Hysteria.

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Submarine hysteria!

From the Russian Navy web site we have an article that seeks to dispel myths of the Cold War, Soviet submarines in undersea warfare, the adversary the American navy, incidents and events for the most part exaggerations and fabrications! Thanks to Freeper for the tip.

"Dispelled Myths of Soviet Subs"

From the Internet web site article by Igor Kozyr.

"In the era of Cold War the Western information space was full of numerous fantastic stories about Soviet submarines. Having taken shape in books and websites, those tales still keep Americans and Europeans on the trot. RusNavy.com tries to demolish the foremost fables of Western 'folklore' of 1950-80's."

1. American naval surface vessels sink Soviet submarines during the era of the Korean War.

"However, having checked declassified military archives, we found out that Pacific Fleet had in service only 10 deployable submarines of pre-war [WW2] projects at that time. To exclude potential provocations, Pacific Fleet command took all possible measures [to prevent incidents]."

"the version that S-117 headed for Tatarskiy Strait to attend a tactical drill could show up in the conflict zone is untenable"

2. Entire flotillas of Soviet submarines active in the Red Sea awaiting the order to retaliate against American Middle Eastern nuclear ambitions.

"the only Soviet submarines appeared in the Mediterranean [not even the Red Sea] were two Polish-flagged Project 613 subs"

3. The Soviet sunken submarine K-129 NOT on a secret and rogue mission to launch an unauthorized nuclear attack on the Hawaiian islands.

4. Soviet submarines continually active in Baltic waters, violating Swedish neutrality on a clock-work basis. Protracted searches by the Swedish navy on a prodigious scale always having the Soviet culprits able to escape. ACTUAL documented incidents due to navigational error and not intentional.

"the 'trouble-maker' appeared to be Swedish training ship Amalia; skipper affirmed that the ship was really sailing at the search zone with newsmen on board"

"In 1992 Swedish Navy commissioned a new hydroacoustic system and it has been found that sounds similar to submarine noise were made by sea otters…"

Comments:

* Soviet/Russian senior naval leadership categorically stating that AT NO TIME during the Cold War was the territorial waters of the United States violated by Soviet/Russian submersibles.

* Soviet/Russian submarines not necessarily intended to project power to all oceans. Missile launching submersibles intended to operate out of bastions close to Soviet waters carefully guarded by other Soviet/Russian subs of the hunter/killer class.

* Submarine hysteria was also an aspect of the Second World War. German submarines sighted spotted cruising in the Mississippi river. OR German U-Boat officers their bodies washed ashore on the coast of New Jersey wearing white dinner jackets with theater tickets to a Broadway production in their pockets.

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A-10 Warthog.

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Devoted reader to the blog, believe it or not, only a few seconds before I saw this web site entry on Freeper I was thinking that this is what is needed in Syria and Iraq.

The A-10 Warthog. And indeed these guys are on the way? As we speak! Let us hope so.

"Islamic State fight could breathe new life into the A-10"

THE PLANE BUILT AROUND A GUN!!

"An A-10 Thunderbolt II banks after a strafing run on Aug. 21, 2014, during the Red Flag-Alaska 14-3 exercise at the Yukon Training Area, Alaska."

"Months after staving off a trip to the boneyard, the embattled A-10 Thunderbolt II is headed to the Middle East where it could be used to fight Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria."

"An Indiana Air National Guard unit that flies the Cold War-era gunships, known as Warthogs, is planning to deploy about 300 airmen and an unknown number of its aircraft to the U.S. Central Command region early next month, says a Sept. 17 news release from the unit."

Those Air Reserve and Air National Guard units flying the A-10 having the warplane piloted predominantly by reservists whose civilian occupation is commercial aviator. Very competent and able fliers.

That 30 mm cannon firing armor piercing and also AN EXPLOSIVE ROUND!! Cause the big hurt to the bad guy!

GOOD luck and GOOD hunting Indiana Air National Guard.

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Red Beard.

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It seems I was right. From the Voice of America article and thanks to the tip from Jungle Trader we better now understand that the success of the ISIL military force in measure due to the presence of the Chechens.

The Chechen Boys!

Just about the most dangerous human beings in the world. Rank right up there with the Somali. Very volatile persons, "tempestuous" as described by the British Indian Army officer Richard F. Burton.

"Battle-Tested Chechens Drive Islamic State Gains"

 "Among the legions of foreign fighters who have turned the Islamic State into the world's most dangerous terrorist organization, the Chechens stand out"

Skills, ability and combat experience as obtained from many years of warfare, and POSSESSING BOTH A MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND RUTHLESSNESS AS REQUISITE FOR SURVIVAL ON THE BATTLEFIELD!

Among those two Chechens occupying significant leadership positions with ISIL one we heard of, the other new:

"Among those experienced fighters traveling to Syria was Tarkhan Batirashvili, whose nom de guerre is Omar al Shishani. Batirashvili, an ethnic Chechen . . .  Batirashvili this year became a senior military commander for the Islamic State and a member of the Shura Council, a top consultative body to the Islamic State leadership, including al-Baghdadi. The group Batriashvili used to lead, the Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Army of Emigrants and Supporters), or the Muhajireen Brigade"

"Then there Murad Margoshvili, known as Muslim al Shishani, who reportedly served in the air defense division of the Soviet army in Moldova and fought alongside a key leader in the Chechen terrorist circles more than a decade ago. Margoshvili, who heads a Chechen regiment called Junud al Sham . . . Like Batirashvili, he is notable for having a long red beard."

These two gentlemen now subject to U.S. Treasury sanction. I AM SURE THEY ARE SO SCARED!! THINK NOT!!

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Kim Jong-un.

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Where is Un and what is with Un?

An assassination attempt? A coup d'état? What?

1. "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'has illness'"

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has an unspecified medical problem, state media report, after he failed to appear at a key political event.

"A report on state television said on Thursday that Mr Kim, 31, was in an 'uncomfortable physical condition' but gave no details."

"Earlier, the leader was absent from a session of the Supreme People's Assembly - North Korea's legislature."

"Mr Kim has not been seen in public for more than three weeks."


2. "Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen for weeks and no one is quite sure why"

"In North Korea, political life revolves around Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Yet Kim appeared to have skipped a high-level governmental meeting Thursday – and no one seems to know quite why.
Televised footage of the reopening of North Korea's Supreme People’s Assembly did not show Kim at the meeting, the Associated Press reports. South Korean officials tasked with keeping tabs on the North now believe that it is the first time that Kim has missed a meeting at Pyongyang's parliament since his father died in December 2011."

Combine a nation with nuclear weapons and mercurial and despotic rule AND then add instability and you have the recipe for disaster.

South Korean and U.S. leaders are following this closely if possible. They should be.

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Al-Turki.

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Al-Turki now swims with the fishes?

As reported in Freeper:

"Al-Nusra Front Leader, Abu Yousef al-Turki, Killed in Syria Airstrikes"

"Abu Yousef al-Turki, a key al-Nusra Front leader, has been killed in Syrian airstrikes, the group said in a statement. In the statement, which initially was posted on Twitter, the group says al-Turki (i.e. 'the Turk') was killed in U.S.-led airstrikes Tuesday. The statement was accompanied with an alleged proof-of-death photo, CNN reported."

"The al-Nusra Front . . . is a branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria and Lebanon."

"The group announced its creation on January 23, 2012, during the Syrian Civil War. Since then, it has been described as "the most aggressive and successful", or "one of the most effective rebel forces" in Syria."

AL-NUSRA NOT IN OPPOSITION TO ISIL BUT RATHER HAVING CONCLUDED A TRUCE WITH THE FORCES OF AL-BAGHDADI! SO IT IS SUGGESTED!

Al-Nusra Front combatants active only in Syria? Their actions confined to the civil war of that nation alone and NOT cross-border?

"This resistance group is generally made up of Sunni Islamist mujahideen. Its goal is to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, create a Pan-Islamic state under Sharia, and a caliphate."

AND al-Nusra only not so long ago having chased the United Nations peacekeepers from the Golan Heights. al-Nusra combatants now face-to-face with Israel.

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Yemen.

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Yet one more instance of the Islamic rebel forces victorious over the military of the central government.

NOT that there is going to be a civil war, there is now and has been for some time a civil war.

"Hadi warns of Yemen civil war, rebels cry ‘victory’"

"SANAA: President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi warned Tuesday of  'civil war' in Sunni-majority Yemen and vowed to restore state authority as Shiite rebels in apparent near-total control of Sanaa hailed their 'victory.'”

"Houthi rebels took all other key state institutions in the capital, overshadowing a U.N.-brokered peace deal."

"In a televised speech, rebel leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi hailed what he called the “victory” of his fighters."

Houthi tribesmen SHIA and not SUNNI!

Yemen of course the ancestral home of Bin Laden and reputedly having a very active Al Qaeda affiliate. We might expect the area to be a hotbed of insurrection and Islamic fundamentalism but Sunni and not Shia.

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Bocage.

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Concluding the series of blog entries, the topic the fighting in the bocage, the hedgerows of Normandy, and as discussed with an acknowledged combat veteran, that "perspective" of the American experience in the immediate aftermath of D-Day not fully appreciated:

"Maybe future historians will look at the American experience in the hedgerows from a more even perspective: instead of harping on the unprepared US soldiery, heavy casualties, and the higher level of German competence, they will also look at how the US Army was able to adapt to the unexpected conditions using techniques and equipment recommended from all the way down the ranks, and was able to fight through the equivalent of a continuous 'fortress defense' for scores of miles (instead of the defenses surrounding just a standard concrete and steel fortress and its outlying supporting positions for a mile at most)".

"When you think about the Contentin Peninsula/Normandy as a large fort instead of just as open farm country, the effort and the results take on new significance."

A FORT NOT IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE OF THE WORD, BUT RURAL TERRAIN DEFENDED IN A MANNER AS IF IT WAS ONE CONTIGUOUS DEFENSIVE POSITION,  TERRAIN CONSISTING OF INTER-LOCKING FIGHTING POSITIONS IN DEPTH.

Military historians have rated the American performance in the bocage as rather poor, however, that U.S. infantry able to adapt and improvise, adjust their tactics and overcome all obstacles. Dynamic change necessitated and mission accomplished!

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Garand.

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Continuing with the comments of General William Depuy: [all thanks to the Isegoria.net web site]

American riflemen NOT having trained to use their Garand rifles as a suppression fire weapon. Movement by fire not possible in the bocage, German troops making the U.S. soldier keep his head down and not the other way around.

"A Precision Weapon with No Precision Targets"

"In Normandy, American infantry units did not do a good job of overwatching from their own hedgerow as they attacked the next, Gen. DePuy explains"

"You see, one of our training deficiencies was that almost all suppression was done by indirect fire weapons. Very little suppression was done by small arms. Occasionally, we would use our heavy machine guns. People thought first about mortars and artillery, then heavy machine guns, and finally, light machine guns. Really, they didn’t think much about using riflemen for suppression"

"In the hedgerows of northern France — the infamous bocage — American troops felt outgunned"

NOT ONLY DID AMERICAN TROOPS FEEL THEY WERE OUTGUNNED, THEY WERE OUTGUNNED, AND BADLY SO!!

The German having a preponderance of automatic weaponry but also a preponderance of mortars. More mortars and of larger size than the American analog.

Presumably these were cast iron mortars, smoothbore, firing a cast iron mortar bomb. KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!

"In the wake of a bloody engagement on 8 June against German paratroopers, Spencer [American unit commander] called together his surviving officers to discuss what had taken place. One of their chief complaints centered on the relatively low number of automatic weapons in the infantry platoon. Whenever an American fired his M1 rifle, enemy paratroopers replied with a withering barrage from automatic weapons. In open terrain U.S. soldiers would have had a distinct advantage with their longer-ranged rifles, but the hedgerows frequently permitted German paratroopers armed with short-range automatic weapons to approach within yards of an American position without being detected."

See item # 1 from the previous blog entry for clarification.

Good German troops lavishly equipped with automatic weapons, knowing their fieldcraft, practicing camouflage and concealment with adeptness, "defense is the stronger form of combat", American units pinned down and even if taught to use their rifles as a suppression weapon, finding the task next to impossible.

coolbert.

Lessons.

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Continuing with the comments of General William Depuy: [all thanks to the Isegoria.net web site]

"Four Lessons from Normandy"

As a young captain in Normandy, General DePuy was impressed by several things the Germans did:

* "First, I was impressed with the positions that the German infantry soldiers constructed. I was impressed with the skill and the care that they took in finding positions which had cover and natural concealment. They were almost impossible to see and yet, they afforded fields of fires exactly where they needed them in order to stop us. In other words, their fieldcraft was super"

* "The second thing that I learned was about the depth of German positions. We just had one line. The Germans had a little zone defense so that they had elasticity and resilience. You could not punch through it very easily. They didn’t do things in a linear way."

* "I guess I was impressed with their use of just one, two or three mechanized vehicles like assault guns or tanks . . . most of the time, when you ran into German positions, you would run into a mixture of infantry and some kind of tracked fighting vehicles."

* "The fourth thing that I was absolutely convinced of was suppression. The Germans were masters of suppression using machine pistols." [machine pistol best understood as a sub machine gun, an automatic weapon firing a pistol round]

AGAIN, THAT TERRAIN VERY FAVORABLE FOR THE DEFENSE, THAT OVERWHELMING ADVANTAGE AMERICAN FORCES POSSESSED IN THE WAY OF ARMOR, ARTILLERY, CLOSE-AIR-SUPPORT TACTICAL AVIATION NEGATED BY THE NATURE OF THE CLOSE-QUARTER COMBAT AND HUGGING TACTICS OF THE GERMAN!!

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AFL!

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A solution to the "boots on the ground" problem in Iraq is a mercenary force? American boots on the ground but the feet in the boots those of foreigners?

"Bill O’Reilly: Why not raise a 25,000-man global mercenary army to fight ISIS?"

"Seems far-fetched. We’re going to recruit and vet thousands of possibly unreliable foreigners, arm them to the teeth, shower them with cash, give them some perfunctory training, then send them into battle against the world’s nastiest jihadi degenerates, from ISIS to Al Qaeda to Hezbollah? . . . One of O’Reilly’s guests last night called his mercenary plan 'morally corrosive' because it would outsource the national security of the United States to foreign actors"

NO! NOT so far fetched. And can be done with persons of the highest degree of reliability imaginable.

This idea previously discussed by myself from some time ago.

A divisional sized American Foreign Legion [AFL] contingent consisting of three regiments.

One regiment each consisting of personnel:

* Nepalese Ghurkhas.

* Fijians.

* Afrikaans speaking South Africans.

Fast moving highly mobile light infantry lavishly equipped with extraordinary organic firepower, prodigious!!

AFL possessing in abundance Panhard armored cars and crude but effective Soviet era 120 mm mortars. That latter ordnance a towable smooth-bore cast iron mortars firing cast iron mortar bombs.

This idea is do-able and can be done in rapid fashion, a lot faster than what people might think and rather cheaply. An on-call AFL is worthy of consideration? Any other suggestions?

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Checkerboard.

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Continuing with the comments of General William Depuy: [all thanks to the Isegoria.net web site]

That advance from the Normandy beachhead in those days immediately in the aftermath of 6 June slow-going, American advantages in tanks, artillery, and tactical aviation close-air-support negated to a large extent, the combat traditional light infantry versus other light infantry.

The hedgerows of Normandy offering excellent terrain for the defense, the German defender having every advantage in the world, accentuated by their combat methodology!

"First Action in the Hedgerows of Normandy"

"Gen. DePuy explains his first action in the hedgerows of Normandy, when he was a young captain"

"'A lot of work was done on trying to analyze the way the Germans defended. We finally did figure it out. The Germans would assign a squad to a terrain compartment. In other words, one series of hedgerowed fields like checkerboards. The Germans would put about two men on the first hedgerow, usually near the corners. The next hedgerow back would be their main position, and the third hedgerow back would be their reserve position. So, when you started the attack, the first two guys would knock off one or two of the attackers and slow things down. Then you had to go over the top of that hedgerow in the face of the main position. You suffered more casualties, and normally, that ended the attack.'"

Good German troops with extraordinary organic firepower and using the terrain of the hedgerows to their advantage making for a formidable adversary.

These tactics and methodology of the German also NOT apparently due to intense and careful planning. Ad hoc tactics adapting to the situation and doing so in and exemplary manner.

From an acknowledged and experienced combat authority we have this comment:

"It was ad hoc, initially, as they had no expectations that they would be defending that portion of France from a sea invasion.  The first forces assigned to defend the region on the beaches were cobbled-together divisions of the disabled and impressed foreign soldiers . . . The reserve forces that came within hours/days were experienced troops, any or even most with Eastern front experience. They were the ones who could conduct maneuver warfare and began the real hedgerow defenses when they arrived and recognized 'good ground' . . . They hadn't prepared for the bocage battlefield but knew how to improvise immediately thanks to experience and good training."

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Khwarezm!

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From that previous blog entry:

"The group [Khorasan Group] is named after the historical region Khorasan that comprised parts of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in prehistoric and early Islamic times"

 

Khwarezm that area in blue.

Khorasan in ancient times the home of a very sophisticated and cultured Islamic society, gone with the wind so they say, obliterated in battle with the forces of Genghis Khan.

"In the 12th century, the Khwarezmid Empire was founded and, in the early 13th century, ruled over all of Persia under the Shah ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Muhammad II (1200–1220) . . .  from 1218 to 1220 Genghis Khan and his Mongols launched the invasion of Central Asia and destroyed the Kara-Khitan Khanate and the Khwarezmid Empire, including the splendid capital of the latter, Gurganj."

Mohammad Shah having massacred a delegation of Mongol diplomats and ISSUED A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO GENGHIS KHAN HIMSELF, INVITING RETALION WHICH WAS SWIFT AND FORTHCOMING!

Mohammad put to flight and rout, his empire invaded, his armies destroyed, the occupants of his cities put to the sword, the land itself laid waste, destruction and death on an apocalyptic scale, almost unprecedented. Such was the wrath of Genghis!!

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Khorasan.

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Until only this morning the Khorasan Group totally unknown to me.

These guys are seen as a big threat on the scale of an ISIL?

Among those targets in Syria and Iraq for American cruise missiles, drones, stealth fighters and bombers is the Khorasan faction in opposition to Assad!

1. "U.S. strikes Khorasan Group in Syria, which posed 'imminent' threat to West"

"(CNN) -- [Breaking news update 6:44 a.m. ET]  The Khorasan Group, which the U.S. military struck overnight in Syria, was actively plotting against a U.S. homeland target and Western targets, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday. The threat was 'imminent,' the source said."

2. "Jihadi social media: Khorasan Group leader Muhsin al-Fadhli killed in U.S. airstrikes in Syria"

"the name of the Khorasan Group itself wasn’t leaked to the media until last week, although James Clapper had alluded months ago to unnamed AQ operatives inside Syria wanting to hit the U.S. from afar."

From the wiki entry for Khorasan Group:

"Khorasan is the assumed name of a Jihadist group in Syria with close ties to Al-Qaeda. They operate very hidden as a working group. Members are a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe working with Yemeni bomb-makers to target international aviation. The group is named after the historical region Khorasan that comprised parts of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in prehistoric and early Islamic times."

"The Khorasan group itself is shrouded in mystery. Little is known publicly apart from its being composed of former Al-Qaeda operatives from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. The group is said to favor concealed explosives as a terror method. Meanwhile the name Khorasan is aggressively spread from the intelligence community together with the note, Khorasan specifically recruits jihadists from the West."

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Saqlawiyah!

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Flash report update!

"URGENT: ISIS kills 300 Iraqi soldiers by chlorine gas attack in Saqlawiyah"

Here with the rest of the story and NO MENTION OF POISON GAS!

"Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers trapped or missing after chaotic retreat from an army base"

"BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers were trapped or missing on Sunday following a chaotic retreat from an army base in western Iraq, military officials said, underscoring the ability of Islamic State insurgents to remain on the offensive despite expanded airstrikes from the United States."

"At least 820 soldiers were stationed at Saqlawia Camp, north of the insurgent-controlled Iraqi city of Fallujah, when it came under attack from five suicide bombings on Sunday afternoon, said Lt. Col. Ihab Hashem, a deputy commander with the Iraqi Army’s 8th division who was at the camp. Two bombers drove explosives-packed armored vehicles and three others detonated vests, he said".

Suicide bombings but NOT chlorine gas? This all remains to be seen. NONETHELESS, another instance of the Iraqi National Army inability to hold a position, this disaster and instance of what appears to be a total break down of unit integrity, chaotic rout!!

Or this another instance of: "those with the loudest voices tend to be furthest from the scene of the action!!"

coolbert.

Approach!

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Some details on the recent approach of Russian bomber aircraft to American airspace as occurred just only a few days ago.

NO violation of the Alaskan ADIZ occurring. Merely an approach.

"US F-22 Jets Intercept 6 Russian Warplanes 55 Miles Off The Alaskan Coast"

"six Russian military airplanes just over 50 miles away from the western coast of Alaska, military officials said Friday, among which identified as two IL-78 refueling tankers, two Mig-31 fighter jets and . . . two Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear' long-range bombers, which are known to carry tactical ICBMs with nuclear warheads among their arsenal."

Those Russian warplanes to include BEAR, FOXHOUND and MIDAS.

NO BLINDER or FENCER. BEAR capable of carrying tactical cruise missiles with nuclear warhead. NOT ICBM's.

Also FOXHOUND the stretch fuselage version of the MiG-25 FOXBAT. FOXHOUND with a crew of two and an AIR DEFENSE WARPLANE! Four FOXHOUND capable of providing the entire air defense needs of a nation the size of Britain.

Anyone find the incorporation of AIR DEFENSE WARPLANES INTO A MIX OF BOMBERS AND TANKERS UNUSUAL OR STRANGE?

coolbert.

Chlorine.

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ISIL now has a chemical capability? And is using same?

So it is alleged.

"ISIS KILLS 300 IRAQI SOLDIERS WITH CHLORINE GAS: SHIA MP"
"Three hundred Iraqi soldiers died in a chlorine gas attack carried out by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the Iraqi city of Fallujah"

"It is unclear when the attacks took place. ISIS's use of chlorine gas in attacks isn't new. There are reports that the ISIS militants used chlorine-war gas before."

Good old-fashioned but NONETHELESS DEADLY chlorine gas choking agent. A legacy from almost one years ago first used in combat during the Great War.

Troops neither prepared nor equipped just throwing away their weapons and fleeing the battlefield in absolute disorder. Indeed, mass panic and disorder on the battlefield as a result of the use of chemical agents a greater threat to the combat commander than casualties from the poison itself.

Such if the case this is an escalation of the conflict and also demonstrative of additional ruthlessness on the part of ISIL. As if they need further demonstrations of ruthlessness.

coolbert.

Impedimenta.

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From the memoirs and writings of General William Depuy a series of blog entries, extracts and commentaries as originally seen at the Isegoria Internet web site

General William Depuy a rather significant general officer from that era of the Second Indo-China War. Chief of Staff for the Military Assistance Command Vietnam [MACV] at that exact moment when American involvement in that conflict became massive!

General Depuy not to be confused with Colonel Trevor Dupuy. The latter a distinguished American military historian and theorist.

As has been noted and commented on by various authorities, those soldiers going ashore on 6 June at Normandy excessively and dangerously overloaded.

Those troops first to land on the beaches at Normandy, 6 June severely over-loaded to the extent that the ability of the soldiers to accomplish their mission compromised, SOLDIERS HAVING TRAINED IN ENGLAND TO CROSS ONE HUNDRED METERS [YARDS] OF BEACH IN TWENTY SECONDS IN A FEW INSTANCES REQUIRING WHILE UNDER FIRE THREE HOURS TO DO SO!!

"The Basic Load for an Infantryman Landing at Normandy"

"What was the basic load for an infantryman landing at Normandy just after D-Day?"

Think rather those troops carrying on 6 June what is more properly called the existence load. Blanket, shelter half, rations and additional rations as required for sustained operation, but not necessary during a frontal assault from an amphibious landing.

A fighting load as better defined consisting of:

* Uniform with helmet and boots.

* Rifle with about one hundred rounds of ammo.

* Four hand grenades.

* Bayonet.

* Pistol belt and suspenders [web gear] with four ammo pouches.

* Full canteen and entrenching tool.

All beyond that an existence load and superfluous to the "first-wave" combat assault troops.

AND even far better would have been those initial troops going ashore at Normandy to have conducted the NIGHT ASSAULT! American Ranger and British commando units eliminating to the greatest extent possible in the hours just before dawn those German defenses immediate adjacent to the landing beaches.

But the light-laden soldier "stripped" to the minimum or the special operations troop executing the night assault neither did occur, those casualties on D-Day rather heavy, almost at least on Omaha Beach catastrophic.

coolbert.

YPG.

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Kurdish areas in Syria now under siege by ISIL. Kurdish YPG militia to the rescue. Recall that each political party among the Kurds has their own militia each and everyone operating independently, not as part of focused and concentrated force acting in concert.

ISIL after a period of apparently consolidating gains now on the move again? Fear the worst unless massive American intervention with coalition assistance forthcoming.

1. "Syrian Kurds warn of mounting crisis as ISIS advances, takes more villages"

"The latest ISIS advance in Syria has brought a swath of the country's north-central Kurdish region under siege, with Kurdish leaders warning of another humanitarian crisis without international intervention . . . in the past three days some 60 nearby villages fell under ISIS control . . . 39 villages on Friday alone "

2. "Kurdish fighters from Turkey join battle to save Syrian Kurdish town from ISIS"

"(CNN) -- Hundreds of Kurdish fighters from Turkey have arrived in the Syrian Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab to join a Kurdish militia group battling to hold off ISIS forces, activists said Saturday.
Clashes continue in the area between the militia, called the People's Protection Unit (YPG,) and the ISIS fighters, according the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights."

Even from the Internet I am unable to determine with any sort of exactitude the political orientation of the YPG militia. Syrian based is about all I can surmise. Factionalism in the battle against ISIL does no one any good.

coolbert.

Fallschirmjager!

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Fallschirmjager!!

"Fighting in The Hedgerows"

"Converted for the Web from "Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army From The Normandy Beaches, To The Bulge, To The Surrender Of Germany" by Stephen E. Ambrose"

"Indeed, the Fallschirmjäger [ FJ German paratrooper] were perhaps the best-armed infantrymen in the world in 1944. The 3rd FJ had 930 light machine guns, eleven times as many as its chief opponent, the U.S. 29th Division. Rifle companies in the FJ had twenty MG 42s and 43 submachine guns; rifle companies in the 29th had two machine guns and nine BARs. At the squad level, the GIs had a single BAR; the German parachute squad had two MG 42s and three submachine guns. The Germans had three times as many mortars as the Americans, and heavier ones. So in any encounter between equal numbers of Americans and Fallschirmjäger, the Germans had from six to twenty times as much firepower."

Very good German troops using that terrain of the hedgerows to their advantage AND having an abundance of organic firepower at their disposal making for a very formidable combination!!

Again, that overwhelming American advantage of artillery, tanks, and close-air-support tactical aviation MUCH OF WHICH WAS NEGATED BY THE TERRAIN OF THE HEDGEROWS AND THE HUGGING TACTICS OF THE GERMAN DEFENDER.

3rd FJ also a somewhat green unit [as was the 29th American ID] but having a cadre of experienced officers and sergeants who knew their stuff and also having trained the landser to the highest degree of proficiency and capability. 3rd FJ at that exact moment perhaps the best light infantry in the world when taking into consideration all factors.

coolbert.

Hedgerows.

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The hedgerows of Normandy.

"Fighting in The Hedgerows"

"Converted for the Web from 'Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army From The Normandy Beaches, To The Bulge, To The Surrender Of Germany' by Stephen E. Ambrose"

That American soldier having landed at Normandy, 6 June 1944 and moving inland in very short order encountering a terrain unlike any other on the planet, and most suited for the defense. A terrain and German defenders making most of same, and for which the U.S. Army in advance was neither aware of or had properly trained for.

"No terrain in the world was better suited for defensive action with the weapons of the fourth decade of the twentieth century than the Norman hedgerows, and only the lava and coral caves and tunnels of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were as favorable."

The hedgerows of Normandy as seen from the air. Those fields and boundaries of same as designated and marked from over a thousand years earlier!

"The Norman hedgerows dated back to Roman times. They were mounds of earth to keep cattle in and to mark boundaries. Typically there was only one entry into the small field enclosed by the hedgerows, which were irregular in length as well as height and set at odd angles. On the sunken roads the brush often met overhead, giving the GIs a feeling of being trapped in a leafy tunnel. Wherever they looked the view was blocked by walls of vegetation."

That sunken lane [a footpath actually] below ground level. Either side of the lane that mound of earth planted with hedges. Beyond that an open field and the Germans defending at the far end of the field.

Overwhelming American advantage on the ground and in the air negated by the hedgerows. Artillery, tanks, close-air-support tactical aviation of little or any use in such a situation. Light infantry against light infantry, DEFENSE IS THE STRONGER FORM OF COMBAT! Easier to do and you can accomplish more with less. Good German troops occupying suitable terrain making for a formidable adversary.

coolbert.

Baghdad.

This is coolbert:

ISIL on the move again. This occasion in a more covert manner. Attack in the Baghdad area.

Underground cells well established among the Sunni population of the city having made ready, the battle for the city [Baghdad] about to begin in earnest I fear.

1. "ISIS Carried Out A 'Complex And Penetrating Attack' In The Capital Of Iraq For The First Time"

"On September 18, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) launched a complex attack likely targeting the Adala Prison in Baghdad’s Kadhmiyah neighborhood in northern Baghdad. According to the Baghdad Operations Command, the attack was intended to break into the prison but was foiled."

2. "First Complex Attack by ISIS in Baghdad"

"While there have been plenty of low-level terror bombings in Baghdad in recent months, until Sept 18, the more complex, infantry-based combat had been limited to the north....But in the evening of the 18th, utilizing a combination of VBIEDs, suicide bombers, mortars, and, according to Shafaaq, RPGs, ISIS fighters struck in the Khadhmiya Neighborhood in northern Baghdad."

"Khadimiyah is a majority-Shi’a neighborhood, actually a Shi’a holy city subsumed by Baghdad. It is the site of a major Shi’a shrine, the Al Khadhimiya Mosque, which is was built over the tombs of two major Shi’a imams."

Those Shia militias will be hard pressed to stop the suicidal attacks of ISIL in and around the Baghdad area. Will further alienate and polarize the Iraqi populace, Sunni and Shia finding it impossible to work together against the common foe.

coolbert.

RUBK.

This is coolbert:

From Colonel Austin Bay as seen at Strategy Page that ultimate goal of Putin the reconstitution of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire to as great as extent as possible. Power politics as it was in the days of Peter the Great.

"Putin's Strategic Goal: The RUBK"

"What does a Great Russia with global power resources look like? The RUBK -- pronounced 'rubik' as in in the puzzle Rubik's Cube. RUBK is Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Khazakstan. With its demographics and natural resources, RUBK is a geo-strategic formula for a global power"

"I [Colonel Bay] filch RUBK from a Creators Syndicate column I wrote in 2004. That column pinched a 1991 analysis James F. Dunnigan and I conducted as we prepared a second edition of 'A Quick And Dirty Guide To War.'  Dunnigan and I concluded (and we were writing before the USSR officially collapsed in December 1991) that the Russians would try to keep or link the Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan core of their empire."

That power grab, seizing the Crimea by military force and rigged election just one step as planned of many?

WARM WATER PORTS ALWAYS CITED AS ONE REASON FOR RUSSIAN EXPANSION DURING THE TZARIST PERIOD!

As for determining what is the further intent of the Russian leadership THESE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES NEED WHAT SUN TZU TERMED AS THE INWARD SPY!

"making use of official of the enemy. Worthy men who have been degraded from office, criminals who have undergone punishment; also, favorite concubines who are greedy for gold, men who are aggrieved at being in a subordinate positions, or who have been passed over in the distribution of posts, others who are anxious that their side should be defeated in order that they may have a chance of displaying their ability and talents, fickle turncoats who are always want to have a foot in each boot. Officials of these several kinds should be secretly approached and bound to one's interests by means of rich presents. In this way you will be able to find out the state of affairs in the enemy's country, ascertain the plans that are being formed against you . . ."

And such persons can be found and ARE being found? Who knows?

coolbert.

Alaska.

This is coolbert:

Once more the Russian air force heavy units flying missions either close to or near American airspace.

"AMERICAN FIGHTERS INTERCEPTED RUSSIAN WARPLANES OVER ALASKA"

Over Alaskan airspace meaning what exactly is not clear.

"SEPTEMBER 20 , 2014 United States officials have attributed the provocation in the sky with the visit of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko"

"US fighters intercepted six Russian military aircraft in the area of ​​Alaska."

"'Russian planes stormed the US airspace larger group than usual: Two fighters, two bombers and two tanker'"

To what extent this military adventure is related to the recent deployment of Russian warplanes to the Eastern [Far East] military district only in recent days is not clear.

These aircraft flown in a response to Poroshenko addressing the American Congress? A fit of anger on the part of Putin that gauntlet thrown as a warning?

coolbert.

Franko.

This is coolbert:

Designated as territorial defense battalion those various elements as in combat with separatist groups in the Ukraine, irregular forces fighting other irregular forces.

Among those two battalions most often mentioned in the media Azov and Donbass.

Speaking of a battalion do not think of these combat units as having a TO&E of a conventional military battalion as normally, commonly, and generally understood. Usually far less in that number of combatants, half the size of troop strength often the case.

AND UNITS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE UKRAINIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENT DURING AND AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THE COMBATANTS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS "RIGHT WING"!!

1. "Azov fighters are Ukraine's greatest weapon and may be its greatest threat"

"The battalion's far-right volunteers' desire to 'bring the fight to Kiev' is a danger to post-conflict stability"

. . . .

"Dmitry – which he said is not his real name – is a native of east Ukraine and a member of the Azov battalion, a volunteer grouping that has been doing much of the frontline fighting in Ukraine's war with pro-Russia separatists. The Azov, one of many volunteer brigades to fight alongside the Ukrainian army in the east of the country, has developed a reputation for fearlessness in battle."

AND an American national killed while fighting with Donbass. "Franko" the nom de guerre!

2. "U.S. Army Vet Killed Fighting Pro-Russian Separatists In Ukraine"

"A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and the only American known to have fought alongside Ukrainian forces against pro-Russian separatists has been killed in eastern Ukraine."

"Mark Gregory Paslawsky, 55, died while fighting with the volunteer Donbas Battalion."

 

Franko somewhat too aged to be doing the combat stuff. Age fifty-five although a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point and a graduate of the Ranger school. Franko also having lived in Ukraine for over two decades, an ethnic Ukrainian and a citizen.

 

See that entire listing of Ukrainian territorial defense battalions. QUITE an extensive list.

3. "Territorial defense battalion (Ukraine)"

"Territorial defense battalions are volunteer paramilitary groups created in Ukraine to combat Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic insurgents during the War in Donbass."

coolbert.

Suicide!

This is coolbert:

It seems that my informant, the acknowledged aviation expert was pretty much right on the money [not exactly 100 % so but close enough] about the disappearance of flight MH370. That airliner strangely disappearing without a trace, no debris ever found or any indication at all of what ever occurred to the plane determined.

From this headline it is suggested that the PILOT WAS SUICIDAL AND TOOK THE ENTIRE PLANE AND PASSENGERS WITH HIM.

"MH370 pilot switched off oxygen supply to kill himself in the SIXTH example of 'suicide flights', according to Kiwi Airlines boss"

• "Ewan Wilson claims Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately depressurised cabin"
• "Oxygen masks would only have given passengers 20 minutes' supply"
• "In new book, says Shah was mentally ill and locked his co-pilot out of cockpit
• Shah 'then landed on water so plane sank in one piece with no debris'"
• "Alarmingly, Mr Wilson says this has happened six times - causing 661 deaths"

Pilot suicide having occurred [at least what know of] six times, this hypothesis is worthy of consideration.

And when thinking of pilot suicide the first and foremost case that comes to mind is the sad plight of the EgyptAir flight 990 that crashed into the Atlantic some years ago now.

Plane for no logical reason during mid-flight dove into the water from a high altitude, THE CO-PILOT BEING SUSPECTED OF HAVING PUSHED THE NOSE OVER INTO A DIVE THAT BECAME IRREVERSIBLE.

My understanding that HALF THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY GENERAL STAFF WAS ON THAT AIRPLANE. You the devoted reader to the blog take it from there.

coolbert.

Nature vs. Nurture.

This is coolbert:

The debate continues. Is it nature or nurture?

"Nature of war: Chimps inherently violent"

"Of all of the world's species, humans and chimpanzees are some of the only to engage in coordinated attacks on other members of their same species. Jane Goodall was among the first to introduce the occurrence of lethal inter-community killings and since then primatologists and anthropologists have long debated the concept of warfare in this genus. Research theories have pointed to increased gains and benefits of killing off competitors and opening up increased access to key resources such as food or mates. In contrast, others have argued that warfare is a result of human impact on chimpanzees, such as habitat destruction or food provisioning, rather than adaptive strategies."

ANTS ALSO ENGAGE IN WARFARE AND ON A VERY ORGANIZED AND MASSIVE BASIS! ANTS DON'T EVEN HAVE BRAINS, ACTING MERELY TO CHEMICAL STIMULI!

Jane Goodall very emphatic that there is a basic aggressive nature to mankind. We are violent and it is a part of our very being. Chimpanzee on "patrol", those young adult males doing a "walk-about" of their territory, on the alert for interlopers, aggressive toward same, defending what is deemed as theirs with violence.

coolbert.

Fast Track.

This is coolbert:


More on the newly created [on paper] NATO rapid reaction force.

"NATO to fast-track rapid-reaction force"

"NATO’s new rapid-reaction 'spearhead' force, meant as a deterrent to Russian aggression, should be up and running with initial capabilities in less than a year, a top alliance official said Thursday."

"The creation of a 4,000 to 5,000 troop response force, which will be able to respond to a crisis in eastern Europe within two to three days, was a key decision taken by NATO leaders earlier this month in Wales."

Something is not right here. 

That rapid reaction force was to number at least 10,000 strong, and not a mere four to five thousand.

And was not not necessarily NATO. Would consist of military units from the various NATO constituent nations, but not NATO. British led and organized but operating independently of the NATO command.

coolbert.

Catastrophe.

This is coolbert:

As originally written by Max Hastings, noted by Vox Day, seen in Isegoria and copied here in entirety.

"War is politics by other means" but that civilian political leadership and the highest levels of military command not always so absolutely sure and confident of themselves or in total command of the situation. As it was in 1914 so it is we might well assume the same in 2014.

"Catastrophe 1914"

"While reading Catastrophe 1914, by Max Hastings, Vox Day has noticed a few things":

1. "Civilian leadership usually appoints the wrong commanders."

2. "The main thing lacking in military leaders, from the highest level to the lowest, is a willingness to accept the risk of defeat. Nothing assures failure like indecisiveness."

3. "Advances in communications technology increases the amount of civilian interference into war operations."

4. "Civilian leadership seldom has a clear objective in mind."

5. "Military commanders regard 'the book' as an intrinsic excuse and therefore have a tendency to cling to it."

6. "A historian’s take on a given war is strongly influenced by his nationalist sympathies."

7. "The temptation to interfere with a strategic plan once it is put into action appears to be almost overwhelming."

THE "PLAN" UNDERSTAND AS THE BASE FROM WHICH ALL CHANGE IS MADE. CHANGE AS NECESSITATED AN ONGOING PROCESS. THE MORE CORRECT THE ASSUMPTIONS MADE AND THE BETTER THE PLANNING ALL SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN MORE MINOR THAN MAJOR.

coolbert.

4MM.

This is coolbert:

Four Minute Mile [4MM]!!

Yet one more in a line of gadgets, apparatus, device, designed to enhance and improve, even radically so, the performance of the soldier on the battlefield.

"New Jetpack Could Help Soldiers Run as fast as 4 minutes a mile"

4MM a strap-on jet powered device allowing for an individual to run faster and longer without becoming so terribly exhausted.

"the 4 Minute Mile — or 4MM — a jetpack that can help soldiers move faster without requiring them to exert more physically."

"The jetpack gives the runner a boost in an attempt to shave off time with a goal of running a 4-minute mile."

"Early testing has shown that even carrying the jetpack equipment, the runner could complete a 200-meter run faster and with decreased exertion."

AND as should be noted worn by a trained athlete. 4MM only enhancing performance for an individual already at a high level of ability.

This jet-pack already apparently do-able and in field trials [beta testing]. NOT so excessively in weight as to be a significant burden. See the video!

"New jetpack could help soldiers run as fast as 4 minutes a mile"

"ASU’s iProjects program completed the project of the jetpack, which weighs about 11 pounds."

Historical other previous "gadgets, apparatus, device" as having been designed to increased and greatly enhance the physical abilities of the combat soldier to include:

1. Soviet era Saigak boots.     .

2. Hiller flying platform.  

3. Military exoskeletons.   

"Gadgets, apparatus, device" SO FAR not practical.  Science-fiction as seen in the Hollywood cinema not do-able YET!

coolbert.

Boots.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to the blog by Steiner:

"Steiner said...

Wrong. The full weight of American air power can achieve any political outcome, even if that means utter destruction of the foe so that there is no longer a partner for negotiation. In Vietnam, Linebacker II forced the Communists to the negotiating table . . . The Islamists are even more vulnerable to air power because they have no ground to air capability whatsoever, to say nothing of air to air. Pound them with everything except nukes, day and night: unleash Linebacker III!"

Robert Gates however, begs to differ:

"Robert Gates: There Will Be Boots On The Ground If There's 'Any Hope Of Success' Against ISIS"

"Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Wednesday said US ground troops will have to be part of the equation if there's 'any hope of success' in President Barack Obama's strategy to 'degrade and destroy' the extremist group ISIS (also known as ISIL or the Islamic State)."

"'The reality is they're not going be able to be successful against ISIS strictly from the air, or strictly depending on the Iraqi forces, or the Peshmerga, or the Sunni tribes acting on their own,'"

There ALREADY I MIGHT WELL ASSUME AMERICAN "BOOTS" ON THE GROUND. Special forces, ranger, special operations troops of all variety.

Directing airstrikes, drones and naval aviation at this point, B-52 and B-2 in the future.

The former firing Hellfire and Viper missiles or dropping Paveway type munitions. The latter dropping JDAMS, targets as specified and designated by "boots" skilled and able to direct terminal guidance of munitions to the desired end.

PERHAPS EVEN MORE PERTINENT IS THE STAYING POWER AND WILL POWER OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. IF IT BECOMES APPARENT THAT A QUICK AND SURE CONCLUSION TO THE ISIL PROBLEM IS LACKING, THAT FORTITUDE TO STAY THE COURSE OVER A LONG PERIOD IN QUESTION!!

coolbert.

Far East.

This is coolbert:

The Far East is Red!

From Harry at Sharkhunters and the tip from MARCONI we have this item:

"MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti). Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers and Tu-22M3 bombers have moved from the base airfields to the tactical airfields of the Eastern Military District [Far Eastern?] as part of an unannounced combat readiness check, said the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry."

“'As part of a combat readiness check of the Eastern Military District [Far Eastern?] forces, the crews of  the Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 will be patrolling various areas and providing aviation support to the Pacific Fleet. Included in the drills, flight personnel will practice joint action on air policing, air target interception, ground target engagement as well as air strike and anti-aircraft fire evasion. All tasks will be practiced by both during the day and nighttime in various weather conditions.'”

Tu-95 and the Tu-22M3 active over the Pacific theater, the targets for the exercise I assume notional elements of the American navy as might occur during wartime.

The Far East is red as in be on alert and also as it was during the time of the old Soviet Union!

coolbert.

Hostages.

This is coolbert:

Infamous banditii!!

I was afraid this was going to happen and perhaps already is so.

The human shield!! ISIL taking prisoners and using them as human shields.

"Iraq: Isis Using Yazidis As Human Shields Against U.S. Airstrikes"

"DOHUK, Iraq -- Reports from eyewitnesses here in Northern Iraq spoke to Breitbart News about how the terrorist group the Islamic State is using Yazidi hostages as human shields to protect themselves against U.S. airstrikes"

. . . .

"ISIS are using the hostages as human shields to protect themselves from the U.S. airstrikes."

American military planners are going to have to make some hard choices. That use of human shields too if and when an accomplished fact a clear and obvious violation of the laws of land warfare and basic humanitarian considerations as during a time of war. Perpetrators becoming common enemies of all mankind, any and all measures to apprehend and bring to justice legal and just.

Hostis humani generis.

coolbert.

Golan Heights.

This is coolbert:

Only from yesterday an item that has the potentiality to be very big.

Overt Israel involvement in the Syrian Civil War now a strong possible.

"The UN Is Pulling Most Of Its Peacekeepers Out Of Syria As Situation 'Deteriorates Severely'"

"The UN is quietly pulling back from the parts of the peacekeeper-administered military disengagement zone separating the Israeli and Syrian-controlled sections of the Golan Heights.
Reuters quotes an anonymous UN staffer as saying that 'Staff in U.N. positions 10, 16, 31 and 37, as well as Camp Faouar on the (Syrian) side are being relocated.'"

First the Fijians and the Filipino peacekeepers and now NO ONE?

As of this exact moment that United Nations peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria is a zero entity?

This al-Nusra front of those Syrian rebels reputed to be associated with Al Qaeda. NOT ISIL!

coolbert.

Boko Haram.

This is coolbert:

The Islamic jihadist group Boko Haram also having now declared a Caliphate and further on the rampage.

The military forces of the central Nigerian government also seemingly powerless to stop the forward advance of Boko Haram combatants. Sounds familiar, doesn't it??

1. "Boko Haram Militants Have Surrounded a Major Nigerian City"

"A month after declaring an Islamic state-like caliphate in Northeastern Nigeria, Boko Haram militants have reportedly surrounded the Borno state capital Maiduguri, where residents expect an attack on what could be the group's largest and most symbolic seizure yet"

2. "While World Watches ISIS, Boko Haram Declares Its Own Caliphate In Nigeria"

"the leader of the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has established the world's second Islamic "caliphate" this summer and is seeking to cement his bloody rule on a territory that is now roughly the size of West Virginia."

"While much of the world has been focused on the brutal reign of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the forces of Boko Haram have been racking up victories in northern Nigeria and have been violently imposing an equally harsh version of Islamic law"

"Most recently, the group's forces have seized two cities with a combined population of 600,000; nearly surrounded Maiduguri, home to about 1 million Nigerians; and sent government troops fleeing in scenes reminiscent of the rout of the Iraqi army by ISIS fighters this spring."

With all that occurring in Gaza, Ukraine and with ISIL, Boko has been somewhat forgotten. Until now that is.

coolbert.

Just!

This is coolbert:

The American President Barack Obama who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner now embarks on a mission of war.

The American people demand legal and moral justification when committing military force. In the case of engaging in combat with the forces of ISIL satisfaction of certain criteria must and SHOULD be met.

"Just War Theory and ISIS"

"In our constitutional republic there are two criteria for determining if an action by government is moral and/or legal"

1. "The first criteria is the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God." This requires the action committed by government to be moral, which means to be in accordance with natural law" 

2. "our second criteria -- the will of the people . . . nine out of ten Americans also believes ISIS to be a serious threat"

There are seven components to Just War Theory. Let's take a look at each and see if military action against ISIS applies.

[Those] seven components to Just War Theory:

* Just Cause.

* Comparative Justice.

* Competent Authority.

* Right Intention.

* Probability of Success.

* Last Resort.

* Proportionality.

That decision of the ancient churchmen that Christianity is NOT a pacifist religion decided a long time ago. That remark of JESUS to "turn the other cheek" not suggesting passivity in the face of danger as understand within the context of the time [2,000 years ago]. Rather understand "turn the other cheek" as more correctly meaning SHOW CONTEMPT FOR!

coolbert.

Mistakes?

This is coolbert:

ONLY as the shooting has just barely begun American policy and strategy with regard to ISIL less than sanguine?  

Thanks to the tip from Ken and the article as written by Gary Anderson.

"If You Liked Vietnam, You’ll Love the War With the Islamic State"

"President Obama is repeating three key strategic mistakes that President Johnson made in Vietnam."

1. "an open ended commitment"

2. "thinking it can be done by airpower alone."

3. "That brings us to President Johnson’s third great mistake; he allowed North Vietnam to become a sanctuary."

"President Obama has emulated Johnson and will create sanctuaries by taking the ground option off the table."

The plan is the base from which all change is made!

Dynamics creating circumstances that warrant change.

Change as a response to dynamics.

NO plan works perfectly from the start. The better the planning and the more correct the assumptions the less change becomes necessary. But start with some plan and go from there.

coolbert.

Backsliders.

This is coolbert:

From the latest DEBKAfile newsletter we have these headlines, coalition warfare as proposed for waging against ISIL now shaky at best, allied forces and those friendly to the United States seemingly hesitant and even back-sliding. You have to ask what sort of coalition is being created here.

1. "Jordan will not join US-led coalition fighting IS. Arabs have own strategy"

"8 Sept. Jordan will not be part of any coalition for battling the IS, but would continue to coordinate with all countries on facing terrorism and terrorist organizations, a senior minister said in Amman"

"The Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo Sunday also agreed to act jointly against extremist groups, particularly the Islamic state, but fell short of clearly embracing coordination with the US."

2. "Turkey backs out of US-led coalition against IS. Germany, UK say no to air campaign"

"11 Sept. Turkey inflicted a stunning blow Thursday, Sept. 11 to President Barack Obama's strategy for a broad US-led coalition for tackling and defeating the Islamic State, and the potential 11-member coalition which US Secretary of State John Kerry hoped to establish in Jeddah that day. Shortly after a mention in Obama's speech Wednesday night, Ankara said its air bases would be unavailable for US-led attacks on 'jihadists in Iraq and Syria.' . . . Another setback were the German and British refusals to take part in US air campaigns in Syria."

Let me see now. NO Turkey, NO airbases, NO Jordan, NO German or British warplanes, the Arab League offering an alternative plan. Did I miss something?

coolbert.




 

Umm Layth.

This is coolbert:

Speak of the devil!!

Here with the photo shoot of the woman jihadist as having rallied to the cause of ISIL.

"'I will only come back to Britain to raise the black flag'..."

"Jihadist Aqsa Mahmood broke her silence yesterday to warn Western Muslims that it’s ‘us against them’ and to ‘pick a side’ in the war."

 

Aqsa now refers to herself by the nom de guerre of Umm Layth.

"On the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Mahmood posted her diatribe in a third installment of her online ‘Diary of a Muhajirah (immigrant)’ – in which she also said she would only come home to raise the black flag of IS over Britain."

. . . .

"The 20-year-old – who married an IS fighter in February – added: ‘The only time we will ever, ever return to those lands beithnillah (if God wills) is to raise our flag.’"

Described as Scottish born and raised. A Scots woman.

"Just because one is born in a barn does not make one a horse."

coolbert.

Able.

This is coolbert:

"We need artillery, we need tanks"

"We need helicopter gunships"

"We be not able!!"

They already got all that stuff!!

"To Defeat Islamic State, Kurds Say They'll Need Bigger Guns"

"The weaponry being supplied by the US to the militia forces of Iraqi Kurdistan is not powerful or modern enough to defeat well-equipped Islamic State militants, according to senior Kurdish officers."

. . . .

Peshmerga ministry spokesman General Halgurd Hikmat told VICE News that troops had received only 'basic weapons' like small arms and ammunition, and in amounts sufficient only to 'refresh' the peshmerga stockpiles rather than improve their firepower . . .  'We need new weapons and we need strategic weapons'"

Kurdish military commanders of the peshmerga not able to go on the offensive. Lacking what they deem as the necessary heavy firepower. Armor, artillery. Probably helicopter gunships too.

NOT modern enough!! NOT powerful enough!! More, more, more, more!!

At least to an extent the Kurds HAVE THAT STUFF ALREADY AND HAVE HAD "THAT STUFF" FOR SOME TIME.

Perhaps not the latest and greatest but at least what might be considered to be adequate.

See from the wiki the types of small arms and heavy military hardware as already available to the peshmerga.

Each political party among the Kurds possessing their own militia, there NOT BEING A SINGLE RECOGNIZED GENERAL OFFICER OR COMMANDER HAVING UNITY OF COMMAND!! EACH MILITIA OPERATING AUTONOMOUSLY AND INDEPENDENTLY, EACH APPARENTLY WITH THEIR OWN AGENDA.

"Those with the loudest voices tend to be furthest from the scene of the action!!"

coolbert.

Nurses & Brothels.

This is coolbert:

The women of ISIL!

We need a Playboy photo shoot. Entitle it: "The Women of Jihad"!

1. "At Least Three Young Minnesota Women Have Traveled to Syria to Aid ISIS Jihadis"

"At least three young Minnesota women are now believed to have traveled to Syria to give aid to the ISIS terror group responsible for the brutal beheadings of American journalists"

Young teenage women on the verge of attending nursing school disappearing with the supposed intent to get some real-on-the-job-training nursing and tending to wounded ISIL fighters.

Yet one instance of the Somali connection. That "most tempestuous people". Perhaps the most dangerous "people" in the world. That MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL AREA AS IS CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA HOME TO THE LARGE POPULATION OF SOMALI LIVING AS REFUGEES OR EXILES!

2. "British female jihadis running ISIS 'brothels' allowing killers to rape kidnapped Yazidi women"

"British female jihadis are running brothels full of women kidnapped and forced into sex slavery by Islamic State militants."

"It is understood they are members of an ultra-religious IS ‘police’ force tasked with looking after girls captured from the Yazidi tribe in Iraq."

"As many as 3,000 Iraqi women have been taken captive in the last two weeks by the terror group.
Sources suggest that members of the all-women al-Khanssaa Brigade in Raqqa, Syria, are running brothels to satisfy the fighters’ desires."

THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS SINCE THE EPISODE OF THE COMFORT WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR TWO. KOREAN FEMALES FORCED TO SERVE THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS SEXUALLY!!

British women too not so. Perhaps women born in England and living there all their life but NOT BRITISH AS THAT TERM NORMALLY, COMMONLY, AND GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD.

"Just because one is born in a barn does not make one a horse."

coolbert.

Weed!

This is coolbert:

As extracted from a previous blog entry:

"Slow but steady. In small increments.

 BUT SO IT SEEMS ONLY AS LONG AS THEY HAVE GUARANTEED AMERICAN AIR POWER. ALL COMBAT ACTIONS PREDICATED ON THE APPEARANCE OF AMERICAN WARPLANES.

So why does not ISIL need air power? How come? They do just fine with ad hoc amateur units but they don't need air power to make gains?"

Iraqi national army and the Kurdish peshmerga able to fight and defeat ISIL contingents, but ONLY when American air power is guaranteed and present. And this is why?

From an acknowledged authority this response worth considering:

"Good question!  Air power to buck up morale, meaning they have little morale to start with, whereas their enemy, ISIL, does have higher morale.  Can't answer why."

 "I expected much more from  the Kurds . . . But I've read recently that their experience with the Iraq Army and government left them without funds for their portion of the army--done deliberately to weaken the Kurd forces for fear they would be a threat to the existing al Maliki government (they were and are)."  

 "I suspect much of the recent Iraqi Army training was directed to  the parade ground, for instance, resulting in officers abandoning their troops  and the troops surrendering or running away at
first contact with battle experienced professionals coming from Syria, where they'd been fighting (and  weeding out their officers) for six months or a year. (of course a lot of  that issue is related to the commanders appointing officers who are loyal to the  regime's boss, as did al-Maliki and his special segment of the Shias in  Iraq, and that gets right back to weeding out poor officers, doesn't it?)"

"The moral is to the physical as three is to one" - - Napoleon.

ISIL morale very high, sky high indeed, Iraqi and peshmerga morale very low! In a nutshell we have the answer?

coolbert.

Ebola.

This is coolbert:

Within the context of the predictions as made by the British Admiral Parry this blog entry germane.

Devoted readers to the blog are following closely and should be following closely the most current outbreak of Ebola. An illness the mortality rate of which is historically 2/3 to 3/4 of those infected persons. A sickness cruel, unremitting, harsh.

Confined now to Africa but with the potentiality to spread even way beyond!!

Ebola if indeed mutating and becoming even more deadly and infectious, a catastrophe with potential global proportions in the making!!

"Unstoppable: is Ebola mutating with unknown consequences before our eyes?"

"An international research team has analyzed about a hundred Ebola virus genomes from 78 patients in Sierra Leone. The patients were diagnosed with Ebola in late May to mid June."

"The researchers found more than 300 genetic changes that make the 214 Ebola virus genomes distinct from the viral genomes tied to previous Ebola outbreaks. Moreover, over 50 changes had occurred since the start of the 2014 outbreak, suggesting the virus is in fact mutating."

"There are many cases where a change to the genome of an organism has no consequence.
But in this current outbreak of Ebola - with this particular strain - the researchers found a number of genetic mutations had altered proteins in the virus, potentially with disastrous affect."

Admiral Parry as having foreseen the possible break down of the world order during the period 2012-2018 and occurring from any one or combination of reasons to include famine, pestilence, natural disaster, economic collapse. A break down of the world order with disastrous consequences for all, movements of peoples, upheaval with all the ramifications as not seen since the Dark Ages.

I had thought that Cyclone Nargis [2012] with widespread devastation as brought to Burma [Myanamar] might have initiated that global collapse. But this did not occur. So far the center holds.

coolbert.

Franklin.

This is coolbert:

Super hot rush bulletin!

Franklin has been found!

At least one of the ships of the Franklin Expedition.

And this is very germane to a recent blog entry. Thanks to the Jungle Trader.

Canadian sovereignty claims in the far Arctic north in part based on the long-lost Franklin Expedition.

"Franklin's Lost Expedition" 

BBC News:

"One of two British explorer ships that vanished in the Arctic more than 160 years ago has been found, Canada's prime minister says."

"Stephen Harper said it was unclear which ship had been found, but photo evidence confirmed it was one of them. "

"Sir John Franklin led the two ships and 129 men in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic."

"The expedition's disappearance shortly after became one of the great mysteries of the age of Victorian exploration."

More to follow I assume? Most of these searches for the "lost expedition" or the valiant "lost explorer" never finding a thing. NOT in this case and most surprisingly so!

coolbert.

Riverine.

This is coolbert:

Riverine task force, ISIL style!

As noted in the article, for some time ISIL has had ground troops, then with the capture of the Syrian Tabqa air base evidently obtained combat warplanes. NOW ISIL demonstrates a riverine capability as well.

"ISIS Now Has A Navy, Launches Gunboat Attack Near Baghdad"

"First it was UN and US military hardware and artillery, second it was hijacked Syrian fighter jets, and now ISIS has 'commandeered' a Navy. As Reuters reports, Islamic State fighters attacked a riverside town north of Baghdad on Monday with gunboats and a car bomb, killing 17 people and wounding 54, a security source said."

The Land Between the Two Rivers well suited for riverine operations. Brown water craft able to move relatively freely and without hindrance. Move troops and heavy weapons assets via barge or small boat to where needed and do so in an expeditious manner.

Also Baghdad will be required to defend in all places, valuable combat unit relegated to a strictly static and defensive role.

One if by land, two if by sea, three if by air and we are ready to go. ISIL if nothing else very innovative and adaptable.

coolbert.

Soryu.

This is coolbert:

Becoming Japanese!

To replace the current Collins class of submarines the Australians are negotiating with the Japanese in anticipation of the purchase of a dozen Soryu class submersibles.

"Home-built submarines deemed too expensive, too risky (Australia)"

"BUILDING a new fleet of submarines in Australia would be too risky and too expensive, the Abbott government has concluded."

"Instead, the government is considering buying 'off-the-shelf' options from Japan and Germany, with Japan’s Soryu- class boat the frontrunner."

That cost of building indigenous Australian submarines includes the construction of brand-new facilities and infrastructure merely for the boat building, expenses rapidly accelerating beyond what is tolerable.

Australia and Norway the only two nations in the world the central governments currently running a budget surplus.

Soryu class submarines too air-independent-propulsion. Very quiet and very stealthy. Well suited for the needs I would think of the Australian navy.

Delay too might seem to be a factor in the Australian decision, if and when it occurs. The Japanese already have an existing and up-and-going production facility. Australia has none at present. Cost is not only a factor.

"The Sōryū-class submarines (16SS) are diesel-electric submarines that entered service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in 2009 . . . The class are fitted with air-independent propulsion based on Kockums Stirling engines license-built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, allowing them to stay submerged for longer periods of time."

That Australian navy not needing global power projection. These submarines well suited for the Australian mission and are good to go!

coolbert.

Slow & Steady.

This is coolbert:

Steady as she goes Captain!

Yet more positive news from Iraq. NOT so decisive but at least a trend headed in the right direction.

1. "Kurds Retake Strategic Mountain From IS"

"(BBC) -- Kurdish forces in northern Iraq have recaptured a strategically important mountain from Islamic State (IS) militants, helped by US air strikes."

"Mount Zartak overlooks a plain that stretches to Mosul, the city seized by IS in June."

. . . .

"Mount Zartak was retaken in a short, sharp battle that left more than 30 IS fighters dead".


2. "US launches new airstrikes against ISIS in western Iraq [To keep Haditha Dam] "

"The U.S. has launched fresh airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS, in an effort to keep the Haditha Dam in western Iraq in the hands of that country's army."

"Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby confirmed the airstrikes in a statement issued early Sunday, saying that the strikes destroyed five Humvees, an armed vehicle, and a checkpoint. The strikes also damaged a militant bunker."

. . . .

"Last month Islamic State fighters were battling to capture the Haditha Dam, which has six power generators located alongside Iraq's second-largest reservoir. But, despite their attacks, Iraqi forces there backed up by local Sunni tribes have been able to hold them off."

The continued possession of Haditha dam most crucial to the forces of the central government in Baghdad. Great danger exists if this structure is captured by ISIL. A stoppage of water flow and electrical current necessary for civilized life or the CATASTROPHIC RELEASE OF WATER AS A WEAPON OF WAR, APOCALYPTIC AND BIBLICAL IN SCALE A POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCE.

3. "Iraqi Army, Kurds Advance Toward Mosul"

The Iraqi military and Kurdish forces have kicked off an all-out campaign to recapture militant-held towns in the region of al-Khazer in Nineveh plains.

The Iraqi national army and the Kurds are said to be making progress against ISIL.

Slow but steady. In small increments.

BUT SO IT SEEMS ONLY AS LONG AS THEY HAVE GUARANTEED AMERICAN AIR POWER. ALL COMBAT ACTIONS PREDICATED ON THE APPEARANCE OF AMERICAN WARPLANES.

So why does not ISIL need air power? How come they do just fine with ad hoc amateur units but they don't need air power to make gains?

"Those furthest from the scene of the action usually possess the loudest voices!"

Is this the case? I ask the devoted readers to the blog this VERY question?

coolbert.