Category Archives: Defense Matters!

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Cold War-II Notes

A number of articles have been posted from the former leaders of the COMBLOC during the former Cold War have been coming up lately that seem like that same old deja-vu all over again.

Putin: Russia to build new strategic bomber

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia will build a new strategic bomber, a move that comes as the nation tries to upgrade its aging military arsenal.

Putin said in televised remarks that work on the bomber must follow the development of a prospective stealth fighter, which made its maiden flight in January and was hailed by the government as a big step in military modernization efforts.

“We won’t limit ourselves to just one new model,” Putin said at a government meeting that focused on military aviation. “We must start work on a prospective long-range aircraft, our new strategic bomber.”

A few things come immediately to mind.

Firstly, this development is taking place in spite of continuing bumps in the reconstruction of the post-Soviet economic and technical infrastructure. In spite of the cost, the ex-KGB Putin has decided that this is the direction to go…and logically…who is there to aim these new weapons platforms at…but the United States?

Secondly, note the comment…”We won’t limit ourselves to just one new model”, as Obamamerica lurches sloooooooowly towards the F-35 which is going to be ready at some undetermined point in the future, and is supposed to be used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in spite of the widely diverse demands from the different service branches. Combat aircraft have to do more than just fly, but the Obamamaniacal defense wonks are incapable of figuring this out.

Thirdly, and obviously, they are simultaneously going to beef up and improve their strategic bomber inventory with a new plane. Our plans? Er…what plans?
Meanwhile, there is this love note from those paragons of respecting human rights who hang out in Beijing:

China PLA officer urges challenging U.S. dominance

China should build the world’s strongest military and move swiftly to topple the United States as the global “champion,” a senior Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions.

The call for China to abandon modesty about its global goals and “sprint to become world number one” comes from a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu, who warns that his nation’s ascent will alarm Washington, risking war despite Beijing’s hopes for a “peaceful rise.”

ChiCom military rise? Like for instance their planned drive to build a 600-ship blue-water “People’s Liberation Army Navy”, complete with aircraft carriers, as just ONE example that comes readily to mind.

“As long as China seeks to rise to become world number one … then even if China is even more capitalist than the U.S., the U.S. will still be determined to contain it,” writes Liu.

Rivalry between the two powers is a “competition to be the leading country, a conflict over who rises and falls to dominate the world,” says Liu. “To save itself, to save the world, China must prepare to become the (world’s) helmsman.”

“The China Dream” does not represent government policy, which has been far less strident about the nation’s goals.

You can believe as much of that as you wish, but the Chief isn’t reassured…ever hear of the old “good cop, bad cop” game?

On a slightly different but still diagnostic note, comes this post-Olympic item from Russia:

Medvedev demands resignations over Olympic flop

President Dmitry Medvedev demanded Monday that Russian sports officials step down over the country’s dismal performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Russia, a traditional winter sports powerhouse, won just 15 medals — with only three golds — in one of its worst performances. Officials said before the games that 30 medals and a top-three finish in the medal standings was the target.

Russia placed 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal count.

In televised comments, Medvedev said if those responsible for preparing the athletes don’t resign then the decision will be made for them. He did not mention anyone by name.

…”but we know who you are!”

In nine Winter Olympics between 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union failed to top the medal standings only twice, finishing runner-up on those occasions.

Medvedev lamented that Russia “has lost the old Soviet school … and we haven’t created our own school — despite the fact that the amount of money that is invested in sport is unprecedentedly high.”

YIKES! It’s a good thing that Stalinist type purges are out of style over there (at least for now), or there might be a new GULAG Olympic Sports Center in say…Novosibirsk or someplace equally salubrious.

Defense Matters!

Reagan “Star Wars” Chickens Come Home to Roost!

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Development programs for this started as part of the original Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed “Star Wars”. In spite of rabid criticism from the usual claque of progressive scientific and political activists who declared the task to be an impossibility, the results are bearing fruit: A prototype airborne battle laser system that shoots down ICBM’s? You betcha!

U.S. successfully tests airborne laser on missile

A U.S. high-powered airborne laser weapon shot down a ballistic missile in the first successful test of a futuristic directed energy weapon, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said on Friday.

The agency said in a statement the test took place at 8:44 p.m. PST (11:44 p.m. EST) on Thursday /0444 GMT on Friday) at Point Mugu’s Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range off Ventura in central California.

“The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB) successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile” the agency said.

What does this system actually do?

The airborne laser weapon is aimed at deterring enemy missile attacks and providing the U.S. military with the ability to engage all classes of ballistic missiles at the speed of light while they are in the boost phase of flight.

“The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers (miles), and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies,” the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.

Nothing succeeds like success!

Defense Matters!

Illegal Pelosi Travel Documented

U.S. Military Serving as Chauffeurs, Babysitters for the Pelosi Kids: Receipts That Will Blow Your Mind

The documents included in this posting were all obtained through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act):

Update: Judicial Watch provided separate documents from an earlier FOIA request which show that “most, if not all” of the flights did indeed have the Speaker aboard. This is being researched and, until complete, corrections are noted below.

Update II: Commenters provide links to DOD 4515.12-R “DoD Support for Travel of Members and Employees of Congress and DOD 4515.13-R “Air Transportation Eligibility”, both of which indicate any travel by the Speaker’s adult — non-dependent — children and grandchildren is off-limits.

Update III: An article at Mudville Gazette offers additional useful information.

The mere posting of comments about SanFranNan Pelosi’s running abuse of military aircraft and crews for her personal and family gratification is one thing…actually viewing the paper work, reciepts, charge sheets, passenger lists, etc. gives an entirely different perspective on the situation. Don;t take the Chief’s word for it…check it out for yourself!

Meet the Pelosi family! Using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Judicial Watch uncovered thousands of pages of travel documents related to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s use of military aircraft.

What hasn’t been revealed thus far is that military aircraft are being used to shuttle Pelosi’s kids and grandkids between DC and San Francisco time and time again, which appears to be a violation of the appropriate rules (see above). Put simply, the United States Air Force is serving as a multi-billion dollar chauffeur- and baby-sitting service for Nancy Pelosi’s kids and grandkids — presumably because commercial travel is beneath the families of the autocrats.

But this couldn’t be a waste of resources because the U.S. military really isn’t engaged in any other significant activities around the world.

Yeah, right.

Defense Matters!

Mugged by Reality?

Obama seeks money for nuclear weapons work

President Barack Obama is seeking increased funding for nuclear weapons research and security programs next year, even as his administration promotes nonproliferation and has pledged to reduce the world’s stockpile of nuclear arms.

The administration on Monday asked Congress for more than $7 billion for activities related to nuclear weapons in the budget of the National Nuclear Security Administration, an increase of $624 million from the 2010 fiscal year.

Few except for hard-core anti-nuke peaceniks would seriously submit that the U.S. should totally abandon its nuclear weapons capability. Such being the case, this is essential to insure the capability to maintain a credible nuclear deterrence.

Like cans of food, thermonuclear devices have a shelf life…after a period of time they lose their effectiveness due to the effects of radioactive decay of tritium. They need to be remanufactured. At that point, it is also necessary to update the systems of the weapons using state-of-the-art-electronics, which also improves the command/control/security of the devices. It’s been some time since we did this, and the shelf life limits are approaching.

Obama, in spite of a presumed gut-level dislike for nuke weapons, (like who in their right mind would love them!) recognizes the reality of this necessary process. As noted also, the same techniques, equipment, and personnel are also required to do the job if further weapon reductions are negotiated with Russia and the ChiComs, so the peaceniks have at least that consolation.

At last…this is something that the Chief agrees with the administration on…if it actually is cleared through Congress and implemented.

Defense Matters!

PC vs. Army: Army Loses, Again

A amazingly good report from NPR:
Rules Of Engagement Are A Dilemma For U.S. Troops

As part of the new American counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, soldiers and Marines must work first to protect the Afghan population. Given the choice between killing the enemy or risking civilian lives, they have been willing to let the enemy go. NPR’s Tom Bowman was in Afghanistan earlier this year and witnessed troops grappling with the dilemma of whether to shoot.

Go to the link for the actual interview, and for its transcript.

This shows the insanity of sending U.S. troops into a combat environment, and then tying their hands. This is what happens when politicians, lawyers and military bureaucrats are given plenary authority over the warriors. It didn’t in Korea and Vietnam, and it won’t work now.

It’s no way to fight a war.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

UK Defense Minister Hits B.O.’s Afghan Dithering

Bob Ainsworth criticises Barack Obama over Afghanistan

It’s GOT to be bad when even the IngSoc government thinks B.O. is too squishy on the war.

Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan.

Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.

A “period of hiatus” in Washington – and a lack of clear direction – had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.

Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan, the Daily Telegraph disclosed earlier this month, with several former British defence chiefs echoing the concerns.

But Mr Ainsworth is the first Government minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the US president’s leadership over the conflict which has so far cost 235 British lives.

“It ain’t that pretty at all.”

Defense Matters!

Navy SEALS Do Job: Get Hung Out to Dry

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Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

Just to refresh your memory, this is the handiwork of the Islamoterr in question…note the burned and mutilated [American] bodies hanging from the bridge girder:

0_61_112409_fallujah

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Awwwwww. Poor baby. Refer again to the above picture. If there was any justice in this situation the Islamoterr  should have been whacked while “resisting capture”.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

This is SO wrong. We take the best of our best, send them out to do a mission and capture a known and identified terrorist combatant. They do so, and the perp complains (after he had been turned over to Iraqi custody) that he got punched during the course of events.  What happens next?

Why what else, given that this is the day  of the B.O. administration granting the full panoply of legal rights of an American citizen to the killer (by beheading!) of  American reporter Daniel Pearl, and who also happened to  lead the planning for the 9-11 attack?  The feckless wonders of the U.S. Obamanation Navy bring the SEALS up on charges!

IMAGINE THE VERY WORST THING  THAT I COULD SAY TO COMMENT NEGATIVELY ON THIS LEGAL ABORTION.

NOW, CONSIDER IT SAID!

Defense Matters!

A Modest Proposal…

The Brits are starting to position themselves for their next election cycle. This is part of that positioning from the opposition Conservatives

Tories to pull British forces out of Germany

British forces will pull out of Germany for good, nearly 70 years after the Allied victory in World War Two, as part of a Tory defence “revolution” being drawn up by Dr Liam Fox.

The Shadow Defence Secretary told The Daily Telegraph that ending Britain’s 25,000 strong military presence on the Rhine would be part of a fundamental reorganisation of Nato forces designed to free troops for military operations outside Europe.

The decision would close one of the unfinished chapters of the last war that saw the British military go from occupying force in the ruins of Nazi Germany in 1945 to guarantor of German security against the threat of Soviet invasion during the Cold War.

The announcement of what would be a major reassessment of Britain’s role in European defence came just 24 hours after the European Union surprised Westminster by handing responsibility for its diplomatic relations to the Labour peer Baroness Ashton.

Dr Fox’s decision to call time on Britain’s military links with Germany is a signal of his determination to force through a “wholesale recasting of our foreign and defence policy”.

He also called for the public to be told the truth about the “cost of defeat” in Afghanistan, including Britain being relegated to “the third division” of world politics.

What a concept! Why don’t WE do this? Do we REALLY need to still have a military presence in GERMANY any more? I doubt we’re worried about an incipient Nazi coup. Also, the threat of Soviet tanks from East Germany rolling through the Fulda Gap is obsolete.

IMHO, Dr. Fox has an excellent idea, that should work for us too!

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

B.O. Hardly Working on War

Let’s see…B.O.’s had the information and proposals from HIS selected commanding combat General since August. It’s now November. Meanwhile the conduct of the war continues to stagnate, our local allies hold their breath as they wait to decide whether and/or when to jump ship, and any potential local allies take another look at the possibilities of making an accomadation with the Islamoterrs.

White House aides: No Afghan decision before Thanksgiving

President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday.

The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, just before boarding Air Force One and heading back to Washington after an eight-day trip to Asia.

Obama and his top military and diplomatic aides have been deliberating for months over how to proceed in Afghanistan, where the United States and its partners have sought for eight years to defeat the Taliban and deny al-Qaeda a safe haven from which it can plan and launch attacks.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has stated that without the deployment of up to 40,000 additional troops within the next year, the mission “will likely result in failure.”

Plenty of time for global junketing, complete with his 70 car motorcade, but forget about the troops being left to wither on the vine while B.O. continues to dither.

Defense Matters!

Islamo U.S. Army Shrink Goes Whacko, Whacks 12

Suspected Gunman in Custody After 12 Killed in Rampage at Fort Hood

An Army psychiatrist who reportedly feared an impending war deployment is in custody as the sole suspect in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas that left 12 dead and 31 wounded, an Army official said Thursday night.

The news that the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was alive and in stable condition came as a sudden reversal of early reports that the gunman was among the dead.

“I would say his death is not imminent,” Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times.

Dang! Survived four bullets. Too bad.

The rampage was believed to be the deadliest at a U.S. military base in history. The exact motive wasn’t clear, though Hasan, a Virginia native and a Muslim, reportedly was against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and had been the target of harassment for his ethnicity.

The Chief has experienced harassment in a military setting. It can be a real annoyance, but certainly survivable without taking out frustrations by attacking his fellow sailors.

UPDATE: Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect

His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling.

According to the reports he had a problem with some of his fitness reports, and apparently had some sort of problems dealing with patients. That may or may not have any significance, but the following does raise some concerns:

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

Wonder what it takes to get investigated these days. (Probably bad-mouthing B.O.!) They probably couldn’t proceed due to fears of being caught “profiling”.

One of the officials said late Thursday that federal search warrants were being drawn up to authorize the seizure of Hasan’s computer.

They can hack out anything that’s there…even stuff that had been erased…of course, that doesn’t mean that anything about it will ever see the light of day. For instance, the IMMEDIATE response was that this was no way terrorism.

Uh…how could they know, if there had been no previous investigation? Also, IMHO, a terrorist is as a terrorist does. One does NOT have to have an official notarized al Qaida membership card to be a terrorist. By MY reckoning, this sure seems like terrorism to me!

UPDATE II: Fort Hood shooting: Nidal Malik Hasan ‘said Muslims should rise up’

Maybe some of this has to do with being harassed:

Col Terry Lee, a retired officer who worked with him at the military base in Texas, alleged Maj Hasan had angry confrontations with other officers over his views.

Maj Hasan was reportedly fighting orders to be deployed to Iraq at the end of the month, claiming that he was the victim of harassment and insults because of his Arab background and his faith….

“He was making outlandish comments condemning our foreign policy and claimed Muslims had the right to rise up and attack Americans,” Col Lee told Fox News.

“He said Muslims should stand up and fight the aggressor and that we should not be in the war in the first place.” He said that Maj Hasan said he was “happy” when a US soldier was killed in an attack on a military recruitment centre in Arkansas in June. An American convert to Islam was accused of the shootings.

Col Lee alleged that other officers had told him that Maj Hasan had said “maybe people should strap bombs on themselves and go to Time Square” in New York.

This is in side of an Army community…is it any wonder that this might get a negative reaction?

China Watch, Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

ChiCom Missiles to be Boosted by B.O.?

Obama loosens missile technology controls to China

President Obama recently shifted authority for approving sales to China of missile and space technology from the White House to the Commerce Department — a move critics say will loosen export controls and potentially benefit Chinese missile development.

The president issued a little-noticed “presidential determination” Sept. 29 that delegated authority for determining whether missile and space exports should be approved for China to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

Even Bill Clinton had enough shame to do stuff like this under the radar. As fas as B.O. is concerned, why bother.
Of course, the message to the country is “Nothing to see here. Move along folks. Go back home and watch NBC some more.”

Commerce officials say the shift will not cause controls to be loosened in regards to the export of missile and space technology.

DUH…by delegating the authority for approval DOWN the chain of command…the controls have ALREADY been loosened!

Besides…there is no reason to change the regulatory setup…unless there is already the intention to use the changed system to sell our technology to the ChiComs.

Eugene Cottilli, a spokesman for Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, said under new policy the U.S. government will rigorously monitor all sensitive exports to China.

Right…they will be monitored. Logically, this means that they will be occurring! Otherwise, there would be nothing to monitor! (Dang! That pesky logic…)

The presidential notice alters a key provision of the 1999 Defense Authorization Act that required that the president notify Congress whether a transfer of missile and space technology to China would harm the U.S. space-launch industry or help China’s missile programs.

How can a “presidential notice” repeal a law? Did I miss something here?

The law was passed after a late-1990s scandal involving the U.S. companies Space Systems/Loral and Hughes Electronics Corp. Both companies improperly shared technology with China and were fined $20 million and $32 million, respectively, by the State Department after a U.S. government investigation concluded that their know-how was used to improve China’s long-range nuclear missiles.

This was the afore-mentioned Clintonista “problem” with missile tech security.

Section 1512 of the 1999 law requires the president to certify to Congress in advance of any missile equipment or technology exports to China that the export will not harm the U.S. space-launch industry and that “missile equipment or technology, including any indirect technical benefit that could be derived from such export, will not measurably improve the missile or space launch capabilities of the People’s Republic of China.”

Of course, if B.O. is ignoring Congress on this, Congress will surely respond vigorously, right?

Oh…yeah…THIS Congress…never mind.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Building a Big Stick

US giant bunker-buster bomb project rushed since Iran’s Qom site discovered

The Pentagon has brought forward to December 2009 the target-date for producing the first 15-ton super bunker-buster bomb (GBU-57A/B) Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which can reach a depth of 60.09 meters underground before exploding. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that top defense agencies and air force units were also working against the clock to adapt the bay of a B2a Stealth bomber for carrying and delivering the bomb.

30,000 pounds?!  Uff da!

Congress has since quietly inserted the necessary funding in the 2009 budget.

Dang! Who’d have thought Congress could do anything besides increase taxes or pass new restrictive regulations QUIETLY?

All this urgency indicates that the Obama administration has been preparing military muscle to back up the international condemnation of Iran’s concealed nuclear bomb program, its sanctions threat and his willingness to join the negotiations with Iran opening on Oct. 1 in Geneva. Tehran may have to take into account a possible one-time surgical strike against its underground enrichment facility as a warning shot should its defiance continue. In particular, the world powers this week demanded that Iran open up all its nuclear facilities and programs to full and immediate international inspection. Failure to do so could bring forth further US military action.

A LIGHT IN THE FOREST? This could be a sign of the survival of SOME rationality in the White House.  One can only hope!

According to our military sources, the earliest date for the accelerated Pentagon program to produce a super bunker buster bomb mounted on a stealth bomber is December 2009 or January 2010. This too is three years ahead of its original schedule.

How could this have been speeded up three years early? Samuel Johnson’s observation comes to mind: “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

Stay tuned.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

B.O. Fecklessness (As Usual)

Barack Obama and the CIA: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?

This is a tough article to post…the Chief finds it really hard to pick out particularly pithy segments to illustrate the main point…the whole thing is pithy!

…but anyway – here’s a taste of it anyway:

Obama’s problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens.

Go and read the whole thing. IMHO it’s worth the look at the reasoning that leads, one fears inevitably, to this rational conclusion:

President Pantywaist’s recent world tour, cosying up to all the bad guys, excited the ambitions of America’s enemies. Here, they realised, is a sucker they can really take to the cleaners. His only enemies are fellow Americans. Which prompts the question: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity, Obamunism

B.O. Rolled by Putin on Missile Defense

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Given what any thinking person knows about B.O.’s history, associations, and evident ideological orientation, this is no surprise, but nevertheless is still regretable.

U.S. Shelves Nuclear-Missile Shield

The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed Thursday that a “major adjustment” is planned and said the decision was made to better protect U.S. forces and allies in Europe from Iranian missile attacks.

Let me try to parse this: we are canceling missile defense sites to better protect us and our allies from Iranian missiles…HUH? Logic check anyone?

The U.S. is basing its move on a determination that Iran’s long-range-missile program hasn’t progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental U.S. and major European capitals, according to current and former U.S. officials.

At least until the next Korean or bootleg Russian shipment makes port…

Now at least the Russians will play nicer though, right?

Russia on Thursday welcomed the news but said it saw no reason to offer concessions in return….”The Bush plans on the missile defense as we knew them until now were nothing more than a provocation of security in the European region,” said Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in a phone interview.

So, from their point of view, the U.S. has been a paper tiger all along…and B.O. has now officially confirmed this to be the case.

Meanwhile…what about the other Euro allies left swinging in the breeze?

Anger in Europe as Barack Obama ‘scraps missile defence shield’

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US is to shelve the plan, which was first mooted by the Bush administration and has been a source of friction with Russia ever since.

The move would be a cause of celebration in Moscow but of real concern to Eastern European countries which have looked to Washington for support against their former imperial master Russia. The US has said the shield is to guard against attacks by rogue states, such as Iran.

The former Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, said: “This is not good news for the Czech state, for Czech freedom and independence. It puts us in a position wherein we are not firmly anchored in terms of partnership, security and alliance, and that’s a certain threat.”

Not good for the U.S. and the west, as noted in the Brit press:

Barack Obama surrenders to Russia on Missile Defence

I blogged a couple of weeks ago that the Obama administration was about to abandon its plans for Third Site missile defence installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. I wrote then that “if enacted, this would represent a huge turnaround in American strategic thinking on a global missile defence system, and a massive betrayal of two key US allies in eastern and central Europe. Such a move would significantly weaken America’s ability to combat the growing threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program, and would hand a major propaganda victory to the Russians.”

It now looks as though the president has surrendered to Russian demands to kill off Third Site.

After noting some more about the details of B.O.’s capitulation to the will of the the ex-KGB enforcer Putin, the real kernal of this all is summed up thusly:

This is bad news for all who care about the US commitment to the transatlantic alliance and the defence of Europe as well as the United States. It represents the appalling appeasement of Russian aggression and a willingness to sacrifice American allies on the altar of political expediency. A deal with the Russians to cancel missile defence installations sends a clear message that even Washington can be intimidated by the Russian bear.

What signal does this send to Ukraine, Georgia and a host of other former Soviet satellites who look to America and NATO for protection from their powerful neighbour? The impending cancellation of Third Site is a shameful abandonment of America’s friends in eastern and central Europe, and a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on.

B.O.’s foriegn policy looks more and more like Carter’s 2nd term.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

What, me worry?

A tale of two cities:

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Negotiates with North Korea; first informally via sending Bubba hisself to render proper obeisance, and then following it up with further contacts. reflecting general attitude of “What, me worry?”

obama-mad-magazine-cover.jpg

MOSCOW, RUSSIAN FEDERATION:  Altogether a different response to the same nation:

Russia deploys missile defence system near N.Korea

Russia has deployed a missile defence system near its border with North Korea and is studying other measures to protect its population from stray missiles, Russia’s top general said on Wednesday.

Russia shares a small border with North Korea in the Far East and its main Pacific port of Vladivostok, with a population of 600,000, lies only 150 km (95 miles) from North Korea….

“We are definitely concerned by the conditions under which tests are being carried out in North Korea, including nuclear devices,” the chief of Russia’s general staff Nikolai Makarov told journalists in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.

If even Putin worries about the NorKs, perhaps we ought to have some concern too? Just a thought…

(Hmmmm. ANOTHER pesky thought…isn’t this the same thing (antimissile defense) that Putin was crying about when WE planned deployment?)

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

NorK Updates: “It ain’t that pretty at all!”

First, for whatever (little) reassurance this can offer…

Clinton Warns North Korea for ‘Belligerent’ Behavior in Region

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said North Korea must face consequences for its “belligerent and provocative behavior” after Kim Jong Il’s regime threatened military action against South Korea.

Clinton spoke in Washington after North Korea’s official news agency said Kim’s government would no longer abide by the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War and may respond militarily to South Korea’s participation in a U.S.-led program that would block ships suspected of carrying nuclear weapons or material for export.

The U.S. takes “very seriously” its commitments to defend South Korea and Japan, its principal allies in the region, Clinton said. She called on North Korea to return to the so- called six party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear arms program.

…and of course the implied threat: “If you don’t watch out, we’ll hold our breath until I turn red in the face! THEN I’ll go to the U.N. and you’ll REALLY be sorry!.”

NKorea threatens to attack US, SKorean warships

North Korea threatened military action Wednesday against U.S. and South Korean warships plying the waters near the Koreas’ disputed maritime border, raising the specter of a naval clash just days after the regime’s underground nuclear test.

Pyongyang, reacting angrily to Seoul’s decision to join an international program to intercept ships suspected of aiding nuclear proliferation, called the move tantamount to a declaration of war.

“Now that the South Korean puppets were so ridiculous as to join in the said racket and dare declare a war against compatriots,” North Korea is “compelled to take a decisive measure,” the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried by state media.

Seoul’s decision comes at a time when “the state of military confrontation is growing acute and there is constant danger of military conflict,” the statement warned.

How serious to take all this? B.O.’s not too worried…Russia apparently has a different take on things:

Russia fears Korea conflict could go nuclear

“We assume that a dangerous brinkmanship, a war of nerves, is under way, but it will not grow into a hot war,” the official told Tass. “Restraint is needed.”

The Foreign Ministry often uses statements sourced to unnamed officials, released through official news agencies, to lay down its position on sensitive issues.

Not exactly a “war fuzzy” – but there it is nonetheless.

Defense Matters!

Arrrrrrrgh!

USS Gettysburg captures 17 pirates with the help of a Korean destroyer

Score another one for the good guys!

An American guided missile cruiser teamed up with a Korean destroyer Wednesday to go after pirates off Yemen and captured 17 buccaneers who were attacking an Egyptian ship.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet reported finding a rusty old dhow being used as a pirate “mothership” to attack shipping lanes.

A boarding team from the USS Gettysburg searched the ship, finding eight assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a rocket-propelled grenade.

The Somali pirates were being interrogated aboard the Gettysburg. A decision on where – or if – to prosecute them is pending….The Gettysburg and the Korean Destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great, both part of an international anti-pirate task force, sped off to help and launched helicopters to the Egyptian ship.

Bravo Zulu to the Gettysburg and the ROK’s for a job well done.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Navy vs Pirates

New US-led naval force to battle Somali pirates

At first glance this sounds like a great step in the right direction, at last.

A new international naval force under American command will soon begin patrols to confront escalating attacks by Somali pirates after more than 100 ships came under siege in the past year, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

But then, at second glance, it’s more of the same ole’ same ole’ pussyfooting around.

But the mission—expected to begin operations next week—appears more of an attempt to sharpen the military focus against piracy rather than a signal of expanded offensives across one of the world’s most crucial shipping lanes.

The force will carry no wider authority to strike at pirate vessels at sea or specific mandates to move against havens on shore—which some maritime experts believe is necessary to weaken the pirate gangs that have taken control of dozens of cargo vessels and an oil tanker.

Ah, so what’s the point if nothing actually changes policy-wise?

The new force underscores the urgency to act after a stunning rise in pirate assaults off the Horn of Africa last year: At least 111 ships targeted and 42 of them commandeered, including a Ukrainian cargo shop loaded with tanks and heavy weapons and a Saudi oil tanker with $100 worth of crude.

At two more ships have been hijacked this month, leaving about 15 vessels and about 300 crew members in pirate hands, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center.

OK – so it “underscores the urgency to act…”, so why isn’t there an actual plan TO ACT? More “symbolism over substance” won’t address the problem.

“This task force does not does have any greater rules of engagement,” said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman. “It does, however, bring a greater focus to counter-piracy operations under one command.”

This only reinforces the above noted problem, with an open admission that there is no loosening of the R.O.E.

But it also carries the suggestion that it could one day take stronger measures. The force’s flagship, the USS San Antonio, is an amphibious ship capable of bringing hundreds of Marines ashore. This is the type of action needed to truly rattle the pirates, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center.

THIS would work! (All we’ve got to do is step up to the plate.)

“Right now there is no major deterrent,” he said. “The military maybe chases away the pirates, but they regroup and come back for another attack on another ship. Piracy will continue until their networks and bases are hit.”

Hopefully somebody in Washington will remember that action here would be a renewal of the the Navy’s oldest tradition…overseas suppression of Islamopiracy. It worked against the Barbary States’ pirates, it would work now too.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

“Anchors Aweigh” for ChiCom Naval Deployment

Chinese Warships Set Sail for Pirate Fight

Chinese warships — armed with special forces, guided missiles and helicopters — set sail Friday for anti-piracy duty off Somalia, the first time the communist nation has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.

The three vessels — two destroyers and a supply ship — may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China’s ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

Warships from India, Russia, NATO and the U.S. are also cruising the Somali waters that have been plagued by pirate attacks in recent months.

This could be good news, or it could be bad news. One thing that it IS, unfortunately, is rational, at least from China’s point of view. The Chief commented in an earlier post that perhaps if the US and other western navies were doing the job, that the ChiComs wouldn’t feel as much of a need to get into the picture. On the other hand…maybe they would do it anyway…just to prove that they can.

Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii, said countries in the region will view China’s mission off Somalia differently.

“For Japan and some in South Korea, this is another step in the unwelcome growth of the Chinese navy as a capable blue-water force, which has only downsides for Tokyo and Seoul,” said Roy, an expert on China’s military.

But he said most Southeast Asian countries may see China’s involvement in the anti-piracy campaign as a positive thing. It would mean that China was using its greater military might for constructive purposes, rather than challenging the current international order.

However, the analyst added, “The Chinese deployment gets at a question the U.S. and other governments have been asking: ‘Why the big Chinese military buildup when no country threatens China?’ Or more bluntly, ‘Why do the Chinese need a blue-water navy when the U.S. Navy already polices the world’s oceans?”‘

Roy said the answer is that China is unwilling to rely on the U.S. to protect China’s increasingly global interests.

Given what B.O. stated before the election about a desire to radically chop U.S. defense capabilities, perhaps it is only prudence that the ChiComs actively look out for themselves.

Beijing still believes it needs to enter the field, Roy said, and that leaves open the possibility of a China-U.S. naval rivalry in the future.

A rivalry? THAT would be an improvement over the supine attitudes of the current higher US Naval leadership.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

What’s Chinese for “Anchors Aweigh”?

Chinese flag up anti-pirate fleet

China is considering sending ships to fight pirates off the Horn of Africa in what would be the country’s first significant long-range naval combat mission since the 15th century.

Senior Colonel Huang Xueping, spokesman for China’s ministry of national defence, told the FT an anti-piracy mission was “still in the consideration stage”. But he said: “There will be an announcement very soon.”

What’s wrong with this? Nothing in and of itself, but why isn’t the US Navy acting against piracy?

What in the heck do we have the 5th Fleet in the Indian Ocean for?

The U.S. Navy built its first ships in the 1790’s specifically to respond to demands for “tribute” from Islamic pirates operating from North Africa. Prior to the vote, one Congressman proclaimed “MILLIONS FOR DEFENSE! NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE!”, and Congress voted accordingly to build such historic ships as the frigate USS Constitution (which is still officially commissioned and on the fleet list).

Nowadays we’re saddled with Admirals that apparently couldn’t find their posteriors with assistance from GPS, extra lookouts, along with surface and air-search radars as evidenced by their apparent lack of knowledge of what our naval ships can do.

Admiral Mike Mullen has expressed surprise at the range of action demonstrated by the Islamopirates operating out of Somalia, and has apparently forgotten that navy ships have GUNS that REALLY can shoot, and MISSILES that do a good job at killing enemies and breaking their stuff too. Perhaps India, whose Navy has demonstrated that it remembers this basic knowledge can send us some advisors to refresh the memory of the Pentagon about the capabilities of naval warships.

The Chief would have thought that the US just MIGHT be able to exercise some leadership in dealing with this problem…but not until those in charge manage to rediscover that they have some cojones. Unfortunately, there probably won’t be much, if any, improvement from the incoming B.O. administration. More’s the pity.

Defense Matters!

Arrrrrrgh! Shiver me timbers, mate!

A prisoner in ‘pirate alley’

Sorry about that! The Chief just couldn’t resist the obvious cheap humor, although the reality of the current crop of piracy in the Gulf of Aden has nothing to laugh about any more than there was humor in the original pirates of the Caribbean, who were as evil a pack of scoundrels and murderers as ever walked, or sailed the planet.

The current crop, by all accounts, aren’t much better.

In a startling throwback to 17th century days of Spanish galleons, Barbary pirates and avenging royal navies, pirates attacked a record 17 ships in the Gulf of Aden in the first two weeks of September compared to just 10 in the entire year of 2007, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center.

Q: How long until official naval anti-piracy patrols are set up?
A: Not soon enough.

Rope. Pirates. Yardarm. Some assembly required.

(Yes, modern naval ships DO still have yardarms – they’re really great at supporting antennae of various sorts!)

Culture Wars, Defense Matters!

Recollections and Reality

Taken from an e-mail correspondence of the Chief…and when I completed my answer to it, I thought there might be some things here that were (a) worth sharing, and (b) IMHO actually relevant to some of our current circumstances as a nation. Personal references have been redacted in the interest of privacy.

Yeah you radio guys had it easy. 1st Div had to be on deck hours before the refueling laying out those lines for you. ha  I had it easy. I was the Visual Signalman on the forward station. Mr. —- was the OIC.  The CO treated him like crap. He seemed to want to mentally destroy the kid. After one refueling the oiler screwed up and when we disconnected the couplings gallons of black fuel went across the deck. The AO had failed to give us the blow-down or the back-suction.

It was the little torpedo deck right under the bridge. We were on our hands and knees wiping up oil and the CO was right above us. We kept looking up to see if he was looking down. He never noticed. After we finished Mr. —- asked me, “Do you think he saw?”  I shook my head and told him, “No sir. He didn’t see it.” I had my differences with Mr. —- but I wasn’t going to make him feel worse than he already did.

Interesting to think back… when I had radio messenger watch, I had a lot of contact with Officer’s Country and its denizens.  Mr. —- wasn’t the only one in that position, but some, like LTjg —-, the — officer were, to be generous, marginally competent at best, and often made their own troubles.  On the other hand, a good leader could/should buck up the weak links in his command… and should be able to get better performance without dragging people through the mud. (Sort of like working with marginal, but capable students in a classroom.)

I remember a lot of stuff like that in CPO Leadership Indoc training after I was selected for RMC, and I have to say that on a lot of this (admittedly much later than our time on USS Sellers) the Navy has its ducks in a row, and the leadership principles and application they taught were on a higher, and more useful level than most of what passes for educational management, etc that I have been exposed to as an educator over the years in interminable (and all too often irrelevant) “In-service” sessions from school(s). Ha ha!

I think the Navy started paying a lot more attention to stuff like that after the 70’s Zumwalt Navy which was warm and fuzzy, but had real problems with really lousy discipline, common drug use, etc.   Some of the Chiefs and senior PO’s I can recall from Sellers days would have been (justifiably) busted out of the Navy by the standards of the mid to late 80’s or later.  Others were really good at their jobs, and did their best to look out for their subordinates, under what were difficult conditions at best, given the difficult command climate at the time.

I remember from radio message traffic that the Atlantic/Med ships seemed to always be “sucking from the hind teat” when it came to personnel, parts, supplies, etc., since we weren’t directly involved in the war of the day, and our alleged betters in Washington were determined to try to fight on the cheap so as to not make anyone in the states feel any economic inconvenience from the effort.  (Hmmmm.  Sound familiar?) Anyway, that attitude possibly (probably?) filtered down from the Pentagon through the Lant/Med Fleets, and it HAD to be tough on the ship drivers to be accountable for performance, while getting semi-adequate logistical support.

People like Eisenhower, and Colin Powell have the right idea… as did others, like WW-II Wehrmacht Generaloberst Heinz Guderian who phrased it “Kick ’em, don’t piss on ’em!” – meaning that if it’s important enough to go to war… half-measures don’t make it.  Apply full force, as fast and hard as possible, so as to minimize the ultimate materiel and personnel costs to the country, and its people.

The alternative, war as practiced by McNamara, LBJ, Nixon, and more recently the Clintonoid generals and admirals under SECDEF Rumsfeld, just drives me crazy.  IMHO it’s fundamentally immoral to ask/expect men to lay their lives on the line in order to score some sort of (domestic or international) political point without coming to a clearly decisive result in the national interest.

Unfortunately, once Rummy et al slapped the Iraqi tar-baby, we were stuck for sure, and a quick withdrawal would have been worse that not having done anything in the first place…so the cut-and-run policy pushed by the left-Dems these days, shows such a poor situational awareness that it supports a case for a form of insanity. (…like one of radio talker Michael Savage’s books: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder)

So, where does that leave us now?  Fortunately, some people like Petraeus, and USMC Commandant Conway (who I knew in H.S. in St Louis – I have his signature in a yearbook!) seem to have a good grasp on reality…so we might get saved from ourselves over there yet.  (From what I have read about Adm Mullen, I wouldn’t give a bucket of spit for his attitude…he apparently doesn’t want to fight hard due to the administrative difficulty of maintaining recruiting and retention if there was a “hard” war!  (Is here ever any other kind of war? NOT! Refer again to the Guderian quote above.)

Oh well… all too many of us these days are so enervated (by – what?  Cultural corrosion? Too much emphasis on our modern “bread and circuses”?) that we don’t want to make the commitments NOW that can avoid a disaster LATER… sort of like the Brits (except Churchill) and Frogs in the 30’s.

Sheesh!  All that from a simple recollection of days of  “haze grey and underway” from 40 years ago.  What a trip!

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Cold War II: Naval Front Now Open

Soviet Union Russia says to send battleship to Caribbean Sea

First off – it ISN’T a battleship, except perhaps generically as a ship built to participate in battles. Nobody at present has any active battleships (BB types)… we still have a few that in a pinch COULD be reactivated, and there are some reasons why this would be a good idea…but that’s another story, and I digress.

What is being discussed here is effectively a guided missile battlecruser (BCG), and is a very impressive looking package, although it may be subject to some technical and maintenance issues. These ships are significantly larger than the current USN cruiser classes, and for that reason are very effective at “showing the flag” exercises and activities, if not combat.

kirov.jpg

Russia will send a nuclear-powered battleship to the Caribbean for a joint naval exercise with Venezuela, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The maneuvers later this year will be the first Russia has conducted in Washington’s traditional sphere of influence since the end of the Cold War.

So…Putin figures apparently that turn about is fair play, since the Black Sea has been as much of a Russian “lake” as the Caribbean has been for us.

Russia has heavily criticized the United States for sending a sophisticated command ship and two other naval vessels to Georgia, on its southern border, to deliver aid and show support for President Mikheil Saakashvili after Moscow sent troops into Georgia.

Nothing to be concerned about however, according to the Soviets Russians:

Russia denied that the move amounted to retaliation against the United States over its action Georgia. “We are talking about a planned event not linked with current political circumstances and not in any way connected to events in Georgia,” he told a news briefing. The exercises “will in no way be directed against the interests of a third country.”

You can believe as much of that as you want to, but the Chief isn’t buying it!

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

More Cold War II – Leading to World War III (or is it IV?)

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To one who is able and willing to recall 20th Century history, current events produce that same old deja vu all over again.

Remember? 3rd Reich Glee Club and Marching Society World Tour: 1938- Sudetenland / Czechoslovakia; 1939 – Poland; 1940 – Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France; 1941 – Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania, North Africa, USSR. ’nuff said.

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland’s agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported. The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations….

“Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent,” Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

100%!!?? Is this REALLY a war warning? If so…see above note about 1939…

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia’s military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons “against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them.” Nogovitsyn said that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, he said, according to Interfax.

Yikes! Even the Foggy Bottom Boyus at the State Department wouldn’t be able to ignore an attack on Poland…whether or not we were actually ready to act…which we aren’t, at least not much more (psychologically if not militarily) than were Britain and France in 1939.

This leads to a REALLY ugly, bad conclusion… and the Chief at least can’t see a good ending if the Russia keeps its vows.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Cold War II Update

Georgia on my Mind… (to quote Ray Charles)

Quoted in an e-mail bulletin, but without specifics as to date:

“Russia’s attack on neighboring Georgia over two tiny separatist provinces is really about something much bigger—Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s desire to restore the former USSR’s might. Russia’s ill intentions clearly are on display in Georgia. In a fit of nationalist fury, it wants to teach Georgia and other former satellite countries that once made up the Soviet Bloc that its pro-Western rapprochement days are over. What better way than to invade a former republic, humiliate its leaders and then taunt the West for failing to come to its aid? As if that wasn’t enough, Russia immediately began threatening its other neighbors. A top Russian diplomat ominously warned Monday that Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland would ‘pay’ for criticizing Russia’s ‘imperialist’ policy toward Georgia. Russia’s claim to support independence from Georgia of tiny South Ossetia and even tinier Abkhazia is simply phony. Georgia, with its strategically important oil pipeline, has grown close to the U.S. —even sending troops to Iraq. Putin, furious at growing U.S. and NATO ties with Eastern Europe, wanted to emasculate Georgia’s military while deposing its pro-American President Mikheil Saakashvili. With his attack, it looks like he’s succeeding. The symbolism of the invasion, coming at the start of the Beijing Olympics, is unmistakable. This is Russia’s wake-up call to all of us. Communism may be dead, Putin is saying, but Russia isn’t.” —Investor’s Business Daily

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Thid did encourage the Chief to look at I.B.D. to try to find the specifics, without success. There WERE however, a couple of other relevant op-eds there on the topic:

A Pipeline Runs Through It

Geopolitics: Russia’s aggression is not only about toppling a pro-Western democracy and potential NATO member. It’s about the only pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to the West not controlled by Moscow or Iran.

Georgia is only the latest instance of Russia’s plans to reassemble the “evil empire” and neuter NATO expansion, using energy as both a weapon and a means of financing its rapid military expansion. Russia has doubled its military in the past five years, thanks in large part to the “windfall profits” it has reaped from skyrocketing energy prices.

One of the Russian targets in Georgia is a pipeline carrying oil from the Caspian to the West. Georgia was a target of renewed Russian imperialism because it was a democracy, a future NATO member and an energy supplier to the West. Its use would accelerate declining oil prices worldwide and put a serious crimp in Moscow’s plans.

This makes FAR too much sense…is anyone in Washington besides Sen. McCain noticing this? B.O. the Annointed continues to demonstrate his nearly total lack of situational awareness concerning national security issues.

Answering Russia

Energy: Russia’s bloody invasion of a smaller neighbor whose territory includes a vital oil pipeline has left many people wondering: What can we do? Plenty, it turns out — including some things right here at home.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced he was halting Russia’s air and ground attack on Georgia, but someone forgot to tell Russia’s military.

It has continued its brutal assault, with news reports that Russian troops have started looting, raping and savagely attacking Georgian civilians.

It’s clear former President Vladimir Putin, not his handpicked successor Medvedev, is calling the shots. Putin’s made no secret of the fact that he wants to depose Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and set up a pliant puppet regime, giving him de facto control of Georgia’s oil pipeline — the main conduit to Europe from the oil-rich Caspian Sea that’s not on Russian soil.

What to do? Some ideas from I.D.B.:

Start with President Bush’s pledge Wednesday to support Georgia, an ally in the war on terror, and send it aid. Bush warned Russia the U.S. might not support its “aspirations” to join diplomatic, economic and security groups. We’ve already canceled joint NATO-Russia naval exercises, scheduled for this weekend. And we can turn the G-8 nations back into the G-7. Russia has shown that it doesn’t deserve to be counted among democratic, economically free nations.

But there’s more we can do:
• Russia wants badly to join the World Trade Organization. Put that on a back burner until it starts behaving.
• Russia is scheduled to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics at the resort of Sochi, 15 miles from Abkhazia, the other Georgian province that Russia just invaded. Cancel it, and give it to a more deserving host.
• We’re building a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. We should accelerate our plans, and broaden participation.
• Russia took in about $27 billion in foreign investment last year. We should limit capital flows to make sure Western capital and technology aren’t used to build Russia’s military.

In short, if Russia wants a Cold War, we can give them one.

Hoo-rah! The Chief heartily concurs.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

More Notes on Cold War-II

Putin says Russia needs to go back to Cuba

This goes along with previous posting here, talking about Soviet…er…Russian talk about moving nuclear bombers to Cuba and Venezuela.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday said it was time for Russia to rebuild links with former Cold War ally Cuba, news agencies reported.

The Kremlin is angry at U.S. plans for a missile defence system in Eastern Europe, and last month a news report suggested Russia might use Cuba, a thorn in America’s side for half a century, as a refueling stop for nuclear-capable bombers.

Keep your powder dry.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Betting on Blackjack: Not a Good Gamble!

Cold War II Taking Off with Rus Bombers, Carriers, arms to Venezuela?

This sure makes the decision to keep the B-1 base at Ellsworth AFB open look better and better.

Russia is betting on Blackjack and upping the odds: It may be a bluff, or Kremlin policymakers may believe they already are holding an inside straight.

Russian policymakers Thursday boosted their threat to deploy supersonic Tupolev Tu-160 “White Swan” — NATO designation Blackjack — nuclear bombers in Cuba to say they might put them in Venezuela and Algeria, too.

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Like the original threat, floated three days earlier on July 21, to deploy the Blackjacks in Cuba, this one was reported Thursday in the newspaper Izvestia and was also attributed to unidentified sources in the Russian Defense Ministry.

Q. How close would the proposed single B-1 base be to the enemy – in EITHER Cuba or Venezuela at 2000 km/h?
A. A LOT closer than either is to South Dakota’s Ellsworth AFB!

How much is bluff, and how much is reality? Hard to say…but very much the sort of strategic “great game” played by the Soviets through Cold War I.

The Tu-160 Blackjacks and the more than a half-century old but still very much operational Tu-95MS Bears have gone through extensive refits in recent years. Both aircraft now carry new X-555 cruise missiles that can fly more than 2,200 miles, so that they do not have to fly out of bases close to the United States, or ever risk entering U.S. air space, to fire their nuclear-capable supersonic cruise missiles at almost any city or military target in the entire domestic United States, the report said.

RIA Novosti also noted the bombers could loiter in the air outside Russian territory, equipped with extensive electronic signals intelligence — SIGINT — and replace the capabilities of Russian military intelligence’s SIGINT station at Lourdes outside Havana, which was shut down six years ago.

The proposed policy of opening forward bases for the strategic bombers is not without its skeptics in Russia. RIA Novosti noted that the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta argued Thursday that Russia could not afford the infrastructure costs of building the new bases.

The answer to that is: Even if the idea of an entire network of bases around the world remains an unachievable dream in the immediate future, the Russian treasury, bursting with the windfall profits of being the world’s largest combined oil and gas exporter when oil prices remain at unprecedented high levels of well over $120 a barrel, can easily afford to build two or three of them, at least in countries like Cuba and Venezuela.

Schwartz’s tough comments to the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 22 confirmed how seriously the U.S. Air Force takes the threat of a forward deployment of Tu-160s in Cuba. Schwartz knows that U.S. military planners cannot afford to bet against Blackjack.

Meanwhile, our southern flank isn’t being neglected in other ways also:

Oil-rich Venezuela may have signed off already on another huge arms deal with Russia during President Hugo Chavez’s visit to Moscow last week.

RIA Novosti said Thursday it had received what it called “unofficial reports” that the fiercely anti-American Chavez had closed the deal with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last Wednesday. The news agency said the agreement could include modern T-90 Main Battle Tanks, Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft and man-held surface-to-air missiles — MANPADS in current U.S. parlance.

No doubt Chavez is seeking to protect himself from a feared blitzkrieg attack from Guyana. Yeah, sure.

And finally, our Russian “friends” aren’t neglecting the Naval side, either.

Russia has plans to start constructing at least five to six new aircraft carriers equipped with space-linked communications systems to operate in the Arctic and Pacific oceans, but work on the ambitious new carriers will not even start for at least another four years, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Thursday.

The news agency cited Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky as saying the navy command had decided to build complete systems for the new carriers and not just the ships themselves.

“Everything must work in a system, including aircraft carriers. We have called them sea-borne aircraft carrier systems, which will be based in the Northern and Pacific Fleets. The construction of such systems will begin after 2012,” Vysotsky said in a speech on the Russian holiday known as Navy Day.

All of this recent activity is yet more evidence that Donk Candidate B.O.’s situational awareness concerning national security is virtually non-existent, with his stated intention to gut US defense development and procurement.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Cold War II?

US general warns Russia on nuclear bombers in Cuba

The Chief has been on the road for about the last 10 days for a summer teachers’ institute for a program called Teaching American History. As part of the program, the group had the chance to visit a number of SD historic sites. One of these was a Minuteman Missile site in western South Dakota, which is preserved (without a live missile, of course) as a site and artifact of historical significance in the context of the Cold War.

Very interesting to see, and contemplate the destructive energy that was (and still is to a lesser degree) ready to be unleased if required by the US and USSR if there was a REALLY bad day.

Now comes this little reminder that those sorts of concerns are, or certainly should be, still part of the international landscape.

Russia would cross “a red line for the United States of America” if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba, a top US air force officer warned on Tuesday. “If they did I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America,” said General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force’s chief of staff.

He was referring to a Russian news report that said the military is thinking of flying long-range bombers to Cuba on a regular basis. It was unclear from the report whether that would involve permanent basing of nuclear bombers in Cuba, or just use of the island as a refueling stop. In his confirmation hearing to become the air force’s chief of staff, Schwartz was asked what he would recommend if Russia were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba.

“I would certainly offer the best military advice that we engage the Russians not to pursue that approach,” he said.

The newspaper Iszvestia on Monday cited an unnamed senior Russian air force official in Moscow as saying that Russia may start regular flights by long-range bombers to Cuba in response to US plans to install a missile defense system in eastern Europe.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on the Russian report because there had been no “official response from the Russian government.”

Defense Matters!

ZAP!

Star Wars-style laser technology to reach battlefield

Laser beam technology is being rushed into service to combat the threat of insurgent missiles and mortars raining down on British and American military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you think that big R & D bucks are behind the project…er…not quite:

After decades of delay and billions of pounds spent, it will be simple commercial lasers rather than the hugely expensive US Department of Defence technology that could be used to save hundreds of troops’ lives.

ALL RIGHT! Off-the -shelf stuff!

In just 18 months the American defence firm Raytheon has turned a laser used in the car manufacturing industry into a weapon that can hit incoming rounds at the speed of light, melting the outer casing and detonating the explosive inside.

Yankee ingenuity lives!

Defense Matters!

Charges Dropped in USMC Case

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Military judge dismisses charges in Haditha killings

A military judge dismissed charges Tuesday against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis. Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after finding that a four-star general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.

“Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice,” Folsom said. “In order to restore the public confidence, we need to take it back. We need to turn the clock back.”

This turned out well. The fix was in against Chessani, and the others…but there was enough of a public flap created about this, that not even Donk Cong. Murtha’s statement of the guilt of the Marines, and the willingness of the USMC top brass of the time to throw some troops under the bus of political correctness was able to prevail.

The Chief isn’t holding his breath waiting for Murtha to apologize for his “rush to judgement” statements against the Marines.