Merry Christmas! And my annual PSA if you have problems with using the word "Christmas" for your work parties this season.
Russia's artillery ammunition woes.
China's global poaching in search. China angers a number of countries with valuable fishing grounds.
The B-21 is more than a stealth bomber: "Allvin credited Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall for challenging the
Air Force to see the B-21 'a little bit differently, not as just the
next B-2, but as a part of a family of systems' that can generate a range of different effects and challenges to an adversary." So, is this a stealth "truck" that could carry even long-range air-to-air weapons that other assets fire with their own targeting?
As I've gotten older and watched two parents decline and die, I've concluded that the best thing I can do for my children is to hang on to life hard. While it was difficult to watch my parents decline knowing the end was inexorably advancing, in the end that helped. I knew I had done what was within my power to help. And I knew that death had become a release from misery rather than a loss of future life and happiness. I know they rest in peace. So that will have to be my final gift to my children. God willing.
India's demographic window of opportunity to expand its economy. It's a race to get rich before getting old.
Well that's what I'd try to do: "'Russia is trying to build up a better striking force rather than just throwing people into the front line,' Crump said. 'They think they can last the course and come back in greater numbers next year and do something much more impressive then.'" Better to build a reserve to try to do something decisive than to simply feed all your new men into a meat grinder on the front. Assuming you can hold the front and assuming the reserve you build is adequately trained, equipped, led, and supplied. We'll see.
The Islam will continue until Iranian morale improves.
Living in his own private Idaho. The media "fact checkers" will be brutal on this. LOL. I crack myself up. Tip to Instapundit.
It's nice when someone does something that decent and it pays off for him.
House Republicans will release its view on the January 6th riot as the Democrats' committee releases its insurrection porn report. Despite four years of claiming Trump would establish a dictatorship, Congressional Democrats were oddly lax about Capitol Building security that day. Why? Tip to Instapundit.
A HMMWV-mounted 120mm mortar for American special forces. The article is silent on this, but I assume it includes precision ammunition.
Britain will send more military aid to Ukraine, with artillery rounds highlighted.
The EU is tightening sanctions that will hinder Russian military production.
Shit rolls downhill and doesn't stop flowing down until it passes the rank of colonel, apparently. Via PJ Media.
Germany's new Puma infantry fighting vehicles are too unreliable. So Germany is pulling old Marder IFVs out of storage to equip their unit assigned to the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force. Meh. Just add more adjectives to the task force, I say.
Pakistani support for the Afghanistan Taliban is just riding a rabid tiger: "Several Pakistani Taliban detainees overpowered their guards at a counter-terrorism center in northwestern Pakistan overnight, snatching police weapons, taking hostages and seizing control of the facility, officials said Monday."
You just know the Taliban are telling everyone the stacks of cash being flown into Afghanistan is tribute from the defeated American infidels, right? Hard to argue we aren't the weak horse. Tip to PJ Media.
Verdun in the Donbas?
I take Kissinger's diplomatic advice on Ukraine with reservations. One, contra his statement, the winter is likely to see military action increase rather than pause. And two, Kissinger was at his height of power when the foreign policy establishment assumed the USSR was ascendant and that good diplomacy would manage America's decline with the fewest concessions. Still, I have no basic objection to his proposed objective of restoring Ukrainian borders to the pre-February 2022 invasion lines. Although I'd really like the option of Ukraine getting Crimea back with a Russian Sevastopol Base Area lease. The cost of liberating everything may push Ukraine to retreat from its expansive objectives now, without Western pressure.
Japan's dramatic rearmament is getting a lot of attention. I imagine it is designed to project power to protect Taiwan at America's side.
Can you even imagine any of our foes or enemies worrying about saving America from a "dangerous decline" in its power? I'm not convinced that China will think it must attack America if China's rise falters. Fuck nuance. Let China decline. Besides, how much does the CCP worry about China?
As the expression goes, big if true: "Entire divisions of Russian army are surrendering[.]" But it is not true. A division is 10,000-20,000 troops, with Russian divisions at the small end of the range. I don't think Ukraine has taken more than a thousand prisoners. I almost never read Ukrainskaya Pravda despite its constant presence on my YouTube news feed. It is just propaganda for the good guys.
Huh. Maybe offering Denmark a hefty payment for Greenland would be a good idea, after all.
The term "brown bag lunch" is racist. Seriously, if you hear the dog whistle, you're the dog. Tip to Instapundit.
Surveillance: "Several U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones have found a new base in the newly upgraded Larissa air base in Greece, as American military officials keep an eye on NATO’s southern and eastern borders." It's Plan B.
At some point Pakistanis have to question if Allah is on their side. Maybe try to disband the circular firing squad that defines Pakistani governance.
A Russian failure to communicate.
A Chinese carrier task for operated in the Philippine Sea.
India is reacting to China's subliminal border conquest campaign: "India's foreign minister has said that the country has scaled up troop deployment along a disputed border with China to an unprecedented level."
Sweden's defense priorities are joining NATO, arming Ukraine, and increasing its defense budget informed by Ukraine's experience.
Somalia's government requested the two American air strikes that killed 15 jihadis.
Meanwhile with American forces in the war on terror in Syria.
Good: " Leaders from the Middle East and Europe gathered in Jordan Tuesday in a conference focused on bolstering security and stability in Iraq." But Iran is there not for solutions but to keep an eye on a major source of insecurity. And point of order: Overthrowing Saddam did not cause "years of intense violence and sectarian strife[.]" The strife was already there. But the intense violence was almost exclusively Saddam's directed at Shia Arabs and Kurds. And Iran already had much influence posing as the Shia defender.
The first Flight III Burke class destroyer is underway.
Is Ukraine Putin's last stand? We'll see if he takes Russia down with him. So far Russians are unwilling to escape Putin's Viking funeral ride.
The partisan House J6 committee insists that Trump was planning to overthrow our government with an unarmed mob mostly taking selfies in the Capitol Building. A mob whose members are the most heavily armed part of the population left their guns at home for the "insurrection". Got it. I say Biden should be the defense's first witness: "Biden said, 'If you wanted or if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons.'" The riot was awful. It was not an insurrection. Democrats could have united a lot of people to punish rioters. Instead they over-reached.
The Biden administration says it wants $3.4 billion from Congress for "border security." In fact, Biden wants the money to facilitate the processing of illegal immigrants into the interior of America.
Shrinkage in China. I've been all over that.
This is clever propaganda. Until I see reports of bulging POW camps I won't move beyond that.
Japan's rearmament is a big deal. China effed up.
Republicans talking about an open southern border is the cause of the open border? And now for something completely different:
I find it amusing that the argument is that fighting in World War I and II respectively started and then hid America's decline as a power--as if everything that happened then and since would have happened without our efforts. Fascinating. And about that article's military-industrial complex warning. But sure, there is no "end of history."
China has a point. Without American interference the Philippines would quietly accept being bullied: "China's embassy in Manila accused the United States on Tuesday of driving a wedge between the Philippines and Beijing, deploring Washington's 'unfounded accusations' that it said sought to stir up trouble in the South China Sea."
The U.S. thinks there are Russians who aren't trying to decide where to resume an offensive--they doubt whether Russia should use its mobilized new forces for another offensive. I doubt their voices will counter Putin's need to seem like he is on the offensive and winning the struggle against Satan himself.
Is it just me or does the real insurrection seem like it was the federal bureaucracy in league with the media and social media undermining a lawfully elected president? You don't have to like Trump to think that was an actual threat to our democracy. Heads. Spikes. On walls. Figuratively, of course. But I don't know if even I am optimistic enough to think we'll get justice.
Um: "In interviews, Putin associates said he spiraled into self-aggrandizement and anti-Western zeal, leading him to make the fateful decision to invade Ukraine in near total isolation, without consulting experts who saw the war as pure folly. Aides and hangers-on fueled his many grudges and suspicions[.]" How do you deter someone like that? Do read all of that NYT article. It's like a Fuck-Up Fairy How-To Manual.
More: "'Russia drew a lot of lessons from the Georgia war and started to rebuild their armed forces, but they built a new Potemkin village,' said Gintaras Bagdonas, the former head of Lithuania’s military intelligence. Much of the modernization drive was 'just pokazukha,' he said, using a Russian term for window-dressing." I was not confused.
Wait, when America abandoned our allies and fled Afghanistan, my moral and intellectual superiors in the Biden administration assured me Taliban 2.0 were kinder and gentler: "The new Afghan government has returned to its hard-line stances from the
1990s, instituting public beatings and executions as well further
restricting women’s rights." Surely you remember that bold lie. This never gets old:
Ah, North Korea is shipping newly produced ammunition to Russia. I wrongly assumed the oldest stuff was being shipped. North Korean workers are also being shipped into Russia, including occupied Ukrainian territory.
Trying to make blimps a thing again.
In search of stiff upper lips in Britain: "Anybody arguing that things are looking
good would seem laughably out of touch, so it is important to emphasise
that this is not my argument at all. I am simply suggesting that we are
far more likely to overcome our challenges if we remain optimistic than
if we succumb to pessimism." Keep calm and carry on.
Hmmm: "Anti-Ukraine and anti-West sentiment within the Russian population—already significant as demonstrated by the population's explicit or tacit support of the war—will likely only grow as Kremlin propaganda intensifies, Russian battlefield losses accrue, and Russians who oppose the war attrit under growing repression." So casualties will have no effect on Russian support for continuing the invasion? Or at least be swamped by Russian propaganda and repression? That doesn't seem right to me.
Russia says it will expand its military to 1.5 million from its pre-war paper strength of nearly a million. Will they be equipped with spears and shields?
Putin's Mini-Mean was dispatched to China in a surprise visit to discuss the relationship with Xi. Was this an effort to get assistance in the war or an effort to keep China from exploiting Putin's extended face plant in Europe?
Hey, I'm not gonna lie. I won't mock Biden. Biden's decision to stop Russia in Ukraine is one of the few things I agree with him on. One can quibble on details but the big picture is solid. Why some conservatives are against that baffles me. I'm not going to base my position on being the anti-Biden position. I've also said that I think Biden was trapped into supporting Ukraine after shipping weapons to Ukraine early in the crisis in the mistaken belief Russia would quickly win and end the need for a show of resolve. Oopsy.
America announces a large military support package including a Patriot battery, precision weapons for aircraft, ammunition (including Russian artillery and tank ammunition), vehicles, and infantry kit. This is the total of all aid supplied.
Despite under-performing during the war, Russian fighter aircraft have the technology to destroy Ukraine's limited air power. Flying Tigers 2.0, anyone?
Good: "Ukraine will get more than 10,000 more Starlink terminals in the coming months thanks to a new deal with SpaceX and funding from several European countries[.]" Tip to Instapundit.
Russia needs Belarus for its territory to stretch Ukraine's ground and air defenses across the north. Putin's ground forces are so ravaged that Putin may think even the weak Belarusian army would be useful. But Lukashenko has leverage now to rebuff pressure to enter the war.
The Russians reported that a fire broke out on the carrier Kuznetsov in a Murmansk dry dock. God keeps trying to help the Russians but the Russians ignore His help.
The Army continues to try to get a design to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Europe can't produce enough ammo for Ukraine and itself. Consider this a flashing logistics warning alarm.
Sailor shortages. The Navy is pausing "up or out" rules to retain sailors.
China's "swarm and smother" bullying to take islands from the Philippines. America should bypass those hired Chinese "fishing" boats conducting blockades. But ultimately the Philippines needs to be able to win a brief small war and dare China to escalate beyond that and risk American intervention. And I see the Philippines will increase their military presence in the South China Sea in response to the Chinese aggression.
Butter and guns in Japan, pushing up their national debt. Who do they think they are? America?
JPADS aerial resupply improvements.
Putin claims Ukraine isn't a real country and is trying to conquer it. And Putin has been reeling in weak Belarus into Russia's embrace. Which makes it kind of funny that both were founding members of the United Nations with their own seats as recognized sovereign states at the insistence of Stalin. If Stalin hadn't done that and just made them part of the Russia "republic", would the dissolution of the USSR have resulted in Russia retaining Ukraine and/or Belarus? Oopsy.
I think the FBI should have the top three management layers fired as a warning to those who've politicized the bureau and to those who sat quietly and let it happen. Repeat until it focuses on its actual responsibilities. Tip to Instapundit.
LOL. Give that man a raise. Tip to The Morning Briefing.
Demoting anti-tank missiles. Ukraine's artillery played the biggest role in holding off the Russian onslaught on Kiev. Well, okay. I just assumed the missiles were key to blocking road-bound columns, making it easier for other assets to kill them, too. So it was combined arms that stopped the Russians. Stop looking for silver bullet single-weapon paths to victory. Note too the missile-armed Ukrainian tanks, undermining the notion that the war "proves" tanks are obsolete.
While the human losses seem more in balance, Russia's equipment losses are much higher: "The latest analysis shows that in the ongoing war in Ukraine, total Russian equipment losses reach 8,515 as of 21 December. In contrast, Ukraine’s military has lost 2,613 pieces of equipment in combat." And some of Russia's losses were captured, which added to Ukraine's equipment.
That's where most of Iran's ethnic Arabs live: "Social media accounts reported that Iranian security forces have begun violently killing and mass arresting citizens in Izeh, Khuzestan Province since December 21."
Russians claiming America is making the war worse by arming Ukraine is aggravating. Russia invaded Ukraine, bombards civilians, and wants to erase Ukraine as a country and an identity. So fuck the Russians. Russia does not want "peace." It wants conquest. I want the SOBs as far east as possible--until the clue bat has an effect on Russia.
Will Putin nationalize the assets of oligarchs to support the invasion of Ukraine? Some time ago I read that Russia financed operations by trading financial opportunities for money to fight. With the oligarchs getting the payoff after the win. That apparently feudal system can't really work in a war this expensive to wage, can it?
And now for something completely different:
Does Russia want to capture Bakhmut at any cost? Or is Russia content to lose undesirable released prisoners to kill Ukrainian troops and at least keep the Ukrainians pinned in place defending? I just have trouble assuming this is stupid. What's the Russian angle?
Oh? "President Vladimir Putin blasted the West for trying to 'tear apart' Russia and said his offensive in Ukraine aimed to 'unite the Russian people'." Seems like Putin is doing a fine enough job on his own.
Putin keeps saying he is ready to negotiate an end to his war. Don't believe him. Lying is damn near genetic. Putin is willing to negotiate the terms of surrender of Ukraine. And speaks of diplomacy only to divide the West on supporting Ukraine. Really, how accurate was I in that post when I observed of Russian lies: "This goes beyond my utter frustration with the Russians for invading Ukraine and then standing there saying, 'What? No, no. You are mistaken. We are not invading anyone. Why would you say that? Don't you like us? Are you plotting against us? In fact, you are invading. Why are you invading!?'"
It isn't just the FBI that needs a top-level purge for becoming Democratic Party secret police: "The bottom line? Federal law enforcement asserted primacy over all
media distribution, a situation normally only found in tinpot regimes." I don't think I'm exaggerating much. This is not conspiracy theory fantasy. The FBI is trying to say this is all normal routine behavior. Yeah, that's the problem. And you know that prior to 2016 Democrats would be screaming bloody murder over much less government over-reach. And good Lord, people, the government paid Twitter to censor and report on conservatives! How is that not government censorship? How is this not frightening?
I ran into an odd problem on Blogger. My interest in mass-meming ran out barely before the system ran out of capacity. Now when I try to pull up an old meme from Blogger to re-post, the system no longer shows me thumbnails to identify them. So it is virtually impossible to find them. Do I just upload repeats from my computer? Or make new ones again from memory of the original? Do I search my blog to see if I can find them that way to copy the image? That's a lot of searching. With virtually no ability to use key words. Oddly, the system wouldn't let me ask a question of the Blogger team. Does this mean I should start a new TDR 2.0 blog--with a new look--to start over with a new archive that I can start to fill up again?
