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Sunday, July 18, 2021

Weekend Data Dump

China claims it drove off an American warship exercising innocent passage rights in the South China Sea: "The USS Benfold entered the waters without China's approval, seriously violating its sovereignty and undermining the stability of the South China Sea, the southern theatre command of the People's Liberation Army said." Next time we should send five. Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week.

Obama abandoned Iranian protesters who defied their mullah masters early in his first term. So don't expect Biden to embrace Cubans protesting their communist masters. "That's not true communism" in 3, 2, 1 ...

Truly, just ef these over-credentialed morons: "A dozen legal scholars from several countries want destruction of the environment made a crime on par with war crimes and genocide." Tip to Instapundit.

The EU takes on a mission: "The European Union will set up a military training mission in Mozambique to help the government tackle a growing Islamist insurgency and to protect civilians, the bloc said on Monday." It's all about the mission and not the objective, remember.

The Philippines has the law and history on its side but China has the military power: "Filipino fishermen are facing off with China’s government - off the coast of the Philippines in the South China Sea." Seventy percent of Filipinos want the government to confront China. How could the Philippines confront China's territorial ambitions?

The Russians sure are expected to beat their chest harder and fling more poo at NATO as the Chinese price for not pounding Russia for an additional five years

The Taliban are emboldened and trying to project an image of Allah-ordained victory, but it doesn't mean their victory is inevitable: "Afghan security forces, with the help of air strikes, repelled an assault by Taliban fighters on the provincial centre of a key northern province bordering Tajikistan on Sunday, officials said." But there is a danger zone that the Afghan government has to pass through.

I've been writing that Egyptian military threats over Ethiopia's GERD Nile Rive dam are futile. Strategypage looks at the issue: "War over how GERD will manage water flow to Egypt and Sudan is a threat to Ethiopia, but not a major one and Ethiopia knows it." It would take regime change, in my opinion. Are there people in Ethiopia who would be more cooperative as the price of getting Egyptian support to gain power?

Institutionalized error and the Palestinian problem.

Just ef these over-empowered morons: "Congress considers credit-reporting overhaul, including putting government in charge of scores[.]" Tip to Instapundit.

Sanity is not outlawed it seems: "The Biden administration on Sunday upheld a Trump-era rejection of nearly all of China's significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. The administration also warned China that any attack on the Philippines in the flashpoint region would draw a U.S. response under a mutual defense treaty."

The Biden administration is putting more emphasis on getting allies to warn off China from striking Taiwan. Good. It is most significant that South Korea and Japan went along. Both rely on trade routes going past China and both have navies that could extend their reach to the South China Sea. I will really be impressed if Biden can get our allies to accelerate Taiwan's sub-building program--and sell subs to Taiwan to bridge the gap.

"Repelling the Dragon". My Military Review article is quoted and cited in the article on Taiwan's defense against a Chinese invasion. The author deems hitting and disrupting the invasion force at sea the best chance for inflicting losses on the Chinese invaders. I can't disagree with that. But of course, despite prioritizing military assets for those that can do the most harm, fighting the Chinese invaders on the beaches and everywhere else is necessary.

One can hope that Democratic Party politicians will endure collateral damage from the media's blatant bias toward the left. I certainly tuned out television news, sports, and entertainment by canceling my "cable" TV last summer. Why pay for the privilege of being told I'm a Nazi and that my country is awful? Tip to Instapundit.

Putin is getting away with cyber-murder. China tells Putin to jump and Putin asks Xi "how high?"

Sure, technically public school children aren't being taught Critical Race Theory. That is, they aren't being taught the full system of how to judge all events and facts through that lens. But the children are being taught the simplified output of that abominable theory--hate, perpetual victimhood, and anti-Americanism. That's the problem and not a defense of what is happening.

The Israel-Iran quasi-war continues: "Iran faced its own spate of cyberattacks this weekend. Reuters and The Guardian report that Iran's railway train system and transportation websites suffered a 'cyber-disruption' (according to state media) on the weekend. Portal sites went down, although it's not clear just how badly the train system were affected."

Cannon migrant fodder: "The European Union should consider a fifth round of sanctions on Belarus because the country's government is flying in migrants from abroad to send them illegally into the bloc, Lithuania's foreign minister said on Monday."

Okay: "The United States is 'briskly' and 'energetically' looking for 'additional options' to combat the threat of future terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan[.]" Options being looked at include "luck", "chance", "divine intervention", and "the good will and basic human decency of the Taliban". 

With fewer forces, America and France want to make the most of what we have in Africa: "French and American special operators will work together more closely on counterterrorism operations in Africa under an agreement signed by defense leaders on Friday, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said." In an age of great power competition, AFRICOM oversees an economy-of-force front even lower on the priority list than during the war on terror in CENTCOM. But some force is needed to help keep the lid on the jihadis. Interestingly, the US is considering returning US forces to Somalia because it is tougher to help local allies kill jihadis from outside the country. Fancy that notion. I wonder if that knowledge bomb could be applied to other places.

Please note what the Iranians are asking their proxies: "Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force commander brought one main directive for Iraqi militia faction leaders long beholden to Tehran, when he gathered with them in Baghdad last month: Maintain calm, until after nuclear talks between Iran and the United States." Iran wants a nuclear deal. So its Iraqi militias need to stay quiet. Once Iran gets that deal, Americans are again acceptable targets for the militias. Once again, Iran under the mullahs will not become a responsible regional power.

I'm not sure how states could prevent National Guard forces from being used in war without a declaration of war considering declarations of war are obsolete in the United Nations era where only the UN formally has the authority to wage war to keep the peace. And a declaration of war triggers World War II-levels of federal powers. Which seems contrary to what the states want in the big picture. Hence "authorizations to use military force". Given that the National Guard is an official reserve of the federal armed forces I don't know how states could restrict usage even if you correct the language trigger for going to war. It seems like sovereignty self-pleasuring, for all the good it will do.

So about that "no taxation without representation" thing. Via Instapundit.

I'm not sure why so many conservatives are so upset about the federal project for identifying and turning in violent extremists. It seemed creepy to me. Then I looked at it. It is clearly focused on Islamist jihadis. Unless I'm missing some context, what's the problem? What I'm really confused about is why Democrats aren't screaming about "Islamophobia." Just because government agencies do something in the Biden era doesn't make it wrong.

Does the election of the Islamist killer Ebrahim Raisi as the ruler of Iran mean Iran won't agree to any deal we'd agree to? Well, I think the author underestimates the ability of the Biden people to capitulate to Iranian demands. The unrequited love involved is embarrassing. Still, there's a point. I was wrong some years ago but maybe this time I'm right: "If we don't get a deal, I think it will be because Iran will save us by refusing such a framework. I really think that the Iranians may have such contempt for us that they won't even be willing to pretend to comply with the West's demands."

Iran's power projection wobbles. God, we're going to save them, aren't we?

The customer is always right screwed right.

The Poles value American and NATO nukes--not French EU nukes--to deter Russia.

The Chinese Communist Party broke the Hong Kong eggs. America and the free world should not allow China to enjoy the omelet it plans.

Committing troops seems pretty serious: "The South African military said it was deploying soldiers in two provinces, including its economic hub of Johannesburg, to help police cope with looting and arson attacks on businesses in the wake of former President Jacob Zuma’s jailing."

The reality stick of higher energy prices must be leaving a mark: "Approvals for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. public lands are on pace this year to reach their highest level since George W. Bush was president, underscoring President Joe Biden’s reluctance to more forcefully curb petroleum production in the face of industry and Republican resistance." In time that should help. Just don't mention this to Biden's Green allies.

Defining the Anschluss: "Putin hosts leader of Belarus for talks on closer ties[.]"

For a so-called serious "insurrection", the government sure isn't charging any of the January 6th Capitol Building rioters like it was.


I have no idea what happened in Haiti.

The people still attached to Xi Jinping Flu Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions seem to be ignoring the changing circumstances. It's like the fanatical Imperial Japanese soldiers who stayed in their Pacific island caves for decades after World War II, unwilling to admit the war was over.

I imagine it isn't foreign policy but domestic politics to avoid Haitian boat people descending on Florida beaches that will drive this decision: "The United States is still reviewing a request for troops made by Haiti's interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph to help secure its airport and other infrastructure after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the White House said on Monday."

 


 

Will the Taliban execution of surrendering Afghan government troops inspire them to desert of fight harder?

Huh: "Cornel West quits Harvard with blistering letter attacking racism and ‘spiritual rot’ at university[.]" So explain to me again why the people running our universities have any moral authority to tell other people what is racist and how not to be racist. Isn't it like giving Confederate officers the authority to tell us how to end slavery? 

Yemen continues to demonstrate why it is a clusterfuck with a UN seat.

Egypt's options for using their military to stop Ethiopia's GERD dam from being filled without iron clad assurances on water release for them (and Sudan) are very limited. But this internal Ethiopian division gives Egypt some options: "Witnesses say thousands of Tigrayans are being detained and their businesses closed in cities across Ethiopia in a new wave of ethnic targeting by authorities over the eight-month conflict in the Tigray region." Egypt clearly has an opportunity to pressure the Ethiopian government.

The other clusterfuck has a false ray of hope--for now: " The [Somalia] presidential electoral crisis appears to be settled with incumbent president Farmajo’s supporters and the opposition finally agreeing two weeks ago on the details of new elections."

The administration will send our enemies who control UN human rights bodies to Flyover Country to attack "deplorables": "The Biden administration is formally inviting United Nations racism and human rights envoys to visit the United States amid a contentious ongoing domestic debate over the treatment of minorities in America." I thought our State Department was supposed to defend America with diplomacy--not give enemies opportunities to falsely condemn us.


A Feature and not a bug: "Iran's outgoing president on Wednesday warned his country could enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels of 90% if it chose, though it still wanted to save its tattered nuclear deal with world powers." It's only been a few years since Trump pulled America out of the deal that Obama said ended Iran's nuclear program. Heck, Iran lied that they never had such a program. But you're saying that in that short time that Iran has been free of the deal that they can refine nuclear-grade uranium? Huh.

I remember it the first time. I assume if I'm patient enough, this will be "Science!" again (via The Daily Briefing):

Yes, Germany should absolutely cooperate more with Poland to deter Russian attack. I think the Germans should take point on taking Kaliningrad which looms over Poland in the event of war. Let me quibble with the idea that Poland is the eastern "flank" of NATO. Poland is the main line of resistance on the main front.

WTF? "The force level of the IDF’s regular and reserve troops, and especially of its ground army, has declined gradually and consistently over the past 15 years. The government slashed defense spending at the beginning of the millennium, then raised it a bit following the 2006 Second Lebanon War, but overall, today’s IDF is far smaller than it was during Israel’s first half-century." Is this why Israel hasn't hammered Hezbollah, as I've long expected?

I'm really quite disgusted with how Biden is dividing the country based on lies about Republican voting bills. Democrats like to drone on about alleged "Big Lie" moments. Clearly they are projecting. If Wikipedia wasn't such a cesspool of wokeness, a picture of Biden would illustrate the Big Lie page. Is Biden a liar or just dementia-addled? But to be fair, I'm sure Biden has no memory of campaigning on being a uniter of all Americans who will restore decency to the White House.

This makes sense: "Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the group of Texas Democrats who fled their state capitol to obstruct the passage of Republican election reforms, the White House announced Tuesday." After all, Harris already proved she has trouble going to Texas.


To be fair, Vox only gets things right randomly. China for a day another 5-year plan: "Earlier this year, Jordan McGillis, deputy director of policy at the Institute for Energy Research,  pointed out “with its March release of a new five-year plan (FYP), the 14th in its history, China has embarrassed its climate cheerleaders in the West. Beijing’s plan institutes no carbon cap, no coal phase-out, and no roadmap by which it will execute upon Xi’s words. Despite the carbon-neutral-by-2060 pledge, the FYP emphasizes the importance of coal to China’s continued development, not the emissions that come with its use.” 

Die! Die! Die! With festering boils, die!

Interesting: "The federal government's count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which has stuck with a far more conservative approach to counting virus deaths." As I've written repeatedly, we will need to have uniform definitions of Xi Jinping Flu deaths before we can compare national responses to the pandemic. Or even compare our own states. Tip to Instapundit.

'Murica. We're effing great.

Does Biden actually believe the words that come out of his mouth? "Yesterday Joe Biden, a stupid and dishonest man, said a bunch of stupid and dishonest crap about “Republican anti-voting laws.” None of it was true, and Biden knows we know it’s not true. He’s just assuming Democrats either don’t know any better or are willing to spread his lies. And he’s right, or else they wouldn’t be Democrats.2"

America is truly the land of opportunity. Even blatantly obvious morons can grow up to get rich and offered tenure in our colleges

Odd man out--still. And even the departure of Erdogan will not be enough as the impact of his horrible reign continues. In time, the weight of history will push Turkey to opposing Russia and Iran again. But will there be an Ataturk 2.0 domestically to reject Islamism?

The Gold Fish fade away.

Cuba is way more successful in the minds of Western leftists than in reality.

Russia's new stealth plane--this time, for sure! I suspect it will long be true that the next Russian stealth plane will be awesome.

The Navy will "end" its predicted F-35 fighter shortage by--wait for it!--defining how many F-35s it needs downward. Bravo. And using more F-18s, to be fair.

Putin remains committed to conquering Ukraine: "The Russian president has clearly stated his belief that Ukraine belongs with Russia. Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August would be the perfect time for the West to make equally clear that Ukrainians have the right to choose their own future."

As the Biden administration warns Cubans not to seek refuge in America, will Vice President Harris go to Cuba to address the root causes of the motivation to flee here?

Let's see, the Biden administration says that the Iranian intelligence plot to kidnap an American is just a "law enforcement matter". At the same time Democrats are undermining law enforcement across the country. 

Well, I'm not really laughing.



Could the left police their own raging racists before they bug the rest of us? 

This is damning of General Milley if true. Why will the traditional source of military enlistments send their young people to a military under him? 

The Marxist hate group Black Lives Matter sides with communist Cuba. Please tell me you aren't shocked by any of this. 

I've asked what doesn't anger Islamists? Now we know actual genocide against Moslems doesn't anger them: "A spokesman for the majority faction of the Afghan Taliban recently announced that they considered China a friend and that the Uighur Moslems from northwest China would no longer be allowed into Afghanistan once the Taliban took over." See also the Pakistani prime minister. As long as we are clear.

It's about time: 'Japan established a military base on Miyako Island (between Senkaku Island and Okinawa). ... The new garrison on Miyako Island has 380 troops and is equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. ... Miyako Island is 210 kilometers from the Senkakus and Japan plans to put garrisons on more of these small islands."

Render unto Xi what is Xi's. And everything is Xi's: "China ordered Christian churches to repeat and approve the importance of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) for China as explained in a recent speech by President-for-life Xi Jinping."

The Brontosaurus is back! Tip to Instapundit.

When science takes a back seat to Science! "While it is true that the Easter Islanders deforested their island, forensic historians have now determined that by converting the forest to farmland and innovatively adapting to prolonged Little Ice Age droughts, they avoided collapse." The wrong idea that Easter Islanders destroyed themselves with ecological crimes is too useful to modern Green Reds to abandon. Tip to Instapundit.

Hahahaha!


The only innovation in the Palestinian world involves killing Jews: Arson helium balloons. Hamas says they need helium for MRI machines. Is there no "humanitarian" aid they can't weaponize?

Hard to disagree with this: "Iran presents itself to the outside world as the mighty Islamic Republic, built on strength, perseverance and independence. But in reality, Iran is a weak country. Its military hardware is obsolete, and its economy is hurting. It became a regional power only by default following Iraq’s loss in the 1991 Gulf War and the subsequent crippling blockade. The uprisings that shattered several Arab countries didn’t affect Iran, which then gained a modicum of power and influence in the region, despite its internal weakness. Iran thus succeeded in transforming its mediocre capabilities into assets in a turbulent Middle East, but this should not be confused with real strength." But I will quibble if anyone uses that as a reason not to oppose Iran. The Shia Islamist hate under control of the Iranian mullahs is a force multiplier in a weak region. Don't dismiss Iran's ability to cause chaos and death. And despite severe problems and unrest, the mullah regime appears firmly in control. 

Let me get this straight. The Russians were able to engineer Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite Obama being president to defend election integrity. But the supposed Russian stooge, Trump, was able to prevent Russia from engineering another Trump victory in 2020 when Trump was in charge of defending our election integrity? Got it. Nuance is hard, isn't it?

Russia's inexpensive and amateurish intervention in America's 2016 election did indeed sow chaos. But don't credit Putin. Credit the Democratic Party that was a massive force multiplier in its embrace of false charges of Russia collusion and racism. Once again, Democrats provided legions of useful idiots that wittingly or unwittingly did Moscow's bidding. But also, caveats ignored: "leaked Russian documents" that "suggest" certain things. 

Russia is already using their natural gas pipelines to Western Europe to harm Ukraine and gain a stranglehold on Western Europe's energy supplies.

Excellent point: "Again, saying a socialist economy would work great -- if only it were allowed to trade with the rich capitalist country nearby is not the killer argument that socialists think it is[.]" Via Instapundit.

I have zero interest in watching the Olympics this year. America didn't send a team. A cabal of our enemies who want to burn our flag or condemn America put together much of the team, it seems. Sure, I know it is a tiny minority. But even a teaspoon of sh*t in a gallon of ice cream rather ruins the dessert, no? I'm out.

Vaccinated foreigners can't come into America. But un-vaccinated foreigners who cross our southern border illegally are welcomed with open arms. Did a cabal of our enemies take over government, too? Tip to Instapundit.

There's no way that Chinese threat would possibly encourage Japan to build nuclear weapons.

Oh, God! "President Biden will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi at the White House on July 26, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday." Biden's staff kept him in the basement away from the American people during the 2020 campaign. For a good reason. But now a foreign leader under Iranian assault will see who is backing him up? I'll consider the meeting a success if Al-Kadhimi doesn't walk out of the White House and loudly proclaim fealty to Iran.

The book that has had quotes about General Milley that make me wonder about his suitability for his job could be bunk, I'm starting to feel (although public statements by Milley are still valid grounds for wondering). But this analysis by the article authors is just dumb: "The US and Iran have been adversaries for decades, dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis at the US Embassy that began the same year, but tensions reached historic heights under Trump." [emphasis added] Tensions are higher than during the year+ hostage crisis when Iran held our embassy and staff hostage? Higher than the failed rescue mission? Higher than during the Tanker War during the Iran-Iraq War when American escort missions sought to prevent Iran from attacking neutral oil tankers? Higher than that period when American and Iranian forces actually fought each other? Higher than when Iran was responsible for hundreds of dead American troops in Iraq from shaped-charge IEDs provided by Iran to insurgents? Really? Are people in the media really so young that their only memory of history extends to January 2016? And just how are tensions high with Iran now when Biden is clearly eager to sniff some mullah hair and open up the check book for Iran?

Russia will unveil a new and improved stealth fighter whose only known characteristics thus far is its propaganda value to convince people that Russia is about to have a working stealth fighter.

Social media went all-in to defeat Trump and this is how Biden repays their loyalty: "Asked by a reporter at the White House Friday what his message was to platforms like Facebook regarding COVID-19 misinformation, Biden replied: 'They’re killing people.'" Hey, social media platforms effed up. They trusted him. Now they know that they can never bow long enough or deep enough for statist control freaks. One wonders if this is enough of a whack with the clue bat or whether they will prostrate themselves fully on the ground, averting their eyes from Biden's brilliance, in the hope of finally doing enough to earn trust.

A visible stealthy signal to China: "The largest assemblage of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter planes is in the Pacific region for exercises analysts say is a strong message to China."

Good Lord, I would hope that even the Biden administration can see that withdrawing prematurely from Iraq would--again--be a big mistake: "Officials [from the Biden administration] shot down a report out of Baghdad on Thursday that the United States is preparing to withdraw its approximately 2,500 troops from Iraq."

Sadly, a new Ford design that incorporated the lessons of past carrier operations and designs ran smack into recent failures to actually be able to build ships: "A ship, especially a warship that has a lot of problems, is often referred to as a cursed ship. The USS Ford, the first of the class, has become a major disaster rather than a more effective new ship design. The number and severity of problems are certainly cursed at often enough by those who built or now serve on the Ford. It was not supposed to be that way." But I'm worried about Ford regardless of its problems.

I think leftists should be forced to wear body cams

Ah, the Russians: "Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday." The Russians are taking their time in easing out of their commitment to appease China for five more years.

Training space Marines. No, not that kind. We have a way to go before we have SMOD close combat troops.

Reagan and Queen Elizabeth are training together in the Indian Ocean. Reagan is based out of Japan, so training with the British in the Indian Ocean is probably less likely to send the Chinese Communist Party into hysterical conniption fits.

So, after defunding the police and seeing crime skyrocket, Atlanta will establish a new organization to lower crime. And if the increase in crime was caused by the pandemic, as the mayor insists, why is a new organization needed when the pandemic is waning and will be gone at some point? Democratic Party public policy formulation is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, indeed. Tip to Instapundit.

Huh: "The straightforward lesson to take from this is that international public health experts belong to a social and political class which thinks closing borders is bad for mostly domestic political reasons, and in the absence of external reality checks like a pandemic, people wanting to make a career public health can really only advance by mimicking the beliefs of the senior people who are the gatekeepers for advancement. If they hate border closures, and you want them to give you a job, well you’d better hate border closures too." How many times have I noted the wisdom that "it is better to be wrong in the same manner as your bosses than to be right when they are wrong"?

Dissent is no longer the highest form of patriotism, as Democrats claim when a Republican is in the White House. Dissent is now considered treasonous. When the insane charges have their political parties reversed (and the charges are obviously not made seriously), it makes what the Democrats are doing obviously stupid, no? But it is dangerous, too, when tied to an assault on half the population. And it is an outrage when you consider what is being demonized by Democrats: "The fact of the matter is that voting in-person, on a single election day and with photo identification, is the most legitimate way to pick our leaders. The further away we move from this system, the greater the opportunity for fraud and corruption, the greater our inability to detect it and the less confidence Americans will have in the system at large." While Biden's charges of Jim Crow are "unhinged nonsense", what Biden (or the people propping him up) is doing using the power of the modern federal state is dangerous as Hell. Tips to Instapundit.

India has gotten rid of the state Ordnance Factories Board: "Without the OFB, a major obstacle to obtaining effective Indian-made weapons was achieved. This leaves only the state-owned DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) as the major obstacle to Indian self-sufficiency." Corruption has been killing India's efforts to match Chinese military power.

America's hasty departure from Afghanistan risks a bloody disaster. We'll see if the Afghan security forces and government make it through the morale danger zone.

Is it time to cut off Egypt's authoritarian government? Obama supported the Islamist government formed after the Arab Spring toppled Egypt's authoritarian government. The Islamists were the best-organized force in Egypt and won. This has been the persistent problem in the Arab world. Authoritarian governments are bad. But Islamist alternatives are worse. There has been no democratic force worthy of the name between them. The authoritarian government undermines democratic forces while portraying itself as the only alternative to the disaster of Islamist rule. Which makes the Islamists the only alternative to the authoritarian government. Which in turn leads the authoritarian to appeal to Islam as well, hoping its "tame" version of Islam will undermine the "wild" Islamists. That will fail. The key--and I don't pretend it is easy--is to teach Arabs not to elect good men, but how to elect good men with a good system. Establishing rule of law is the key. This takes time. But in the short run, authoritarians are better than Islamists. We need Islam itself to stop generating Islamist nutballs.

It's not mobile, protected firepower without protection: "While the Army is putting a lot of its weight behind better fires, networks and sensors, it’s also doubling down on armored vehicles. That means armored troop transports, robotic battle buddies and the mainstay of the ground fight — the tank." Until there is a replacement for armored vehicles that can provide maneuver via mobile, protected firepower, armored fighting vehicles are necessary. Although the thought of Army light tanks makes me shudder with horror.

Our SSBNs have a new nuclear warhead. Honestly, since we don't actually test nuclear warhead designs in the real world by exploding them, do we have a nuclear deterrent? Are computer simulations really enough to verify they work?

A wood satellite. Huh.

Poland will buy 250 Abrams tanks. I suppose Ukraine would be a good candidate for the Polish T-72 and PT-91 tanks that will be replaced.

Iran has taught Maduro well that the key to maintaining your dictatorship under the facade of democracy is to make sure only approved candidates run for office.

Crap, now Indonesia is getting hammered by the Xi Jinping Flu. Do they even know how bad it is?

That's a old move, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off: "Mental health professionals will be sent out to respond to some 911 calls in Chicago instead of cops, following defund the police protests and a number of police killings of mentally-unwell people."

A U.S. drone fired a warning shot at a truck operated by an Iran-supported Iraqi militia in eastern Syria. Then, after the driver fled, destroyed the truck. Pity our enemies aren't as reluctant to shoot to kill our people.