Let's hope this sweep is solid counter-intelligence rather than paranoia. Because such Russian assets no doubt exist. Tip to Instapundit.
The Air Force figured losing SAR for downed pilots was acceptable collateral damage to get rid of the A-10.
Democratic operatives with bylines. May they find lucrative work in Starbucks. Via Instapundit.
Democrats are changing the longstanding definition of "recession" to protect Democrats in the November elections: "Who decides if the US is in a recession? Eight White economists you've never heard of[.]" So don't believe your lying eyes, ignorant peasants.
Good, if meaningful: "President Biden vowed to expand cyber cooperation with Israel and Saudi Arabia[.]"
China's new J-35 might be an actual stealth fighter. The last one, the J-20, was a frontal only stealth plane.
Every piece of Chinese electronics should be ripped out of our infrastructure. So unstall that "stalled 'rip and replace' program[.]" Congress should make it illegal to use anything remotely related to China in that matter.
Myanmar (Burma) executed two pro-democracy dissidents.
The only reason we don't know is because the SCOTUS leaker must be from the left. Otherwise we'd know. I'm so old I remember when the cover up and not the crime was the big deal. Via Instapundit.
I'm open to getting a third Covid-19 shot (and after getting the Xi Jinping Flu, too) if it actually focused on the virus we have now rather than the original made-in-Wuhan virus. Via Instapundit.
NATO is a luxury America doesn't need? FFS, people, defending Europe isn't a Goddamn gift to the Europeans!
To win a war you need enough you can afford to lose.
So far Putin is successfully herding his political, economic, and military ruling class cats.
Many substitutes for victory and the white rage unicorn. Gosh, I wonder why military recruiting has a problem now. Our woke--or woke adjacent if you want to be generous--flag officers need a solid purge.
Climate emergency? LOL. More like a reelection emergency. Via Instapundit.
One of these days the Russians are going to take an area in the Donbas after extensive combat only to find that the Ukrainians have packed the now-evacuated objective with explosives that they detonate under the advancing Russians. Think of it as reverse mining. That's what I'd try, anyway. Might discourage the Russian cannon fodder from advancing after the artillery barrages.
Trying to fight climate change destroyed a country well before climate change could. Although to be fair, China started the ball rolling with willing local idiot leaders. Bravo.
Good: "The Czech Republic and other East European NATO members are quietly
donating hundreds of Russian helicopters, tanks, rocket launchers,
rockets, artillery shells and other items of military equipment to
Ukraine without providing many details." Are these part of the counter-attacks on the Kherson front?
Every little bit helps: "Slovakia may consider donating its fleet of [11] Soviet-era [MiG-29 fighters] to Ukraine[.]"
Whenever I hear "littoral warfare" advocated, I think of operating expensive warships (and yes, even the LCS is expensive) within range of even the simplest land-based anti-ship weapons. Thinking this would work against China is a fantasy.
The National Guard to expand state partnerships with friendly Asian countries.
Germany is preparing for a Russian natural gas cutoff by reducing gas demand, seeking other supplies, adding coal power, and retaining nuclear power. Winter is coming. Russian gas isn't. Why aren't Europeans asking America to frack for natural gas like lives depend on it?
Huh: Russia's Lavrov said they"will certainly help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical." One day the Russian people will wonder why Ukrainians are fighting so hard to resist being rescued, won't they? Russia is in trouble if its expanding casualties are pushing it to expand its war aims to match its sacrifice. How does that race end?
The State Department has approved the sale of AMRAAMs to Japan.
No canceling the Taliban on social media. Whatever: "Afghan women live in terror after US withdrawal[.]" There is at least resistance to the Taliban. This never gets obsolete:
This article says Ukraine launched an offensive on the Kherson front beginning in late May. No. There are broad local counter-attacks that have slowly liberated ground. Without massed artillery fire, I'll note. But there is no major offensive as yet. At least not according to press reports.
It would be nice if the Air Force could have working KC-46 tankers. At long last.
Leaning forward: "The increasingly frequent aggressive actions by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force like 'chaffing' an Australian patrol aircraft in international waters and causing a Canadian patrol aircraft to alter its course to avoid a collision off North Korea 'look like a pattern and policy' dictated by Beijing rather than random acts by pilots, the Pentagon’s senior official on Indo-Pacific security said Tuesday."
The Navy's "updated 'Navigation Plan' for 2022. In effect, the Navigation Plan represents Admiral Gilday’s instructions to the service on how to execute the Triservice Maritime Strategy (2020), along with higher-order directives such as the National Defense Strategy and the interim National Security Strategy." This is for my own future reference.
We aren't good at accounting for the will to fight. But we also need to understand the other intangibles such as leadership, training, and warfighting doctrine that are also intangible. That's why I completely ignore sites that simply measure firepower. And wanting senior officers loyal more than you want them competent isn't just a problem for dictatorships. I think our woke brass are a major danger to our country. We need a massive purge of the senior officer ranks.
Universities are filled with diversity administrators. Tons of them. Administering lots of programs. Using lots of money. So just how racist are these leftist-dominated institutions?
Iran is no friend of Iraq: "Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Iran slogans stormed the Iraqi capital’s government center and occupied the parliament building Wednesday, protesting corruption and denouncing the leading candidate to be the country’s next prime minister." And no friend of America.
The Army will have a 90-day fitness program just to prepare civilians to start basic training. I took a shot at addressing recruiting a while back in Army magazine. We'd do better by having 90-day programs for flag officers to de-woke them.
In recent weeks I've seen a lot more people wearing masks while they are out walking alone. I don't get it.
Wounded Ukrainian troops can now be treated at an American military hospital in Germany.
While it would be nice, I don't think America can make the Lebanese armed forces a counter-weight to Hezbollah. At best we can help the LAF so it can fill the vacuum if Israel destroys Hezbollah--or if Iran abandons it. At worst the LAF is just the temporary custodian of weapons until Hezbollah wants them.
Biden has no major policy plans for the hundreds of American troops inside Syria. It is useful to have a buffer zone to reduce jihadi infiltration of Iraq. But I'll ask again, what are we willing to die for in Syria? I'd like us to answer that before we have a Mogadishu or Beirut Barracks moment.
Russia's supply of artillery shells is finite because "post-Soviet Russia could not afford to maintain manufacturing facilities capable of producing large quantities of ordinary artillery shells and unguided rockets."
Are the Chinese not humiliated by thinking a Speaker Pelosi trip to Taiwan is a threat? Still, after she leaves China might have a response ready.
In space, no one can hear you screw the pooch.
Extend NATO to Asia? I'm skeptical that NATO states unconcerned about Russia would generate power to stop China. Besides, South Korea? Japan? Russia will think it is aimed at them.
I thought it was well known that hypersonic missiles aren't hard to stop because they are fast but because the don't follow a ballistic arc and can maneuver.
Artillery ammunition is effing heavy. It's a point of vulnerability to Russia's war plans.
Is this a big deal for Chinese stability or isn't it? Tip to Instapundit.
No! Way! Tip to Instapundit.
Leftism is easier (and more satisfying) when other people pay the price.
Ukraine scores a success in the shadow war.
What? You think memory holes create themselves? Tip to Instapundit.
Report to Congress on Navy force structure.
Germany authorized the production of 100 self-propelled artillery pieces for Ukraine. In some number of months the first ones will arrive.
Japan urged Russia not to hold military drills around disputed islands. Russia should think about how much Japan could help Russia against China.
Ukrainian resistance to Russian occupation.
AFRICOM sees rising threats without more resources to deal with them. AFRICOM has low priority but it still needs assets to carry out missions.
Thankfully Michigan switched to defined contribution retirement a quarter century ago, meaning the legacy system is less and less of a burden at the state level.
Enjoy: "Remember when the Democrats told us illegal immigration was good? 'This is a sanctuary city' and 'People aren’t illegal' and all that? Remember how they called you a racist for caring about what’s happening on our southern border? You’ll never guess what happened when they got a taste of their own medicine." Give them what they say they want and they get upset.
I Concede that Ukraine could be considered a loser in their war because of the economic damage Russia is inflicting, even if Ukraine wins the war on the battlefield. But I'm not overly worried about Ukraine after a generation or so. Unless corruption interrupts that.
The enemy within at the top of our military services: "Wokeness is a sickness. It's prevalent. It's the rule. And it's destroying our military."
While I've heard that the Russians are at a disadvantage defending in the Kherson region because the Dniepr River is behind them, that is only partially true. Defending forward of a river--if Russia can keep lines of communication open--will stall any Ukrainian breakthrough of Russian lines when the Ukrainians reach the river.
A year after the Biden administration said Taliban 2.0 would transform to get international approval ... not so much.
How long before Canada is Cuba with snow? Tip to Instapundit.
That was an own-goal by Zelensky. Luckily Ukraine's been invaded by a ruthless war criminal. So unless we're totally daft it is merely an embarrassment. Tip to Instapundit.
European fighter design and production capabilities.
India's navy took delivery of the first carrier it has built. It should be commissioned in a month.
The State Department approved the sale of 35 F-35s to Germany. This allows German planes to continue to have the capability of carrying American nuclear bombs.
The day the Speaker of the House of Representatives can have her travel plans vetoed by the Chinese Communist Party is a dangerous day for America, indeed. At this point Pelosi must go there. No military escort. Just go. With no notice. But plenty of cameras. If she was visiting the League of Democracies NGO that I want headquartered there, this would work much better.
