For those suffering under the pressure of walking the tightrope of planning a Just-don't-call-it-Christmas party this time of the year, I present to you the non-denominational C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. party. It's an acronym. You're welcome.
France enters Iran's Red Sea shooting gallery: "France said Sunday that one of its warships in the Red Sea was targeted by two drones coming from Yemen. Both were intercepted and shot down."
Interesting: "Israel is prepared to act against efforts by Houthi rebels in Yemen to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea if the international community fails to do so, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Saturday." Israeli air power can certainly fly down the Red Sea to launch air strikes. And the Houthi actions are likely ordered by Iran. The Houthi are more expendable than Iran's Hezbollah, which remains pretty quiet.
Despite all the news from China's subliminal offensive against the Philippines in the South China Sea (which could be the result of the Philippines publicizing events rather than more Chinese action), China isn't focused only on the Philippines: "China and Japan accused each other of maritime incursions after a confrontation between their coast guards in waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea." It would seem wiser to try to pick a weak one out of the herd. But China is reminding lots of neighbors that China is a threat.
China escalated its subliminal war against the Philippines: "Chinese maritime forces damaged three Philippine vessels in two consecutive incidents in the South China Sea since Friday." The Philippines may expel a Chinese diplomat over the attack.
This is not an abortion issue: "For months, Democrats hounded Sen. Tommy Tuberville to drop his blanket hold on hundreds of senior military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. In November, Tuberville’s fellow Republicans joined in." This is an issue of the Pentagon disobeying the civilian law in existence regarding abortion-related policy. How is this not apparent? How is this not a bipartisan concern? Are we fine with the military obeying illegal orders from the president as long as the president is from your party?
Welcoming friends: "Poland plans to spend nearly $300 million to upgrade several military sites used by U.S. forces in the country, a move expected to eventually improve the quality of life for soldiers deployed there." Poland is the new center of gravity for American military forces in NATO.
Allies: "The U.S., U.K., and Australia have agreed to place advanced space tracking radar sites in their countries in a major new initiative that will expand the AUKUS agreement."
OUT: Climate change will make snow but a distant memory. IN: Climate change will cause more snow. Climate change. Is there nothing it can't do? Tip to Instapundit.
Saving tanks to fight another day: "The United States has sent Ukraine eight M88A2 ARVs (Armored Recovery Vehicles). Two of the Ukrainian M88A2s were destroyed by the Russians while the other six continue to recover disabled armored vehicles from the battlefield."
The evolution of American KIA : WIA ratios. I'd have been interested in discussion of the Winter War of 2022. Estimates for casualties in the war in Ukraine show oddly low KIA : WIA ratios. My gut tells me this is wrong. But why? Are Western estimates grossly over-estimateing KIA? Is the WIA number too low because it only shows the most seriously wounded? Maybe the strangeness is a definitions issue. Or is a conventional war that different? Even more different than World War II and Korea?
This is long-term support unless the vessels will be hauled to the Danube River to enter the Black Sea: "The Royal Navy will transfer two of its minehunter ships to Ukraine in a bid to strengthen the country's sea abilities, the Ministry of Defence has said." Also, Russia has planes and missiles now.
Thrown under the bus? "Hamas reportedly provided Israel with intelligence about another major terror group in the Gaza Strip as part of its strategy to trick Israel into a false sense of security ahead of its devastating October 7 attack." Hamas knew what Israel wanted to see. Tip to Instapundit.
Damn: "An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed Monday morning off South Korea’s western coast, according to the 8th Fighter Wing." The pilot ejected and was rescued.
Rejecting scholars who essentially support Hamas using human shields to deny Israel the ability to destroy Hamas. I've expressed my own view on that kind of backassward morality.
Good Lord, we haven't adapted to the new reality the Chinese Communist Party imposed in Hong Kong by crushing the last wisps of democracy there before and during the Covid pandemic? "The United States is home to three HKETOs, all of which enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. These were granted under the assumption that Hong Kong would remain free from communist rule. But three years after China imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong, we must deal with a new reality." FFS.
Well sure, I concede it's probably a safe bet that pessimism about China's economic problems is probably as overblown as optimism about it was until recently. But the CCP has banked on high growth to sustain its legitimacy as the sole owner of political power. That makes economic problems a different kind of animal, no?
Does looking at Putin tell us that Russia is losing the Winter War of 2022? Hmmm. Maybe? And even if true it matters only if a Putin replacement wants to repudiate the war and exit it regardless of what price Russia has to pay. But I worry that this is akin to praying for a miracle. I'd rather try to help Ukraine win on the battlefield. Heck, if Putin's rule is shaky, that would be the best way to cause Putin to fall rather than merely hope for that outcome.
We need to help Iraq tilt decisively to our side against Iranian influence: "Dozens of attacks on U.S. military facilities by Iran-backed factions in Iraq over the past two months as the Israel-Hamas war has raged have forced Baghdad into a balancing act that’s becoming more difficult by the day."
This requires killing Houthis and any Iranians in the blast radius: "A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen near a key maritime chokepoint, the rebels and authorities said Tuesday." But we should tell countries sympathetic to Hamas that they have to publicly support the campaign or they can kiss their oil and food shipments that go through the Red Sea goodbye as they refuse to run the gauntlet unprotected.
When you go from "you earned your way in" to "you inherently belong in here" it probably creates a sense of superiority-based entitlement rather than being a reward for hard work: "Anyone who has a naive belief in the power of higher education to instill morality has not studied the history of German universities in the Third Reich." And there is a long history of who the haters choose to hate. Tip to Instapundit.
Progressive spending, discrimination, and finally denial of their failure to educate minority children can't hide the fact that actually teaching minority kids works. Old KKK members must be kicking themselves that they didn't think of the progressive formula of "caring" in order to undermine minorities. Tip to Instapundit.
The Navy "Ouija Board" and its electronic replacement. Seems like the Navy could have just made standardized pieces for the old system across all the carriers. Seriously, cigarette butts? I mean, you spent the big money on the carrier and planes. A few more bucks ... . Also, the manual system may have been more work, but I bet it made those updating it understand the evolving status much better. But I'm just pulling that opinion out of my butt, so ... .
Let's see. Israel is being attacked for fighting Hamas. And Israel is now being attacked for supporting Hamas--which Israel thought could be a negotiating partner. Got it.
Progressives and racists only disagree about what to do about the assumed intellectual inferiority: "Tichavakunda [an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati] writes that policies against plagiarism and standards of academic integrity 'disproportionately harm Black and Latinx students.'" While I think "hate speech" as a concept is harmful to free speech, as long as progressives insist on deploying it, why isn't the assumption behind that plagiarism thinking a screeching racist dog whistle? Tip to Instapundit.
Kids in brigs during the Biden administration. The sound of crickets from the left is deafening.
A Taiwanese military helicopter pilot planned to defect to China: "Along with the money offered, the pilot was also apparently assured by Chinese officials that his family would be given safe passage out of Taiwan should a potential conflict between the country and China erupt." Is this an isolated sick canary or a canary in the coal mine?
This article warns that the Russia-China alignment is turning into an axis in "high gear". If the relationship is deepening it is Russia accepting a more subordinate vassal status under China. To me, the tightness is because China can demand more from Russia to maintain the "axis" because Russia needs more from the alignment and contributes less. And while I suspected China might pounce on Russia as Putin gets tied down in the west, it may be that Russia has fallen so low in the relationship that China can gain what it wants without war. That's a Russian high gear to racing to complete subordination. Vladolini, indeed. I'm biased. So maybe I'm refusing to see reality. I can't rule that out. But I don't see this is an alliance.
But the Marines retired their Abrams tanks: "The US Navy has now received its first Abrams-tank-transporting Ship-to-Shore Connector Landing Craft designed to bring Marines, weapons, supplies and ammunition from ship-to-shore in support of amphibious operations, a Naval Sea Systems Command essay says."
Stealth regulation by leashing and neutering the official watchdog. Isn't regulatory capture by the government itself a form of fascism? Tip to Instapundit.
Focus on defeating Iran. Mullah-run Iran is the Gordian Knot of many of our regional problems. Israel's war against Iran-backed Hamas is just the most active one now.
Sure: "The Dutch counterterrorism agency lifted the country's threat alert to its second-highest level on Tuesday, saying the possibility of an attack in the country is now 'substantial.'"
Could China launch a new Pearl Harbor attack on America? I worry. We might not see it coming. I've also worried about a theater-wide attack in the western Pacific at China's H-Hour. And it could be global.
Significant shrinkage in Japan: "A shrinking, aging population poses an obstacle as the nation tries to counter security threats from China and North Korea."
Iran's quasi-war at sea continues: "Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, two U.S. officials said."
Our troop presence is just a post-coup placeholder until we find out if we can help mow the jihadi grass from there: "The U.S. has decreased its troop presence in Niger by almost half according to figures in a White House letter sent to Congress last week."
Hmmm: "A three-star U.S. Army general based in Germany is now spending a lot of time in Kyiv, where he is taking a hands-on role in improving the quality of advice the U.S. is giving to Ukraine’s military, according to a New York Times report." But is our advice good?
Soldiers are trying to kill people and break things. Does anybody think any army's soldiers in any war in history hasn't coped by venting what in a dinner party setting would be ugly? FFS. Fighting under a microscope is no easy thing.
Interesting: "Russia only has about a dozen modern, high performance jet fighters for use against Ukraine, out of the 100 or so it started the war with. These have to be used carefully because the Russians can’t replace aircraft losses quickly, if at all." It certainly seems like Russia is using their air force more.
Counter-battery fire: "North Korean ammunition is unreliable and lacking accuracy. After some time, it was discovered that the North Korean shells could also be dangerous to use. Some of them detonated after leaving the gun barrel and eventually some detonated while inside the barrel. At this point the Russians had to stop using the North Korean shells, which had become more dangerous for the Russians users than the Ukrainians."
Yes: "Iran's Yemen Houthi proxy army is using Tehran-provided missiles and drones to wage a shadow war on the global economy." Iran's Houthi threat has been an objective for a long time.
The American defense-industrial base needs work: "The ammunition shortage reflects the reality of a production base that over the past thirty years has shrunk from sixteen to five ammunition plants. But that is merely a specific reflection of a general concern applicable to aircraft, surface ships, submarines, missiles, and ground combat vehicles." Indeed. The Winter War of 2022 warned us early on. And as long as Eisenhower is raised, he also said we has an "imperative need" for the military-industrial complex.
When I wrote this post regarding Eisenhower's "military-industrial complex" speech, this warning from Ike--although I was thinking of global warming--really applies to Covid 19, eh? "Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite."
AOEW: "The jammer demonstrated the 'ability to defeat threats' while mounted to a Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter, typically used for anti-submarine warfare[.]" Good. Because "The U.S. military is attempting to reinvigorate its electronic warfare arsenal after years of post-Cold War atrophy." Terrorists couldn't challenge us in that realm. The Russians (and I assume the Chinese) can.
I missed this when it first came out, but the Army is preparing to contribute to a fight against China in the Pacific. There is clearly a large Army role in that environment. But don't forget the continent of Asia, too.
Israel has lost 105 troops invading Gaza. Twenty were from accidents: "Of those 20 deaths, 13 were caused by friendly fire, or internal fire from the military's own troops." "Friendly fire" is more common than you might think. And in World War II, no American wanted the family of their buddy to know he was killed that way. Records are harder to fudge now. Indeed, the Germans calculated that artillery support was more effective (and saved German lives) if continued even to the point of hitting advancing friendly troops. And the Soviets just figured kill them all and let Stalin sort them out.
Finland plans to more than double its artillery ammunition production.
Technology has not made the pointy end of the stick less necessary: "Future battlefields will require large armies with the capacity to deliver and withstand extreme violence as much as they need coders and drone pilots." Indeed. One of my first publications was a rejection of the idea that precision weapons minimized the role of well-trained and equipped ground troops.
My thinking on surprise really hasn't changed much in over a quarter century: "As we seek information dominance through satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), which promise near real time knowledge of troop dispositions, we must remember that they cannot look into an enemy's mind. Nor can they ensure that we will not misinterpret the data because of preconceived notions or that we will refuse to accept information that contradicts what everyone 'knows' about enemy capabilities or intentions. Iraq could not predict Iran's reaction to invasion in 1980; this weakness applies to the United States today despite great technological strides being tested and demonstrated by the Army's Advanced Warfighting Experiment (AWE)." Yeah, this was part of Israel's failure.
A stern letter of protest to follow: "The U.S. slammed China for 'reckless disregard' and provocative action
after Chinese coast guard boats shot water cannons at Philippine ships
and collided with a vessel in the South China Sea over the weekend." Time for Berlin Airlift (East)? Is China's more militarized messaging mean China is leaning toward more kinetics? Or is it concealing weakness? Why matters. And why China thinks more kinetics work matters. Although "paper tiger" is no longer appropriate a decade later, "over-estimated" is probably right.
New American military assistance for Ukraine, mostly ammunition. We're running low on authorized shipment authority. New equipment will have to wait until the president and Congress can hammer out an agreement.
The Alaska missiles seem to work for missiles at closer range: "The latest version of the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Interceptor for homeland missile defense intercepted an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in test Monday." GBI is normally designed to handle incoming missiles farther away. CONUS is no longer a sanctuary.
Australian defenses: "As a middle power, Australia cannot rely on mass — or overwhelming force
— to deter. We need to focus instead on capabilities and partnerships
that deliver an asymmetric advantage." Sounds about right. Although if Australia can't hold the line at sea, ground power mass will have to be reconsidered.
I no longer believe our government can be trusted to focus on foreign threats when it is given powers to monitor our communications. And specifically, why believe this government has more motive to fight actual foreign enemies over here when it showed precious little interest in fighting them over there. Tip to Instapundit.
To be fair it's because our teacher unions behave as if educating children is last on their list of objectives: "There’s a coming wave of college-freshman failure that will stress the institutions and systems of our universities. Grade schools haven’t and likely won’t recover from pandemic-era learning losses, and so, ready or not, a poorly educated generation is soon to flood your campuses." The human wave assault might at least kill off most of our colleges that function as expensive, progressive young adult day care centers. Tip to Instapundit.
Germany bet heavily on green energy. And lost.
Interesting: "For the first time, a U.S. Navy submarine has tested an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that can leave and re-enter the sub through a torpedo tube." If the UUV could use active sonar that the sub can use to target an enemy sub, that would be great.
Happy birthday National Guard. From the primary land force of America, to the official strategic reserve of the Army, to an operational reserve that routinely deploys overseas: "Around 300 soldiers from the Cambridge Springs-based 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry, will depart late this month for eventual deployment to the Horn of Africa region of the African continent[.]" That would be to our base in Djibouti. It can function as a land-based quick response force.
Israel moves air defenses to cope with Houthi missiles: "One of Israel’s new Sa’ar 6 corvettes has been deployed to the Red Sea, where it’s anchored off the Israeli port of Eilat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said."
Every day, 60 oil tankers head toward China through the Indian Ocean beyond reach of China's military protection: "A dozen military attaches and scholars say that vulnerability is now being scrutinised as Western military and academic strategists discreetly game scenarios about how a conflict with China over Taiwan, or elsewhere in East Asia, could evolve or escalate." What India could do, others could, too. But it is not a silver bullet if China can win the war against Taiwan before the effects of cutting off oil kick in. That article has a nice map of "key" American and Chinese military facilities from Africa to northeast Asia.
Russians who want to fight for Ukraine is nice for propaganda. But the "battalion" is the size of a platoon. Let me know when we are talking about thousands of volunteers.
A couple American light infantry platoons are testing robots integrated in their training exercises.
You know, I read about Western 155mm and even 105mm artillery ammunition for Ukraine. But I only hear about Russian 152mm ammunition. What about 122mm ammunition? Is that plentiful because it used to be for the primary Soviet artillery piece? Maybe I just don't see reports because I don't watch all those videos coming out of the war. Or just missed reports. That angle is on my radar now.
The EU had paid for Palestinian prison or death benefits of terrorists. Because money is fungible. This money didn't prevent European states from having to issue terror warnings over pro-Hamas threats. The EU is going to stop paying.
I heard on a Strategypage podcast that barrel wear isn't as big a deal for Ukraine because they inherited a lot of Soviet 152mm guns, allowing Ukraine to replace artillery pieces with worn out barrels. Although now that I think of it, can worn barrels still fire GPS-guided shells just as effectively, short of barrel failure?
PTSD--or a better term, combat fatigue. American troops suffered due to lengthy combat and lower death rates. Ukrainians and Russians no doubt are suffering from this. But has the high number of deaths traded combat fatigue for KIA?
This is apparently common (via Instapundit): "An anti-Semitic House staffer on Wednesday confronted Jewish congressman Max Miller in the halls of the Cannon Office Building to say: 'Free Palestine.'" When I worked for the state legislature, I had to operate without getting too big for my britches, understanding that nobody voted for me. My job was to get information for the legislators who did get votes so they could do their jobs. I had no problem sticking to my job. I know these House staff are partisan rather than nonpartisan like I was, but still. They are only staff. If they can't accept that they should resign--or be fired.
Having followed the Winter War of 2022 and the run-up to it, I assumed reports--including from Putin--that America sabotaged an early peace deal between Ukraine and Russia was BS. It is BS. "Peace" for Russia has always meant Ukrainian surrender. Always check the Definitions Section, I say.
The headline says this bill leaves out "culture war measures": "The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed compromise defense policy legislation after lawmakers struck a deal to drop hard-right provisions on abortion, transgender troops and other hot-button issues." That is incorrect. The bill lets the left win those culture war measures by leaving Biden-ordered Pentagon policies on those issues in place. This is just one way how bias leaks into media reports.
Interesting: "The Philippines is contingency planning for an escalation of hostilities in the South China Sea, according to a senior military official, including a scenario where crew repel Chinese forces attempting to board Philippine vessels." Is the Philippines preparing to win a small, brief "war" and dare China to escalate and risk American and allied intervention?
Iran's Houthi assets work hard to pressure Israel into ending its assault on Hamas: "A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a cargo
ship Friday in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait,
following another attack only hours earlier that struck a separate
vessel, authorities said."
Congress will confirm a smaller American military, where "the total number of active-duty troops in the armed forces will drop to 1,284,500 in fiscal 2024. That’s down nearly 64,000 personnel in the last three years and the smallest total for America’s military since 1940, before the United States’ entry into World War II."
Oh? "In Ukraine Russia has taken over a million total casualties including
dead, missing, prisoners, deserters, and frostbite victims. Ukrainian
casualties are about 200,000 of whom 50,000 are killed, missing, and
captured." The Russian side of the ledger includes more categories (and I assume includes wounded). How is Russia sustaining--let alone expanding, as Russia claims--its military with that level of loss? Is Putin lying when he says over 600,000 Russian troops are inside Ukraine? Russians do lie a lot. Although any number would include support personnel, especially in Crimea. Heck, on paper the Russian military strength in Ukraine might be that large. How many are actually there could be considerably lower
An advantage of fighting a war on somebody else's land is that you avoid this problem: " Ukraine has a growing problem with territory contaminated by landmines. This is a major issue with farmland, where a lot of the Russian landmines ended up. Crops cannot be planted in land containing landmines." Azerbaijan developed an effective mine-clearing vehicle and gave Ukraine six.
I read something that said that by relying on American volunteers for our military instead of a draft that pulls in all parts of society, we allow society to separate from the military. I think that is BS. The draft during the Vietnam War didn't unite the two. Why? In part because the war never needed to pull in all the young men available each year. And deferments from the draft weren't random. If you had money or influence you were more likely to avoid service. The only way a draft can avoid that problem is to draft everyone. That doesn't seem wise for the military or society. And if we have to draft everyone, the reason for that should send our pucker factor to 11.
Trump Derangement Syndrome clearly has a new Trump Hysteria Syndrome variant. FFS, these people are insane. Trump is a politician. A loud one, to be sure. But a politician. Are these people incapable of opposing a politician they disagree with and find distasteful without raising their opposition to the level of Hitler? I manage to oppose Democrats without claiming they are "literally" Stalin. Or Mao. And more to the point, we're to believe these people predicting the end of America won't rig an election or even murder Trump to prevent the outcome they predict? Notwithstanding their equally dire predictions in 2016 that didn't come about over the next 4+ years? They're nuts and wallowing in insurrection porn. And their baseless panic could lead them to do dangerous things. I just don't get how these people manage to put on their shoes and socks each morning in the proper order.
Huh. American oil production is at record levels? Is this from purely private land or has Biden decided that so close to an election a stealth "drill baby, drill" policy is in order? Tip to Instapundit.
China spooked the private sector in China: "Now, it appears that even the Chinese government thinks it has gone too far and too fast in implementing regulatory policies that were meant to rein in risks and monopolistic behavior." The good news is that Xi apparently wants to rest his legitimacy on money rather than the alternative of force.
Macron has been humiliated by the rejection of his immigration bill? "Macron’s rule has become increasingly authoritarian. He has never had much attachment to electoral politics. Indeed, he had never run for election prior to his election to the highest office in the land in 2017. And his antipathy towards parliament goes back further than that." Don't be silly. Macron doesn't care about elections. His reign is an audition for being selected by the EU for a bigger role.
For all the talk about suicide drones in Ukraine, I've never seen anything that breaks down how much of the damage done is by those drones compared to more traditional means of killing people and breaking things. I have no doubt they work. But I suspect they are over-hyped. And that hype is probably too much even before counter-measures are developed and deployed.
Because it is convenient, climate scientists arbitrarily say human-emitted CO2 stays in the atmosphere 15-30 times longer than identical CO2 emitted by volcanoes. Science! Tip to Instapundit.
The Army has found it can conduct water-crossings at the division level instead of past reliance on corps-level engineer assets. I assume we are sharing this information with Ukraine.
Cooperating on future aircraft design and production: "Britain will host the headquarters of government and industrial organizations for the trinational Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), according to a treaty signed Dec. 14 with Italy and Japan outlining the project’s management structure."
Nice theory. But I think Putin isn't writing a poli sci paper. I think he wants to restore Russia's territory and glory--and survive: "Both sides would bargain hard for maximum advantage, but what do both sides need? First, they need to end the war without surrendering. The agreement would be based on the recognition of demonstrated realities, and the furthering of national interests in the light of these realities. Neither side is indifferent to the costs of war, and neither can realistically imagine achieving all of its objectives." And are we forgetting that Crimea was brutally invaded by Russia for the purpose of eliminating it from the sainted international community?
It sounds like it might be way too early to end the war to destroy Hamas: "Almost three in four Palestinians believe the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel was correct, and the ensuing Gaza war has lifted support for the Islamist group both there and in the West Bank, a survey from a respected Palestinian polling institute found." There may be a perception that Hamas is a "strong horse." Hamas must be shown to be a "weak horse." Ideally by making it and its local allies dead horses.
Post-Soviet Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines. A big job is protecting Russia's SSBNs. And for paranoid Russia, I like them to have a warm fuzzy of security on this issue. Can't have paranoid people thinking they have to use them or lose them, eh?
Is Russia simply good at hiding this? Or is it wishful thinking? "Putin refuses to believe that Russian forces cannot defeat the Ukrainians. Putin also refuses to believe it is the Ukrainian willingness to fight the Russian invaders, and not just all the military aid sent by NATO nations, that causes this. Putin also doesn’t want to hear about Russian soldiers avoiding service in Ukraine, refusing to fight once they got there, and often deserting if compelled to fight." I mean, I've thought Russian troop morale is bad. But I don't see the problem having strategic effects. Although it is possible that Ukraine hasn't had the power to push the Russians over into the abyss.
"Shut up," they said. Tip to Instapundit.
#MeToo*(*Jews need not apply). Tip to Instapundit. Related:
About those anti-ship Tomahawk cruise missiles. I admit that I worry enemies will swat down subsonic missiles like flies.
