We observed another Veterans Day. Thank you to those who have served and sacrificed throughout our history. I served in the military--Army Signal Corps. But it was minor service. Basic training was the toughest time I had. As I've noted, the closest I got to going to war was very nearly getting sent to the Persian Gulf in 1991. And even if sent, I would have been very safe. I was too young to be sent to Vietnam. And too old to be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. I'll always feel a bit guilty about that. And I'll always feel more guilt about the first guilt as a cheap and easy emotion to feel.
I was listening to a George Friedman speech. I respect and like him. But he again said Ukraine's army had no center of gravity, allowing Ukraine to effectively wage irregular warfare with anti-tank weapons on the Russian invaders. But that was only true in the northeast. Ukraine had ten very good brigades in the Donbas. That was a center of gravity. Ukraine strongly held the capital, Kiev. That was a center of gravity.
The Middle East is no longer the site for routine aircraft carrier deployments. We don't need the extra firepower for the threats we face. And other regions have higher priority. If the Air Force can't handle air power needs I don't know why the Navy couldn't do the job without carriers.
More good jihadis in Somalia courtesy of the United States African Command.
The U.S. is committed to increasing the missile defense of Guam.
Don't be suckers, infantry. A robotic mule to carry your stuff just means senior officers will add more stuff your units has to move around. And when the mule breaks down, gets stuck in the mud, or takes a crippling hit, all the stuff on the mule will be redistributed to your non-robotic backs. But I'm cynical that way. Does the Army like having leg infantry, or not?
The Victims of Communism Day is something we should all remember, as our young people just think Karl Marx is a black and white version of Santa Claus.
Ah, the joys of insufficient police power: "A powerful gang leader announced Sunday that he was lifting a blockade at a key fuel terminal that has strangled Haiti's capital for nearly two months."
Is it just me or am I hearing and reading the hitherto unused expression "top of mind" a lot since Karine Jean-Pierre used the term to excuse Biden's failure to remember a Congressional ally had recently passed away?
Turkey and Ukraine called Russia's bluff to keep the food exports out of the Black Sea going. I did wonder last week if the Russians would dare attack the food ships.
The XQ-58A Valkyrie stealthy drone.
How powerful is Xi Jinping? "A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude," calls into question his power. What applies to military power perhaps applies to Xi. I have wondered how the rest of the CCP will react to Xi's gathering of power. And if Xi can hold power, this: "It is really hard to figure out what he’s after. It’s possible that we haven’t even begun to see what his real agenda is."
Don't let Leftists undermine the fact that 2016 Russia-Trump election collusion was a hoax by pointing out Russian 2016 election interference. Nobody doubts Russia interfered--we don't need a Russian to admit that to know that. But yes, Russia interfered. Ineffectively and on a small scale. As Russia and the Soviet Union before it have a long history of doing. Most people don't know that last part.
How Turkey overruled Russia's objection to Ukrainian food exports. Tip to Instapundit.
Trump should not have taken a jab at DeSantis when the mid-term elections are coming up. So much for Reagan's 11th Commandment. I'm also looking at you, Never Trumper "Republicans."
Inside Amy Schumer? I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth. Hard pass. Not even with somebody else's ... Paramount+.
Is America unready for the inevitable "big one"? I don't assume America will go to war with China. And while I think America could be much better prepared, I don't know if China is prepared. The outcome rests on the interplay between both sides. Although, yes, we need much better and faster weapons development processes.
The 2020 election was perfect. But the 2022 election is vulnerable to hacking. We have always been at war with Eastasia, amirite?
If Iran supplies Russia with ballistic missiles, I assume ATACMS arrive in Ukraine the next day for use against Russian infrastructure from Belgorod through Russian-occupied Donbas, and over to Russian-occupied Crimea.
North Korea's air force is its weakest conventional service. While the air force is the most vulnerable to lack of money (for maintenance and fuel for training), all of North Korea's conventional services are rotting away by policy, as the article notes.
The 1980s called, unfortunately, and Nicaragua picked up the phone. Banning the opposition party and jailing its leaders does wonders for electoral prospects. Democrats were right! The 2022 elections did result in the end of democracy!
21st century: "The US Navy for the first time has permanently installed a 3D printer capable of producing metal components onboard the amphibious ship Bataan (LHD-5), paving the way for the fleet to much more rapidly and effectively maintain vessels at sea."
I have no doubt that there was vote tampering in 2020. It has a long history. And the pandemic-era systems in some states were designed to be impossible to audit. Was it decisive? I doubt it. Four years of media propaganda was the decisive part. And while some things looked odd at the time, no fraud has been proven. The election wasn't proven to be honest, to be sure. But some of the odd things might have been what a normal election looks like--but we rarely looked closely. So Republicans need to move on. Strengthen election transparency and voter verification. But let the outcome of 2020 go. It's counter-productive to bring this up now.
The Russian navy in the Black Sea has backed away into force protection mode.
We had a Blood Moon early Tuesday morning. I forgot to wake up to see it. And Biden didn't use the backdrop for an election-day speech warning about the end of democracy.
The Army is upgrading its fleet. As in water.
The Biden administration has abandoned and demonized a lot of Americans. These Americans noticed and reacted. But it wasn't enough.
Oh? "The Pentagon says Russia and China appear to be “edging toward an
alliance” at a time when Western nations are seeking to isolate Moscow
over its war on Ukraine." I think the Pentagon should be using the word "vassal" to describe Russia more closely aligned with China.
Why did Republicans fail to match poll expectations? Maybe post-2020 census redistricting put a low limit on a wave gain now. Maybe gains in minority voters took place in cities that merely lowered Democrat margins of victory in House races. Maybe Trump (intensified by media depiction of him as Orange Hitler) motivates and scares Democrats too much for Trump to be useful. He was needed in 2016. He pushed the Republicans to make needed changes and he exposed the deep bias of the pro-Democrat media that had pretended to be objective. Yes, he was unjustly screwed over from 2017-2020 by the media and federal bureaucracy. But he may need to retire and let the Republicans move on. Even before this year I was worried about his age in a second term. Was abortion decisive despite pre-election polls that seemed to indicate it wasn't a major motivating factor? If so, time will dilute that as states define the parameters according to local values. And maybe polling is so bad that we have to go back to the days when candidates campaign in the dark with voting day providing the only poll that counts. Which means elections have to be beyond question valid so both sides accept the results. Both sides have been enthusiastic election deniers over the last quarter century.
Iraqi corruption continues to thrive. Even before the Surge and Awakening, I warned that rule of law had to be achieved after battlefield enemies were defeated. Corruption has proven to be a more potent enemy than shooting jihadi enemies, who continue to decline in power. And Saudi Arabia is finally reaching out to invest in Iraq and cooperate militarily to keep the Iranians at bay.
Keeping Biden in office through the mid-term elections allowed Democrats
to beat expectations. Biden seems as if he is taking the result as reason to run in 2024 (assuming the actuarial table cooperates with him). With the potential Congressional disaster averted, will
Democrats 25th Amendment Biden in February to put someone in the White
House who can beat a Republican not named Trump? Of course, Kamala
Harris couldn't be allowed to move up. Democrats have seen her in action
now. But if Democrats can't first get Harris to step down or accept an
appointment to be Ambassador to the United Nations, the 25A route is
dead.
Ukraine's partisans at war against the occupiers. Russia has fewer than 200,000 troops in Ukraine. With an active conventional war going on, not many can be spared for rear areas security. Partisan morale is bolstered by the belief that the Ukrainian army is coming.
And conveniently across the border for maintenance: "Poland has donated 54 of its now locally produced KRAB self-propelled 155mm howitzers to Ukraine. Poland is manufacturing more and will soon deliver another 54 KRAB systems to Ukraine."
Distributed civilian air defense detection network.
Fortifying Guam. I still want more baskets.
American forces in Syria are focused on building secure facilities to hold ISIL prisoners in Syria until they can be repatriated to their countries of origin over the next decade. Hopefully we are creating the ability to ambush ISIL rescue forces trying to recruit and replenish ranks from the prison.
This is nice. I suppose. But it's for small-scale missions: "U.S. special operations forces flying over the Arctic on Wednesday rolled a long-range missile out the back of a C-130 aircraft, dropping it by parachute before it blasted toward its target in the distance." And why can't a B-52 do this without diverting SOC from duties B-52s can't do?
Action: Xi Jinping is preparing China for war. Reaction: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida repeats his commitment to expanding Japan's military capabilities.
Oh FFS: "The Navy’s next-generation guided-missile destroyer could cost up to $3.4 billion a ship, while its next-generation SSN(X) attack boat could cost up to $7.2 billion – figures that are billions over the service’s own estimates, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s annual analysis of the Navy’s long-range shipbuilding plan."
France is in NATO but really isn't: "President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France’s military strategy must strengthen the country as an independent, respected nuclear-armed power through the end of the decade[.]" Macron really wants to conquer Europe more than he wants to defend it from the Russians.
Saudi Arabia seems to be trying to help out America after our tiff.
Is the mullah regime about to attack and kill Iranian protesters on a large scale?
Cracks appear in the Russian ground forces.
Huh: "'Overall, 73% of [student loan 'forgiveness"] applicants say they are likely to spend their extra money on non-essential items,' the poll reports." Meanwhile, the blue collar people who have to pay off those loans will have to spend less on baby formula and gasoline. Tip to Instapundit.
Despite Democratic claims about the Republican threat to democracy, the Republicans either aren't very good at rigging elections, or--and I'm just spitballing here--not actually a threat to democracy.
Great timing: "In the south (the Niger River Delta) oil thieves and corruption among local politicians and security forces commanders are responsible for a dramatic and disastrous decline in oil production." Corruption kills.
Inspired by Belarusians, Ukrainian civilians behind enemy lines have been effective: "In Russian occupied Ukraine, there have been a growing number of
disruptions in the railroads that carry most of the supplies from Russia
to Russian forces inside Ukraine." And Ukrainian special forces joined the civilians.
Biden openly threatens African immigrant.
The Marine Corps doesn't want to be a "second Army" and is changing. But what the Army does--large-scale combat operations--is useful. Whatever the Marines uniquely become has to be useful.
I will say that Putin isn't making a Hitler-level mistake of ordering his units to fight to the death to hold their conquests on the Eastern Front. The result was that Hitlers's troops died and lost the territory. Putin has ordered withdrawals from the Kiev region and now Kherson. So he's not oblivious to his problems.
If Russians are excusing their defeats in Ukraine by saying in reality Russia is fighting NATO, will anybody raise the issue that--while false, but this is what Russia is claiming--Putin decided to take on all of NATO in Ukraine? Isn't that damning of Putin's judgment? Will Russia's military accept being thrown under the bus for the Kherson retreat?
She's right. Trump was the means and not the end itself. I still want the end itself. Which means I'm done with Trump. Pity. I often disagreed with him. But he did some good at home and abroad. And he was unfairly undermined by the media/Dems/bureaucracy for 5 years. I defended him against the unfair attacks, despite getting exhausted by the amount of crap thrown at him. But I'm done with him.
China's subliminal offensive into India's territory. But you don't need a study to know this. India needs to admit it and fight it. Tip to Instapundit.
The worse they say climate change is, the more private jets they have to fly into conferences to fight it. Because Science!, denier,Via Instapundit.
It will be interesting to see what motivated Democratic voters. The instant consensus is that it was young single woman worried about abortion. But they trend heavily to Democrats anyway. Further, that is a tiny fraction of the voters. Can't you say any similarly sized bloc of voters with different motivation put Democrats over the top?
LOL:
Russia's military helicopter marketing department weeps.
China denies Japanese territorial sovereignty at a record pace.
His "first gaffe" and not "a gaffe": "President Joe Biden committed the first gaffe of his trip to Asia Saturday within the first seconds of his opening remarks, when he mistakenly referred to his Cambodian host as the head of Colombia." Strap in.
Republicans need to exploit mail-in votes as much as Democrats have. Only then will we restore election day to a single day. Otherwise, Democrats lock in their votes early, making them immune to late-breaking news. And make Republican votes vulnerable to late-breaking news or misinformation. That imbalance must not stand.
So government powers to "battle Covid" will last long after the virus is the common cold, eh? Tip to PJ Media.
The Turks develop a loitering munition.
The imaginary Democrat-claimed Red wave of election denier terror during the elections didn't happen. Well, it was insurrection porn, after all. Shame on Democrats for their divisive hate and fear-mongering.
