality tanks and weapons than the government.
Nato said the unmarked armoured vehicles were from Russia

The ceasefire that never was

Russia tests new weaponry in Ukraine
Who has the upper hand now?

The rebels certainly have made big gains, with the capture of Donetsk airport and the assault on Debaltseve.

The airport gave them a strategic asset a few miles from the centre of Donetsk city, their biggest stronghold.
A drone image showed the damage to Donetsk airport

Even before the airport had been captured, Ukraine accused separatist forces of seizing more than 500 sq km (194 sq miles), mainly around Debaltseve and Mariupol.

Casualties on both sides have been heavy, and journalists say the separatists have suffered major losses.

Ukrainian forces made significant gains last summer, many of which have not been reversed.

The separatists opened up a coastal front by the Sea of Azov before the September ceasefire, moving within range of the port city of Mariupol, but the ultranationalist pro-government Azov battalion recaptured some villages outside the city in early February.
Why did the fighting start in the first place?

In April 2014, pro-Russian activists seized control of government buildings in towns and cities across the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The events were a repeat of what had happened in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
Across eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists moved into government buildings in April

Gunmen there seized government buildings in February 2014 and raised the Russian flag a week after elected President Viktor Yanukovych, friendly to Moscow, fled during massive pro-EU street protests in Kiev.

An early attempt by nationalists to remove the status of Russian as a second language alarmed many Russian speakers, and officials in Moscow portrayed the new leaders in Kiev as US-backed Ukrainian nationalists bent on violating minority rights.

A flawed referendum on joining Russia was quickly held in Crimea and within a month the peninsula's annexation was complete.

There was little bloodshed in Crimea, but Ukraine's fledgling revolutionary government was in no position to fight back, with only 6,000 troops reportedly ready for combat.

However, when pro-Russian separatists made a move on Ukraine's industrial east and Russian forces appeared to be building up on the borders, the authorities in Kiev ordered an "anti-terrorist operation".

Summary of the Vietnam war part 1

The Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War, 1954–1973. Usually, it refers to the period when the US and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined the forces of the Republic of South Vietnam in contesting communist forces comprised of South Vietnamese guerrillas and regular-force units, generally known as Viet Cong (VC), and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The U.S. had the largest foreign military presence and basically directed the war from 1965 to 1968. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (1946–1954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. In 1973 a "third" Vietnam war began—a continuation, actually—between North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. It ended with communist victory in April 1975.

The Vietnam War was the longest in U.S. history, until the war in Afghanistan that began in 2002 and continues at this writing (2013). It was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Because the U.S. failed to achieve a military victory and the Republic of South Vietnam was ultimately taken over by North Vietnam, the Vietnam experience became known as "the only war America ever lost." It remains a very controversial topic that continues to affect political and military decisions today.
Casualties in the Vietnam War

The U.S. suffered over 47,000 killed in action plus another 11,000 noncombat deaths; over 150,000 were wounded and 10,000 missing.

Casualties for the Republic of South Vietnam will never be adequately resolved. Low estimates calculate 110,000 combat KIA and a half-million wounded. Civilian loss of life was also very heavy, with the lowest estimates around 415,000.

Similarly, casualty totals among the VC and NVA and the number of dead and wounded civilians in North Vietnam cannot be determined exactly. In April 1995, Vietnam’s communist government said 1.1 million combatants had died between 1954 and 1975, and another 600,000 wounded. Civilian deaths during that time period were estimated at 2 million, but the U.S. estimate of civilians killed in the north at 30,000.

Among South Vietnam’s other allies, Australia had over 400 killed and 2,400 wounded; New Zealand, over 80 KIA ; Republic of Korea, 4,400 KIA; and Thailand 350 killed.