Big--although not surprising to me--if true. But I'm going to want to see the evidence.
Russia will not--contrary to this story--have a nuclear aircraft carrier. I wish Russia could build an aircraft carrier--Hell, build a bunch! A powerful fleet for broke Russia is one of the three sources of Russian weakness, after all. Russia likes to float stories about future carrier plans--and they always will.
I'm not sure where I should stand on this:
All I ask is that we don't match on our online dating profiles.
Well, reporting news about attacks on people the media hate might discourage people the media likes from attacking the people they both hate.
New Zealand will build amphibious power projection capabilities. I'm not impressed by their motive of reacting to climate change, but in the real world they might be part of an Australian task force operating against Chinese-held islands in the South China Sea.
I find it fascinating that the Democratic Party may nominate a socialist who doesn't consider himself a Democrat or a former Republican who was an independent and a Democrat before. I find this amusing:"Bernie Sanders has never registered as a Democrat. Bloomberg has been a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, and, since 2018, a Democrat again." Which is fair considering Trump is a former Democrat who hung out with the Clintons. Modern parties are institutionally weak brand names that anybody can capture, apparently. Why bother to start a third party when you can so easily take over an existing one?
The West is winning but the Europeans doubt that American claim is true. But perhaps we have to better define "the West" given autocratic tendencies visible on the continent.
"Emmanuel Macron, the French president, arrived to declare that allies were wrongheaded about Russia, and that Europeans needed to deal with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, on their own, not just through the lens of a growing cold war with America." I await the Democratic Party's condemnation of Macron for gazing all googly-eyed at Putin. The reason we are increasingly opposing Russia is Russia's increasing threats to Europe. I really don't get that whole nuance thing, I guess.
The appeal of the Iranian nutball mullahs is becoming more ... selective.
Extinction Rebellion nutjobs should really face arrest and prosecution for their crimes. Why are they getting away with their lawlessness?
A review of South Asia.
The 9-year war in Libya with no end in sight has "incalculable" bad effects on civilians according to a UN guy. Even discounting a UN guy as prone to exaggeration, you have to admit that all the people who thought knocking off Saddam and then getting out of the way while the locals sorted out their differences peacefully without the bad effects of America's military presence is a rather laughable claim about Iraq given the experience with that strategy in Libya.
I've mentioned the role of the aging Shia cleric Sistani in keeping Iraq intact-ish (despite being under assault by Iran and Sunni Islamist jihadis for decades now, even before Saddam was overthrown). He is 90. What Mookie will do when Sistani passes away worries me.
Good grief, did the Iowa Democratic Party organize the Afghan presidential election?
Germany wants to command the EU naval mission in the Persian Gulf. First let's see if their ships float. And honestly, I'm not sure the EU naval mission under German control would be to deter Iran or protect Iran.
VDH: China is dangerous.
France's own long war against jihadis.
America's flying "satellites." And the improved U-2 should be included in that category.
While I won't say vaping is good--or not bad--for you, it is likely far better than smoking despite long-term unknowns about vaping effects. As a fairly new product how could we know that? Givent the panic, I'm shocked a study was retracted because of possibly misleading data. The panic always seemed to be social snobbery-based more than health-based. If you vape to quit smoking, that is good, it seems to me. Otherwise don't start.
The Wuhan Flu coronavirus will have economic effects even if it doesn't crush the global economy.
It is good that America is finally cracking down on Chinese fake news appearing in the United States media.
France is closing the barn door after the strong horses fled. But trying to suppress Islamist education late is better than never, I suppose.
Please, the Resistance understand that Grenell's appointment as acting DNI is in order to deploy his "gaydar" to round up the proper people for the LGBTQ concentration camps that I was assured would be set up all over America by Trump by now.
John Bolton doesn't think his information would have changed minds in the impeachment. Not very bombshelly, I guess, despite the breathless speculation.
Air power doesn't deter nearly as well as heavy land power. My view is that air power is a very important force multiplier for land power (the post has two links that describe Allied Force air campaign against Serbian forces in 1995 and my simplistic air power theory). But you should consider whether we send just air power to deter threats we don't consider vital while we send ground forces to deter threats we consider vital. If that is the key, sending ground power to deter threats to less vital interests wouldn't work better. And while it is nice to lighten up the heavy forces to make them more strategically mobile as the author asks, it is the heavy part that makes the ground forces survivable--so don't try to achieve a worthless and counter-productive goal of making such forces air transportable on a large scale. Ship them by sea or preposition them.
Good. I know I noted by displeasure that the usual Islamist apologist suspects had apparently succeeded in stopping the Army War College from hearing that author's views on the Islamist threat.I subscribe to the USAHEC podcasts, so I'll have a chance to hear it.
Iran's pre-screening of candidates for elections was always a simulation of democracy. America finally decided to punish Iran for that facade.
I have no problem helping Russia stop an Islamist terror plot. I do not wish such horrors on anyone--not even the people Putin rules.
There was a leak of an intelligence briefing--I assume by 5 briefed Democratic legislators--that Russia plans to interfere in our 2020 election. Duh. That firehose of falsehood is standard Russian/Soviet practice. And after 2016 when Putin's ham-fisted efforts spawned the Resistance that sowed more division than Putin could have hoped for, why wouldn't he do it again? And by signaling support for Trump, you can be sure Putin prefers any of the leadership midgets that will face Trump in the fall. And of course, the intelligence isn't quite what it seems, apparently. In related news that may be true and too convenient to the Democratic Party not to leak.
An apparent self-radicalized, right-wing lone wolf terrorist massacred 9 Moslems in Germany before killing his mother and committing suicide.
Am I wrong that the Democratic Las Vegas debate of socialist-friendly/curious presidential candidates had a billionaire and three envious multi-millionaires participating?
I don't want to hear another damn word about Canada's moral superiority in international affairs.
The coronavirus has reached Iran. If the mullahs count on China to ride out American-pushed sanctions, better go to Plan B. Let's hope this isn't it.
There is a certain amount of elbow throwing between American and Russian forces inside Syria. We really need to decide if we are willing to risk war for our presence in Syria. We have useful objectives to achieve in Syria. But the check for payment is not blank. The Russians, too, have limits on what they will pay to be in eastern Syria. What the Heck are they risking?
The Turks lost a couple more troops in Syria, quite possibly due to a Russian air strike. Well.
The New York Times so-called 1619 Project is anti-American propaganda divorced from our reality as a source of individual freedom that we have advanced ever since 1776. And remember our bloodiest war was to end slavery here. If you want to discuss slavery of Africans, try this angle. And let me just say that Morgan Freeman should get every movie God role for the rest of his life.
I'm not mistaken that there is a lot of vitriol directed at so-called "Bernie Bros" male supporters of Bernie Sanders, am I? Are they one Tweet away from being #deplorables? Welcome to the party, bros.
The Russians explained how their fancy Pantsir-S1 air defense system failed in Syria and blowed up real good:
The Army Raider X attack recon helicopter prototype. I have serious doubts whether this is better than armed recon drones. I'm not confident that a new version of the last failed armed recon helicopter program will succeed. We'll see. I still think it would be interesting to see where the Army would put its air dollars if it could operate fixed wing close air support planes. After 25 years I wonder what the mix of helicopters, manned planes, and drones would be? Heck, maybe air defenses would be so lethal by then that everything that supports the Army from the air is ground launched, even disposable recon rockets and shells.
Yeah, I'm not seeing a system of "justice" in action with these contrasts.
The air support system that supports Afghan troops in the field. Our role cannot be replaced.
How nice of the New York Times to print enemy propaganda. There is no way we can trust any peace deal with these thugs, liars, and murderers.
When I first heard of Turkish reinforcements going into Syria's Idlib province that Turkey thought was a buffer zone, I didn't think it amounted to much if the objective was to stop the Syrian-Russian offensive. But this article says that Turkey has 9,000 heavily armed troops there now. Perhaps Erdogan is willing to enforce his red line. I think the article cited grossly over-states Russia's ability to "summarily remove" Turkey's troops in northern Syria if Turkey makes a major effort.
The Navy is looking at medium amphibious assault vessels in order to move more but smaller ground units around the littorals. But so far not armed, as I want (USNI membership required for access).
I really don't understand how people who call themselves a Republican or conservative can let their (understandable) distaste for Trump lead them to vote for socialist (communist?) Bernie Sanders--or any of the leftist loons that the far left but tiny Twitterverse has anointed as contenders for leadership of the Democratic Party. Tip to Instapundit.
So you're saying there's hope.
So the Wuhan Flu coronavirus didn't jump from animals to people at that Huanan "wet" animal market, but was spread from human to humans at the market while starting somewhere else? That does not bode well for containment, does it?
I think there is something to the idea that a lot of Americans follow politics as if it was sports and their team must win, for the entertainment and perhaps self esteem values. Naturally, there are soccer hooligans involved.
It sucked to be in that Japanese cruise ship "petri dish" quarantine, but it was better to screw up a small controlled population than to screw up on a wider basis. Let's hope we learned from the screw up.
A protest "jihad" is a good sign in Iraq. May it help fight corruption and Iranian influence. America wants a peaceful and prosperous Iraq that doesn't need our troops to defend itself.
It's nice to see NATO practicing ASW again. I don't worry too much about the Russians cutting off Europe from North America, but it is best to put that effort down quickly and efficiently.
I never ever hoped for disaster to help defeat Democrats in elections. I may have expected Democrats to create disasters with their policies but I hoped we'd avoid that result. How many on the left share this view of financial crisis lust? But to be fair, I'm a far better person than those people. Tip to Instapundit.
LOL!
With all the talk of Russia interfering in 2020 to help Trump and to help Bernie, let me ask again what I asked about the last election interference: If Russia feared Hillary Clinton so much in 2016--as Hillary's campaign liked to say--why did the Russians bank on Trump (!) to defeat her in the election when they could have tilted the close Democratic primary race to Bernie in 2016? Just stop this "who does Putin want" nonsense. Russia doesn't want Trump reelected. And I doubt the Russians really want Bernie elected. Russia has enough problems with Chinese communists to want American communists to turn America viciously against a Russia that (as American far leftists think) betrayed the legacy and hopes of the USSR. Face it, Russia wants chaos and division here, and we're giving it to them at bargain basement prices.
The appeal of oikophobia to the educated Westerner is alien to me. Perhaps because I'm first generation college educated. May enough Americans be willing to enlist to defend our experiment in democracy until sanity breaks out among our self-styled elites. If this is because of the decline of the West, I'm hoping a new space frontier can revive the West's will to win just as the New World did 500 years ago. Or will we choose to enjoy #decline?
On the other side. Conveniently close to Chinese
Brexit is not just--or even mostly--about economic growth. It's about British freedom from continental autocracy. And while it is too soon to say if Britain will prosper economically, we sure aren't seeing the disaster that Remainers claimed would result.
The Eisenhower carrier strike group deployed. But was it really a surprise deployment immediately after group certification that foes couldn't detect with their intelligence and surveillance capabilities? I also assume one or two SSNs sail with the group.
So Bernie wants to legalize any illegal immigrant who has been here for 5 years? I assume that a companion bill will be introduced by someone to allow any American who has had their money for 5 years--no matter how it was obtained--to keep it. And surely if you've had your illegally acquired firearm for 5 years you should be able to keep it. The precedent could go many ways, no?
So why didn't this jihadi murderer in Florida get any attention? I sure never heard of this. Unless I forgot, of course.
This is odd, but a leftist will use the experiment to argue that people shouldn't have any freedom to choose at all when a caring government can decide what is best for them. Or maybe what is rational for the people who turned down the tax credit isn't the same as the rational of the designers of the experiment. Tip to Instapundit.
And here's the Defiant potential replacement for the Black Hawk. So we're done with American Indian tribe names for Army helicopters? Or is that just the development name?
Blackface and a screeching fanboy of a murderous communist? Justin Trudeau is really hurting that polite Canadian brand.
Without arguing the merits of the case, two decades and counting to get justice from our court system is outrageous. How do you get on with repairing your life when you spend this long just trying to do get the compensation to do that?
I am horrified that the Democrats could nominate as their presidential candidate a communist-loving socialist--if not actual communist given his honeymoon in the USSR and admiration for Cuba's Castro. I want the opposition party to nominate the sanest candidate in case the nutso candidate wins. Sure, Trump has worked out despite the predictions of depression, nuclear war, concentration camps, mass deportations, and general dictatorship--and for decency's sake he eats steak well done!--but I'd rather not risk Bernie even being in the general election race.
This cracks me up: "Without that ugly suppression of democracy[in the EU], and the millions of continental Europeans fleeing to a UK economy that had been re-floated by the Bank of England, the Brexit referendum would have gone the other way." [emphasis added] So it was an error for a majority of British voters to think domestic prosperity, a dilution of British culture, and the sight of continental autocracy were bad reasons to get out of the European Union? The author bemoans the failure of the EU to "consolidate" the union. Yeah, pity the proto-imperial EU didn't do more to remove that prefix before Britain escaped in what may be their finest hour of the 21st century.
"Pluto was discovered 90 years ago this week. Controversy about its identity rages on." If cis-planet Pluto would just self-identify as a planet despite "scientists" saying it is really a dwarf planet we could end this whole identity controversy. #LGBTQP
The Eastern Question has taken an interesting twist: "Libya’s security chief called on the U.S. to set up a base in the North African country to counterbalance Russia’s expanding influence in Africa." Khadaffi's takeover coincided with America's withdrawal from Wheelus Air Base. And a decade after we helped rebels kill Khadaffi we are invited back. I would not back the jihadi-friendly Tripoli government by accepting that offer.
I want a prescription for a McMansion with a pool and wood-paneled den with a Pacific view and beach access. I have a fever. But more cow bell won't cure it. Mockery isn't nearly enough in response to this rank stupidity. Because this path leads to everyone being a millionaire. Now, if this is just basically involuntary commitment for the mentally ill, just say that. That is defensible. Otherwise, the way it is phrased leaves the door open to "prescribing" better housing. And who wouldn't want a McMansion if they can get one for "free?"
A blip in the quiet Yemen war as the Saudi coalition bombs a Houthi missile and drone depot. A lot of Iranian money just went up in flames.
So it has been "fair" to the Palestinians to leave them languishing in Arab refugee towns for more than half a century while holding open the prospect of more than they can get absent the destruction of Israel? Perhaps the Pope could handle things closer to his core responsibilities.
