MILNET Chief Editor's Blog
http://www.milnet.com/blog/index.php
Issue Watch for August, 2008 (updated 8/19/2008
http://www.milnet.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080819-024526
Merry Melodies
The right thing to do is not always the easiest. Especially when you have to back up your move with substance. This is the case for signing up Poland to host the missile element of a missile defense system. Secretary Rice is to be commended for her diplomacy, and don't get me wrong, I heartily approve. That effort was the right thing to do, especially now that Russia has trotted out their real goals for Eastern Europe.
However, there is that small matter of the U.S. Congress and Polish parliament. Ooops.
And oh yeah, the thought occurred to me...just exactly how would NATO propose to defend Poland, say tomorrow, if Russia decides to make their point about Poland's participation by rolling tanks in there? Hmmm?
The difficulty I see here is that demonstrating leadership also assumes risk. And frankly, I don't see any real defense for Poland. It's one thing to claim membership in NATO (not exactly my idea of military strong alliance) and another to have "boots on the ground". A promise of some Patriot missiles seems to be just a bit shy of defending Poland from a division of Russian armor.
And Putin? This secret dictator (not so secret I guess) is clearly unpredictable and if you ask me, a little tipped toward the meglomanic. He might just decide to set another example and completely defy NATO, the U.N., and of course his good friends, the U.S. And Paul McCartney's gushing approval of the man is probably great for publicity, but I doubt Paul will like Putin's next moves much either.
And of course the American Left will happily give him ammunition over the next few weeks by their response to Secretary Rice's diplomatic success. Look for some really nasty "big mistake" or tepid "ill advised" comments from Capitol Hill.
What I'd like to see is Congress to jump behind the nation's leaders and quickly vote to approve the terms of the missile defense system installation and immediately put the ball in the hands of the Polish legislative body.
And I'd also like to see NATO move in forces to protect its eastern Allies. Not six months from now, but likee TOMORROW!!!
If the Russians see that as a threat, then too bad. We need to be talking from a position of strength here, not whining in the background while Putin's forces start marching across Europe again.
I wonder, does anyone read just even a smidgen of history? Hmm?
Taiwan Next?
Given the clear free pass afforded Russia in it's aggression to the southest in its invasion of Georgia, Enterprise Resiliance posted an interesting article on "The Russian/Georgia Conflict and Globalization". The article proposes a world threat model based upon economics...the better it gets (and thus in today's model, the more globalized our economy becomes) the more risk there is of a collapse based upon one or a few nation's actions. The point of the article is that what we are seeing now is Russia flexing its military muscle and demonstrating that world power is no always as important as regional power. Russia can invade its neighbors with near impunity. The article also mentions that others may be (I read it as WILL be) inspired by Russia's no cost invasion.
What other regional power has a bone to pick with it's neighbors? Well, certainly our other great "friend" China has always looked at Taiwan as their soverign territory even if the rest of the world does not agree. So...what's to keep China from testing U.S. resolve in the Taiwan Straits? Hmmm? Inside 24 hours China could own half of Taiwan and it is quite conceivable that the U.S. would solve the problem the same way as Georgia. As in NOT!!! It's not too remarkable to see the Asian economy effected severely by sudden ownership and control of Taiwan passed to Beijing.
Ooops.
Money Talks
Clearly money matters more than the soverignty of a nation. NATO, when faced with applying stiff sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Georgia, decided appeasement would be a better answer. Why? Oil of course. Russia is supplying a lion share of Europe's oil and NATO members fear economic reprisals. Makes Chamberlain look like a courageous lion when compared to NATO's timid mouse. Even a Russian abmassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin, is quoted in a similar thought, "The mountain gave birth to a mouse". That about says it Mr. Ambassador. Disgusting.
See MILNET's analysis of the world's response to the invasion of Georgia.
Olympic Sized Hutzpah
I mean really. There's this NBC talking head (Costas?) standing in the Tinneman square bragging how different it is today then years ago when it was the site of those horrible bad old days when tanks faced off nasty activists on foot.
Of course, I understand perfectly well the whole scene behind this guy was staged by the Chinese...thousands of tai-chi "masters" (probably from the rather excellent group displayed during the opening ceremony--they WERE good!). And I am sure the Chinese were happy to allow the fellow access...after they'd carefully set everything up...and certainly not the day before.
But did NBC have to gush? I am sure NBC wasn't permitted to broadcast the fact there were demonstrations in the same place less than 24 hours earlier. This quiet square was not so quiet the day before. And of course there were some rather nasty explosions north of Beijing too, not a few days ago, but just hours before the live Sunday morning broadcast with the NBC gusher.
Worse, later in the evening, this same fellow had the gall to explain how the hotels in Bejing had improved from flop houses to current "nicely furnished" today. He did manage to work in "there are other issue of course," but most likely could not say what they were in fear of being cut off and ending this glorious demonstration of Chinese "open-ness".
And if you watched one of history's best opening ceremonies (I'll grant them that without hesitation), you might have also noticed the NBC "China Analyst" gushing about the Chinese open-ness too. Such open-ness would have made Hitler proud.
My point here is that all the concrete, steel and other commodities that poured into China did not go all toward this incredible venue...did you see the overhead nightime shots...they basically turned a section of downtown into a 1000 acre light show. We didn't see the miliary structures built with some of those commodity purchases however. Nope, not at all.
I guess my gripe is not over NBC being there. Covering the Olympics IS big news and worth going there to do. What I detest is their gushing and what appears to be happy reading of the propaganda the Chinese want us all to hear. And if NBC tells us that they wrote it all themselves...well hell, since when did NBC become the propaganda arm for China? It's not just disgraceful, it's disgusting.
Surely if NBC "journalists" didn't like what they were allowed to say, then they could carefully not say anything. Report the damned Olympics, not this beautiful, China is so open and much improved B.S. Why, you'd almost believe democracy was just around the corner, right?
I mean really, doesn't anyone at NBC have an ounce of integrity left? Incredible. It strikes me that maybe GE wants us all to understand how they can continue to do business with lonely, misunderstood China, And by the way, notice the nice "we are green" GE commercials...gag.
And so much for IOC's "not a political event" statements over the decades...what a bunch of bull.
UPDATE: 8/10/208 NBC Rdeeems Itself Well, I feel a little embarassed and rightly so. Just when I had thought NBC was in the pocket of the Chinese government, they pulled out the stops and did some real hard news.
First, in the morning Briam Williams changed the tone of their coverage from Beijing, with good coverage of the world scene. And as in the days before, NBC's coverage of the Olympic events themselves were in the positive, excited tone we have come to expect.
Then in the evening, Bob Costas interviewed President Bush and asked some hard questions about China, Russia, and Georgia, bringing out the dual face of Chinese political positioning as well as focusing on other world events. The juxtaposition between the "good face" China is presenting at the Olypmics, and the reality of their place in the world, as well as the underlying politics going on between world leaders attending was an excellent demonstration of good news coverage as well as the entertainment value of the Olympics.
Indeed, having the U.S. President explain why engagement of China is important to the world was an excellent means of explaining, perhaps, why NBC needed to not only be at the Olympics, but broadcast in the conditions levied by the Chinese.
And in the end, by carefully listing the issues from human rights to respect for the Chinese people themselves, NBC reversed their first days of what appeared to be pandering coverage. I withdraw my comments about Mr. Costas and NBC. My apologies.
Syria Scared Stupid by IAEA
Despite the IAEA being timid as well as inept, the very idea of their inspectors going into Syria has the government there all a titters. The issue revolves around some history from a year ago...
You see, Israel went in with an airstrike and bombed the hell out of a rather large building site inside Syria. Not too many people knew about the strike and Syria said little. At least for a little while. Then suddenly Syria screamed foul and told the world about the strike. Not too wisely in my estimation. Unfortunately for Syria, who had gone in afterwards and bulldozed the site to cover up whatever it was the Israelis bombed, there ARE archives of overhead recon photos. Oops.
Take a look at the BBC article with before and after shots...pretty amazing and puzzling, if you happen to believe Syria's rejection of the Isreali's claim there was a nuclear facility there.
Okay, so that was summer-fall of last year. Now, we have Israel and the U.S. providing intelligence to the IAEA that makes a lot more of this whole story clear. The intelligence included a possible link to North Korean aid for a Syrian nuclear weapons program. What? Yeah, that's right.
And the now the IAEA, suddenly has some intelligence in hand that they didn't/couldn't have before. Seems the U.S. and Israel passed along some pretty convincing tidbits. So the IAEA decides they need to ask some embarassing new questions (you do realize that the IAEA, the nuclear watchdog has no teeth, no intelligence gathering capability and is an arm of the world's largest humanitarian/peace organization, right?).
And Syria? They don't want any part of IAEA inspectors all of a sudden. Does any of this seem familiar?
Opinion: Let me see if I can put the right words together to explain what's going on here. The pattern I see is the very typical obsfucation found in nuclear weapons and non-proliferation cases seen by experts for half a century. It goes like this. You secretly make a deal to get a bootstrap on your nuclear weapons program from a friendly nation like, oh, I don't know, let's say North Korea or Libya. Where did they get their technology? Oh I don't know, let's just say for fun it was A.Q. Khan, the revered nuclear hero of Pakistan -- you know, the guy who helped Pakistan develop the Muslim Bomb? Hmm?
Speculation? Not at all. Indeed the evidence is damning. It says that Pakistan, the nation with more terrorist groups than any other in the world, the nation that seems to export terrorism like we export rice to Japan. Yeah, that Pakistan, may have provided all of the nations in the Axis of Evil and their best friends with nuclear technology. So much for the Axis of Evil idea being some paranoid concept.
So yeah, maybe North Korea was helping Syria with their new nuke program. And of course, China and Russia are selling boatloads of arms to Syria, Iran, and of course North Koraa. Oh yeah, and wasn't it Russia who was helping the Iranians build a reactor? Does any of this seem to fit together like an arcane, evil puzzle?
My point here is that this is not all some coincidence and this constant appeasement of the rogue nations and ignoring Russia and China's complicity in the "game" is ludicrous. Time to get real and stop allowing the farce to continue. This is not paranoia, it is survival and we are sitting here these nations try to bamboozle us. Why?
Oh, I don't know. Peace at any cost? Well, hell. Let Iran have a nuke, no biggie. Syria too. These are nice friendly, peaceful nations. Ignore the fact that Syria and Iran are the biggest instigators of Terrorism in the Middle East. Never mind that both would take out Israel in a heartbeat if they could.
Since we want the world to be a peaceful, nice, happy, happy, joy, joy place, why, then, let's just pretend the world is like that. Maybe it will conform to our wishful thinking.
Venezuelan Police Tear Gas Protestors
These protestors were not your average activists...not vieing for equal rights for birds or greening up the environment. No, these REAL protestors want to remove opposition candidates from electoral blacklists, reverse socialist "reforms" such as Hugo Chavez's seizing public companies like oil, gas, telecommuncations, etc. In other words, this is where freedom fighting comes into play. Unlike most protestors in the U.S. who protest over issues that are really of interest to only a handful of the population, these protestors are risking their lives to gain real freedom from Chavez's inrcreasing draconian socialist government. And while the press reports the tear gassing of the small number of protestors, what is not reported is that Chavez's people are taking names, taking pictures AND...this is key...unlike demonstrators in the U.S. or Europe, these people can expect visits from very nasty people and the could very well truly be disappeared. This is not fictional disappearing like a handful of nutcases say happen in the U.S., but a real problem in many South American countries. And what is the rest of the world doing about it? Clucking their tongues of course. And by the way, I don't see very many U.S. activists running down there and joining in the anti-socialist demonstrations. Could that be because such a majority of activists in the U.S. are in favor of Hugo Chavez's socialist takeover? Hmmm?
Not a Crowd I Like
You might look at a new opinion piece that can be found on MILNET. It looks at those giving up on democracy in the Middle East. Some have already given up and perhaps they are doing so because there is cause for concern. However, cause for concern is a long way from failure and I truly abhor those who give up for little reason. And when those giving up cannot bring themselves to congratulate us on successes, well, that is highly indicative of their true motivations. The giving up attitude and advice to do so is just unacceptable and demonstrates a lack of any sense of leadership. In fact, I'd call it cowardice, not to mention shirking of duty. Some of these same people would rather try to send aid to the world's hungry (you might look at the text of the proposed Global Poverty Act of 2007), and then do nothing about the people straving them in the first place and will do nothing about illegal immigration. If that's leadership, then Vladmir Putin is a conservative capitalist.
Canada's Defense Minister Peter McKay Tries to Help
Al-Zawahiri Killed?
A difficult to confirm CBS story says Al-Zawahiri was at a minimum wounded by a U.S. missile attack that is also thought to have taken the life of another Al-Qaeda leader Midhat al-Sayid Umar. The news story is reportedly based upon an intercepted letter requesting urgent aid for Al-Zawahari. WE CAUTION THE READER, THIS IS NOT CONFRIMED BY ANY AUTHORATIVE SOURCE. Indeed other networks have been silent on the story awaiting confirmation.
Late evening on 8/2/2008, Fox News posted a story that says a Pakistan intelligence officer and a local Pakistani Taliban member both disputed the claim. Of course, ties between local warloards and Pakistani Intelligence might taint those sources as well.
Update 8/3/2008 The Wall Street Journal cites an Islamic website commonly associated with al-Qaeda as reporting Abu Khabab al-Masri, a top lieutenant and bomb maker for al-Qaeda in Pakistan was killed in the air strike that CBS says was the attack that killed al-Zawahiri, and like several other sites reports Associated Press' position that militant and Pakistani intelligence sources in Pakistan deny al-Zawahiri was killed. I hate to say it, but it looks like CBS is going to have egg on their face again. That's sad.
Navy Backtracks, Will Build 2 DDX Instead of 7
According to Navy Admiral Barry McCullough, testifying before a House defense committee that instead of building seven of the increasingly costly Zumwalt class, the Navy was scaling back the build to two destroyers only, while building Arleigh Burke, DDG-51 class destroyers, in hopes of building cheaper and more missile capable designs. The DDG-51s are already in the plan and their designs will be significantly upgraded. The two DDXs will be more stealthy than the DDG-51s, have more ship's automation and embark advanced weapons such as a rail gun and/or high power laser weapon. The first is scheduled to begin in October 2008. Earlier in the week, the Navy had notified Senator Susan Collins of Maine that her state's Bath Iron works was losing its contract to build the DDX. It is not clear what the Admiral's statements mean for BIW.
FBI Closes In On Anthrax Mailer, He Opts For Suicide
A stunning revelation, what has to be a dissapointment for the FBI, and what appears to be another really STUPID mistake by our nation's "premier" law enforcement agency.
The case of Bruce Ivins is not going to play well in Washington, that is for sure. Ivins, 62, found out that the FBI was closing in on him as the prime suspect in a multi-year investigation into the post 9-11 mailings of anthrax that took several lifes and heightened fears of further terrorist attacks.
According to the AP report, Ivins is believed to have committed suicide sometime Tuesday having opted to kill himself rather than face arrest. The AP story cites a Los Angeles Times story that claims the sparse information on the FBI investigation and Ivins' status in the investigation at the Ft. Detrick, Maryland lab where he worked.
The big issue for the FBI is how Ivins came to know he was not only being investigated but implicated. Was it an intentional leak or did somebody suborn the Grand Jury process? In the latter case, does the FBI investigate who spilled their grand jury testimony, or does the agency simply skulk away having failed to bring their target to justice. Sadly, Ivins death may close the books for the FBI, but not for the nation. A trial would have closed the books on the attacks, but now what?
Certainly his family will now raise hell over his death, and of course claim he would have won at trial. And thus, having no conviction, the case will be unsolved.
Of course, there also might have been accomplices? Oh dear. Or one could suppose they could try Ivins in abstenia -- man is he like, really absent!
Look, any one in law enforcement will tell you, as soon as you have the goods, you arrest the guy, right? Well, I suppose the grand jury wasn't quite through, hadn't handed down the bill. Maybe that will be the excuse.
However, it doesn't look good, especially in a case that was not all that impressive in the first place having chased Stephen Hatfill...essentially convicting him in the press and winding up with empty hands. Hatfill eventually won a huge settlement over the FBI's actions in his case.
The ONLY way the FBI could have made good on the bungled case was to find their guy, arrest him, have a trial and hope for a conviction. Now?
Well, heads may roll, especially if they find the leaker. Or if the FBI tried to play Colombo and hint they were about to grab him. Oh man, that will not sit well.
Unless it was a colleague that tipped the guy off, you will hear even more on this...imagine if some reporter asked, "Dr. Ivins, how do you respond to the FBI's investigation naming you as a suspect in the Antrhax mailings..." Whooo Boy!
IOC Latest World Organization to Opt for Appeasement
In a stunning display of its leadership's cowardice, the IOC has admitted to cutting a censorship deal with the Chinese in order to facilitate Internet communication out of the 2008 Olympics venues. The organization, which has haughtedly claimed to be above politics now is found to have traded blocking of controversial sites by the Chinese government in order to ensure Internet coverage of the 2008 games. Clearly the current IOC leadership has to go, and those who contribute to financial support of the organization should cease donating until the IOC pledges to stand up to tyranny of host nations and at a minimum throw out this latest set of cowards in the IOC organization.
U.S. Army Promotes Sale of Russian Helos? Really?
It sounds to bizzare to be true. Wired reports that the Pentagon's foreign sales people arranged for the Iraqi military to buy some Russian made new production MI-17 helicopters...$367 million worth at around $15 million each. Aside from the insanity of putting money into the pockets of a middle man AND his Russian friends, what about selling French, British, or god forbid, U.S. helicopters. Probably price, I imagine, but the whole thing still boggles the mind. Surely we could have done things a little differently, yes? I am looking to see if someone else is reporting this...like a "reputable" news organization other than Sharon what's her name at Wired. Gee, shall I look at MSNBC or CBS? Hmm. Such a dilemma! If Internet "NEWS" organizations want to be respected, I's sure like to see more in the way of sources...they don't have stellar reputations as a whole.
]]>Political Bamboozle
http://www.milnet.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080814-191759
Selling The Readiness Lie Or The Big OOOPSSS Moment
If you haven't figured it out already, decades of neglect to the U.S. military in response to happy, happy, joy, joy attitudes prevalant in our Congress has finally been exposed.
And the world is now clearly looking at not only the impotency, but seriously flawed "world power" of the United States.
I am ashamed of our country. I do not hate America, I do not hate our President and least of all our military. I am aghast how we treat our allies, however. And our Congress should be ashamed. Decades of warnings and indicators have been waved away as hawkish right wing paranoia.
Unfortunately, this is not the case, and events have once again proven that "right wing hysteria" is in actuality, valid and duty-bound realism in a world that is not a nice place for us. And even more so, it is not such a great place for our allies.
One such ally, a small nation bordering Russia is now questioning why America is reputed to be a world power and what good it is to be a friend of the U.S.
Instead of protecting them like we helped protect the NATO nations against the Eastern attack of the Soviet Union, Georgia is now faced with Russian tanks in their cities and aircraft in their skies.
Why? Because our anti-war, peace-at-any cost politicians can't stand the thought of having to stand up to Russia and we've NEVER done anything to protect former Soviet satellite nations from their "friend" and "neighbor" Russia.
And the Europeans...well, the suck of air inward toward their diaphragms is sounding pretty loud at the moment as they suddenly realize that all that stands between them and Russia are the former satellite nations.
This "oh my god!" moment was brought to you, Europe, by your new friend Vladmir Putin.
It pretty well states the case that Russian watchers have been trying to point out ever since Putin took office and then again when he played musical chairs in the Kremlin.
And you can probably imagine the Ukraine government, already at extreme odds with the Russians, can envision those same tanks and aircraft in their cities.
OOPPSSSS!!!!!
And the peace-at-any-cost folks are making hand waving motions while trying to hide the fact they are pissing their pants.
OOOPS!!!!
The problem, you see, is that everyone outside the U.S. IS NOT playing nice, nice as so many thought they would. Surprise!
Ask Hungarian or Polish people still living from the bad old days when these exact same things happened to their countries -- when the Soviet Union expanded to the borders of Germany, for instance. OOOPS!!!
So...when the new Russian President says he's stopped troop movements into Georgia, and yet Steve Harrigan of Fox News shows you video of them taking the provincial governor's offices and reports on the Russians rounding up all the weapons...what do you think that is? Archival footage? Dateline TODAY, damnit!
Is this a training exercise? Poles and Hungarians don't think so, believe me. And again, in Ukraine, they are not happy.
And what does the United States do? Well what our Congress is good at. Making noises with the mouth, sending medical supplies and emergency food.
This is not a damned natural disaster, it is an invasion by a giant nation of one of its small neighbors. It is aggression, plain and simple and it is exactly why we wanted those small nations in NATO in the first place. Duh!
And now can you see why Russia does not want a missile defense system in Poland? Maybe because NATO and worse U.S. defensive forces will be there to defend that expensive facility? As in not just token military forces like Georgia has? But more like loads of Abrahams tanks and tank commanders who can beat the shit out of a Russian invading force? Hmmm? Could it be that Russia believes they can do anything they want because the U.S. is impotent in its hemisphere! Seems so!
This wake up call is already being played down by the left, and Obama has failed his "3 am wakeup call" by reacting like, "No big deal, we'll negotiate."
Sorry, Barrack, but there's not much to negotiate now. For all intents and purposes, Russia now owns half of Georgia, and there are no military forces capable of keeping them from running to the opposite end of the country and threaten the next guy in line.
And of course our military, barely able to equip and man to do battle in two backward countries and fight insurgents without multiple brigades sweeping the streets, has no plan for saving Georgia on the books.
There are no realistic contingency for stopping the Russians at the Ukraine border either. In other words, when we drew down cuz "the cold war was over", we actually abanonded the newly freed nations from Soviet Tyranny and essentially left the Russians a free path into Europe through their eastern border. NATO it seems, can't and has not been able to muster the where-for-all to patrol Kabul, let alone South Odessa.
When we realized that we cannot use nuclear weapons, we forget to put enough conventional force to replace the force multiplier that a nuke brings to the miliary puzzle. OOOPSSS!
Ah hell, who are we kidding.
Our peace-niks have done their job proper and deboned the military to the point that in a REAL national security threat, we don't even have enough fighters and a pre-positioned force to engage the Russians until they get to Berlin. That is disgusting.
Our troops are magnificant, our equipment is top notch. Unfortunately Congress, worried about everything but our national security and our committments to our allies, has seen to it that we don't have enough people or equipment to protect a border. And that idea of having an offensive conventional missile capability that could strike anywhere in the world in a few hours? That Global Prompt Response system? Axed by Congress because it was "too provocative". Well, gosh, I guess that leaves provokation all in the hands of nice people like Vladmir Putin.
And Europe...the only thing they have in their arsenal are a few nuclear weapons...whose use is prohibited. Of course, they'll bluster and say they'd use them to defend their borders. Yeah right. Let me ask you, what was standing between Russia and Germany this morning? Steve Harrigan of Fox News. Sorry, Steve, I like your reporting, but your pasty white ass is not going to cut it!
You know, last time I checked, an invasion of one of our allies is a threat against our national security and in the past we've always said that we'd respond with all available force and with whatever assets we could to defend our ally's borders. Don't we have nuclear subs out there somewhere? Did we take all the Pershing missiles home?
Guess we've proved that one a big lie, huh.
So sorry, Georgia, but the big stick is no longer that. It's just a pale facsimile of our former self.
We can, however, send you former president Jimmy Carter, he's all about making peace. Maybe he can help you out of this situation.
And Mr. President, I am severely disappointed in you. Diplomacy lasted about thirty seconds in this case, and you failed. You should be ashamed. Of course, you'd have had to threaten nuclear and Putin sees right through that threat. As empty as it is impossible. Instead of chatting up the softball team and Phelps in Beijing, you should have flown to the border of Georgia and put your life on the line..."stop here, stop now, or face the U.S. and NATO. We don't need a treaty to recoginze Georgia as our ally and your aggression as a threat to all of Europe, East and West." If there was ever a time to be a cowboy, it was a few days ago. A genuine failure.
Of course, there is the threat of adding Ukraine to NATO tomorrow. That will really set the Russians back on their heals. OOOOHHHH! NATO!!!! How frightening! Bet Vlad is just shaking in his boots.
So we have China and all of the Middle East and Asia laughting at us. But I doubt the eastern Europeans -- or for that matter the Western Euros are not laughing this morning.
Now if Putin packs up his troops and goes home, the diplomats and peace-niks will breathe in a sigh of relief instead of shock, and then say "see it was not such a big deal."
I for one, see this as the REAL world we live in, and has exposed more than just the impotency of the U.S., but the arrogant malevolent force that is 21st century Russia. We cannot rely upon "mature" nations to act rationally and in fact, we can judge that Russia will do what it wants to anytime they have a hankering to explore and exploit our real world weaknesses.
Cold War my ass! How hot can it get when the main antagonist is invading its neigbhors? Economic blackmail through oil isn't enough to blow your skirt up? How about the killing of one's neighbors wholesale? Russia apparently killed more Georgians in less than a week than all of the terrorists in the world killed for the last six months. OOPPSS!!!
Of course, we don't need tanks, fighters and bombers anymore cuz this just can't happen in our brave new world.
And anyway, why do WE care what happens to some guys on the border with Russia?
We've introduced a graphic providing a quick look at the current hotspot threat level. This new MILNET briefing will be updated weekly and kept "on top" here on the blog.
]]>Issue Watch July 2008 (Updated 7/26)
http://www.milnet.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080724-155633
Failure to understand A Reuters article headline "Worst over for drivers as pump prices slide" demonstrates the unbelievable ignorance of the media worldwide. It is literally astounding how ignorant this is!
First, the worst is not over because of a dime slide at the pumps. After feeling the gut punch of several dollars in the last two years, 10 cents a gallon is laughable.
What the "slide" in gas prices DOES illustrate is that the fiction that drilling won't effect the gas prices is nothing more than a lie to preserve votes for the Democrats from their far left wing friends this November.
If a few words begrudgingly repeated by the Bush hating media can cause this "slide" in oil prices, what would opening up oil drilling off shore and ANWR do? Lots.
Not only that, non reality based oil pricing today does not meet real supply and demand, just the ahgst of paranoid, frightened commodities brokers and feeds the pockets of gleeful oil producers. That price will drop tremendously in a few years (1-2) when new oil production starts to come online. And of course natural gas too, let's not forget that.
So yeah, let that Pickens fellow push all he wants for wind power. Let him dump some big bucks into that idea and get some non-government money invested. More power to him, pardon the pun.
However, I'd say let's invest OUR tax dollars into a solar panel on every home and trade in programs to trade your gas guzzler for a hybrid or fully electric car. I haven't heard plans for the Ford Mustang hybrid! What's up with that?
Alternatives are fine. In the meantime, let's totally remove the U.S. from the foreign oil markets.
A 2006 report on oil production ( presented by British Petroleum on page 5) shows that U.S. companies nearly match the production of Saudi Arabia already. If we open up new oil field exploration NOW, in one to two years we can start chipping away at the outrageous flow of wealth out of this country.
If we add to our production significantly in ten years, then we will not only keep pace with U.S. demands, we can actually create our own cartel.
Then WE can sell to Iran who will have, by then, outstripped their own capacity. Especially if they continue to beg for sanctions by not ending their enrichment program.
My point here is simple. The worst is NOT over. And it won't be over until we put people in Congress who will stop this insane exchange of wealth that sends billions of dollars overseas when we have our own resources that WE could be selling overseas instead.
Instead of pandering to the bad science of environmentalists buried in the 1960s effects of 1960s technology, we need to look at what we can do to get oil to the surface and refine it in today's technology, and start filling our tanks with gasoline made 100% from U.S. oil. And if we can reduce the time delay in getting off the foreign oil treadmill faster by going to alternative fuels, all the better!
And if you want to fund a windmill with dollars out of your pocket, Mr. Pickens, fine. Just don't do it all on MY dime. I really do like the idea of a solar panel on every home so let's put some money into that program. Get serious on this one. The SUN rises every day even in the winter, and while maybe Montana has a few months where their panels might not perform all that well, at least half the country (if not more) gets plenty of sunshine even in overcast skies!
THEN an Electric car makes a WHOLE lot more sense, since we can charge batteries from our solar panel at home during the day, and then use that for power at night to run our lights, microwave, AND charge up our electric car. In daylight savings, maybe the car gets charged before the sun goes down! Now, if I only had an all electric car!
By the way, I already have a place to plug in an electric car, why do I need to worry about natural gas? That's just nuts! Heat my house, okay. Run my car? Not so sure. But then again, if the government wants to pay for a NG spigot where I park my car, then maybe I'll consider a NG fueled car. Seems a stretch to me, though.
Oh crap! I just realized. I have propane, not NG. Ooops. Maybe we can convert the Mercury to Propane? Hmm? Sigh.
Amazing Corporate Greed
In what has to be the most brain dead activism ever witnessed, some U.S. businesses are working together to fight more draconian laws that focus on their hiring or continuing to employ illegals.
Rather than work toward guest worker programs or other alternatives, these businesses want to cover their own asses in lightening new laws that punish them for previous illegal activity and make it easier to hire illegals in the future.
"We want a balanced and reasonable approach to immigration reform...We don't want knee-jerk reactions to complex issues ... that affect the health of our economy" say some of these nutcases. And what is the rationale they are presenting to governors across the nation? They aren't to blame for bad immigration laws.
It's almost laughable. The part of the law that already applies to businesses that hire illegals should not be lessened. Indeed, those businesses that want to hire illegals need to convince the American people why this is good for our economy AND American workers. That is an impossible task, simply because it stems from perverted and flawed logic.
If new laws don't punish businesses with even MORE draconian penalties -- penalties that make it horribly stupid financially to hire illegals, then those laws will never fit the needs of our country.
One part of the major immigration challenge is the draw for illegals workers. It's not just the "streets paved in gold fiction". The real and actual enticement to cross the border is the availability of jobs in America. Those who cross the border will travel thousands of miles to make that crossing and its not the lure of living in wonderful San Diego, L.A., or southern Texas or Arizona, believe me.
If those jobs where not available, perhaps one of THE biggest factors in the draw for illegal to come to this country goes away.
In other words, while employment for illegals is certainly not the most important reason illegals want to come here, it is a huge temptation if not inducement.
The only way we are going to solve this problem is to:
figure out how to manage wages and employment properly in the U.S.,
prove we have done so,
secure our border,
THEN and only THEN, resume a controlled immigration policy.
Any other choice is pandering to suicidal liberal insanity that threatens the survival of our nation and our way of life.
Bath Iron Works: No More DDX-1000
Federal legislators from Maine announced that the U.S. Navy had notified them that the DDX-1000 (U.S.S. Zumwalt DDX Destroyer) program had been cancelled in favor of upgrading the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class.
This also puts into question the fate of electric propulsion for U.S. navy ships as well as the rail gun or laser cannon programs being developed for the DDX.
Pakistan Next?
A recent article by a freelance journalist in Pakistan points out ten interesting facts that imply the U.S. government is shifting focus not just to Afghanistan now that Iraqi conditions are improving, but possibly looking at putting more than just verbal pressure on Pakistan. Well worth reading.
MILNET has been focusing on Pakistan over the last few years, tracking violence and changes sometimes on a daily basis. We have also been extremely vocal about the nature of the Pakistani Militant Islamic Jihadists -- Pakistan appears to be the spawning ground for Islamic killers found in major terrorists events all over the world. Let us not also forget that the Taliban, while powerful in Afghanistan prior to the U.S. led coalition threw them out, actually came from Pakistan. And clearly remnants still remain. Check out the broad coverage of the Pakistani problem in articles found on MILNET:
The Afghan picture is grave as well. Take a look at a report from A.P. on a recent militant attack on a remote U.S. base near the Pakistani border...and MILNET's coverage of suicide bombings in Afghanistan.
Update: 7/25 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is quoted as saying"We understand that it's difficult, we understand that the northwest frontier area is difficult, but militants cannot be allowed to organize there and to plan there and to engage across the border..."Clearly U.S. policy is taking aim at both sides of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, pressuring the Pakistanis to go after terrorism on their side, and then using NATO and U.S. strength of force to push Taliban and al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan toward Pakistan. Boxing them in, so to speak. All without Barrack Obama's sage advice, I might add...this push began more than a year ago.
Iran Restarts Pattern
Not too unexpectedly, less than a week after six nation talks that included, for the first time a U.S. representative (to observe) the Iranian government has (not the first time) decided to no longer cooperate with the IAEA. Many analysts believe that this is a stalling tactic while Iran uses the "inspection holiday" to move nuclear materials around in their nuclear weapons program shell game. And clearly now, members of the U.N. will begin the lengthy process to applying yet another round of more stringent sanctions on Iran. This next set will be the most stringent of all, and will have huge economic impact. Current sanctions are pretty draconian as it is. The diplomatic process is thought to fall on deaf ears...not just in Iran, but Israel, who now will face yet another turning point. Israeli watchers have been sounding warnings...if this latest round of diplomatic efforts do not yield results, it is quite possible that Israel will act on its own accord, and they are not known for being timid. Israel views the failure of diplomatic efforts as a threat to their national security and they will use military force to solve the problem. And soon.
New Cold War Getting Hot
A new MILNET op ed piece explores links between Russia's continued efforts to drive a wedge between Europe and the U.S., Iran's insatiable desire for nuclear weapons, the effects of oil price blackmail and the increasing threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. Too disparate to be part of an organized threat? Think again. The New Cold War has new approaches to the same old goals. Read "The New Cold War is Getting Hot". It's not a scare tactic...it's a last warning. Time is running out.
Update: 7/21 As if recent events prior to today weren't enough, a Russian newspaper article sent a chill up my back. It seems some military official was bragging to the Russian rag that the Kremlin was considering countering the missile defense system by placing nuclear capable bombers in Cuba. Cuba? Oh Shit!
If you wanted evidence of the nutballs running Russia, there's your answer. Talk about heating up the New Cold War!!! Of course, it's just a newspaper. Let's not panic yet. After all, they really haven't moved missiles or planes yet, have they? Read the Washington Post article citing the Russian rag Izvestia. Incredible.
If this WAS true, doesn't this further point out the paranoia of the Russian leadership? What do they have to worry about in the missile defense system? Unless, of course, Europe's new friends to the East were planning on threatening Europe themselves by launching a few missiles their way? The missile defense system shoots down incoming missiles, not launch an attack! It is so illogical it defies reason. Perhaps the Russians like having the Middle East nutcases being able to threaten Europe, yes?
Yet, then again, the generation before ours would simply say, "What do you expect, it's no surprise to us! What do you think we were doing while you were growing up, young fool?" Contrary to those already trying to rewrite the history of the old Cold War, there WAS a damned good reason our fathers faced down the Soviets...those people over there are just plain crazy!
Hard to Argue With Ollie
It's hard to argue with Ollie North. Especially when he agrees with our assessment of Israel visa-vis Iran. He seems to get it right so often it is scary. Take for instance his latest shot across the bow of diplomacy, that slowly sinking ship harbored in the Persian Gulf. Ollie says in Ayotollah Talk, "Israel’s very survival could well depend on what happens in the next few months. If the outcome of this week’s meeting in Switzerland is more of the same, “wait and see what the Iranians think about our new proposal,” then military action is all but certain.
The government in Jerusalem is well aware that a strike at Iranian missile and nuclear facilities will have profound, long-term consequences. The Israelis don’t want to launch a preemptive attack before November 4, because they don’t want to affect the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections. Nor do they want to deal with the post-inaugural uncertainty of a new administration in Washington. Between now and then, someone had better figure out how to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program, or the Israelis will do it for us." While Ollie is not the first to deliver this message, our hopes here at MILNET are that we hope more people are listening to him...the ringing silence in deaf ears is not a good thing for our country or the world. Read the article to see Ollie's interpretation of events in Israel that hint at their preparations for war. It's a sobering look at REAL world events -- events that the mainstream media will ignore in favor of following rock star Obama to Europe and the Middle East.
For background on the Iranian nuclear weapons program, take a look at this well written and succint Washington Post article.
Seal Michael Monsoor Honored
We will let the memorial video on Youtube say it all for medal of honor award winner QM2 Michael Monsoor who fell on a grenade to save his buddies in Ramadi, Iraq.
MILNET Brief on World Response
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