Assad & Kim.

This is coolbert:

"birds of the same feather flock together"

North Koreans in Syria? North Koreans?

Aid and assistance to the regime of Assad by the North Korean we are familiar with. NOW the north is accused of aiding and abetting ISIL too? Thanks to intelNews.org.

"South Korean lawmakers accuse North of helping Islamic State"

"A powerful South Korean parliamentary committee has accused the North Korean government of ties to the Islamic State, an allegation that is vehemently denied by Pyongyang."

. . . .

". . . the North Korean regime is believed to be a strong international ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad . . . It is believed that North Korean technicians aided in the construction of Syria’s al-Kibar nuclear facility, . . . Today, North Korea is among a small number of countries that maintain fully staffed embassies in Syrian capital Damascus. In September of this year, the government of Syria dedicated a park in the capital to Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s late leader."

That Kim is Kim the First. That communist ruler of North Korea immediately subsequent to the end of the Second World War [WW2].

NO MENTION HOWEVER OF NORTH KOREAN BODYGUARDS OR SPECIAL OPERATIONS TYPE COMBAT CONTINGENTS FIGHTING ON THE SIDE OF ASSAD..

coolbert.

Leopard 2A4 Syria.

This is coolbert:

The Turk moves south?

As we speak, Turkish army troops on the move, headed toward the border with Syria.

Hold on to your hat everyone.

Thanks to Freeper and the translation from a Turkish media source:

"Turkey Moving 1000 Vehicles Including Leopard 2A4 Tanks From 1St Army To Syrian Border"

Translation: "'Endless battalions of tanks, APCs and Firtina self-propelled howitzers are being transferred from the region of Evros and the Zone of Responsibility of the 1st Army to the borders with Syria and there is information to suggest movement of Leo2A4 tanks with 120mm guns and much greater survivability against the Russian T-90 than the upgraded M60T SABRA. The tanks are being moved from the western provinces of Turkey and joined the 5th Armoured Brigade based in Gaziantep. Turkish tanks are transported by all means.'"

Those tanks as mentioned and specifically so the improved version Leopard 2 more than a match for the Russian T-90.

This is all related to the FORTY-SIX KILOMETERS? A buffer zone in Syria for those refugees of Turkish ethnicity to include the Turkomen and Uighur?

Endless battalions of tanks! Endless!

coolbert.

Budjak Republic.

This is coolbert:

As I have speculated about and anticipated seems now to be on the verge of occurring.

Russian speaking separatists restive and making ready for things to come.

First Crimea, then the eastern part of Ukraine. NOW Moldova.

From intelNews.org:

"Moldova arrests paramilitaries who ‘planned pro-Russian uprising’"

"Police in Moldova says it arrested members of a paramilitary group who allegedly planned to attack several cities and establish a separatist pro-Russian enclave. According to Moldovan authorities, the group, whose members include Ukrainian and Russian nationals, aimed to create a pro-Russian republic along the lines of the Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine. Representatives from Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate told journalists on Thursday that they began monitoring a group calling itself 'Budjak Republic' in October, after pro-Russian supporters in Moldova’s Russian-dominated south began calling for independence"

See previous blog entries regarding Moldova:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/09/moldovatransnistria.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/04/trans-dneister.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/12/chisinau.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/revanchist.html

coolbert.

Borey/Bulava/Wu-14.

This is coolbert:

From MARCO POLO through Harry some items of interest:

1. Russian missile firing submarine in action.

". . . on Nov.14, one of Russia's SSBN [Borey class?] fired two SLBMs [Bulava?], while submerged in the White Sea, and that both missiles successfully [??] reached their intended destinations on the Kamchatka Peninsula."

"Now, there is a rumor going around among Russian navy men that the first of those two missiles was dud. It was damaged before it left the tube, and did not fly at all. To fire two missiles in salvo was the objective of the test. It miserably failed." 

2. Chinese test hypersonic re-entry vehicle.             

"China says that the sixth flight test of its 'DF-ZF' Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, previously known as 'Wu-14', has been successful. If you remember, this weapon is designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses . . . It was shot up by a ballistic missile to the edge of atmosphere, where it separated from the missile, and glided to the impact range a few thousand kilometers away in western China."

"The DF-ZF warhead is carried to the boundary between space and earth's atmosphere, roughly one hundred kilometers above the ground by a ballistic missile booster. Once it reaches that height, it begins to glide in a relatively flat trajectory by executing a pull-up maneuver and accelerates to speeds of up to Mach ten. It behaves like the space shuttle in its descent."

The world powers of Russia and China continue with nuclear weapons development unabated. And the United States does what?

coolbert.

Sloosh/Coffee/Hardtack.

This is coolbert:

Bacon, coffee, salt, sugar, hard bread that diet of the soldier during the American Civil War and indeed the diet as consumed by a predominant portion the general public during that era also.

As described by Shelby Foote SLOOSH a popular concoction consumed endlessly:

"Sloosh was a form of cornbread that was popular during the American Civil War, especially among Confederate soldiers. Civil war historian Shelby Foote described it as a mixture of cornmeal, lard or bacon, water and egg formed around a rifle ramrod and cooked over a campfire."

Soldiers of the Union Army not so reliant on sloosh. As with the army of Grant during operations east of the Mississippi river, fed a diet in part consisting of hard bread often called hardtack!

"Hardtack History and Recipe"

 "Hardtack is the most famous American Civil War staple food.  Hard as a rock, this cracker was easily made by large contract baking companies to the bane of many a Civil War soldier . . .  it was also issued, and stored by the men for marching."

Hardtack often dipped or dunked in strong coffee before consuming. Easier to bite and chew and also a remedy for "insect infestation".

"With insect infestation common in improperly stored provisions, soldiers would break up the hardtack and drop it into their morning coffee. This would not only soften the hardtack but the insects, mostly weevil larvae, would float to the top and the soldiers could skim off the insects and resume consumption."

Americans living in those states comprising the Confederacy their bland diet mostly consisting of bacon, corn pone, corn bread, molasses. A diet deficiency called pellagra the result. Food as normally consumed by soldiers of the period not anything new.

Enjoy endlessly and without qualms!

coolbert.

Nuclear Arsenal.

This is coolbert:

For a period of decades this has been quantitatively so the case. NOW it is qualitatively so?

"Modern, Strong, Expanding: Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal Surpasses US"

"Russia's nuclear arsenal surpasses the US and in the future it will be even stronger"

This graphic shows that during a period of six decades at least half the time the Soviet/Russian atomic arsenal has quantitatively exceeded the American number of warheads. The total number of nuclear munitions continues to decline for a variety of reasons

“'As long as there are nuclear weapons, there will be no war that’s for 100%. That is a guarantee of our security. Our nuclear arsenal is stronger than the American strategic nuclear force. And it will be even stronger. I am saying this not to brag but I know it professionally,'” Yuri Solomonov said.

American next-generation nuclear arsenal research and development next to nil? What is going to replace those Trident missile firing submarines, those manned bombers, those Minuteman missiles, etc.

QUANTITY COUNTS LESS NOW THAN RELIABILITY? WITH REGARD TO ATOMIC WEAPONRY [WARHEADS AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS] THE RUSSIAN IS MODERN AND THE UNITED STATES IS NOT?

coolbert.

Mi-8.

This is coolbert:

Thanks to Sputnik News some details of the Search Air Rescue [SAR] mission in the aftermath of the shoot-down of the Russian Su-24.

 "One Dead as Russian Mi-8 Helicopter Attacked During Rescue Mission in Syria"

"A Russian Mi-8 helicopter came under attack while conducting a search and rescue operation, searching for the crew of the downed Su-24 in Syria. One naval infantry soldier was reported killed, the helicopter destroyed by mortar fire."

"The Russian General Staff said that two Mi-8s were involved in the operation to save the crew of the downed Su-24 bomber jet."  

"One helicopter was shot down, its crew evacuate"

TWO RUSSIAN Mi-8 INVOLVED IN THE SAR MISSION. ONE SHOT DOWN AS REPORTED AND DESTROYED.

SAR missions ALWAYS fraught with great danger. In Vietnam it was that way, in Syria also.

coolbert.

Eritrea.

This is coolbert:

I knew it was bad but not that bad.

Among those many millions of refugees fleeing chaos and conflict in Africa the Eritrean. And for good reason.

Military conscription draconian in nature, extreme harshness unremitting.

1. "Eritrea Is The Last Place In The World You Would Want To Serve In The Military"

"The East African nation’s forced service for life and slave-like conditions are a far cry from Western military service"

. . . .

"Conscripts are forced to serve indefinitely for decades. Eritrea’s National Service Proclamation states that mandatory active national service should not last more than 18 months, with exceptions during time of war. In reality, that limit is not adhered to even though Eritrea is at peace."


2. "Miserable and useless"

. . . .

"National service requirements are harsh. Everyone under the age of 50 is enlisted for an indefinite period. Around one in 20 Eritreans currently live in vast barracks in the desert. They work on reconstruction projects, such as road building, and earn no more than $30 a month."

AN EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD ERITREAN [SOMETIMES YOUNGER?] SUBJECT TO MILITARY CONSCRIPTION THAT TERM OF SERVICE NEVER ENDING! YOU MIGHT BE DRAFTED AND BE FORCED TO SERVE FOR DECADES, BEING PAID ABOUT TEN EURO [$10.60 USD] PER MONTH!!

NO WONDER THE ERITREAN YOUNG MAN FLEES HIS HOMELAND IN SUCH NUMBERS!

coolbert.

SSN 612.

From the Russian Navy Blog we have the Soviet/Russian account of the events that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the American mining of Haiphong harbor.

This is what Admiral Oliver is speaking about when he refers to the DEFCON status being elevated?

"That evening [the 9th of May, 1972] the division commander Contra-Admiral I.I. Vereniki called me to his office and said succinctly, 'Go to the South China Sea and support our Vietnamese brothers.' I also found out from him that behind us were going Echo I SSGN K-45 and Echo II SSGN K-57"

1. "Cold War Stories: Guardfish vs. K-184, Part"

"Details about American submarine special operations aren't very common.. . ."

"There are exceptions. There is a little bit of operational detail of one particularly tense, wartime operation at Guardfish.org, a website dedicated to the men who have served on board the USS Guardfish (SSN 612). Entitled The Saga of the 1972 Guardfish Patrol, it is a little bit of Commander David Minton's account of operations by the USS Guardfish that ranged from the Sea of Japan to the South China Sea in the late spring of 1972."

2. "Cold War Stories - Guardfish Vs. K-184, Part II"

"K-184 suffers a potentially significant casualty and Captain Minton sends a CRITIC"

A Soviet era nuclear class Echo II class submarine as it would have appeared on the surface preparing to fire missiles at an American aircraft carrier. Sub must surface, raise missiles, receive an over-the-horizon targeting location from a high flying Tu-95 naval aviation warplane, then fire those missiles with nuclear warhead.

3. "Cold War Stories - Guardfish Vs. K-184, Part III"

"K-184 continues her transit toward the Gulf of Tonkin. Damage control drills are conducted and hilarity ensues"

Soviet era warships responding to the American mining of Haiphong harbor during the Second Indo-China War. Three nuclear powered submarines deployed to counter the American aircraft carrier presence Yankee Station. Each of those submarines armed with anti-ship cruise missiles tipped with atomic warheads.

Soviet submarines shadowed and tracked by the USS Guardfish. They were "eyeball to eyeball" and as during the Cuban Missile Crisis the "other guy blinked"?

BUT not DEFCON ONE!

coolbert.

Secret Weapon Syria.

This is coolbert:

According to this Strategy Page article the Russian secret weapon in Syria REAR ECHELON PERSONNEL SKILLED AND ADEPT AT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR BRINGING WITH THEM PLENTY OF SPARE PARTS!

"Support: The Russian Secret Weapon In Syria"

As extracted:

"there is one important thing that Russia does have and that the Syrian armed forces desperately needs; support for maintaining and upgrading Syria’s largely Russian weapons and equipment. Russian maintenance and technical personnel are pouring into Syria, largely unnoticed, along with spare parts, upgrade kits and special maintenance equipment. Thousands of Syrian army weapons and vehicles that had become inoperable, or only partially functional are now being returned to usable condition."

DEADLINED EQUIPMENT NO LONGER DEAD! ASSAD BREATHES A SIGH OF RELIEF!

coolbert.

S-400.

This is coolbert:

Putin responds to the shoot-down of the Russian FENCER warplane.

Air defense systems now deployed and being further deployed to protect Russian aircraft. Ground and naval assets both having made their SAM [surface-air-missiles] ready.

"Putin sends air-defense missiles to Syria to deter Turkey"

. . . .

"The S-400 missiles, which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia just 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the border with Turkey, are capable of striking targets within 400-kilometer (250-mile) range with a deadly precision. The military also moved the navy missile cruiser Moskva closer to the shore to help protect Russian warplanes with its long-range Fort air defense system."

"The S-400 Triumf ( NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as S-300PMU-3, is a new generation anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau in the 1990s as an upgrade of the S-300 family."

One radar for target acquisition and one radar for fire control? Communications van on the far left and firing unit with missiles on the far right?

Moskva that "navy missile cruiser" with organic Fort SAM also able to provide additional protection using "sea-based" S-300F (SA-N-6).

Syrian air defense is now Russian air defense. Vlad got the power. Vlad too might feel it is obligatory to shoot-down one NATO warplane in the future? I sure hope not.

coolbert.

The Angry Star.

This is coolbert:

“1618. In the month of September a terrible comet in the form of a large star with a long whip or tail, 10 or more (shoes?) long was seen for a long time. All of Christendom suffered its effects for the next 30 years.”

THAT PERIOD IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE "TERRIBLE COMET" FOR THREE DECADES THE THIRTY YEARS WAR WITH ALL THAT MEANS FOR EUROPE!!

Great signs and portents in the heavens. A divine signal as sent and interpreted as an omen of catastrophe. Often terrible events such as WAR!

"a tidy summation of the astrological and astronomical observations of and discussions surrounding the appearance of the 'Great Comet of 1618', also known as 'the Angry Star' due to its extremely long tail, reddish hue, and lengthy duration (it was visible to the naked eye for over seven weeks in late 1618 and early 1619, even remaining discernible during the day). Astronomers across Europe commented on the cosmic phenomenon, astrologers everywhere excitedly interpreted its meaning, and doomsayers and pessimists from Scotland to Sicily witnessed portents and prodigies in its fiery tail.?

":David Herlicius published in 1619 a discourse on a comet that had appeared shortly before, in 1618, and enumerated the calamities that this comet, and comets in general, bring with them or presage"

"Desiccation of the crops and barrenness, pestilence, great stormy winds, great inundations, shipwrecks, defeat of armies or destruction of kingdoms . . . decease of great potentates and scholars, schisms and rifts in religion, etc. The portents of comets are threefold - in part natural, in part political, and in part theological" - - David Herlicius.

Even the King of England in response to the Great Comet set to verse that sense of foreboding.

"Yee men of Brittayne wherefore gaze yee so,
Vpon an angry starre? When as yee knowe
The Sun must turne to darke, the Moone to

bloode,

And then t’will bee to late to turne to good.
O bee so happy then whilst time doth last,
As to remember Doomesday is not past:
And misinterpret not with vayne conceyte
The character you see of Heauen’s heighte:
Which though it bringe the World some newes

from fate,

The letter is such as none can it translate:
And for to guesse at God Almighties minde
Were such a thinge might cosen all mankinde:
Therefore I wish the curious man to Keepe
His rash imaginations till hee sleepe…"

William I of England. Rex.

"And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke" - - King James Bible Acts 2:19

coolbert.

Oil Tankers.

This is coolbert:

Michael Morell, former Deputy Director of American Central Intelligence [CIA] is being interviewed on the Charlie Rose public broadcast television program this evening.

And the question is asked of Mr. Morell - - why were not those oil tanker trucks as in the crosshairs of American air power just recently not destroyed a year ago?

According to Mr. Morell there are two reasons:

1. The desire NOT to destroy infrastructure that will be needed in the region in the aftermath of ISIL.

2. NOT to cause environmental damage.

# 1 presupposes that ISIL WILL be vanquished. THAT HARDLY IS EVEN CLOSE TO BEING AN ACCOMPLISHED FACT.

That explanation of Mr. Morell more than likely exactly what the Obama administration is thinking. Indeed, Mr. Morrell may have even had input into the rules of engagement as UNDERSTOOD and protocols regarding the air campaign against ISIL?

IN finality consider this quotation as attributed to Clausewitz:

"Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst."

coolbert.

Bacon & Bread.

This is coolbert:

Bacon, coffee, sugar, salt, hard bread!

Basic subsistence diet of the soldier that that period of the American Civil War.

"Where be them supplies and be quick about it!"

"I wish you to collect a train of 120 wagons . . . and send them to Grand Gulf; and there load them with rations, as follows: One hundred thousand pounds of bacon, the balance coffee, sugar, salt and hard bread . . . it is unnecessary for me to remind you of the overwhelming importance of celerity in your movements . . . The enemy is badly beaten, greatly demoralized, and exhausted of ammunition. The road to Vicksburg is open. All we want now are men, ammunition, and hard bread. We can subsist our horses on the country, and obtain considerable supplies for our troops." - - Grant to Sherman.

Once more from the television documentary "The Civil War" that allegation Grant during the Vicksburg Campaign broke off his lines of supply when crossing to the east side of the Mississippi, foraging off the land freely much in the manner as Sherman did one year later in Georgia, devoid of conventional supply trains.

This one more instance of historical inaccuracy?

"Grant's Vicksburg Supply Line, Myth or Fact?" By Parker Hills

GRANT HAVING CROSSED TO THE EAST SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI TO AN EXTENT LIVING OFF THE LAND BUT NOT SO EXCLUSIVELY SO!

Parker Hills eminently qualified to comment on such matters: "During his 31 years as a Regular Army and National Guard officer; Parker Hills served in various command and staff positions in the United States and overseas. Hills retired with the rank of brigadier general in 2001."

Southerners of the period [American Civil War] generally give Grant high marks for his generalship.

Beans, bullets, and eat your own horses when necessary. Who cares to ride a horse anyhow when you can walk?

coolbert.

Seat 31A.

This is coolbert:

Crime scene forensic experts have now pinpointed the exact point of the internal bomb detonation that brought down the Russian airliner. About a HALF-POUND of TNT all that was required.

"'Investigators and secret service experts managed to locate the seat under which the terrorists planted the bomb which destroyed Airbus A321,' said the report in the pro-Kremlin media."

"'The bomb which was equal to one kilo of TNT exploded and its forces went forwards and hit the rows up to 27. The wave went slightly backwards too and hit the row 32."

'The experts who tested the parts and bodies noted that the people who occupied the seats near the bomb, almost certainly died at once."

"The seats - and those around 30A and 31A - were occupied by Russian tourists who had been to Sharm El Sheikh."

"There is no suggestion they were suicide bombers, instead they were seen as innocent victims among the 224 who perished in Russia's worst-ever air disaster."

The image accompanying this blog entry that of Maria Ivleva who was sitting in seat 31A.

See all previous blog entries regard Metrojet A321:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/schweppes.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/thomson-flight.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/stranded.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/chatter.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/metrojet-9268.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/thomson.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/metrojet.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/airbus-321.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/10/a321.html

coolbert.

Deception?

This is coolbert:

DEBKAfile their experts thinking the same thing I am.

"ISIS releases picture of alleged bomb that downed Metrojet flight?"

18 November.

"ISIS released a photograph of a Schweppes can said to have contained the bomb smuggled onto the Russian flight that caused the October 31 crash, along with photocopies of Russian passports claimed to have been gathered at the scene. DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources said that it cannot be ruled out that the pictures were meant to deceive the various security services investigating the incident."

An integral part of all warfare DECEPTION!

coolbert.

USAF HF GCS.

This is coolbert::

ONLY at this very moment high priority [?] message traffic in response to the shoot-down of the FENCER Russian warplane that aircraft having violated Turkish airspace?
 

From MARCONI through Harry:

"The US frequencies in use by USAF HF GCS [High Frequency Global Communications System] (HFGCS)are very busy right now (1700 Zulu) sending the usual encrypted messages which they use. They are multiple messages and on as many as 4 or 5 frequencies at once This is unusual . . ."

Unusual YES!

Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary effort with the obligatory unusual message traffic.

coolbert.

Su-24 Syria.

This is coolbert:

That circumstance everyone has been fearful of has come to pass. THIS HAS THE POTENTIALITY TO BECOME VERY BIG INDEED!!

"Putin calls jet's downing 'stab in the back'; Turkey says warning ignored"

"Istanbul (CNN) One of the world's most volatile regions was roiled further Tuesday when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane [Su-24 Fencer] near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey said it hit the plane after it violated Turkey's airspace and ignored 10 warnings."

Russian warplane flying a mission over Syria intrudes into Turkish airspace and is shot down. NATO partners of Turkey concur that the Turkish action was appropriate but regrettable.

ALSO ALLEGED THAT A RUSSIAN HELICOPTER ON A SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION ALSO SHOT DOWN BY AN ANTI-TANK MISSILE.

AND PARACHUTING PILOT FROM THE FENCER SHOT AND KILLED FROM GROUND FIRE WHILE IN MID-AIR.

Turkish concerns not merely related to airspace intrusion. Russian warplanes also have been bombing Syrian villages with a predominant Turkomen population?

See previous blog entries regarding the Turkomen and Uighur minorities and their relationship to the Syrian Civil War:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/11/forty-six-kilometers.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/10/uighur-syria.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/08/turkmeni.html

coolbert.

Leaflets & Radio.

This is coolbert:

From a prior blog entry:

"WE DID NOT GIVE THE CIVILIAN POPULACE OF THOSE CITIES A SUFFICIENT WARNING TO FLEE! WARNING GIVEN BUT TOO VAGUE."

Leaflets as dropped on Japanese cities prior to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki warning of impending doom. End the war or perish! That was the message!

 "America Warned Hiroshima and Nagasaki Citizens"

"Shortly before the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, the United Stated showered the Japanese cities of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and 33 other potential targets with over 5 million leaflets warning civilians of the impending attack"

This image is the exact leaflet as dropped on the many Japanese cities?

This too! American radio station broadcasting the same message to the Japanese people repeatedly. SURRENDER or you will perish!

"An American-controlled radio station on Saipan was broadcasting a similar message to the Japanese people every 15 minutes."

That Japanese population not allowed on pain-of-death to read such leaflets or listen to foreign radio broadcasts? American efforts for naught but the intention was good.

coolbert.

Confederates.

This is coolbert:

From the latest edition or the DEBKAfile newsletter an appreciation of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

"Who perpetrated the multiple terror assault on Paris?" 

14 November.

"It was most likely a joint Al Qaeda-Islamic State operation, say DEBKAfile's counter-terrorism sources and called for at least a team of at least 20, months of preparation and planning and an outer circle of 200 confederates,  hardly a 'lone wolf' operation. The geography of the Paris locations targeted by terrorists points to advance planning in support of a primary target, namely, French President Francois Hollande, who was attending a football match at one of the targeted locations. Other terrorist goals were to sow bloody havoc in the French capital, frighten tourists away and shake the French governing system to the core"

"There was no advance warning from any French intelligence agency or even from the all-seeing US ECHELON, which should be cause for alarm in other Western capitals."

"The night of November 14 will be remembered for the failure of France's Director-General for Internal Security (DGSI) and Director-General for External Security (DGSE) or refusal - to pick up the slightest clue to the massive preparations afoot for a horrendous, wide-scale terrorist outrage against their capital city."

"The French agencies work in the almost total absence of human intelligence from the closed Muslim communities of Paris."

That normal rule-of-thumb being that for each perpetrator [shooter, suicide bomber, etc.] of a terrorist act there are ten "confederate" as part of a support mechanism acting sub rosa.  

coolbert.

F-14 & Tu-95.

This is coolbert:

From the Aviationist an indication of Iranian and Russian military aviation acting in concert.

"Watch this video of Iranian F-14 Tomcats escorting a Russian Tu-95 bomber during air strike in Syria"

WHAT I AM SEEING APPEARS TO BE STOCK-FILM FOOTAGE FROM THE SOVIET ERA AND NOT THOSE RUSSIAN WARPLANES AS CURRENTLY DESCRIBED FIRING CRUISE MISSILES AGAINST TARGETS IN SYRIA!!

"Persian Tomcat and Russian Bear fly together during a strike mission against ground targets in Syria."

. . . .

"F-14 Tomcat interceptors escorted Russian Air Force Tu-95 Bear bombers flying in Iranian airspace during their 9h 30mins missions (from Engels airbase and back, along the Iraq-Iran-Caspian Sea 6,500 km-long corridor) against terrorist targets in Syria."

. . . .

"Not only did the Iranians keep some F-14s in active service but they have also upgraded it with some domestic avionics upgrades and weapons that should extend the life of the last flying Tomcats until 2030."

F-14 Tomcat as originally sold to the Shah in the mid-1970's with Phoenix missiles. The Iranian has kept the basic air frame in working order for a long time and even MADE IMPROVEMENTS!

F-14 TOMCAT A DESIGN FROM THE EARLY 1970'S BUT STILL A FORMIDABLE WARPLANE WHEN USED JUDICIOUSLY AND AS INTENDED!!

coolbert.

Men-a-horse!

This is coolbert:

"Winners don't quit and quitters don't win!"

During those days of Napoleonic black powder warfare, the man-a-horse might during a single battle have horses shot-out repeatedly from underneath him all in a single day, that being of little or no consequence. That troop even the most senior battlefield commander NOT being hors-de-combat but rather find a remount and continuing the fight.

Consider that at Waterloo:

* "Uxbridge [Henry William Paget, the 2nd Earl of Uxbridge] fought with supreme bravery, launching repeated charges against the French. Eight horses were shot from under him."

* "[Marshal Ney] fought at Waterloo, leading from the front and having four horses killed underneath him over the course of the battle"

Men-a-horse [tank commander] during the Second World War [WW2] ALSO not deterred by having a mount [tank] destroyed from underneath them. Find a remount [another tank] and continuing the fight. MOST admirable.

Consider these Englishmen, men-a-horse [tank commanders], brave men of repute and recognized by their peers as being so:

* David Render came out of three tanks in the campaign [Normandy].

* Stanley Christopherson used five in a day in the desert campaign [North Africa].

Consider also that ability allied forces during the Normandy campaign [1944] to keep the men-a-horse [tank commanders] with fresh remounts [new tanks] far in excess of the German counter-part:

"Normandy 44: The Battle Beyond D-Day"

"Allied units, unlike German ones, could be resupplied and kept up to strength. The Sherwood Rangers were part of a brigade of three regiments each with 50 tanks. It received 1,073 new tanks [during a 77 day period!!] during the campaign in order to keep 150 in the field."

“Uxbridge: 'By God, sir, I've lost my leg!'  - - Wellington: 'By God, sir, so you have!'”

coolbert.

SS Leopoldville.,

This is coolbert:

CLASSIFIED. [at least until 1966!]

Troopship SS Léopoldville  sunk during the Second World War [WW2], details of which make for very sad reading.

"SS Léopoldville was a 11,509 GRT passenger liner of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo. She was converted for use as a troopship in the Second World War, and on December 24, 1944, while sailing between Southampton and Cherbourg, was torpedoed and sunk by the U-486. As a result, approximately 763 soldiers died, together with 56 of her crew."

Thanks to Harry and as clarified some aspects of the evacuation, that intuitive reaction of soldiers to the sinking of their ship actually quite dangerous, even downright lethal!

Regarding the sinking of the SS LEOPOLDVILLE with a heavy lost of life among American troops this observation was made in the after-action report addressed to Admiral Stark:

e) "Some soldiers were found in the water with broken necks, others apparently choked to death, seemingly by the life preserver not being secured in the proper fashion."

EDITOR NOTE: "Many died of broken necks in many sinking in the war because the men would jump from the deck into the water with their life jackets already on and fastened so when they hit the water, the life jacket stopped at the water and the momentum of the falling body caused the broken neck."

"Of the 2,235 American servicemen on board, approximately 515 are presumed to have gone down with the ship. Another 248 died from injuries, drowning, or hypothermia . . . Documents about the attack remained classified until 1996. The soldiers of the 66th Infantry Division were ordered not to tell anyone about the sinking of the ship and their letters home were censored by the Army during the rest of World War II. After the war, the soldiers were also ordered at discharge not to talk about the sinking of the SS Léopoldville to the press and told that their GI benefits as civilians would be canceled if they did so."

This threat a false threat? The military would have no jurisdiction over a civilian and "GI benefits" as legally and lawfully authorized by Congress?

coolbert.

Schweppes.

This is coolbert:

As the Islamic State [ISIL] promised the means and method and techniques to bring down the Russian Metrojet airliner revealed.

Thanks to Robert!

"Islamic State says bomb in soda can brought down Russian airliner"

"Islamic State says ‘Schweppes bomb’ used to bring down Russian plane,”

"CAIRO – Islamic State’s official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of a Schweppes drink it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board."

"The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background, three simple components that if genuine are likely to cause concern for airline safety officials worldwide."

IT IS REPUTED THAT ABOUT A SINGLE POUND [ABOUT HALF A KILOGRAM] OF PLASTIC C4 EXPLOSIVE WAS ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED TO BRING DOWN THE LOCKERBIE JET!

READ AN ENTIRE DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE OF EXPLOSIVES AND THE MINIMUM AMOUNT NEEDED TO BRING DOWN A MODERN JET AIRLINER.

ALSO PLEASE DO NOT PRECLUDE IN THIS MATTER THE POSSIBILITY OF DISINFORMATION AND DECEPTION ON THE PART OF ISIL EITHER.

coolbert.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

This is coolbert:

"'Get out of your trucks now and run away from them,' the leaflets told the drivers. 'Warning. Airstrikes are coming, oil trucks will be destroyed. Get away from your oil trucks immediately. Do not risk your life.'"

From a comment to the blog:

Steiner said... "Why do the Russians and the French get all the fat targets all of a sudden? This week the Daily Mail published photographs of oil trucks burning after a Russian strike, how is it that there is a single petroleum container in existence in the Caliphate of ISIS after a year of U.S. airborne interdiction? Punches have been pulled, that much seems clear, but why?"

It seems the United States has responded in a major way, but ONLY after the escalation of the Russians and the French. From only two days ago!

1. "U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Oil Trucks in Syria"

"Intensifying pressure on the Islamic State, United States warplanes for the first time attacked hundreds of trucks on Monday that the extremist group has been using to smuggle the crude oil it has been producing in Syria, American officials said."

"According to an initial assessment, 116 trucks were destroyed in the attack, which took place near Deir al-Zour, an area in eastern Syria that is controlled by the Islamic State. The airstrikes were carried out by four A-10 attack planes and two AC-130 gunships based in Turkey."

2. "US Choice to Drop Leaflets in Syria Contrasts with Russian Way of War"

American airstrikes the adversary WARNED IN ADVANCE!

"The leaflets telling Syrian truck drivers to run for their lives were emblematic of the stark differences between the U.S. and Russian air campaigns that will make greater cooperation pushed by the White House again Thursday difficult to achieve."

"About 45 minutes before A-10 Thunderbolt II and AC-130 Spectre gunships attacked, fighters made low passes over 116 oil truck tankers in eastern Syria last Sunday to drop leaflets."

MY INSTANTANEOUS AND INTUITIVE REACTION IS SOME SORT OF GUILT COMPLEX RELATED TO THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI SEVENTY YEARS AGO. WE DID NOT GIVE THE CIVILIAN POPULACE OF THOSE CITIES A SUFFICIENT WARNING TO FLEE! WARNING GIVEN BUT TOO VAGUE.

Well, that is just my opinion. Anybody got a better idea?

coolbert.

Admiral Oliver.

This is coolbert:

Once more thanks to the Pritzker Military Library and Museum we have this most interesting podcast. I recommend not however without a slight degree of qualification.

"Rear Adm. Dave Oliver, USN (Ret.), Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy"

Very informative! Admiral Oliver an American submariner and nuclear engineer of repute. Although I find the presentation and speaking style of Admiral Oliver to be only fair bordering on poor this hour-long podcast still well worth listening to.

An audio only version of the podcast also available here.

My comments on the presentation of Admiral Oliver:

* The Admiral in some respects has a poor recollection of history?

     * Admiral Rickover did not invent the first nuclear reactor. Rickover was instrumental in developing the first nuclear reactor to be fitted inside a submarine YES!

     * Triton and not the Magellan that first submarine to make and around-the-world voyage submerged.

     * The United States has never gone to DEFCON 1 status. Elements of the U.S. military did go to DEFCON 2 on at least two occasions, possibly three if what the Admiral says is true.

     * USS Guardfish and not the USS Barb responsible for the "shadowing" of the Soviet nuclear submarines during the purported DEFCON incident?

* The Admiral also engages in exaggeration?

     * 18 % of the American submarine personnel did not die during that period of the 1960's.

     * The suicide rate for American submariners during that period of the Cold War was not 10,000 to 100,000 times the national average when adjusted for age. This does seem to be correct? The entire complement of American submariners would have to be killing themselves a dozen or more times per year for those statistics to be correct?

* The Admiral is in the bad habit of using words and terms the meaning of which is poorly understood by the lay public. "Flank" and "tertiary platform" for instance.

* According to the Admiral:

     * Nautilus a hybrid vessel. The forward half almost a clone of the German WW2 Type XX1 submarine. The rear half containing the nuclear reactor and also containing other essential parts scrounged, scrapped, refurbished. Nautilus in whatever form representing a magnitude forward in submarine warfare.

     * American submariners exposed to one-hundred times LESS radiation than their Soviet counter-parts. That Soviet sailor suffering from blood poisoning and having to undergo a period of recover after a patrol. Blood poisoning I can reasonably infer an attack on the bone marrow, the white blood cell greatly diminished?

Devoted readers to the blog will suggest or infer I am being excessively pedantic? An expert such as Admiral Oliver however should not be wrong about his facts, or engage in hyperbole or exaggeration. You decide.

coolbert.

Islamic State.

This is coolbert:

Here with some miscellany regarding the war against the Islamic State [ISIL].

Robert Gates being interviewed by Charlie Rose. Bob Gates at one time American Secretary of Defense and prior to that Director of Central Intelligence.

1. "Robert Gates, former secretary of defense on ISIS and the Paris attacks."

Those key points of the interview being:

* The three recent attacks by ISIL more significant than what we might think. Paris, Beirut and the Sinai.

* Three to five years to defeat ISIL.

A year ago they were saying it was going to take three years to defeat ISIL. A year later it is still going to take a minimum of three years to defeat the Islamic State.

* Mosul a city of 1 million occupants and as occupied by ISIL going to be difficult to capture.

Sinjar City as just recently captured by the Kurdish Peshmerga originally had a population of 200,000 persons. The city now unoccupied and uninhabitable in the aftermath of the battle.

AND from the Washington Post [WAPO] this article regarding the financing of the Islamic State.

2. "How the Islamic State makes its money"

In particular:

"Below are 12 ways the Islamic State earns its revenue"

Primary sources of revenue to include but hardly limited to: Oil, kidnapping for ransom, taxation, sale of antiquities. Antiquities if not outright destroyed then sold on the international black market. Those antiquities according to the Salafist jahiliyya, an abomination and a product of a time of ignorance. But still valuable and appreciated as a source of income.

coolbert.

Air Launch.

This is coolbert:

Russian long-range strategic aviation enters the fray in Syria. What had been anticipated has now come to pass. A barrage of air-launched cruise missiles and "dumb" bombs as dropped, Islamic State targets under attack by BEAR, BLACKJACK AND BACKFIRE!

From MARCONI through Harry:

"Timings and details of the missions at following links. 'In accordance to the task assigned by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces concerning enhancing combat air operations in the Syrian Arab Republic, crews of Tu-160 [Blackjack], Tu-95MS [Bear] and Tu-22M3 [Backfire] long-range aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out strikes with air-based cruise missiles at the ISIS terrorist objects within the air operation.  Today, from 5.00 through 5.30 a.m. (MSK), twelve Tu-22M3 long-range bombers carried out strikes at the ISIS terrorist facilities in Raqqah and Deir-ez-Zor provinces.  From 9.00 through 9.40, Tu-160 and Tu-95MS launched 34 air-based cruise missiles on terrorist objects located in Aleppo and Idlib.'  It appears that some of the air launched cruise missiles malfunctioned . . . Tu-160 releasing Kh-101s, Tu-95MS releasing Kh-555 [Kh-55] and Tu-22M dropping OFAB bombs."

AND Flight24 was able to track these warplanes en route to the objective? Consider too that now the kitchen sink has been thrown?

coolbert.

Project 636.

This is coolbert:

From MARCO POLO through Harry:

Russian submarine firing cruise missiles targets ISIL targets:

"the Russian Navy [reported] that one of their diesel electric submarines fired cruise missiles from eastern Mediterranean at a target in Raqqah (Syria), which was the first operational firing of cruise missiles by a Russian submarine."

"The submarine was the 'Rostov na Dnu' [Rostov on the Don] of Project 636 . . . (NATO's 'improved Kilo').  The Russians said that the effect of the attack was now being investigated by air and satellite reconnaissance."

Kilo able to fire the Kalibr or Klub cruise missile.

 Everything but the kitchen sink being thrown at the Islamic State. Maybe even eventually the kitchen sink too?

coolbert.

2A65.

This is coolbert:

Yet more Russian military secrets unintentionally revealed?

"Military chiefs briefing Vladimir Putin on operations in Syria showed him a map with a reference to a unit in the center of the country that matches a Russian army artillery unit, suggesting the Kremlin's involvement may be deeper than previously thought."

. . . .

A map that inadvertently was seen by the general public, including A RUSSIAN MILITARY BLOGGER OF SOME EXPERTISE and KNOWLEDGE!!

"Spotted by an eagle-eyed Russian military blogger, the map featured a dot near to the settlement of Sadad, between the cities of Homs and Damascus, accompanied by the words: '5 Gabatr 120th ABR 2A65 Msta B, six pieces from 14:00 06.11.'"

Russians in winter dress [Siberia] manning a battery of 2A65 guns. Long-range tube artillery with an ATOMIC CAPABILITY!

"'Gabatr' is an acronym commonly used in the Russian military for 'Howitzer Battery.' The acronym 'ABR' stands for 'Artillery Brigade'. The designation '2A65 Msta B' describes a type of howitzer in use by the Russian military.

"The Russian military has a 120th artillery brigade, based in Siberia armed with 2A65 guns. A duty serviceman contacted by Reuters on Wednesday confirmed the brigade was based in Siberia, but said he did not know whether it was active in Syria."

SIX TUBES OF ARTILLERY A BATTERY! This represents simply a small segment of the entire brigade now being given some field experience in the combat environment!

Vlad got the power but so do the military blogger of whatever nationality! And be aware of it too!

coolbert.

Sabotage!

This is coolbert:

SECRET! [declassified as of 1962]

From a comment to the blog:

F. Friedrich Kling-Hauss said...

    "I can find no instances where 128mm ammo. was sabotaged resulting in ruptured barrels and/or injury to the crew. To counter sabotage, War Armaments Minister Albert Speer implemented a final quality control procedure in which the piece was thoroughly inspected. Further, the penalty for any person engaging in sabotage was hanging."

That allegation ammunition used in the German 128 mm FLAK gun was sabotaged by impressed laborers!

It should be well understood the allied secret services during the Second World War were very interested in sabotaging the German munitions industry in whatever way possible.

Indeed that question of using impressed labor [forced labor] always questionable in my mind. What sort of quality could you expect from such an industrial system using workers whose loyalty was greatly suspect?

Impressed [forced] labor manufacturing V-1 and V-2 missiles, and in addition Me-262 jet fighters. State-of-the-art technology of which quality control HAD to be a major issue.

"The Early Spy Manual That Turned Bad Middle Management Into An Espionage Tactic"

"In 1944, World War II was in its final throes. Though the Allies were holding their own against the Axis, they were in need of more troops and more local cooperation. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to the CIA, envisioned a special kind of special forces–an army of dissatisfied European citizens, waging war on existing governments simply by doing their jobs badly. They wrote up the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, a kind of ultimate un-training manual, which was full of ideas for motivating and inspiring locals to make things harder on their governments."

"Motivating and inspiring locals" I don't think the "locals" would have needed a whole lot of motivation or inspiration at that period of the war [1944]. Especially those impressed and forced labor working under harsh conditions! Speer and his quality control inspections able to mitigate however damage even slight?

coolbert.

Confederate Draft.

This is coolbert:

Each and every time you watch the documentary "THE CIVIL WAR" by Ken Burns you learn something new.

Here regarding the CONFEDERATE DRAFT! Military conscription as practiced during the American Civil War by those states in rebellion:

"The first general American military draft was enacted by the Confederate government on April 16, 1862, more than a year before the federal government did the same. The Confederacy took this step because it had to; its territory was being assailed on every front by overwhelming numbers, and the defending armies needed men to fill the ranks. The compulsory-service law was very unpopular in the South because it was viewed as a usurpation of the rights of individuals by the central government, one of the reasons the South went to war in the first place."

"Under the Conscription Act, all healthy white men between the ages of 18 and 35 were liable for a three year term of service. The act also extended the terms of enlistment for all one-year soldiers to three years. A September 1862 amendment raised the age limit to 45, and February 1864, the limits were extended to range between 17 and 50. Exempted from the draft were men employed in certain occupations considered to be most valuable for the home front, such as railroad and river workers, civil officials, telegraph operators, miners, druggists and teachers. On October 11, the Confederate Congress amended the draft law to exempt anyone who owned 20 or more slaves. Further, until the practice was abolished in December 1863, a rich drafted man could hire a substitute to take his place in the ranks, an unfair practice that brought on charges of class discrimination."

Overbearing and draconian methods PROMULGATED by the central government of the Confederacy. STATES RIGHTS THAT VERY REASON AS PURPORTEDLY GIVEN FOR SECESSION SET ASIDE BY THE EXIGENCIES OF WAR!!

Sam Watkins did not approve.

coolbert.

Beirut.

This is coolbert:

From a previous blog entry:

1. "Over 43 killed, 180 injured in bombings within Hizballah's Beirut stronghold"

12 November.

"At least 43 people were killed and more than 180 were injured from two suicide bombings within seven minutes in front of the Hizballah intelligence building in the Shiite neighborhood of Dahya in southern Beirut on Thursday evening. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks."

The significance of this attack cannot be minimized: From intelnews.org:

"ISIS bombing of Beirut is more important than Paris attacks"

"The fact that ISIS was able to penetrate and bomb Bourj al-Barajneh is a monumental development in the ever-widening Syrian Civil War. It demonstrates the advanced planning and operational sophistication of ISIS and places the ball squarely in Hezbollah’s court. What is more, it was the second time in less than two years that ISIS bombed southern Beirut. The Shiite group has been humiliated, having been shown to lack the resources to protect its heartland from Sunni attacks. Moreover, the Lebanese group, which is almost exclusively funded by Iran, will have to respond to that provocation . . . Do last week’s twin suicide attacks bring that possibility closer? The answer to that question may change the entire course of the Syrian Civil War."

That Hezbollah "intelligence building" has to be one of the most heavily guarded facilities in the world. And YET ISIL suicide bombers able to carry out such an attack where the possibility would  have been thought to be NIL!

The chickens indeed can come home to roost.

coolbert.

Status-6.

This is coolbert:

More on the Russian dirty bomb as delivered by submersible vehicle:

From MARCO POLO through Harry.

Some info on the "RUSSIAN NUKE SUBMERSIBLE"

"In Moscow, TV watchers were shown a diagram - filmed over a general's shoulder - which said 'Oceanic Multi-purpose System -- Status-6'. On the diagram, there were two mini-submarines as well as a cut-away picture, showing the inside of a submarine. The TV program revealed that this weapon was a 'robotic mini-submarine' with a nuclear device, capable of speeds up to 100 knots with a range of 6,200 miles, designed to destroy important economic installations of the enemy in coastal areas and cause devastating damage to the country's territory by creating wide areas of radioactive contamination, rendering them unusable for military, economic or other activities for a long time to come. A few minutes later, the Kremlin spokesman, Mr. Dmitry Peskov, appeared on the screen, and said that the TV program, just shown, had inadvertently contained classified information, and should not have been shown."

This is Kanyon? Kanyon is Status-6 and Status-6 is Kanyon?

coolbert.

Hastings & Howard.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy of the Pritzker Military Library and Museum we have an outstanding Podcast. I recommend highly, without qualification or reservation.

The eminent English journalist and historian Sir Max Hastings is interviewing the eminent English historian Sir Michael Howard on a range of topics.

"Sir Michael Howard"

"Acclaimed British Historian and 2015 Founder′s Literature Award Recipient Shares a discussion of his life′s work with Sir Max Hastings"

Some key points.

* China not an existential threat. A problem on the world stage only perhaps but the situation can be managed with able and skillful diplomacy.

* Drones and warfare as conducted by drones [Hellfire missile] not a difficulty. Killing your enemy from a distance without there being danger to yourself not immoral.

* Surveillance as conducted by the American National Security Agency [NSA] not such a great danger to the society as a whole. Nation-states are ALL security states. The very essence of a nation-state is to protect the citizenry, using whatever methods as deemed necessary to provide that proper degree of protection!

* Think not VICTORY at war but rather establishing a stable peace in the aftermath of the war.
    
     * Battlefield victory at Waterloo and approximately one hundred years of continental [European] stability. GOOD!!

     * Battlefield victory [for the allied powers] at the end of the Great War but an unstable peace to follow. NOT GOOD!!

Stable peace a difficult goal?  Stable peace through amicable negotiations or enlightened occupation and rule hard to achieve!

coolbert.

Ulithi.

This is coolbert:

See these images thanks to War Bird Information Exchange:

Ulithi atoll during the Second World War. A spectacle as presented NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!!

"ULITHI ..."

"Its existence kept secret throughout the war, the US naval base at Ulithi was for a time the world’s largest naval facility."

BY GEORGE SPANGLER

"In March 1945, 15 battleships, 29 carriers, 23 cruisers, 106 destroyers, and a train of oilers and supply ships sailed from 'a Pacific base.' What was this base? The mightiest force of naval Power ever assembled must have required a tremendous supporting establishment. Ulithi, the biggest and most active naval base in the world was indeed tremendous but it was unknown. Few civilians had heard of it at all. By the time security released the name, the remarkable base of Ulithi was a ghost. The war had moved on to the Japanese homeland, and the press was not printing ancient history about Ulithi."

U.S. naval combat units anchored at Ulithi. This representing only a portion of the whole! Again, such an assemblage of naval force never to be seen again. This image the one most representative as copied from the War Bird web site forum. You need to go see the rest of them!

"Ulithi is 360 miles southwest of Guam, 850 miles east of the Philippines, 1300 miles South of Tokyo. It is a typical volcanic atoll with coral, white sand, and palm trees. The reef runs roughly twenty miles north and south by ten miles across enclosing a vast anchorage with an average depth of 80 to 100 feet - the only suitable anchorage within 800 miles."

The military presence long gone, Ulithi today a tourist destination, albeit hard to get to:

"Ulithi is part of Yap State, within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The FSM consists of 607 islands scattered across more than one million square miles of the western Pacific Ocean. The islands are grouped into four geopolitical states: from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. Yap sit’s in between Australia and Japan."

. . . .

"The lagoon is the fourth largest in the world and the Atoll is the closest land mass to Challenger Deep, the deepest point on the earth. It is simply is a one of the most beautiful spots on the planet."


coolbert.

Chickens.

This is coolbert:

Extracts with comment from the latest issue of the DEBKAfile weekly newsletter.

1. "Over 43 killed, 180 injured in bombings within Hizballah's Beirut stronghold"

12 November.

"At least 43 people were killed and more than 180 were injured from two suicide bombings within seven minutes in front of the Hizballah intelligence building in the Shiite neighborhood of Dahya in southern Beirut on Thursday evening. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks."

The chickens are coming home to roost and with a vengeance. That state-within-a-state [Hezbollah] whose international reputation was firmly established by the employment of the suicide bomber now itself is the target of the suicide bomber. ISIL their implacable ruthlessness beyond question.

2. "ISIS, with 80,000 fighters, holds 50% of Syria and 40% of Iraq: report"  

12 November.

"According to a Russian survey, 30,000 Islamic State terrorists hold 40 percent of Iraqi land, while the rest control 50 percent of Syria. The 30,000 foreigners who have joined the terrorist organization include 7,000 citizens of former Soviet states as well as citizens from Western European countries, North America and Australia, the report said."

One of the characteristics of Islamic State combatant units is the incorporation of foreign nationals. Quite often volunteers young people of idealistic mien.

coolbert.

Book Club.

This is coolbert:

From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom:

"A suggestion for the ISIS book club" by Clifford D. May.

"After a long week of slitting throats, smashing antiquities and raping infidel slave girls, how do Islamic State's barbarians unwind? Some, apparently, discuss the finer points of history."

SALAFISTS FOR THE MOST PART NEITHER INTERESTED IN "THE FINER POINTS OF HISTORY" OR EVEN MUCH ANYTHING ELSE BEYOND THAT!

As was noted in a commentary by Daniel Pipes the Salafists of the Islamic State strongly emulating those first three generations of Muslims. Book burning and destruction of knowledge that existed prior to the time of Mohammad considered to be jahhiliya [ignorance] and not worthy of consideration..

"If those books are in agreement with the Quran, we have no need of them; and if they are opposed to the Quran, destroy them!" - - Caliph Omar.

"all their books, by the commendement of the Mahumetan prelates, were burnt least their knowledge in natural philosophie or their idolatrous religion might moue them to contemne the precepts of Mahumet". - - Leo Africanus.

"Kutaiba ben Muslim had extinguished and ruined in every possible way all those who knew how to write and to read the Kwarizmi [Khwarazm] writing, who knew the history of the country and who studied their sciences" - -  al-Biruni.

BASICALLY, BY AND LARGE, MOSTLY THE SALAFISTS DON'T READ BOOKS OTHER THAN THE KORAN!

coolbert.

Dirty Bomb.

This is coolbert:

Vlad got the power!

From Daily Beast thanks to the tip from Freeper.

"Putin TV: Russia’s Got a Dirty Bomb"

"A Kremlin-owned TV network ‘accidentally’ airs footage of specs for Russia’s frightening new underwater nuclear weapon. Is it just a ruse to talk up Moscow’s military might?"

"A stray camera at a meeting of top Russian military leaders has allegedly captured a glimpse of the Kremlin’s possible plan for a bewildering and frightening new weapon—a radiation-scattering 'dirty bomb.' One delivered by a drone submarine, which itself rides piggyback on another submarine."

"The problem is: We have no way of knowing for sure if this is in fact an existing weapon or simply a media provocation designed to make us think that Russian President Vladimir Putin has got a dangerous new toy in his arsenal. If it’s real, then Russia is the first country we know about to come into possession of a weapon that, while not nearly as destructive as an atomic bomb, could spread lethal radiation over a wide area, rendering it uninhabitable. If the segment is a fake, it’s the latest in a long list of Kremlin media hoaxes."

THIS SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE SOMETHING NIKITA KRUSHCHEV USED TO BOAST ABOUT ALL THE TIME! THE DIRTY BOMB, THE LARGEST THERMONUCLEAR WEAPON, ETC. A DOCTOR STRANGELOVE TYPE OF SCENARIO.

THAT USE OF A SUPER-TORPEDO CARRYING AN IMMENSE HYDROGEN WEAPON, DESTROYING A PORT FACILITY OR NAVAL BASE WITH ONE ENORMOUS BLAST ALSO THE SORT OF ITEM FROM THE WORST PERIOD OF THE COLD WAR!!

coolbert.

Forty-six Kilometers.

This is coolbert:

From Freeper Turkey ready now to cross the border?

"Turkey Ready To Dispatch 10,700 Soldiers To Syria"

"(AGI) Ankara, Nov 11 - The Turkish government is preparing to send 10,700 soldiers to Syria in mid-December to fight ISIS and create safe areas for displaced people in the north of the country, reported pro-government daily Yeni Safak. The newspaper said that Ankara will present a document analysing the situation in Syria and will include a request for funds to the great powers at the G20 summit in Antalya over the weekend. Ankara's aim would be to reverse the course of the military campaign against the jihadists and the migrant crisis."

Unconventional forces [Turkomen ethnics] loyal to the Turk have already crossed the border [between Syria and Turkey] some time ago now and are in contact with the combatants of ISIL and also those beholden to the despot Assad? Didn't hear anything further regarding the subject.

Those abandoned villages in Syria which have been purportedly populated by Uighur people will find themselves under the protection of the Turkish military? That presence of the Uighur in Syrian never confirmed or denied?

WHERE DOES THIS THING GO?

coolbert.

Eleventh!

This is coolbert:

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month!! The end of the Great War [WW1].

As covered by the headlines of the Chicago Tribune at the time [1918]. Building to a crescendo and as seen at the latest edition of the:

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"End of a world war"

"'The Great War' - - the forerunner we now call World "War I - - approached its final days in mid-October 1918. German troops were in full retreat, their government's surrender imminent. The U.S. president and the German Kaiser seemed to be negotiating the end of hostilities by international cable on the front pages of the world's newspapers. Here are select headlines from the last five weeks of the supposed 'war to end all wars.'"

OCTOBER 7.

"HUNS CRY FOR PARLEY"

OCTOBER 9.

"NO TRUCE - - WILSON"

OCTOBER 10.

"GERMAN ARMIES RUN"

OCTOBER 24.

"SURRENDER!" "WILSON AGAIN TELLS KAISER"

NOVEMBER 4.

"AUSTRIA QUITS WAR"

NOVEMBER 9

"'I'LL HOLD THRONE' - - KAISER"

NOVEMBER 10.

"PEACE AT HAND" "KAISER OFF THE THRONE"

NOVEMBER 11.

"GREAT WAR ENDS"

At that exact moment in time [1918] participants must have thought that the Great War was indeed a war to end all wars. We know now that was not the case, but again, surely that was the perception, soldiers and diplomats both!

coolbert.

Magyar.

This is coolbert:

This high-water mark in history I was only vaguely familiar with. Until now!

Thanks to the excellent Internet web site isegoria.net and the original article as seen at Logarithmic History:
 
"No Longer Tribal, Not Really Civilized"

"In his Logarithmic History, Doug Jones briefly addresses empires and barbarians"

"The fall of Rome involved the disintegration of the Roman state; the collapse of long-distance trade; the disappearance of mass-produced pottery, coinage, and monumental architecture over large areas; declining literacy among commoners and elites; great insecurity of life and property, and demographic collapse . . . In the West, the nadir was perhaps the tenth century. We might set the turning point at the battle of Lechfeld (955): a last set of invaders off the steppes, the Magyars, was defeated by the Emperor Otto, and then adopted Christianity, gave up nomadic marauding, and settled down as feudal lords in Hungary."

Nadir as meaning the lowest possible point. The Dark Ages. Those words as "disintegration", "collapse", "disappearance", "decline", most evocative of events as they occurred at the time.

Click on image for a larger view. Again, I was vaguely aware of Magyar incursions into western Europe but not as to the extent that such raids occurred over such a prolonged period. NOTE that even after Lechfeld II raids continued but more limited [?] in scale. That area in pink roughly designates the Hungarian Plain.

Lechfeld the site of two battles: Lechfeld I (910), Lechfeld II (955).

"The Battle of Lechfeld (10 August 955) was a decisive victory for Otto I the Great, King of the Germans, over the Hungarian Harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél (Lehel) and Súr. It is often seen as the defining event in the repulsion of Hungarians incursions into Western Europe."

With terms from that point forward the Hungarian [Magyar] now European. Just behave yourselves!! And all praise to King Otto.

coolbert.