I'm duplicating the Weekend Data Dump on Substack. You can read it there if you prefer. Or if you really want to comment online.
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In case you missed it on Substack: The Hollow NATO Expansion
In case you missed it on Substack (or here): Objective: IRAN
In case you missed it on Substack: Drone Worship Got a Big Dose of Silver Bullet Fever
In case you missed it on Substack: Intelligence and Putin's Preparations For War
In case you missed it on Substack: Setting Up Company Commanders For Failure
The Belgians (!) boarded and seized a Russian shadow oil tanker.
Some say the America-Israel campaign against Iran violates international law. But international law under the UN is supposed to stop threats to peace and order. See Russia. It does not. So we have to do it for ourselves. See also the Gaza Board of Peace immune to UN obstruction.
A dozen could support an invasion of Taiwan: “n 2025 China revived its practice of arming cargo ships with cargo containers containing anti-ship or land-attack missiles.” Indeed.
Ukraine targets Russian commanders.
Oh? “Photos released last week by the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade detailed the Hawaii-based AH-64s practicing “maritime deep attack” scenarios[.]” Huh.
I heard a BBC guest mock the American Iran campaign name “Operation Epic Fury”. I guess he’d prefer “Operation We’re Sorry and We Don’t Mean It”. And wait until he hears about what we called the Normandy Invasion! Very triggering, eh?
The claim by the author that America is disengaging with allies and eager to act unilaterally is nonsense. But yes, American military power relies on financial solvency to sustain it.
Is China successfully targeting France’s New Caledonia in the South Pacific?
Yes: “Both the U.S. and Israel have insisted that Iran abandon its nuclear development program. Israel cannot accept the existential threat posed by a nuclear-capable Iran. Nor, as I have written before, could the United States.”
China is the real target of the attack on Iran? FFS. No. Yes, defeating Iran weakens China. And Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, and assorted terrorist groups around the world. But the real target really is Iran and its nuke-seeking mullah rulers.
Pakistan got what it wanted and now fights the Taliban: “For decades, Pakistan’s generals and intelligence chiefs nurtured and supported the Taliban, giving them sanctuary from American and Western forces, arming them, funding them and supplying them with a constant flow of fresh recruits.”
The Reconquista hasn’t fully taken: “Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Spain would not allow its military bases, which are jointly operated by the U.S. and Spain but under Spanish sovereignty, to be used for attacks on Iran, which Spain has condemned.”
I worry that Iranian enrichment capacity is a red herring that hides a possible Iranian purchase of North Korean nuclear missiles.
I appreciate Pakistan defending our consulate from being stormed by Islamists rioters. But they ride that dangerous tiger to their ultimate peril. Did I mention Pakistan has nuclear missiles?
Sadly, the people of Congo don’t attract the compassion of the Sainted International Community the way the self-destructive Palestinians get.
It isn’t shocking that Lebanon’s government has turned against Hezbollah. It is shocking that Hezbollah is now too weak to tell the government to pound sand.
Early in Epic Fury I mentioned that Iran’s wide retaliation would pull in allies. It has. And now critics say the war has “expanded.” LOL If allies hadn’t stepped up they’d say we are isolated. I don’t know if this campaign crushes the mullahs. But I do know Iran started the war fifty years ago.
Tip to Instapundit, descriptions of how America and Israel shoved aside Iran’s air defense network to strike ground targets at will should make us ask how an air force capable of doing this would enable maneuver on a drone-drenched battlefield.
The “wars” going on all the time around us.
Recalling the Democrats denying the War Powers Resolution applied to their Libya War. The explanation is astounding. No president of either party has accepted that legislation as constitutional. But whether they start the war or not defines a political party’s view.
Recalculating your route home: “Finland has joined India, China, Taiwan and several other countries in using highways for operating combat aircraft.” America, too, which I noted at the time.
Huh: “France will expand its nuclear arsenal and implement a policy of “advanced deterrence” that could include deploying nuclear-capable forces to the territory of European allies[.]” When we did that, Europeans said we wanted to wage a nuclear war on their territory.
We are not helpless, but it is a problem: “Iran has repeatedly threatened to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which is why tensions involving Tehran often ripple through energy markets.”
China will draw lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to apply to Taiwan. The biggest lesson is that if China takes as much of Taiwan as Russia did in its initial February advances, China will own three Taiwans. Size matters.
The Pentagon wants robot supply ships to sustain forces overseas.
How can you possibly trust Iranian fanatics on a mission from God to uphold a deal with infidels? “you can’t negotiate with them because their whole currency is lying, and they’re fanatic ideologues.”
Is Cuba’s government on the brink of collapse?
Small drones: we can watch everything over the front line. Satellites: Hold my beer. Tip to Instapundit.
China’s evil fanboys: “CCP-run propaganda outlets are promoting the anti-Iran War protests in the U.S. organized by the Singham Network, w/ CCP specifically pushing imagery from the ANSWER Coalition / the Party for Socialism & Liberation and quoting People’s Forum leaders.”
China shouldn’t worry about threatening Japan—no nuclear warheads: “Japan is expected to begin deploying domestically developed long-range missile systems, marking its shift towards an operational ‘counterstrike’ posture[.]
In World War II, American soldiers bringing auto mechanic skills into the field could keep trucks moving. Now, American soldiers bring their video game controller skills into the field for Remote Weapon Stations.
Drones have certainly transformed the ground war in Ukraine. But I think they will become just one more weapon in a combined arms fight when counter-measures are fully developed and when more capable militaries bring assets Russia and Ukraine don’t have to bear.
Trump said we will insure tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz and may escort them. Warships may be scarce, however. How about Navy in a Box for the job?
Meanwhile, SOUTHCOM has been busy inside Ecuador.
That’s gonna elevate your pucker factor all day: “Marines assigned to the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, recently fired their weapons in self-defense after they were attacked by protestors who had breached the facility[.]”
Blast from the past: “U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers conducted long-range strikes deep inside Iran on Sunday night, targeting ballistic missile facilities and command-and-control infrastructure[.]” Iran’s aircraft are old. Many of ours are, too.
France ordered their carrier strike group to the Mediterranean Sea and Greece ordered its aircraft and warships to protect Cyprus.
Will AUKUS evolve to JAUKUS? It seems like only yesterday I was reading predictions AUKUS would evolve to AUK.
The Iran War exposes cracks in NATO? No. The out-of-area Iran War exposes cracks in Europe over our Iran policy. NATO was not attacked. NATO is not involved as an alliance.
Seeking leverage for the remote regime change operation: “The Trump administration is quietly building a legal case against Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez including readying a draft criminal indictment[.]”
I’ve long said I don’t trust Wikipedia for anything the Left cares about. It is much, much worse. It is a foreign influence operations.
Hanwha can’t perform miracles at our Philadelphia shipyard.
Yeah: “The United States recently experienced a short period of excitement and surprise about a presidential plan to build a new class of battleships. For various practical reasons the battleship plan was quietly laid to rest.” I was skeptical.
The U.S. fired a 250-mile range Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) from an unknown land position against an unknown Iranian target, in its combat debut.
Iran’s air force is largely composed of antiques? B-52: Hold my beer. For when you absolutely, positively have to drop 70,000 pounds of bombs in one sortie.
Spain refuses to provide America access to its bases to support the war against Iran. Yet it has joined Europeans who are providing air defense for Cyprus.
Iran’s underground safe havens for their ballistic missiles have turned into traps and tombs. I’ve long wondered if underground bunkers for large equipment aren’t just basically pre-buried.
An Israeli is the first F-35 pilot to get an air-to-air kill by shooting down an Iranian Yak-130. I wonder if the Iranian pilot was aware he was in combat?
Our undersea dominance is threatened: “China’s military is expanding its forces with new submarines and drone weapons that threaten America’s undersea advantage, senior Navy officers disclosed this week.”
China’s campaign to gain influence in Europe: “What China has done best is drive wedges within Europe as well as between Europe and the United States.”
Is demography not actually destiny? “Despite record-low birth rates among its billion-plus population, China continues to grow at roughly 5 percent, a pace most advanced economies would envy.” Unless China is lying about its growth rate …
The effort in Congress to trigger the War Powers Resolution to end the war against Iran (or rather, our active participation in Iran’s long war against America and Israel) failed.
America wants help from Ukraine in using cheaper interceptor drones to stop Iran’s drone attacks. If somebody had listened to my call for fighter drones that I made in this 2018 Army magazine article, we’d be fine now. But ignore the drone fanboy talk in the initial article.
Is long-calm Bangladesh becoming a security problem for India’s potential role in fixing Chinese military power away from Taiwan? I’ve read that Islamist thinking is expanding in Bangladesh. This is a problem if India wants to Fight East.
Russia organizes a small division—just two infantry regiments and a separate tank battalion as maneuver elements—to reinforce its forces facing Finland.
The luckiest Iranian troops in the world: “Sri Lanka has interned one of Tehran’s few remaining naval vessels and its crew on humanitarian grounds[.]” I wonder if they requested internment.
European air and naval forces have been ordered to CENTCOM to defend their and partner interests.
NORAD intercepted two Russian planes near Alaska and Canada.
Good enough for government-to-government work? “The United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations[.]”
Israel addresses Hezbollah, too.
Hell, ask for an effing pony, too: “The Canadian and Australian prime ministers on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon.” These are not serious leaders.
GAO: “To maintain its reputation as the dominant military force worldwide, the [DOD must balance efforts to improve the readiness of its forces with meeting ongoing demands, modernizing its capabilities, and addressing priorities identified in the 2026 National Defense Strategy.”
I have little use for a hardware-focused measure of national military power. It always gets lots of attention. But not from me.
If America had endured a similar drubbing as Iran is subjected to, nobody would be arguing that the only lasting accomplishment might be to make our current government even stronger.
Peak China: “Unwillingness to reform, debt accumulation, and especially demography guarantee a China that essentially stops growing by the late 2030s.” I’ve been on that issue a long time.
Is China’s dramatic decrease in warplane activity around Taiwan a sign Xi is softening China’s image before a summit with Trump? Either that or a maintenance stand down prior to invading. I don’t assume we’d accurately predict an attack.
I’m not well versed in the issue but I’m darned sure I don’t like an American company refusing to work with the Pentagon: “The Trump administration on Thursday announced that it is designating the artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a supply chain risk.”
Europeans have had four years to find alternate supplies and abandon their green energy suicide pact: “Russian energy companies will soon divert part of their liquefied gas supplies from Europe to Asia with the blessing of President Vladimir Putin[.]”
Can and will Germany shot down Russia’s illegal oil exports through the Baltic Sea?
I have read that Xi may feel he has a weak hand when he meets Trump who has neutered Venezuela and has greatly weakened Iran—two Chinese clients. I wonder if China will try to balance the scales by taking Taiwan’s Pratas Island.
Remember when China was “winning” the Middle East?
The U.S. will send another carrier to CENTCOM. We’ll see how long it overlaps with Ford that is on a very long deployment now.
Better late than never: “An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster U.S. defenses against Iranian drones[.]”
Indeed: “By the way if you've noticed far less Gaza propaganda in your feed it's not because Iran knocked Gaza off the front page. It's because Iran is what kept it there. Now that their cyber command has been smashed, so too has a global propaganda exercise.” Iran causes many problems. Via Instapundit.
CNN confirms that America and Israel are not bombing civilian targets like hospitals and schools. Which was too inconvenient to directly state. Tip to Instapundit.
