In Libya, the GNU replaces the GNA. Woo?
Russia was not helpful to Obama with the farcical and dangerous Syrian chemical weapons and Iranian nuclear weapons deals. And Russia won't be helpful to Biden.
The Houthis and their Iranian paymasters responded to the Biden outreach to the Houthi: "Oil prices rose Monday as Saudi Arabian oil facilities were targeted by
drone strikes just days after the largest crude exporting nations in the
world said they would not increase output." Obviously America needs to toss more stuff at the Houthis to get results. Removing the Houthis from the terror list and stiff-arming Saudi Arabia's war against Iran in Yemen weren't enough, I guess. Pallets of cash, anyone? Which is what higher oil prices are, actually.
Imperial provocation and alliance problem? "Turkey again used its veto power to prevent the EU (European Union) naval embargo enforcement operation from inspecting two Turkish cargo ships for illegal military cargo for Libya. This veto was granted in late 2020 when the Turks threatened to open fire on EU ships if they tried to inspect Turkish cargo ships headed for Libya." It seems to me that we have a situation where the EU could provoke a war that NATO will have to fight.
Red Line Fever in East Asia. We'll see.
The Persian Gulf War thirty years ago was a wake-up call to China that they have answered. It's a problem for America. But we're far away and have allies. India has some of the worst terrain in the world on its border and has allies. Vietnam is small and vulnerable but has shown it can fight China. Taiwan has a problem. And even North Korea might face China's wrath. But Russia is the country with the most dramatic problem, especially since Russia still hasn't recovered from the collapse of the USSR. Russia tried to point China at America to buy them time, but it might not have been enough.
South Korea's M-1 Lite continues to overmatch North Korean armor.
Guam is important to American military power in the western Pacific. And lest you forget, American territory where American citizens live. There's a reason Guam has delegates to American presidential nominating conventions. And Guam has a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives. I've long wanted to build up Guam. But I'm leery of relying on it without other options.
If America pulls out of Afghanistan, women in Afghanistan will not face a long fight to defend their recent gains. It will a short, bloody, losing fight. Islamists backed by jihadi guns will see to that. Why Western feminists aren't the most relentless and uncompromising war on terror backers is beyond me.
It seems as if South Korea and America have a deal on South Korean financial support for U.S. troops based in South Korea.
Isn't it funny how Democrats didn't go ballistic over "Neanderthal thinking" in very Blue Connecticut? Tip to Instapundit.
China has thrived in the America-built post-World War II world. But thriving isn't enough, apparently. China want others to fail in a system they build.
This will be fascinating to watch unfold: "The Chinese Communist Party is demanding President Joe Biden roll back former President Donald Trump's policy of supporting Taiwan, a democratic island China claims as their own. According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Trump's support of Taiwan is a 'dangerous practice' that the United States must move away from." China was unable to pressure either America or Trump personally to halt that policy. If it works on Biden it means China has the means to pressure Biden personally, doesn't it?
As Congress prepares to focus their ginormous brains on finding insurrectionists in America, might I suggest they look at Portland. I know, the last place you look, right?
This is partisan BS. The whole justification for a reserve quick reaction force for the Capitol Building is ridiculous Insurrection Porn.
Will this show of unity survive a Biden outreach to Iran? "A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber joined escort aircraft of Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in a flight over the Persian Gulf, in a show of force aimed at Iran."
Taiwan really should arm up more: "China's Longtian Airbase and Huian Airbase can deploy planes to reach the Taiwanese capital within 7 minutes, the report said. [para] Satellite pictures indicate China has renovated and widened runways at both locations."
Do not be open to. Only do: "Japan may not be ruling out troop deployment to the disputed Senkaku Islands if conflict arises with rival forces, according to a recent press report." I do not like the Japanese strategy of racing China to the islands. Deploy robots if the Japanese are reluctant to send troops.
Oman led multinational naval exercises for counter-mine operations in the Gulf of Oman: "Five ships of U.S. Naval Forces Command joined forces of Oman, France and the United Kingdom for a mine countermeasures exercise, the U.S. Navy said." That seems prudent considering that Iran still exists.
Hate. The French have a lot of work to do.
It would be nice if the reason for inaction is the military's unwillingness to interfere in Lebanon's politics. But I suspect the army is too fragile to take any action at all. So what use is it, really?
Iran continues to play their sweet hostage-taking extortion racket.
Can even Biden save Iran from revolution? What is really amazing is that people are abandoning Islam.
Fingers crossed that Russiagate won't be smothered in the new administration. Tip to Instapundit.
America has reduced carbon emissions dramatically despite not being in the Paris treaty. As the Biden administration re-enters the treaty, look for Kerry to misleadingly claim "America rejoined the Paris climate accord and America has reduced emissions dramatically." As if there is a connection. Which there is not. But the media will bolster that just as it glosses over the progress on a Xi Jinping Flu vaccine that Biden inherited.
A bug with gears. Fascinating.
Biden is reversing Trump transparency rules. Probably because Biden doesn't want people to know what he is doing. But it's okay. Because Trump had mean Tweets. Tip to Instapundit.
It looks like Biden's southern border policies are a super spreader event. Tip to Instapundit.
These are not moves on a chess board signaling that there will be a war in the Middle East. It is a list of routine things that go on constantly in the Middle East packaged up with speculation. And I don't think the first thing happened. And if it did, 40 vehicles represents a small force. This month we call this list "March." Last month we called that stuff "February." Next month we'll have a name for it, too. Mind you, wars could happen any time. And Lord knows I've spent about 9 years trying to connect dots for a multi-division Israeli ground raid into Lebanon.
I'm no expert, but I doubt that it is illegal to make Washington, D.C. a state. A long time ago I recall a proposal to reduce the formal District of Columbia to the various government buildings and the land they sit on. That would be the district that the Constitution mentions. The rest of the land would then be the territory used for the state. Perhaps people who know more than I will say that territory must be returned to the original donating state, but I don't know.
One country, two systems all your rights are belong to us.
Genocide. Tip to Instapundit.
This entire defense of the Iran nuclear deal rests on ignoring the ability to cheat outside of the four corners of the deal (including buying from North Korea), ignoring the shield the deal provides on increasing Iranian nuclear technology during the deal, and ignoring the total lack of scrutiny on Iran's ability to race to nukes once the deal expired. The deal itself was Iran's path to nuclear weapons. Canceling the deal and imposing sanctions didn't drive Iran to end their nuclear ambitions. But that greatly inhibited Iran's ability to pay for mayhem. And canceling the deal promoted Israeli-Arab reconciliation. But other than that, Trump's approach totally failed? Truly their intellect is stunning.
America's allies in Somalia who would like help to kill jihadis are worried about the lack of American force since the new administration was sworn in: "Senior Somali military officials worry the new guidance, which has imposed tighter controls on ordering airstrikes and requires the White House to sign off on operations, means al-Shabab will begin to gather momentum." I was worried about how we'd strike with out troops pulled out. And how it would work with the White House having to approve each strike. Well, we haven't struck. So jihadis live on and can be more effective.
Yes, consistent arms sales to Taiwan would help deter China. It is not good to have Republicans sell arms and Democrats withhold them. China could move against Taiwan in this decade.
The Chinese hacked Microsoft. Which is bad. The Chinese are determined to be the world's enemy. The world needs to respond accordingly. Tip to Instapundit.
A CRS report on the Navy's proposed Light Amphibious Warship. I have problems with it.
An Era of Madness. Nobody is safe.
Is Portland throwing itself under the bus?
Will the Army get artillery with range greater than fighter-bombers? That would be awesome. Although collateral damage would be removing any lingering Air Force guilt over not putting priority on close air support for ground forces.
Could? "China’s new embassy could be a nest of spies[.]" I do believe the editors spelled "will" incorrectly. Five Eyes needs to hang together lest China hang us separately.
Acting enemy-like with a war on press freedom.
The KC-46 aerial refueling tanker/transport might actually go into limited use. Lord this has been a problem program for a long time.
This will work out just swell. The military will have priorities that have nothing to do with generating military power. What will the CDC, EPA, and State Department do? And how will the military also focus on China with those other priorities? Will America have a military second to none for long with this plan? Mind you, civilian control of the military requires the military to follow the orders of the civilians. But God help us.
Duck and cover: "The U.S. is planning to retaliate against Russia within the next three weeks for its alleged role in the SolarWinds software hack." That's fun. Now do China. Otherwise it is like declaring war on Italy after the Japanese strike Pearl Harbor.
Situation on the southern border desperate but not serious.
Holy ef! China was playing with pandemic fire for years. Tar. Feathers. Decoupling. Tip to PJ Media. When China writes their history of the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic, they'll call it If I Did It, won't they? Explain to me again how this wasn't a biological attack on the world. I mean, how would the last 15 months look different if it was absolutely a biological warfare attack? Austin Bay has similar thoughts. And seriously, the world is thinking of attending the Olympics Games China's communist party is hosting? Really?
It would be hard for China to lose a war if you assume they launch it with a theater-wide successful biological warfare Pearl Harbor. So take this with a grain of salt. I'm thinking if China started a war that way we'd nuke Chinese forces.
The multi-war in Syria drags on because Iran wants to wage war on Israel from Syrian (and Lebanese) territory. Iran is widely hated by all for their Syria expedition except the mullahs and its base of corrupt and fanatical support. Can all the actors who hate the Iranians come to an agreement that shuts Iran out?
Italy will convert a small old carrier to launch satellites to low orbit.
By some luck I was able to get the Johnson and Johnson Xi Jinping Flu vaccine this last week. I wasn't expecting to get a vaccine until late April. I did have side effects about 8 hours after getting the shot. Chills and sore muscles. The worst seemed to break 6 hours after that. Although in the morning I still had some soreness--but not the shaking shivers that put me under a blanket the night before. I had pondered whether it was worth it to wait and see if I would get a two-shot vaccine. Those have higher percentages of preventing the virus. Although all three have similar success in preventing hospitalization and death, apparently. But there is no guarantee that delaying would result in the two-shot variety. I judged it better to get a less effective vaccine two months earlier than I otherwise would likely get something. I think I made a good call. To be clear, I initially declined the offer because I know I am not a priority candidate. I told them that. I was willing to wait. But doses would have gone to waste. So yeah, I accepted.
So not a disaster, then? "The UK is a more attractive destination for international businesses than it was before Brexit and confidence in the economy is rebounding, according to a survey of 5,000 executives worldwide."
Um, no: "Chinese Communist Party 'experts' urged the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on Tuesday to let China build and run a global database for 'vaccine passports' documenting if every person on earth has received a Chinese coronavirus vaccine." I'm sure WHO will find this a splendid idea. The CCP should not be rewarded for turning their epidemic into a pandemic.
An American destroyer conducted a "keep off the grass" mission in the Taiwan Strait. Good. China doesn't like these missions. I hope this is a sign of a trend rather than inertia that will be changed.
The Germans are looking for loopholes to tax American military personnel in Germany (tip to Instapundit). The Germans, not satisfied with having a German military incapable of defending Germany, wants to risk having an American military in Germany capable of defending Germany.
The United States might reduce its super carrier force. I'm long on record as not being upset about that trend.
Is this really accurate? "Fortunately for Taiwan, the Beijing Olympics are coming up fast and Mainland China is all but certain to exercise restraint, at least through early 2022 for that reason. After that date, however, all bets are off and the island faces grave military danger since the military balance across all domains of warfare has titled now heavily in favor of China." Unless the Olympics become cover for an invasion, of course. I was wrong back then. Although Russia perhaps exploited the attention on the Olympics to prepare to hammer Georgia that year. Is it China's turn in 2022?
Bummer. Via Instapundit.
This is totally normal and no cause for alarm.
Chinese human shields in the Himalayas.
While Princess Meghan is an American export, the British own Prince Harry completely.
Islamist terrorism is shifting to Africa.
I say let the European Union have all the presidents it wants. That's perhaps the only way to keep the proto-imperial EU from shedding its prefix.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, along with France, held naval exercises out of concern for Turkey.
Well that's not encouraging for confidence in base security.
I never saw evidence that Trump actually won the 2020 election. Even though there were a lot of odd things, those don't constitute proof even if many were suggestive. Indeed, before the election I predicted Biden would win. So while I assume some level of Democratic fraud I don't assume Trump won. Four years of media and Democratic insanity just wore down a lot of people in the middle. It's hard to overcome that kind of relentless propaganda. But to be fair to those making the fraud charges, the courts never examined the questions to rule on the charges of sufficient fraud to change the results. Challenges were rejected by courts on process and not on substance. And Congress is making things worse by seeking to reduce the confidence that election losers have that the results were fair. This is dereliction of duty.
Reject the woke assholes. They are monsters.
I certainly want to prioritize INDOPACOM for military assets. But this is a silly charge: "A chorus-line of Austin’s predecessors described the Indo-Pacific as a priority theatre, yet ultimately fell short on reallocating assets and fiscal resources from Europe and the Middle East." What? Europe and the Middle East have very few American assets. Europe since the West won the Cold War has seen a drop from hundreds of thousands of troops. Yes, there has been an uptick from 2014 but tell me that isn't justified? The Middle East once had a couple hundred thousand in combat, peaking at just under 100,000 in Afghanistan and about 170,000 in Iraq before declining to 2,500 in each country today. Assets not actively engaged in Europe and the Middle East are available for INDOPACOM. Indeed, forces in CENTCOM can interdict Chinese trade right where they are before moving east. Further, it would be insane to dangle too much in the western Pacific to tempt China to strike first and decimate our best assets. The author's failure to recognize the shift in priority already obvious did not encourage me to read the rest. One can argue we need more without ignoring reality.
Teacher unions are scum. I never liked them much. The last year has really turned me very hostile to them. Tip to Instapundit.
Like any rogue state without rule of law, China holds Western hostages.
So I guess we've reached the point where the Biden Department of Defense retaliates against Tucker Carlson more rapidly than it retaliates against Iranian attacks that injure or kill Americans. Tip to Instapundit.
An email from China looking very much like a telecommunications company communication tried to get me to log in to their site. But I knew I hadn't ordered anything and a separate check on my account showed I had no orders. So I ignored it. And blocked it and marked it as spam. Oddly, when I tried to login in to my email on my computer I get redirected to that telecom's login page. I refused to log in on that path. Very odd and disturbing. Using a different browser was fine. I cleared my cache in the affected browser. But I still got the redirect. Then I scanned for threats. Finally, shutting down my computer and restarting restored the ability to log in to my email without the suspicious redirect. Odd, that was.
How's that Biden administration outreach to Iran and the Houthis going? "Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have ramped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past month, employing increasingly sophisticated drones and missiles to hit targets across the kingdom's territory, Defense officials and experts say." Oh. Have we tried pallets of cash?
Iran hit an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Oman and may have made an ecological attack on Israel's shoreline. And now we find there is a war at sea going on. Israel has struck Iranian tankers with illegal oil shipments. And another attack. Normally I'd be against such things but this is a low-level war. I just want the Israelis to win it.
The United States is buying more Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles. I did mention that two could play the anti-access/area denial game.
Turkey will turn one of their amphibious ships into a drone attack carrier. The ship had been intended to carry F-35Bs. But no more.
Various Hollywood companies have canceled old cartoons, movies, and shows, and books. Because viewing them make people racists and misogynists, apparently. Perhaps white males should open a class action suit against all of those companies for making us haters. This should be a slam dunk suit, right? The companies have basically admitted their guilt, after all. If the companies weren't guilty they would have told their accusers to sod off and get a life. I say if an actual princess can be a victim, anybody can! Let the lawsuits fly! Maybe if the morons fixated on microaggressions and BS can be marginalized, actual acts of racism and sexism can be battled without the taint of this woke nonsense hovering over everything.
Hahahaha! Wait, that's depressing.
Why should America want our "oldest ally," France, to be a "mediating" power in Asia? Shouldn't America want our oldest ally to be ...oh I don't know ... on our side?
Not all election validity doubts are treasonous. That's different. Because reasons.
The Germans spend very little to support American troops based in Germany. The way Trump's decision to draw down troops in Germany without harming European-based capabilities was widely attacked here (and canceled), what are the odds Germany will spend more? Perhaps South Korea's significant increase in financial support was enabled by Trump's outrageous opening bid, eh? Which is a business trait, is it not?
Congress in cages? Perhaps Republicans are looking at this all wrong:
Huh. Democrats do support showing identification for some things! I guess Democrats don't worry that minorities are unable to find or afford picture ID. It's almost as if that objection was a BS excuse to gain partisan election advantage.
Yes, this is one reason I have opposed the lengthy and blanket economic lockdowns across America. The online upper class is fine sending blue collar people to do their shopping and keep their Internet up while they rid out the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic with freezers full of luxury ice cream brands.
Huh: "Protesters attacked a coast guard station in southern Iran after a patrol from the force shot and killed a fuel smuggler, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Saturday."
That's good: "The U.S. condemned China's treatment of Uighurs and other minorities at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday, citing "crimes against humanity and genocide" in the province of Xinjiang, Reuters reports." Or is this just something an American president has to bring up because of our culture--before ignoring it in practice? I'd like to be wrong about my expectations.
The Sovietization of the American media class under Biden. No reporter wants to risk being the first to stop applauding:
The British will have fewer ground troops that are lighter but with modernized tanks and other equipment, more nukes, ships, new SSBNs, and suicide drones, among other things. All to operate in the Indo-Pacific region. Wow, that downgrades Russia. That's gonna hurt in Moscow. The spending priorities surely support the soon-to-be-released UK Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper.
The British need to understand that the trans-Atlantic relationship is state-to-state and that importing our woke women for their royalty is now a recipe for disaster. I may joke that Meghan is America's revenge for burning our capital in the War of 1812, but I'm actually starting to feel sorry for the British royal family. Maybe the queen needs to direct heavy investments in sexbots. Because the princes seem unable to think with their frontal lobes. But hey, at least Chelsea Clinton married an American, eh Britain? You dodged that bloodline nicely.
Egad. I would have thought the Xi Jinping Flu would have burned through Italy already with sufficient herd immunity despite the very low vaccination rate. Tip to Instapundit.
It should be good news that apparently Black lives matter to the police no less than any other lives. Tip to Instapundit.
Liberals claim they fear political violence from deplorables. But the calls are coming from inside the house!
Explain to me again how Trump waged "war" on the media. Let's hope this isn't one more case of "Get woke, go broke."
I do have some worry that people in the West--and most importantly for the West, America--are losing their pride in what we have built. And so we won't defend it when under attack from within and without. But the West faced that before. Until Columbus gave the West a reason to go on. I hope that space will be a frontier that can revive Western spirits. In time to do some good, of course.
It looks like the Air Force is starting to take the threat of an EMP event or attack seriously. I can't judge the severity of the threat. But I'd feel better if we stockpiled in secure places key electrical grid equipment. Some of that takes months or years to build. And on related vulnerabilities, I'd feel better if cyber-security was better for our utilities. Tip to Instapundit.
North Korea is playing hard to get with Biden's people. I'm sure Rocket Man expects pallets of cash just to answer the phone. How desperate are the Biden people to have a deal--any deal--on their watch? The farcical Syria and Iran deals don't give me much hope. On the other hand, Obama pleasantly surprised me by not cutting a bad deal with North Korea. And I never held out hope that Trump's outreach would convince Kim that America isn't out to "get" North Korea. As if the place is a prize to covet.
Erdogan is starting to realize he made a huge mistake breaking up with America. But I don't think the break in our relationship has been long enough for Turkey to learn a lesson. Remember, we have an Erdogan problem. I'm not sure Erdogan can change enough to matter.
Yes: "On COVID relief, the first thing to remember is that the bill is
mostly not about COVID relief. If it had been mostly about the pandemic,
then it would have gotten a significant amount of Republican support.
Instead, as the Washington Post noted, Democrats see the legislation as 'the furthest-reaching social welfare bill since the Great Depression.'" If this $1.9 trillion spending bill was about COVID relief, it would have been passed before the 2020 election with support from both parties. Instead, Pelosi waited until Trump lost and was out of office, long after the winter surge of pandemic peaked and faded.
Islam needs to control their wild men: "But it is the beheadings that most haunt Palma, a besieged town in northern Mozambique. It is a place cut off from the outside world by roving gangs of machete-wielding Islamist fighters, and it is now symptomatic of a wider security and humanitarian crisis that has engulfed a remote region the size of Scotland." #WhyIslamCan'tHaveNiceThings
More on the Pantsir (SA-22) Russian air defense system that America acquired in Libya in January.
The British could dig into their archives to inform them on operating in this environment: "Warships from Britain, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, with Sweden's air force, joined forces for an exercise in the south Baltic Sea this week." The British fought what we'd call a "grey area" or "hybrid" war in the Baltic states after the World War I armistice in order to hold off the Reds in the Russian civil war. And to hold off the Germans trying to salvage something from their defeat.
This might come in handy in case the Russians invade Belarus: "A U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber landed in Poland for the first time for a quick refueling exercise on Friday at Powidz Air Base, the Air Force said." Refuel and head east to create another "highway of death" running through Belarus, eh?
It drives me nuts that Biden and Democrats are blaming Trump for the lack of vaccines two months ago. But the vaccines were just created in December! Under Trump. Of course it takes time to ramp up production from zero! But without the creation--which Democrats said was impossible when Trump set the goal--there would be no vaccine to produce in greater numbers now. The partisan hackery and the media lockstep to defend it is just infuriating.
The Chinese deliberately jumble their internal maps. Please adjust your JDAM aim accordingly.
Compassionate man that I am, I'm more than happy to have that scumbag Tsarnaev put out of his self-proclaimed misery. Perhaps the judge will offer him the choice of electric chair, noose, or bullets. Because we care, of course. Tip to Instapundit.
I weigh less than I did a year ago (by intent), drink about the same, and sleep just fine. Because I took precautions without buying into the panic porn. I stopped worrying about worst case scenarios by May. Not being an essential worker I avoided that source of stress. And luckily my youngest graduated from high school last year so the needless school shutdown wasn't a source of worry to me. But I am worried about the future--our economic and financial future. Inflation would kill me and a lot of other people in the middle. But that has nothing to do with the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic. Will anybody pay a price for the mental and financial harm governments and their panicky enablers inflicted on so many people? It is clear we way overreacted to a real but not existential virus threat. We should review our responses before the Chinese Communist Party gets their recipe right. Tip to Instapundit.
How long does the military deployment to Washington, D.C. have to last before it is officially a "quagmire?" And after the latest extension, how long before it is called a "back-door draft?"
Huh, I guess walls do work. Take 'em down and that becomes obvious.
If Republicans in the Senate don't pull out all the stops to block passage of the Orwellian "For the People Act" what use is the party? Just when half of the country's voters need reassurances that the next election--if not the last one--is fair, Congressional Democrats decide they'd rather roam the battlefield killing the wounded. Tip to Instapundit.
Bad things only happen to sinners. Stone them!
I'm done with Fauci. I used to give him the benefit of the doubt for pandemic information early on. I blamed politicians more for not balancing his public health pandemic advice with economic advice, mental health advice, and education advice. But he's just gone flaming nuts.
