More on Japan's revival of naval aviation to continue their tradition of operating aircraft at sea. Japan will have two light carriers using F-35Bs and helicopters. China created this problem for themselves. Tip to Instapundit.
Speaking of unpleasant consequences, South Korea builds their submarine fleet, with nuclear implications if the threat level to South Korea gets to hot: "South Korea test fired a new ballistic missile today, one that was launched from the first of nine new 3,400-ton KSS-3 class submarines." South Korea's blue water drive continues.
Russia's Syria intervention saved the Assad regime and was a success. But if Westerners got to judge the same result from an American intervention it would be considered a failure because jihadis control the northwest and still roam in the east. There is unrest in the south. Refugees still won't come home. Casualties were high and chemical weapons were used. Kurds in the northeast are de facto independent. Iranians set up shop to wage war on Israel. Israel bombs Iranian targets at will. Mercenaries and local defense forces on a large scale were required. And foreign forces keeps eastern Syria free from Assad's control. And because the intervening forces are still bombing rebels and terrorists 6 years after intervening, it is obviously a quagmire. But because Russia intervened, Putin is considered brilliant for playing a bad hand so well. And maybe he gets bonus points for engineering a "frozen conflict." Amazing.
This analyst thinks that a nuclear-armed Taiwan wouldn't deter a Chinese invasion because nukes only deter being hit by nukes. Which is interesting. Plenty of people on the left insist that Iran and North Korea are justified in seeking nukes to deter an American conventional invasion. And Russia loudly claims a lower nuclear threshold to defend Russian territory from conventional attack. Another use of nuclear deterrence is to prevent the destruction of your country from conventional attack. We certainly kept open the option of using nukes to defend West Germany during the Cold War. Traditionally that has been considered a use for nukes. Is that no longer the case? Would countries refuse to nuke their conqueror if they could? And are attackers sure a victim with nukes wouldn't use them? Wouldn't a Taiwanese determination to slag several major Chinese port cities if Chinese force invade have no effect on China's determination to invade?
The Army is concerned about suicide drone swarms: "U.S. forces are operating without complete air superiority, with the threat of small, low-cost unmanned aircraft systems proliferating to the point that the Army’s chief says they are the new improvised explosive device." Unless we build an area electronic shield I still think air defense drones--as I advocated three years ago in Army magazine--are the best way to protect forward infantry without detracting with their primary mission by diverting them to air defense.
Xi's willing figurative executioners in America.
Is China ready to build? "Chinese manufacture of the J-20 Mighty Dragon, touted by China as a stealth fighter, will likely increase, based on comments offered at the recent Zhuhai air show (Airshow China 2021) by program officials, who nevertheless did not disclose any production ramp rates." I like that "touted by China as a stealth fighter" part. But apparently China no longer needs Russian jet engines. Which is a big deal alone, if true.
Clearly, his minions will be held responsible for failing to carry out his brilliant plan: "North Korea said Monday leader Kim Jong Un urged officials to overcome a 'grim situation' facing the country and make stronger efforts to
improve the food and living conditions of his people."
But don't you dare say we aren't paying ransom for Americans and American friends stranded in Afghanistan: America will provide the Taliban with humanitarian aid. The Biden administration denies it is the first step toward recognizing the Taliban government. Which totally means it is the first step to the Biden administration recognizing the Taliban as Afghanistan's government. Our State Department has established what the Biden administration is. Now it is just haggling over the price. Although to be fair, given the skedaddle debacle I don't know what option there is to get our people out.
So is the West heading back to solving the Palestinian problem "first" because nothing else is more important? "German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday implored Israel not to 'lose sight' of the need to establish a Palestinian state, as she wrapped up a two-day farewell visit." Gaza is a de facto Palestinian state and look how well that is working.
I guess I should be happy the FBI isn't fully committed to only intimidating American parents: "A Maryland-based Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been arrested on charges of selling secret information about the design of nuclear power warships to someone they thought was a foreign power but was actually an undercover FBI agent."
Deterring Russia and reassuring potential victims of Russian aggression: "Part of an Army security force assistance brigade and a combat aviation brigade will rotate to Europe soon, the service announced Friday afternoon."
Bad, if true. But I doubt it is true: "China has won the artificial intelligence battle with the United States
and is heading towards global dominance because of its technological
advances, the Pentagon's former software chief told the Financial Times." Every disgruntled employee who quits thinks their bosses are morons for not following their advice. This article says Chinese AI is a threat to the Chinese people rather than to the rest of the world: "China’s AI isn’t so much a tool of world domination as a narrowly deployed means of domestic control." Although I wonder about the metrics chosen for comparing. Would China really make their defense stuff public? For that matter, would America?
New 6.8mm Army squad weapons are on track to be selected and go into production next year.
Taking time away from learning how to fight and win wars is totally sane: "Troops will be educated to improve their 'climate literacy,' according to the report. The topic should be taught to all during professional development training and at advanced courses, it said." What could possibly go wrong?
No peace in Ladakh: "Talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders to disengage troops from key friction areas along their border have ended in a stalemate and failed to ease a 17-month standoff that has sometimes led to deadly clashes, the two sides said Monday."
Belarus has been "firing" migrants across the border into NATO countries and now actual bullets: "Poland summoned the Belarusian charge d’affaires on Friday, a foreign ministry spokesman said, after border guards accused the Belarusian side of shooting at Polish soldiers patrolling the frontier." If you think Belarus is doing this without orders from Russia you'd be wrong.
Yes, some of the blame for the Afghanistan skedaddle debacle lies on Trump's shoulders: "Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and CENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie have now testified before Congress that the U.S.-Taliban agreement had a devastating impact on the spirit of both the Afghan military and the civilian government. Trump’s policy, adopted by Biden, over time demoralized and delegitimized the very Afghan government which America had been instrumental in creating two decades ago. By effectively de-recognizing that government, we caused the collapse in morale that swept away years of training and equipping of Afghan forces." But Biden decided this was the one policy of Trump's that he wouldn't repudiate.
Britain's carrier task force made a stop in Singapore: "'Our recent integrated review highlighted the importance of the Indo Pacific and the UK's intent to tilt here and have an increased footprint, and much more persistent presence,' strike group commander, Commodore Steve Moorhouse, told Reuters aboard the new 65,000-tonne vessel." For backing up British diplomacy and trade, it is Britain's ultimate hammer--other than their ally America.
I still observe Columbus Day. Any property owner in the Americas is free to give their property to Native American tribes to do their small part to make up for any lingering guilt those people feel. But remember that the tribes and empires in the Americas in 1492 were the winners of past wars between Native American entities. The Europeans of 1492 were the victors over past Europeans and were the people who beat the past victors in the Americas. That's how the world worked, and still does all too often. Also, isn't it interesting that only America and Canada are considered illegitimate while every conqueror of indigenous peoples south of the Rio Grande River--or in the rest of the world (other than Australia and New Zealand)--get a pass from the woke? This is a useful essay. I'll just note that the current pandemic should be a lesson that the spread of deadly disease from Europe to the Americas was inevitable once contact was made. Occasional deliberate spreads were for tactical purposes and irrelevant to the big picture. Anyway, the woke display a lot of historical ignorance on top of their many forms of ignorance that enable their insufferable and undeserved sense of superiority.
I am all in favor of the Left going to WOKECON 1 and punishing their own: "The Art Institute of Chicago fires all 122 of its (unpaid and volunteer) docents because they aren’t sufficiently ‘diverse.’" I hope the docents are enjoying the logic of what they likely support. Perhaps the NBA and the AIC docent program should have traded members and advanced "diversity" in both groups.
Iranian TV can no longer show women eating pizza. Pizza? Now hot dogs and tacos I understand. But pizza? America's so-called patriarchy's got nothing compared to Iran's actual patriarchy. Alert the handmaidens and relate this tale, eh? Tip to Instapundit.
Mozambique discovered natural gas and attracted the attention of jihadis. The existing corruption will make the former less effective for the people while giving the latter more supporters.
Huh. America couldn't just declare our war in Afghanistan over and it isn't true that the Taliban victory wouldn't embolden al Qaeda: "Last Wednesday, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a video crowing over the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and promising to inflict damage on the scale of 9/11 in America once again." Who could have seen that coming, eh? Remember, they hate us not because of our war in Afghanistan but because of who they are. They want us dead and we'd best kill them first. And reopen Guantanamo Bay for the deadly serious business of holding and questioning captured terrorists until they die in our custody, even if it takes many decades.
The supply chain disruptions could get worse and break down the complicated web of trade that keeps our economies going. It seems to me that vaccine mandates by governments and companies are causing a problem with moving goods. It's not the only problem or even the decisive problem, but it is one in our control. Stop the mandates and more people will be there to move the goods. We can recover from disruptions more easily. Recovering from a break down will take much longer and inflict deep pain. Once again, it is the response to the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic rather than the virus itself that is causing the biggest problem. It would be ironic if a pandemic that China unleashed on the world ended up harming China's export-driven economy the most despite CCP boasts about how their response to the pandemic is superior to the West's response. I was worried early on about whether we could just restart a complicated economy. Early this year it seemed like we could. Now I wonder again. But it also seems like our government is doing things that get in the way of restarting the economy.
Finland develops a new armored personnel carrier with an eye on Russia.
Frexit (via Instapundit)? "Are Brexiteers witnessing a domino effect for liberty? And in, of all places, France?" It shouldn't be that much of a shock. The EU was more popular with the elites than the people. The EU elites were unable to take "no" for an answer, using whatever means available to push ahead despite resistance. Their drive to power is stunning. Even Britain was a close run thing as Remainers and the EU worked together to make Brexit so hard that the British would grow tired and give up. The French elites overrode the French people who voted against the EU, recall. Perhaps now the elites are starting to break ranks.
Iraq's parliamentary election went smoothly. But I worry a lot about this development: "Although it is too early to know the exact numbers of seats for each party, it is very clear that Muqtada al-Sadr has made a remarkable victory with almost 80 seats." I worry that the three-time insurrectionist will wreck Iraqi rule of law and progress. I've long said we'll rue the day we didn't kill that man.
Why Russia can't build a carrier-based navy? Don't make this more complicated than it is. One, Russia can't build them and can't afford them. And two, we just aren't that lucky.
Germany is apparently only upset that the oppressive Taliban government is not diverse enough in who it empowers as oppressors: "Germany is not yet prepared to recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan's government since it has not met the inclusiveness standards demanded of it, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, but she reaffirmed Berlin's promise of 600 million euros' aid." But the Germans will aid the death cult killers. Again I will ask, what is Germany's major malfunction?!
Free market capitalism doesn't make people greedy. Human nature makes people greedy. Free market capitalism just allows the production of enough things that raw power doesn't determine who gets to act on their greed to get the scarce things.
India had a head start in carrier and air wing development, but China passed them by.
Another way that the 2020 election was "rigged" long before election day. The election was close despite all the thumbs on the scales all across the country in favor of Biden. Tip to Instapundit.
In related news, even if there was no rigging of elections in 2020--and I've seen no proof--the systems set up "because of the pandemic" were open for cheating or one-direction errors and we might not ever know what happened. So yeah, improving voting integrity is justified.
To be fair, natural enthusiasm for Vice President Harris is almost impossible to find: "Grinning school-age children who took part in a NASA YouTube video about space exploration with Kamala Harris have been revealed to be child actors." Hey, it worked for getting voters ... (I joke, of course.) Tip to Insanity Wrap.
Please. This is just the start. In a few months the "presidential limo" will have holes in the floor so Biden can move it around all by himself for some realistic pretend play.
Here we have members of the Resistance in all their patriotic glory. We'll see if they get prosecuted harder than school board protesters. Tip to Insanity Wrap.
Apparently according to the left's standards, being a father trying to protest your minor daughter's rape on school property means you are a terrorist. To Hell with these woke monsters.
Absent a war, the Army hopes to give personnel three years at home for every year deployed abroad.
How long does Halloween candy last? My rule of thumb as a parent was Halloween Candy gets thrown out on Easter and Easter candy gets thrown out on Halloween. Yes, my kids were responsible sweets eaters. Although I freely admit that as a child mine never lasted more than a few weeks.
I think these are tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
This is cool, but Karman Line Trek doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? "Blue Origin plans to launch legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner into space with three other crew members from Texas on Wednesday." And he returned safely! Tips to Instapundit.
Petty tyrants pushing racism. The sheriff should be ashamed for enforcing the petty tyrants' will contrary to the rules. Law enforcement must refuse to be the muscle for the woke petty tyrants. Or do the law enforcement officers forget that they are abusing the people who flew "Blue Lives Matter" flags for the people who think police are all racist killers? Tip to Instapundit.
It would be nice to check our apparent sprint to banana republic status.
China faces a financial, economic, real estate bubble, pollution, corruption, trade, energy, pandemic, foreign policy (scaring foes into arming up), demographic, and "sissy" crises. And that's on top of China (successful?) ethnic cleaning of Tibetans, mass imprisonment and possible genocide against Uighurs, and suppression of sparks of freedom in Hong Kong. I think these may be "interesting times". Can China's pervasive Social Credit Score surveillance system control the people? And on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, there is "good China". If China falls into chaos, could there be Northern Expedition 2.0? I wouldn't rate the chances high simply because Taiwanese increasingly see themselves as Taiwanese and not Chinese who are temporarily weak in the Chinese Civil War. Although the Chinese Communist Party might worry that the odds are high.
Does Russia think it has leverage over China because of this? "China has become a major customer of Russia’s natural gas and that is threatening other customers like Ukraine, Belarus, Western Europe, and Turkey." Or does this give China urgent reasons to invade Russia to demand natural gas if Russia cuts it off?
The vehicle to turn leg infantry into motorized infantry?
I expect the Chinese to aim right for the ports and airfields, contrary to this beach-focused practice: "China's military said on Monday it had carried out beach landing and assault drills in the province directly across the sea from Taiwan, though it did not link the exercises to current tensions with Taipei."
A Navy expeditionary staging base (ESB) arrives in 7th Fleet. This class of vessel made my AFRICOM Queen modularized auxiliary cruiser proposal in Military Review far less urgent given that one is serving around Africa.
Replacing the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
One of the reasons America has far fewer nuclear warheads is that precision eliminated the need for smaller "tactical" nukes. This GBU-72 Advanced 5K Penetrator is much more effective than an aimed but unguided tactical nuke: "The Air Force is testing a mammoth, 5,000-pound bomb designed using advanced modeling to increase its impact in reaching and destroying hardened underground facilities the likes of North Korea’s ballistic-missile and nuclear-weapons facilities."
I'm not sure this clear signal is designed to intimidate Taiwan as much as it is a signal to the Chinese people that they should rally around the Chinese Communist Party despite the many problems China has: "China’s coercive expansionism may be taking its most dangerous turn yet. Recently, record-breaking numbers of Chinese military planes have entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, where the island’s authorities assert the right to demand that aircraft identify themselves. China’s muscle-flexing sends a clear message: it is serious about incorporating the island—and ‘reunifying’ China—potentially by force." Although if the signal is directed at home, if China doesn't carry out its promise to capture Taiwan will the domestic audience react badly? Also, China's claim to Taiwan is far weaker than the CCP would have you believe. The Dutch colonial rulers basically used mainlanders to swamp the native Taiwan population in order to get workers.
Safely firing rockets from inside structures.
Advice to the Taiwanese to carry out an insurgency in case of Chinese conquest is fine in isolation. But if it reduces capabilities for stopping a landing or throwing an invasion force into the sea it will be catastrophic. The problem is that the Taiwanese wouldn't be resisting America which would try to win hearts and minds to pacify the people. The Taiwanese would be resisting China. That's a different problem altogether. I think the Chinese wouldn't try to pacify Taiwan. The Chinese would compel mass movement of people. The Chinese would expel Taiwanese to Tibet and Xinjiang to ethnically cleanse the locals while making the Taiwanese side with China just to survive in a sea of hostility. And China would send loyal Han colonists to Taiwan.
The Navy celebrated its 246th anniversary on the 13th. The Chinese are crashing the party and we really need to pay attention to that.
From the "Well, Duh" files: Moslems in America may be "inspired by" the Taliban victory to carry out attacks here: "Charles Spencer, the assistant director of the FBI’s international operations division, said he is seeing more chatter online and on social media from Americans who have not traveled to the Middle East, yet are influenced by the rapid seizure of Afghanistan over the summer." Yet some things remain a mystery: "With the Taliban now in control of Afghanistan, officials are waiting to see whether the country will once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda to organize, launch attacks, and spread their messages of violence through the internet."
The Army will have a "climate strategy". FFS. This is depressing. When I served and it rained we were told, "It doesn't rain in the Army. It rains ON the Army." So deal and complete the mission. My view is that there is no climate in the Army. There is climate ON the Army. So deal and complete the mission. The military mission. Nobody else in the federal government has that mission. Leave it be. It has enough problems carrying out its mandate to win our wars.
Tensions are rising between Turkey and Syrian Kurds.
Whining rich people. Their two-hour dinners had, what, five minutes of terror and robbery? It was clearly a mostly peaceful dining experience. Tip to Instapundit.
For God's sake, don't let Pelosi use the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!
The Army is beefing up its presence and capabilities in Europe to deter the Russians. While in Asia it is seeking how to make regional armies better and directly support the Air Force and Navy. Which is fine. But ultimately the Army has to at least be able to threaten to land a corps in Asia outside of South Korea to complicate China's freedom to act. Which I argued for in this Military Review article. A corps has a mission even in island campaigns, as I wrote in this ILW paper. And maybe on Taiwan, if we build up our logistics and have control of the seas east of the island, again in Military Review.
To be fair, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg is probably only supposed to look for the root cause of the supply chain breakdown. Tip to Instapundit.
The supply chain disruption is real. There are a lot of reasons for it. Many beyond America's control. But why isn't our Department of Transportation taking steps to alleviate what is under our control? And will a state that shall not be named be more effective than that department? While another state ponders making things worse. The left tells us they can plan our economy. But they couldn't even plan for an increase in traffic through our ports, which is one narrow slice of our economy.
Is the only way to defeat this kind of missile to destroy the launcher before it fires?
Did the Army ef up its attempt to know its enemy with ATP 7-100.3 Chinese Tactics?
The Iraqis voted. A lot of voters stayed away because of lack of confidence in voting. Is this true? "On Sunday, Iraq held its fifth national elections since the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003, with the national parliament’s 329 seats at stake. While final results have yet to be announced, the biggest losers appear to be pro-Iranian militant groups, which have already said they’ll reject the outcome and have issued veiled and not-so-veiled threats of violence." Good if true. But Moqtada al-Sadr, the three-time insurrectionist and once(?)-Iranian client is a big winner. Even if he is now anti-Iran (at least in rejecting Iranian influence inside Iraq) he is a threat to honest voting and the development of rule of law. Let's not lose Iraq, too. If we do it will be because we fail now rather than blaming problems over the last two decades.
Taiwan needs to prepare for war: "In short, in addition to Taiwan’s strategic location and wealth being advantageous for China, China and its president, Xi Jinping (習近平), also realize that they must become imperialist in this matter because Taiwan distracts from China’s increasing internal problems. When you understand this, you understand Taiwan’s situation." That's good advice. And perhaps Taiwan should push back on China's weakness--legitimacy.
The Army enhanced reality combat goggles program has ground to a halt. Tip to Instapundit.
Is the West losing Belarus to Russia? Or is the West recognizing it lost Belarus to Russia? My knowledge base isn't deep enough to answer that. But I do know that Belarus may be the most important territory being contested in Europe today.
I'm mad that last year Never Trumpers helped give us a meat sack for our president. I'm just as mad at pro-Trumpers working to perpetuate Democratic rule by insisting on purity tests for Republicans trying to defeat the Democrats next year. For God's sake, do we need a gooder and harder lesson that there are things much worse than so-called RINOs? The Never-Trumpers are unable to learn. Don't make the same mistake on the right.
While I don't think we are anywhere near Asimov's Foundation level of predictions, this is interesting: "Accounting for global alliance networks in our modelling, the probability of a low-intensity military conflict over the next decade between the US and China is also elevated, at around 46%, ... Over that period, the modelling indicates that the likelihood of low-intensity conflict between the US and Russia is also high, at 30%; between China and Russia, 44%; between China and Japan, 46%; and between China and India, 55%." I find it interesting because I've been droning on for some time about the possibility of China waging war on Russia. I think there is merit to the approach. I don't know if it is working. And to be fair, those percentages are for low-level conflicts and not all-out war. But the percentages do accurately demonstrate the friction in the Russia-China relationship despite the loud claims of deep friendship between China and Russia.
Well sure, resources have to be gathered and devoted to silencing upset parents at school board meetings.
The options of dealing with Iran aren't a faux deal or war: "Secretary of State Antony Blinken and allied officials are contemplating military options to counter Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program as American hopes of renewing the 2015 nuclear accord wither." Democrats want you to think war is the only alternative to a crappy deal to make it seem like a deal is a good idea. But continuing the Trump-era (and briefly, the Obama-era) pressure on Iran is the best option. The 2015 deal was awful and a new deal will use the framework of the original deal: "Iran will pretend not to be working on a nuclear weapon; and we will pretend to believe them."
"Known wolf" attack. Via Instapundit.
It's been an Obama flashback of multiple promised "Recovery Summers" that failed to arrive as we endured the summer of 2021 grinding into stagnation--"unexpectedly".
Is the Xi Jinping Flu unavoidable? "Now there is growing consensus that there will be some level of transmission of this virus on and off for the foreseeable future. We may be able to bring levels down to very manageable level, with some seasonal increases, but this virus will very likely not go away. And, therefore, the possibility of being exposed to it is present for all humans. A good proportion of humankind will be exposed at some point, and may even develop disease." Which means we need to open up, learn to live with the Xi Jinping, and get our economy going to better afford dealing with it. Tip to Instapundit.
Don't expect a civil war, but somebody's model for America will prove to be unsustainable and lose.
Who wouldn't feel sick unless you wanted to lose or felt America deserved it? "Robert Gates, the secretary of defense under former President Barack Obama, said that President Joe Biden’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan made him physically sick to watch because it did not have to be as bad as it was." I know the feeling.
Iran keeps the Houthis going despite this: "Yemen’s economy is collapsing, its humanitarian crisis is worsening, and the conflict in the Arab world’s poorest nation is growing more violent, the U.N.’s deputy humanitarian chief said Thursday." But that's okay. Iran doesn't mind. Iran will fight its enemies to the last Arab.
The British describe what is needed in Asia where no NATO encourages alliance compatibility: "'All through my career, we’ve talked about interoperability, can you
turn up? Can you understand each other? Can you get on the right
circuit? Do you understand your tactics? Can you work together? and so
on… That allows a big arc, where you can be super interoperable,' he
said. [para] Radakin said the expansion of the British presence around the world
gives more opportunities to operate with allies — like including the
U.S. destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68); and Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen (F805) with the Queen Elizabeth strike group." We don't want a repeat of the Battle of the Java Sea.
Russia lingers on like a bad smell: "[Taiwan at least has the advantage of being an island.] If only that were true in Eastern Europe, where geography enables a resurgent Russia to threaten half a dozen nearby states, one of which—Belarus—is already succumbing to Moscow’s strategy (see map)." I don't think we have blinders on to the threat as the author says. We are reinforcing Poland. But he is right that Belarus is a problem.
The descent of the FBI into the armed wing of the Democratic Party is more than just amazing: "It is just amazing what the Department of Justice and FBI will do and what they won't do."
How the Regional Unified Command welcome wagon finally arrived in Israel.
Sultan Erdogan has lost his new car smell.
These people are in a bubble and triple-masked, too: "The crazed chief of staff, worshipped by left-leaning media,
retweeted a post from a former member of Barack Obama’s administration
who claimed the current inflation and supply chain crises only affect 'high class' people." This administration is composed of heartless moron fanatics. Inflation crushes responsible savers like me. The supply chain crisis means I haven't had a working car for 6 weeks with no relief in sight. Sure, I'm ruggedly handsome, witty, talented, and kind to children and animals. But I digress. I can in no way be considered "high class" if that means economic status. These administration idiots are just weeks away from saying "Let them eat cake" in genuine puzzlement over why higher prices for meat and milk are a problem. Let's go, Ron Klain.
This is neat: "The U.S. Army intends to test an entire company of unmanned combat vehicles in simulated battle next year, a wargame that leaders called unprecedented and a big step toward refining the hardware and software that will one day enable wheeled robots to take the battlefield." But I have not lost my worries about enemies hacking the systems and making them worthless or even turn them against us. We don't want eBlue-on-Blue casualties.
For God's sake, stop me before I kill again: college edition. Tip to Instapundit.
Russia says a lot of things: "Russia said one of its military vessels chased away a U.S. naval
destroyer that attempted to violate Russian territorial waters during
Russian-Chinese naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Friday." Pretending to be strong is safer than acting on their impulses.
If the Lebanese military had enough cohesiveness to take on Hezbollah, this would be a good thing: "The United States will offer an additional $67 million to support the Lebanese army, U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in Beirut on Thursday." But I'm not sure it won't just end up in sectarian militia and Hezbollah hands, in the end.
Iraqis are right to worry about the rise of jihadis and Iranian influence if we withdraw our troops. But from what I've read, the shift to an advisory role for U.S. troops seems to be just a labeling exercise rather than a reduction in troops strength or functions.
True: "Reporters would rather tweet about the weather than investigate repression and torture by the regime." But that's just because of the strange unrequited love Democrats have for Iran's mullah-run government.
Is this true? "The most alarming case is that of the real estate colossus Evergrande,
whose debt is so large that default is a real possibility, and
thereafter a rash of defaults across the world. Evergrande is a global
threat, menacing a worldwide outburst of indebtedness, with all the
dreadful consequences that go along with it." I read another analyst who said the repercussion of Evergrande's potential failure would not expand beyond China's borders. I don't think China is falling. But its rise is stalling.
Remember, January 6th was not an "insurrection" as the Democrats want you to believe: "The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack
on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the
presidential election result, according to four current and former law
enforcement officials. ... 'Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases,' said a
former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the
investigation. 'Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia
groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme
with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the
Capitol and take hostages.'" If I'm to understand the situation according to Democrats, the most heavily-armed segment of the American population attempted to carry out an insurrection without a single firearm used to storm the Capitol Building. Just ... stop. I'd absolutely punish those who trespassed, vandalized property, or were violent. But this was no insurrection.
Biden: Trump is an inhuman monster! [9 months later] Never mind.
All we can possibly know for sure is that the killer was not a radicalized Anglican riled up by the treatment of Meghan and Harry by the media (via Instapundit). Because if so, we'd already know that. And as it turns out, what were the odds? "Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon formally declared the incident as terrorism. The early investigation has revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism."
So occupying federal buildings while injuring officers is okay, now? I really don't grok that whole nuance thing. Tip to Instapundit.
Fear is the beginning of wisdom: "The U.S. and the Philippines are planning to return to full-scale military drills in 2022 after two years and will invite Australia and the U.K. as observers, in another sign of the Biden administration’s push to deepen ties in the Indo-Pacific and counter China’s assertiveness."
So we've got that going against us. Which isn't nice:
Russian and Chinese combined military power will approach the level of American military power. We have more allies. And I seriously doubt China and Russia will combine their power effectively to fight America. Honestly, Russia needs to worry about China and should really worry about how Russia could hold its Far East if China defeats America.
Cambodia has long been friendly with China. Is China building a naval base there? "U.S. embassy spokesperson Chad Roedemeier in a statement said that any foreign military presence at Ream would violate Cambodia's constitution and undermine regional security."
That Marine officer should have been punished for undermining leadership. But he is absolutely right that our flag officers have a serious problem exposed by their complete failure to risk their own careers to prevent the totally unnecessary Afghanistan debacle. I admire his willingness to take the punishment. I'm disgusted that our senior officers still don't take responsibility. He got a slap on the wrist. So I'm relieved that the rot in the military isn't as deep as I feared. He could have been the scapegoat to hide the flag officer problem.
I wonder if her house insurance covers that? Tip to Instapundit.
Honestly, if you burn down a building for a leftist cause while chanting
"This is what democracy looks like!" the media will give you a pass.
These would be very useful to scatter in the path of Russian mechanized forces moving through eastern European territory: "Army combat engineers are looking for new ways to deploy 'terrain shaping obstacles' or landmines by artillery, drone or robot ground vehicles for the close, middle and long-range fight."
There is no mention of potential armament, but I wonder if Turkey would provide these to Ukraine? "Private Turkish shipyard Ares has begun mass production of a batch of 122 fast patrol boats for the country’s Coast Guard Command and the General Directorate of Security, the company announced." That might be a useful way to mend Turkish-American ties if America provides the weapons systems for the Turkish boats built for Ukraine.
Corruption in the Navy. Well, the Navy forgot its primary mission is to control the seas. Corruption is one more bad result that undermines the primary mission.
Ideally, I'm sure China would prefer to veto a UN force on Haiti keeping a lid on the mess: "The United Nations Security Council extended the UN mission in Haiti by nine months on Friday after an 11th-hour compromise was struck between western powers and China."
Will China surpass American air power? "Timothy Heath, a senior defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, said that while the PLAAF still lags the USAF in technological capabilities and warfighting prowess, its large numbers of land-based fighters pose a threat to any U.S. effort to intervene in a fight over Taiwan." Well, if this is the basis, sure. Land-based air power has always been a threat to warships. China has a lot of air bases capable of projecting power into the seas around it. We have few, although we are trying to get more. I want to know if the PLAAF is about to be superior to the USAF. And if the reason is geography, it is futile to try to make the USAF good enough to win despite the geographic disadvantage. Work on the geography. Quantity matters, too.
Is the British Challenger 3 the best European tank? Beats me. But does it matter if it is? Because I do know that the British will only have 148. By 2030.
Britain's Ranger regiment will train allies around the world: "With the UK’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy signalling an increased focus on building the capacity of foreign security forces, through the generation of a new Ranger Regiment, the UK has an opportunity to take stock of lessons from recent campaigns." Properly trained, those allied forces from British trade partners will be ready for British special forces to embed and call down the firepower from British planes and ships.
The Saudis could afford to go nuclear. Will they? "Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday that Iran's acceleration of its nuclear activities is putting the world in 'a very dangerous place' amid efforts to bring Tehran back into a 2015 nuclear deal." But I'm sure the foreign minister is well aware that the 2015 deal was a farce and in no way hindered Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Well there's your problem right there:
Oops, the Russians did it again: "A Russian spacecraft pushed the International Space Station out of position on Friday morning, prompting astronauts to go into emergency mode. It's the second time Russian hardware has caused such an incident since July."
I laughed so hard I nearly spewed my coffee (although the uniforms were actually blue):
The United States is helping private groups evacuate people from Afghanistan. Good. What will the price be? "With the Afghan government and economy starved of cash, the Taliban are pressing their claim to the roughly $8 billion in Afghan foreign reserves that have been frozen by the U.S."
There are a number of reasons for China's current coal shortage that actually should be transitory problems. It was a self-inflicted wound. And part of the problem is rearranging the supply lines after China disrupted the flow of high-quality coal from Australia.
Hezbollah seems like it wants to stoke sectarian violence in Lebanon without participating in it: "The [Christian] Lebanese Forces condemned the violence on Thursday which it blamed on Hezbollah 'incitement' against Judge Tarek Bitar, the investigator [in the deadly Beirut port blast last year]." Hezbollah is suffering in popularity and also probably doesn't want to fight after bleeding heavily in Syria under orders from Iran to save the Assad regime.
A NATO ally signs a defense deal with a NATO ally because of worries that a NATO ally will attack it: "Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias underscored the persistent “threat of war” with Turkey in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the signing of a deal to upgrade defense cooperation between Athens and Washington." Greece is NATO's Plan B in the eastern Mediterranean Sea if Turkey goes full moron. But Turkey gets a nod with potential F-16 sales to soothe the Turks and keep them from exiting NATO for a futile and ultimately damaging affair with Putin.
That's a lot of money to be told you suck (via Instapundit).
Perhaps Republicans should be grateful that Democrats are creating a culture of noncompliance with their petty and pointless federal Covid rules: "When I was in New York City recently, restaurants and bars were 'checking' people’s vaccination status by taking a cursory glance at a largely illegible photo on an app. Going through the motions is a form of passive resistance, and lots of people seemed to be doing that." As the author reminds, marijuana is illegal under federal law. Yet a lot of people live in states that defy that federal crime. I draw hope that a combination of noncompliance and federal debt will finally shrink the federal government when decades of reasoned appeals for a return to proper roles for states in a federal system failed. I don't wear a mask despite all those around me wearing masks in stores. I avoid stores that require masks when I can. And when I can't I require the operator to tell me to put my mask on. I'm polite. But make them work for it. And mind you, I'm generally pro-mask. I had N95s before the Xi Jinping Flu hit. I disregarded the early government statements that we only needed masks made from old t-shirts. I listened carefully and knew they were misleading to save masks for health professionals. But masks have limitations based on the local viral threat, time, mask quality, and user skill. And it is clear that masks are now the Blue version of the MAGA hat. An attitude that denies that there are any variables in mask effectiveness or need.
Gosh, what will happen when a lying anti-Trumper is interviewed by an anti-Trumper liar apologist?
Like I've said, if people who vote Democratic don't care what Democrats do to their cities, why should I? Cause and effect: "Just this week, the pharmacy chain Walgreens announced that it will close five of its stores in San Francisco, citing theft and retail crime as the main motivator behind its decision." Tip to Instapundit.
Definitely separate. Not a chance in Hell of being equal: "The Taliban will announce a framework that allows girls to attend school
in Afghanistan 'soon,' a senior United Nations official said, after
four weeks in which Afghan boys have been allowed a secondary education
but girls have not."
The China threat unifies uneasy allies: "The leaders of Japan and South Korea spoke by phone on Friday, saying they would look to deepen ties in the face of regional security threats despite strained bilateral relations." The threat includes North Korea, China's little pet nuclear psycho regime.
Strategypage looks at the Australian submarine saga. Crewing problems may yet reduce the number of SSNs that Australia builds.
George Friedman notes that Australia's sub deal is a geopolitical and not a commercial deal: "The most important point is that a very real international alliance system centered on the ocean is emerging. NATO is still there, but its mission and capabilities in the event of war are unclear. This English-speaking alliance moves forward in steps. We need to read the repudiation of the French contract in this light. And perhaps France’s rage, which goes beyond an undeniably lucrative contract, has something to do with this." I may have linked to this before.
Is this a useful weapon for the cost? "China demonstrated advanced space capability by testing a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, the Financial Times reported, citing five sources familiar with the test." Apparently this capability is a surprise to us.
Reminding the Chinese that the region is not Chinese territorial water: "The Chinese military on Sunday condemned the United States and Canada for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait last week, saying they were threatening peace and stability in the region."
Never say divided Lebanon, with a major Iranian proxy calling the shots as the most effective military power, can't get worse: "Now, [Lebanese faction leaders are] in a desperate fight to cling to positions and wealth as Lebanon takes hit after hit, grappling with one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns in decades and the aftermath of an explosion that ripped through the capital a year ago, killing more than 215 people."
How are these people any different from religious fanatics who claim the end is nigh unless we stop sinning? To add to the ample evidence, they don't think anything is funny. They can just ef off.
