May 2006 Archives
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Sitting at the Table With Iran?
By Charlie
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States said Wednesday it would join in face-to-face talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program if Tehran first agreed to put challenged atomic activities on hold, a shift in tactics meant to offer the Iranians a last chance to avoid punishing sanctions.Iran dismissed the offer as "a propaganda move."
Before leaving for meetings in Europe on Iran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that while the U.S. was willing to join talks between European nations and Iran, it was also helping to prepare a package of sanctions that Tehran could face should it decline the new offer.
"We're prepared to go either way," she said
Look, we’ve covered this fairly thoroughly. Bottom Line Up Front:
-Iran won’t stop (verifiably) enriching uranium, therefore, the offer of the US participating in the talks is a diplomatic-based exercise, not a reality-based one.
-The EU-3 came to this conclusion 3 years ago, and is not prepared to either impose sanctions or lend their support to a military campaign.
-Russia and China will stick together. Until one of them can be peeled off to the West’s side, no sanctions will ever be imposed on Iran.
Therefore, working off of the “give a mouse a piece of cheese” model, the next move by the international community/Iran will be pressure on the US to engage in bilateral talks. This, of course, smacks of unilateralism.
But, hey… 2003 and OIF-1 was 3 years ago. I’m sure the world community would be fine with us engaging Iran in a good old-fashioned discussion like Southern and Southern (West Asian) gentlemen.
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Army Transformational Graphic of the day
By Charlie
Here's the whole thing.
Is Washington, DC a Quagmire?
By John
Rep. Steve King says that Iraq is safer for civilians than the District of Columbia.
Despite media coverage purporting to show that escalating violence in Iraq has the country spiraling out of control, civilian death statistics complied by Rep. Steve King, R-IA, indicate that Iraq actually has a lower civilian violent death rate than Washington, D.C. Using Pentagon statistics cross-checked with independent research, King said he came up with an annualized Iraqi civilian death rate of 27.51 per 100,000.While that number sounds high - astonishingly, the Iowa Republican discovered that it's significantly lower than a number of major American cities, including the nation's capital.
"It's 45 violent deaths per 100,000 in Washington, D.C.," King told Crowley.
Maybe we should pull out.
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Palestinian Rocket Attack Video
By Charlie
This video from Powerline clears up the issue of what the "over the security barrier" rocket attacks we keep hearing about in Israel look like.
Israel says it is facing a new strategic threat from the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip, because of the smuggling of improved weapons across the Egyptian border. Israel believes it is headed for another round of conflict with the Islamic militant group, Hamas, which now heads the Palestinian Authority.The Israeli army says Palestinian militants have smuggled some Katyusha rockets into the Gaza Strip, potentially threatening towns well inside Israel. Military sources say the rockets have been smuggled into Gaza through tunnels in the Rafah area, running under the border with Egypt. Israel abandoned Rafah, known as a corridor for weapons smuggling, when it pulled out of Gaza in August.
...
Katyusha rockets have a longer range than the homemade Palestinian Qassam rockets fired frequently at Israel. The Katyushas could hit strategic facilities like a power station in the nearby Israeli city of Ashkelon.
A little history on the Katyusha, which comes in 82mm and 132mm types :
Katyusha (Russian "Катюша") multiple rocket launchers were built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. These launchers acquired this name, unofficial but immediately recognized in the Red Army, from the title of a popular Russian wartime song, Katyusha. The song is about a girl longing for her beloved who is away from her while serving in the military. Katyusha is a tender Russian diminutive of a female name: Ekaterina (Katherine)→Katya→Katyusha.The development of the Katyusha rocket launcher was a response to Nazi Germany's development of the six-barreled Nebelwerfer rocket mortar in 1936. The Red Army began work on rocket artillery design in 1938, and deployment of the 82mm BM-8 was approved on June 21, 1941. On July 14, 1941, an experimental artillery battery of seven launchers was first used in battle against the German army at Orsha in Belarus, under the command of Captain I. Flerov. The first eight regiments of missile artillery (36 launchers in each unit) were then created on August 8, 1941. An improved BM-13N ("normalized") design was developed in 1943, and more than 1800 of this model were manufactured by the end of WWII.
Qassam rockets, which are much less powerful and accurate, have been used since 2001. The prevalence of Katyushas, dangerous as they are, indicates increased levels of state support for the terror groups attacking Israel.
Michael Moore Sued
By John
Iraq War vet suing Moore for $85 million.
A double-amputee Iraq-war vet is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out of context to make him appear anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11." Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, who strongly supports America's invasion of Iraq, said he never agreed to be in the 2004 movie, which trashes President Bush. In the 2003 interview, which he did at Walter Reed Army Hospital for NBC News, he discussed only a new painkiller the military was using on wounded vets. "They took the clip because it was a gut-wrenching scene," Damon said yesterday. "They sandwiched it in. [Moore] was using me as ammunition."Moore would have been better off interviewing Jesse Macbeth.
Hotel Tango to Glenn.
America will be the sole superpower for the next 15 years
By Charlie
The OPFOR that the Army trains against in places like the National Training Center in California, or Fort Polk, LA, has been in flux since the Cold War ended. Back in the “good old days” OPFOR units mimicked USSR TTPs, disguised their vehicles to appear like T-72s and BMP-1s, and provided a real world classroom for Army units, heavy and light, to train against. After the Cold War, and especially after 9/11, OPFOR has gravitated toward the threat we fight now in Iraq and Afghanistan: asymmetric, shadowy, and reclusive. Some purists, however, point in a hyperventilated manner toward the remaining conventional threats in the world today: China, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, the Arab/Persian armies that work off of a bastardized Soviet doctrine. Basically, OPFOR trains units against “anything they want to train against.” This remains a sore spot to many today.
This localized argument about training troops has a larger connotation: will the US have a peer competitor in the near term (next 10-15 years)? If so, who would it be? The military might of a nation (it would have to be a nation) that could challenge America in a straight-up hot war would have to be able to overcome America’s enormous tactical experience, strategic depth, logistical expertise, and technological advances. Plus, hearkening back to the Cold War, our peer competitor could wage war anywhere in the world –what nation today can muster those resources?
We must remain vigilant to all threats, symmetrical and otherwise, but this post (some choice bits below the fold) takes on the China threat, and gives some non-military insight on how America is likely to remain the world’s sole superpower for the rest of the near term and beyond.
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Naming Your Planes 101
By John
Introducing the F-35 "Black Mamba."
The Air Force chief of staff will name the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter by June 30, choosing from six monikers that range from the historic to the arcane, military and industry officials say. The Air Force and Navy both proposed Lightning II, while the Marine Corps advocated Spitfire II, said a U.S. officer familiar with the deliberations.The Air Force also submitted finalists Cyclone and Reaper, this officer said.The finalists also include two more curious suggestions – Black Mamba and Piasa.
Black Mamba? I guess Philippine Spitting Cobra and Gaboon Viper were already taken....
Hotel Tango: CDR Salamander
***Charlie adds (snarkily):
"In Africa, the saying goes 'In the bush, an elephant can kill you, a leopard can kill you, and a black mamba can kill you. But only with the mamba is death sure.' Hence its handle, 'Death Incarnate.'" Pretty cool, huh?"
Protestors Learn About Pepperspray
By John
"Before pepperspray, the mob was unruly; afterwards....not so much."
Iran: Why Diplomacy (alone) Won't Work
By Charlie
Iran’s current situation, stringing out multilateral talks until it can get nukes, seems to be working out wonderfully. Is there any way out of this impending train-wreck of international policy? Multilateralism has worked in the past, but Iran seems to have mastered the game of brinkmanship. Can anything be done? I say no, unless we change some perceptions.
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One Mind, Any Weapon
By Maj P
Via Blackfive and B-I-A, this magnificent little story.
Good work, Marine!
Maj p
Hollow Men
By John
Scientists lay down theoretical blueprints for invisibility cloak.
WASHINGTON - The key to creating a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak lies in manmade materials unlike any in nature or the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, researchers say.They're laying out a blueprint for turning science fiction into reality. And they say that, in theory, nothing's stopping them from making such a cloak.
Well, almost nothing: They still need to perfect the manufacture of those exotic materials with an ability to steer light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation around a cloaked object, rendering it as invisible as something tucked into a hole in space.
I understand none of that. What I do want to know is....
Is it an evil invisibilty cloak?
Get Out the Tinfoil
By John
The ever paranoid Alternet on the top ten signs of the impending US police state. Couldn't find one of the ten that was particularly convincing.
The Alternet website, by the way, strongly advocates Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. Just sayin'...
Finish the Job!
By Charlie
Owen West, writing (in all places) in the New York Times, hits one out of the park. He calls national unity on finishing the job in Iraq, and taking the fight to the terrorists who have been at war with this country for decades.
Somehow Operation Iraqi Freedom, not a large war by America's historical standards, has blossomed into a crisis of expectations that threatens our ability to react to future threats with a fist instead of five fingers. Instead of rallying we are squabbling, even as the slow fuse burns.One party is overly sanguine, unwilling to acknowledge its errors. The other is overly maudlin, unable to forgive the same. The Bush administration seeks to insulate the public from the reality of war, placing its burden on the few. The press has tried to fill that gap by exposing the raw brutality of the insurgency; but it has often done so without context, leaving a clear implication that we can never win.
In the past, the American public could turn to its sons for martial perspective. Soldiers have historically been perhaps the country's truest reflection, a socio-economic cross-section borne from common ideals. The problem is, this war is not being fought by World War II's citizen-soldiers. Nor is it fought by Vietnam's draftees. Its wages are paid by a small cadre of volunteers that composes about one-tenth of 1 percent of the population — America's warrior class.
The insular nature of this group — and a war that has spiraled into politicization — has left the Americans disconnected and confused. It's as if they have been invited into the owner's box to settle a first-quarter disagreement on the coach's play-calling. Not only are they unprepared to talk play selection, most have never even seen a football game.
This confusion, in turn, affects our warriors, who are frustrated by the country's lack of cohesion and the depiction of their war. Iraq hasn't been easy on the military, either. But the strength of our warriors is their ability to adapt.
...
We are clashing with an enemy who has been at war with us in one form or another for two decades. Our military response may take decades more. We have crossed several rivers and the nation is hoping that ahead lie streams. But if they are oceans, we should heed Lincoln's call: "With malice toward none, with charity for all ... let us strive on to finish the work we are in."
Hooah, sir.
Happy Memorial Day Part II
By Charlie
Continuing on our theme this weekend, here's the text of a little speech given at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Happy Memorial Day
By John
"We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free."
-President Ronald Reagan, Omaha Beach, June 6 1984
President Reagan's tribute to the US soldiers who fought and died on the shores of Normandy was a speech so powerful that it echos still today. Read the whole thing below the fold, and remember why this tree of liberty we call America has flourished.
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America the Beautiful
By Charlie
I spent some time this weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and getting away from the bustle and congestion of Northern Virginia. While I was there, I took some time to reflect. Being surrounded by the majesty of nature, the enormity of the terrain, and the sheer peacefulness of the area, I arrived at a simple conclusion: America is a great place, and I’m lucky –or blessed- to live here and be a part of it.
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Iran Burning
By Charlie
Earlier this month, a cartoon was published in Iran. It poked fun at ethnic Azeris, who, following the current MidEast rational action SOP, started burning stuff.
The protests have spread.
Like basketball victories that turn into smash-and-grab riots, other groups in Iran have risen up in "solidarity" with the Azeris -for their own purposes. Meanwhile, in: Azerbaijan:
A peaceful demonstration by Azeris in the Iranian city of Tabriz and the subsequent violent crackdown on the protestors by Iranian law-enforcement agencies has resulted in public outrage in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Politicians, non-governmental organizations, and the general public have condemned the Iranian government for the bloodshed, which they attribute to the chauvinism and brutality of the Tehran regime.
Back in Tehran, the mullahs are- of course- blaming America!
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's supreme leader said Sunday the United States would fail to provoke ethnic strife in the Islamic republic after several days of protests over a cartoon that insulted the country's largest minority.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said in a speech broadcast by state-run television that "trying to provoke ethnic and religious unrest is the last desperate shot by enemies."
While this is probably not America's fault, it has revealed a glaring weakness in the Iranian regime. Stay tuned.
Humor Update
By Charlie
Here is the complete PowerPoint version of "Bob on the Fob." Enjoy, and if anyone incorporates this into a BUB/CUB/Presentation, let me know and I'll post an update.
Also, I have a challenge to all of you PowerPoint Rangers out there: send me your most interesting/funniest/dumbest/most new-speak laden presentation. Knowledge (or lack thereof) is best when shared.
Memorial Day Memo
By John
Chris Michel, president of Military.com, on taking back Memorial Day:
This morning I opened the paper and a series of circulars spilled onto my lap – bright, colored pages with bold fonts and frenetic language: “Now through Memorial Day only!” and “A Don’t Miss Memorial Day Sales Event!” As I took a deep breath and gathered up the pages that had spilled to the floor, at once it struck me: We owe more than commerce to those who sacrificed the balance of their lives for their country. It's time to take back Memorial Day.
DD-214 Forgery
By John
The plot thickens, when it should be fading away. Now fake ranger and real anti-war activist Jesse MacBeth has posted an alledged Form DD-214, the army's official separation/discharge form on a MySpace account.
Allah Pundit has more at Hot Air.
The form appears legit, at least after a cursory look. The language is correct (11 Bravo is the proper army speciality code for those branching into the infantry), and smaller items like the date are written in the proper military format.
But, like Jesse, the discharge paperwork comes apart after relatively minor scruntiny.
Here's why the form is bogus:
-Form attaches Jesse to BCTB 2D BN 47THIN CO D TR TC, which is a Fort Benning basic training brigade (BCTB is an ancronym for basic combat training brigade). Means one of two things: Jesse was an instructor, or a recruit.
-Time in service is listed as roughly a month and a half, which pretty much answers the instructor or recruit question.
-Misspelling on "ranger qualified."
-Box 14 for military education lists "none." An army ranger, one with combat experience no less, would have a minimum his basic training class, Ranger school class, advanced infantry school, jump school, etc listed.
-Discharge code reads JGA. 30 second Google search gives us the full translation for the JGA "reason for discharge" code: pregnancy.
-Font in boxes 11 and 13 (speciality and decorations, respectively) are different than form's standard font.
-Botton left box has some noticeable profanity. Not sure if that was a message to the milbloggers, from Jesse with love.
If Jesse was indeed a boot-camp dropout, he would have easy access to this form. You see, these DD-214s are often used as methods of verifying medical discharge from military service to potential employers/background investigators. Dishonorable discharge is a frequent disqualifier to careers in the civilian world, so the military makes the forms readily available to medical washouts for verification purposes.
This form makes Macbeth's story fairly easy to deconstruct. Jesse, as a boot camp dropout, would have an official DD-214 listening his training brigade (check), reason for discharge (check), duty station (check), name, address, and social (check, check, check). Since he made no real progress in the army, boxes listing any sort of decorations, education, combat experience, etc would be blank. With blank boxes 11 and 13, one could write just about anything in the free space, which is why the font in those boxes on Jesse's form is different from the font on the rest of the paperwork. I'm also 90% certain that forging official DoD documents is illegal.
I think Jesse just put the final nail in his coffin. In the meantime, go do something meaningful for memorial day, as there are plenty of real troops out there deserving of our appreciation and gratitude.
**Update** SMASH has more, plus a sharper copy of the form.
**Update 2** Uncle Jimbo:
Is this our little clown's discharge paperwork?The answer is EL NO! The first and disqualifying lameness is Ranger Qualified Qualifyed under primary specialty, misspelled and inappropriate for that block.
I am calling the game there and I am sure we will have 71 Limas galore clerk debunking this pathetic rag.
And I speak as a serial document forger, OMG I shudder to think at the vast quantity of leave papers, and liberty passes and badges I made over the years to further the cause of freedom, justice and the American Way.
Remember Those Fighting
By Charlie
...this Memorial Day.
Sgt. Joshua Dubois and fellow “War Hawks” from the 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, hone their marksmanship skills at the small-arms range at Forward Operating Base Rustimiyah in east Baghdad. This photo appeared on www.army.mil.
Powerful Stuff
By John
I've always found Gatorade commercials to be sappy and overdramatic. Here's the Gatorade Team proving me wrong....
It's terrible that certain foreign soccer fans violate the code of sportsmanlike conduct and turn our national team into a sh*t magnet for all the anti-American sentiment in the world. No athlete in any sport in any nation in the world should be subjected to what those guys are forced to put up with. World Cup starts in two weeks....shove it down their throats USA.
I found a funny Military Cartoon, at last!
By Charlie
/more to come.
"Zarqawi Aid" Still Least Desired/Most Likely to get you captured occupation in MidEast
By Charlie
May 23 (Bloomberg) -- An aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, today appeared on state-run Jordanian television and confessed to involvement in the killings of Iraqis and other Arabs.
Got that -our allies, subject to the will of the "Arab Street" are (and have been) rounding up AQ operatives. They just made a BIG catch in Jordan, and got him to confess (OP-FOR is coordinating with Cuba and China on the UN Human Rights Commission to ensure this guy's rights were not violated to get a confession. We'll let you know when we get this checked out.)
Why are the Arab autocracies increasingly (and effectively) stepping up their counter-terror campaigns? Perhaps because they now realize it is in their best interest to do so. Seeking to cut off AQ at the pass, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have been using their pervasive and effective intelligence and state security service to round up AQ and other Islamic extremist groups/terrorists lately. Why, play to US interests? Because they know that their regime’s stability is linked to the stability of the region. If Islamic radicals gain a foothold in Iraq (or anywhere else) the local extremist forces will become bolstered and attempt to exert similar influence on their home government. Jordan, and the other nations, know this. So the only option they can take is to use their advantages against the enemy’s disadvantages. Their advantages are a well established intelligence apparatus, and the ability to leverage human intelligence and apply it to direct action operations. And it worked. More:
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Michael Yon Ripped Off
By John
And not by just anyone, Yon's famous photo of an American soldier and dying Iraqi girl was taken by one of the vilest of the vile print tabloids.
Michael writes:
John,
This horrible magazine, launching this Memorial Day weekend, shows photos of our wounded soldiers and is very anti-military. They indicate that I gave them this photo. I did NOT and never would have. This is flagrant copyright violation.....
Well, no one ever accused the tabloids OR the anti-war crowd of being classy. This is disgraceful on so many levels it's nauseating. I really wish Mike didn't have to constantly fight these battles for the rights to his own intellectual property (he fought -and won- a lengthy battle with the Army for the same photograph last year).
Blackfive has been all over the story. Matt included the following contact information for Shock Magazine:
The number for HFM is (212) 767-6000. Email Shock at shock@neodata.com and inbox@shocku.com.
The offending cover...
Here's some "shocking" reading for Shock Magazine, the US code on copyright infringement.
Please help Mike out. Let Shock Magazine exactly how you feel about copyright violations, and trashy, thieving tabloids as well.
**Update** Michelle is also pressing the Shock Mag clowns.
**Update 2** Shock seems to be moving foward with the issue. Link has a comments section.
Meanwhile, Mike responds...
China's Build-up: defense or offense?
By Charlie
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China has angrily rejected a U.S. Defense Department report that says Beijing is a potential military threat, insisting that its multibillion-dollar buildup is defensive.
Hmmm... What are they buying that is defensive? CNN says: "Beijing has spent heavily in recent years on adding submarines, missiles, fighter planes and other high-tech weapons to its arsenal in order to extend the reach of the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army, the world's largest fighting force." But I want specifics. Over at globalsecurity.org, I found them:
According to Pentagon analysts, China has bought Su-27 Flanker fighters and Su-30 Flanker interceptors, AA-12 Adder medium-range air-to-air missiles, SA-10 Grumble, SA-15 Gauntlet and SA-20 Triumf surface-to-air missiles, 3M-54E (SS-N-27B) anti-ship cruise missiles, Kilo-class diesel submarines, Sovremennyi-class destroyers, Il-76 Candid transport planes and Il-78 Midas in-flight refueling tankers.
Most of the stuff is (suprise) from Russia. Check below the fold for some more info. The $24K question: is China beefing up for offensive purposes, or is this just an attempt to modernize its very old equipment (that it has a lot of.)?
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North Korea "suprises" everyone by acting irrationally
By Charlie
SEOUL -- North Korea stunned South Korea yesterday with an abrupt decision to cancel landmark test runs of trains across the two nations' heavily guarded border, underscoring the mercurial [*] nature of the communist regime.
*Gasp!* Could it be that North Korea really doesn’t want to engage in activities that could possibly lead to peacefully coexistence and eventual peaceful reunification with the South?
"The responsibility for the collapse of scheduled trial runs lies in North Korea," Mr. Shin said. The tests would have been the first train crossings across the border in more than a half-century and were a high-profile element of efforts at detente between both sides since a pivotal summit in 2000.Train service between the Koreas was halted in June 1951.
North Korea said yesterday that the situation on the divided peninsula had become too "unstable" to conduct the test runs, criticizing "pro-U.S. ultra-right conservative forces" in the South for "pushing the situation in Korea to an extreme phase of confrontation and war."
The trains would have opened up a line of communication and trade with the North, and could have alleviated the perpetual communist-sponsored famine, raised the (low) standard of living, and led to a greater understanding between the people of the peninsula. How interesting the North Korea decided to kill the deal. Like most tyrants, most recently the warlords in Somalia, famine and oppression are vital tools to repressing the populace and perpetuating the party’s power. ANY commo between the north and the south, economic or otherwise, is a direct threat to the stability of Kim Il Jong’s regime. So it comes as no surprise to me that the North would flirt with this idea and then back out at the last minute.
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Tire Not. Engage.
By John
My friend Steve Schippert of Threats Watch Why is the defense of this nation a political issue at all? There are those who will argue that it is the manner in which we defend ourselves that is at issue.
That, my friends, is a convoluted disingenuous sheen of reason upon the unreasonable.
A former Attorney General currently vociferously defends a mass murdering dictator deposed by our own forces. An icon of the self-loathing anti-American academic Left, Noam Chomsky, embraces Hizballah, the chief beneficiary of Iran's terror export, and condemns the War on Terror as bigotry wrapped in fiction. A former Vice President travels to the home of fifteen 9/11 hijackers and professes that Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" by America and its sitting president and held in "unforgivable" conditions.
These are not arguments of the manner in which to defend America. These are sycophantic rantings of whether to defend her. The flood of emotions in disbelieving reaction range from anger and rage to depression and grief.
We dare not rest as the most important front of the War on Terror and for the very survival of Western Civilization lies not upon the sands of distant shores, but in our own common discourse. The most important battlegrounds are around our dinner tables and in intelligent and persuasive common sense discussion among our peers, seeking the discomfort of battle and the very defense of defense rather than the comfort and unproductive endeavor of agreement among friends.
The line has been clearly drawn. Tire not. Engage.
Beautiful. The War on Terror isn't gay marriage or stem cell research or abortion. It isn't a topic that should be debated during high school forensics matches. We have a category here at Op For called "One Team, One Fight." Charlie and I are constantly searching for examples of one America, one war, one fight. It's how things should be, but aren't. There shouldn't even be a need for a category that recognizes something Americans should be doing in the first place.
Steve ended on a positive note and I agree. Ignore petty politics, fight the good fight, tire not and engage.
Hurricane Season’s coming! Run for your lives!
By Charlie
UPI:
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said FEMA will test revamped command procedures with states in the next two weeks and, among other improvements, a week's supply of ice and water for 1 million people has been stockpiled.The United States is "much more prepared as a nation than we have ever been to confront a major hurricane," Chertoff said.
U.S. officials also called on 60 million coastal residents to make their own disaster plans.
Officials from Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas told The Washington Post that much work and system testing remains to be done."It's kind of a race: Can we get all the things people needed before the 2005 hurricane season done before this hurricane season?" Florida Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate told the newspaper.
Yeah, we’ll be ready… perhaps too ready. I fear that this year, the first little hurricane that hits a US city will trigger a massive overreaction. Prepare for a convoy of MSM assets deploying to the first minor disaster that pops up, a National Guard Heavy Brigade Combat Team rolling into a seaside city with minor damage, prepared to finally find and dispatch with extreme prejudice that one guy who we heard might have shot at a medevac chopper one time.
Anyway, the Guard is ready to roll at a moment’s notice. I hope there isn’t a repeat of Katrina this year. Not because we won’t be ready, but because of the enormous damage it did. For those of you who haven’t seen the ridiculous destructive power of a hurricane, click below the fold so for some shots from last year’s disaster area.
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More on the Missile Defense for Europe
By Charlie
AP:
TEL AVIV, Israel -Iran test-fired a long-range missile, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday, as President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program in Washington.The defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said the missile was a Shihab-3 with a range of 900 miles, the same type of missile that has been test-fired several times in the past.
Olmert mentioned Iranian missiles of that range at a news conference in Washington after meeting with Bush, noting that it would give Iran the ability to strike any point in Europe as well as
Israel. He said it is not to late to stop the Iranian program.
Possible range of Iran's current strategic missile forces:
Current NATO countries:
Iran’s missiles are being taken as an emerging threat by serious nations across the globe. NATO countries are wise to the threat, but I fear for Europe. Centers of regional power like Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, and other areas outside of US defensive range remain vulnerable to the Iranians. As long as this regime remains in place, they will continue to research and improve their missile technology.
My take is that it should be an American responsibility to protect our forward deployed troops protected from missile threats. This extends to our allies that are aiding us in accomplishing our mission abroad. This (should) stop, however, with it becoming an American responsibility to shield Europe (or whoever else in the world) from all missile threats. As long as the EU thinks they can “negotiate” with Iranians who overtly mock the diplomatic proceedings- yet laughably participate to draw out the timeline enabling them to achieve their nuclear goals – the Europeans should be comfortable with the fact that they are increasingly coming into the range of the very weapons they are at the table to talk about. If the EU puts their infinite faith in the diplomatic process, let them back that up by keeping their soft underbellies vulnerable.
That being said, huzzah for theatre missile defense! May it be deployed successfully everywhere.
***Update***
How silly of me to not consider perpetual attention-grubbing Russia! John mentioned it below, but I think the obvious reason for the Missile Defense in Europe is to counter Iran, and to a lesser extent, Syria. However, Russia, like the drunk girl at the party who thinks that everyone is talking to her, wants to be popular so bad.
So Sayeth Pravda:
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in April of the current year that Russia had a right to take all necessary measures to safeguard Russia’s national security in the event Russia sees a threat near its borders. Furthermore, if the USA deploys its anti-missile base in Poland or even in Great Britain, it endangers Russia’s Plesetsk space port.
Because its all about you, right? More below.
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Introductions All Around
By John
Sgt. Hook wants you to meet Army Spc. Mladen Sudarevic. So do I.
Jesse Speaks!
By John
Missile Defense to Poland?
By John
Old Gray Lady is reporting the Pentagon is interested in bringing missile defense to eastern Europe. The casus missili? Protecting Europe from a nuclear Iran, so sayeth the usual anonymous John Doe from the E-Ring.
"Iran understands the use of ballistic missiles to change strategic geography," said a senior American Defense official who asked not to be identified because he did not want to be drawn into the public debate. "This is a long lead-time item. We would much rather be a couple of years early than a couple of years late."
It makes sense, in a way. The US has stood up a total of 10 interceptor missiles in Alaska and California, stacked against the North Korean No Dong threat. Strategically placing another ten-spot of the modified missiles in the Czech Republic or Poland would kill two birds with one interceptor (har), helping to protect Europe from the Iranian Shahab-3 while cementing ties with one of the new NATO allies. Sounds good on paper, but there's an oh-so-small catch.
The current missile defense shield, the one deployed in the Pacific, doesn't exactly work. In fairness, it doesn't exactly not work either, the jury is still out. While the system hasn't had a successful test kill in years, the Pentagon still feels that the basic nuts-and-bolts technology is promising.
The idea of missile interceptors in the former USSR's backyard isn't exactly blowing the Kremlin's hair back either. In an interview with a Polish newspaper, Russian General Yuri N. Baluyevsky, the chief of the Russian military's general staff, cautioned the Poles:
"Go ahead and build that shield. You have to think, though, what will fall on your heads afterward. I do not foresee a nuclear conflict between Russia and the West. We do not have such plans. However, it is understandable that countries that are part of such a shield increase their risk."Poland, however, is all but jumping up and down with their arms waving, yelling "pick me! pick me!"
"[The US] asked us officially if we were still interested in discussing the issue," Poland's deputy foreign minister, Witold Waszczykowski, said last month. "Of course we said yes and we are awaiting details."
If the United States does end up building a missile defense base in Poland, might I recommend placing the facility in or around Krakow? Aside from the historical city's choice location in the southwest corner of Poland, its name sounds like 105mm shells being fired.
Veterans' Personal Data Heisted
By John
Veterans' ID Theft may be largest ever.
The VA disclosed this week that the personal information — mainly from veterans discharged since 1975 — was stolen from a midlevel employee's home in what appeared to be a routine burglary.The material included the veterans' Social Security numbers, birth dates and in some cases a disability rating — a score of between 1 to 100 on how disabled a veteran is. The agency declined to say whether additional information regarding the nature of the disability was disclosed.
I like the Democratic Underground's theory better:
Can you tell that I think this is much more sinister than some clerk stealing some records? The clerk is a cover story and is probably a CIA/NSA plant. This very coincidental with the recent CIA/NSA head resignation/nomination events.
The story is serious and I shouldn't laugh but....heh.
Federalism: Then and Now
By Charlie
Yugoslavia, the union of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Macedonia is no more. With the Montenegran vote for independence this week, followed by immediate talks of basing rights, security guarantees, and UN membership, the state that once was now is not. Tito, the dictator who pulled together these 5 ethnic enclaves into a greater state, (thankfully) isn’t alive to see his creation crumble, much like Stalin wasn’t around to watch the Wall fall in Berlin.
So, Yugoslavia: isolated incident, or harbinger of things to come elsewhere?
We’ve seen Iraq over the past few years roiling with ethnic tensions, so it isn’t hard to imagine Iraq going down the Balkan path, with the national government disintegrating, and ethnic nationalism taking charge, leaving us with a Kurdistan, Sunnistan, and Shiastan. Unfortunately, the prospects of an Iraqi Balkans replay are much more dire than the actual Balkans were. An oil-rich Kurdistan would immediately provoke an all-out war with the Turks, and the Iranians. A strategically located Shiastan would be increasingly under the sway of Iran, and a poor, landlocked Sunnistan would become the last bastion for the militant Salafist/Baathist insurgent/terrorist hordes.
Our only hope (help me Obi Wan) is that the Iraqis, with our considerable help, can successfully incorporate federalism into not only their constitution, but their method of governance. Remember, America was still working out the question of Federalism in 1861 –38 years later America was a world player that crushed Spanish imperialism and seized the mantle of power on the world stage.
Federalism, correctly applied, could alleviate many of the problems that befell states like Yugoslavia. Let’s hope Iraq gets the memo from Tito’s mistake.
The “Regime Stay” Strategy
By Charlie
Has neoconservatism run its course? We once said “you’re either with us or against us,” Now we are making deals with dictators like Libya’s Quaddafi. What happened? Did idealism get mugged by reality, or did spreading democracy suddenly become less important than nuclear proliferation? Perhaps our Post-Bush foreign policy will retain the “Jacksonianism” (or Monroe-ism applied all hemisperes vice one) while dropping the Wilsonianism.
Bottom Line Up Front: Maybe, in some cases, if a tyrant plays ball and gives up his nukes, we should play Monty Hall and make a deal. Call it the strategy of “Regime Stay.”
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