Kuznetsov II.

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Courtesy the Ron Unz Internet web site we have a Russian [?] appreciation of the status, the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov.

"Is There a Future for Russian Aircraft Carriers?"

"Is there a future for Russian aircraft carriers?"

"Those following the news from Russia have probably heard that Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov . . . was put into dry dock for major repairs and retrofits. Things did not go well. First, the dry dock sank (it was Russia’s biggest) and then a huge crane came crashing down on the deck. And just to make it even worse, a fire broke out on the ship killing 2 and injuring more. With each setback, many observers questioned the wisdom of pouring huge sums of money into additional repairs when just the scheduled ones would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time."

"Actually, the damage from the fire was not as bad as expected. The damage from the crane was, well, manageable. But the loss of the only huge floating dry dock is a real issue: the Kuznetsov cannot be repaired elsewhere and these docks cost a fortune."

APPARENTLY TO THE SAKER THE KUZNETSOV A GONER. NOT GOING TO BE REPAIRED OR SET TO SEA AGAIN.

And as to the future of Russian aircraft carriers, The Saker doubts subsequent vessels of the same type of warship as the Kuznetsov will ever be built.

A PRIMARY REASON BEING: 1. THE LACK OF AEW AIRCRAFT. AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING. PLUS: 2. A LACK OF SATISFACTORY AIR DEFENSE WEAPONRY TO COMBAT THE MODERN ANTI-SHIP MISSILE.

Read the whole thing. The Saker a Russian? Apparently so but I am not sure.

 coolbert.

Crass.

This is coolbert:

Truly it is so!

From the Internet web site of the esteemed Israeli military historian/scholar/theoretician Martin van Creveld an extract from an article:

"Rich Man, Poor Man"

"the Triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus boasted that no one was truly rich unless the interest he drew from his investments enabled him to maintain an army."

THAT DEFINITION OF CRASSUS REQUIRING HOW MUCH IN CAPITAL?

"REMUNERATION OF ROMAN COMMON FOOT SOLDIERS (about AD 70)" [as from the wiki]:

That yearly pay for the common foot soldier [pedes] of the lowest rank:

"Stipendium (gross salary) 225 denarii. Not to include deductions for food and equipment."

Further:

"Classical historians often say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire (circa 27 BC) the daily wage for an unskilled laborer and common soldier was 1 denarius (with no tax deductions) or about US$20 in bread."

"During the republic (509 BC–27 BC), legionary pay was 112.5 denarii per year (0.3 per day), later doubled by Julius Caesar to 225 denarii (0.6 per day), with soldiers having to pay for their own food and arms."

My rough and dirty calculations:

YEARLY PAY FOR A PEDES IN AMERICAN CURRENT [?] USD $4,500.

That cost of maintaining an army consisting of 18,000 pedes alone [three legions] about $81 million USD per year. A tidy sum.

Given a rough six percent [6 %] investment return on capital per year consider that a man such as Crassus would need to possess a fortune of around $1.35 billion USD in current value.

Crassus during the time of the Triumvirate reputed to be the richest man in the world [or at least in Rome], the value of his estate estimated to be about $800 million in current $USD value.

ANYONE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY METHODOLOGY OR CALCULATIONS? RELATIVE VALUE OF $USD AND DENARIUS ALWAYS FLUCTUATING AND HARD TO ESTIMATE WITH ACCURACY BUT I AM BALLPARK?

coolbert.

Pike.

This is coolbert:

From WIZARD through Harry at Sharkhunters.

"Mines for Putin"

"An entire field of World War II-era anchored mines was discovered during a security sweep conducted ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Gogland Isle in July for a underwater ceremony mounting a plaque on a hull of the sunken Sch-308 Syomga [Pike] submarine.  The submarine, commissioned in 1933, disappeared while on a mission in 1942.  Overall in 2019, sappers neutralized over 7,000 explosive devices [naval sea mines]."

UXB [unexploded ordnance] Baltic. As within context of a prior recent blog entry.

HOW HUMILIATING WOULD IT BE TO LOSE THE PRESIDENT OF YOUR COUNTRY TO A NAVAL SEA MINE AS WAS ANCHORED IN PLACE OVER SEVENTY YEARS AGO! AND SEVEN THOUSAND RECENTLY FOUND AND NEUTRALIZED. HOW MANY MORE OUT THERE?

WARNING! War can be dangerous to your health. Even in a time of peace.

coolbert.

Statistic.

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From the Strategy Page Professor Al Nofi CIC #77 this item:

"Between 1954 [776 in that year] and 1999 [22 in that year] the number of aircraft in the U.S. Navy destroyed in accidents fell by nearly 98-percent, from 776 to 22."

Amazing statistic. And the reason why is?

From a conversation with an acknowledged aviation authority we have an answer!

1. "Increased safety devices and training. Planes [circa WW2 and the immediate subsequent years] and pilots the former costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, were expendable. Planes were built in the tens of thousands per type/model. Once planes cost tens of millions of dollars and were built only in the hundreds or low one thousands, they became too valuable to lose to errors. Now, planes cost hundreds of millions and some were built in the low tens (21 for the B-2, 64 for the F-117 Nighthawk). The loss of even one plane will cost a commander his slot and career."

2. "There was absolutely no comparison between [current training] and what the WWII generation went through. And the safety training was [and is] intense--by [the time of the Vietnam War] USAF was very concerned about accident losses, both in pilots and planes (by this time the investment in pilots was quite expensive in time and money, especially when you have to train the guy--after college--for up to two or more years). But even then . . . accident rates would be considered outrageous, unacceptable and the subject of USAF and Congressional investigations in today's world. And we thought we were safer compared to our senior officers and the instructors who trained us. They had come out of WWII or the 1950s and accidents were terribly common."

3. "Navy pilots had it worse . . . . landing on carriers in those days was much more hazardous than USAF planes landing on long, wide, stable runways."

This is intuitive? Short landing strip [the aircraft carrier deck], a ship moving forward, with roll and up-and-down motion all at once. Intuitively much harder to land than: "USAF planes landing on long, wide, stable runways." Obvious even to the most casual of observers without question!

And thank you acknowledged aviation expert!

coolbert.

Kuznetsov I.

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Kuznetsov gone? The Admiral Kuznetsov Soviet/Russian aircraft carrier on fire and damaged beyond repair. Cost prohibitive? What you will get out of repair/refurbishment not equal to what you must put into the project? The salvage yard awaits?

From Freeper and thanks to same.

"Russian Aircraft Carrier will not get Salvaged and Repaired"

AS IS BEING SPECULATED.

"Russia’s only aircraft carrier has a fire that has covered over 600 square meters (6000 square feet) of the carrier. Even if the fire is put out . . . the carrier will not be worth salvaging. Currently, the ship is being flooded with water and chemicals to douse electrical wiring and diesel fuel fires. Those chemicals are wrecking all of the electronics and electrical systems that are not being burned in the fire. The fire is wrecking the engine. The carrier was already a 30-year old lemon."

THINK IN THIS CASE THE KUZNETSOV NOT SO MUCH A "LEMON" BUT RATHER A WHITE ELEPHANT?

"A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness."

Within context see many previous blog entries [some with additional embedded links] the danger to a naval vessel while moored, docked, not at sea it seems greater than when the ship sailing in mid-ocean.

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/hot-work-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/hot-work-i.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/10/pd-50.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/01/ins-arihant.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/11/orp-orzel.html

coolbert.

Ratio.

This is coolbert:

Any devoted reader to the blog disagree with this? From an Al Nofi Strategy Page CIC article # 121.

Enlisted to officer ration an indicator of how "good" an army is? Can it be this is so?

"Officer-Enlisted Ratio, European Armies, 1930"

"The number of enlisted personnel per officer has generally been a fair indicator of how good – or bad an army is . . .  During World War I it was by no means unusual for the ratio in most Armies to be 20- or 30-to-one. Of course some armies had much lower ratios, if only because they had too many officers whom they could neither fire nor provide troops to command. That is, they weren’t really very good armies."

RATIO OF ENLISTED TO OFFICER HIGH, A GOOD ARMY? RATIO OF ENLISTED TO OFFICER LOW, A POOR ARMY?

"Enlisted-Officer Ratio, Europe, 1930"

Army          Ratio

Belgium       18.3
Britain          19.3
Bulgaria       20.7
Czecho-        10.9
[slovakia]
France          13.9
Germany       22.1
Greece          12.3
Hungary        19.7
Italy              12.2
Poland           13.9
Portugal         6.4
Spain             7.6
Romania        10.7
Yugoslavia 13.8

German Reichswehr in 1930 that "best" army in the world? Certainly not the most powerful. Far from it. But manpower surely the best. Best of course that very subjective judgment. But using strictly the enlisted/officer ratio German Reichswehr the BEST?

coolbert.

Red-48.

This is coolbert:

Me fights mit Willich.

From the Professor Al Nofi Strategy Page CIC entry # 77.

"BioFile - August von Willich, 'Reddest of the Red ‘48ers''"

"A Prussian aristocrat, August von Willich was probably the only communist general in the history of United States Army, and certainly the only general who was a personal acquaintance of Karl Marx. One of the host of immigrant volunteers who fought in the Civil War, he was the to serve the Union cause."

DEVOTED READERS TO THE BLOG WILL WANT TO READ THE ENTIRE AL NOFI ARTICLE.

Willich a distinguished Union soldier of the American Civil War. Commanded regiments of German immigrants serving with the Federal army. Regiments composed of native German speakers for which the language spoken intra-regiment would have been GERMAN and not ENGLISH.

These were German nationals referred to as the "Forty-Eighters". Exiles who had fought on the "Red" side during the various European 1848 uprisings/revolts/upheavals. Seeking refuge in the United States and finding same. Quite willing to put their bodies once more into the fray in what they believed to be a just war..

See my previous post [with additional embedded links] that topic the German national fighting for the Union cause during the American Civil War:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/06/franz-sigel.html

Additionally:

"My thought has always been that those distinct German-speaking units of the Union army as commanded by officers also native German speakers, commanders and enlisted both having trained in the German tradition would have shown some marked fighting capacity on the battlefields of the American Civil War better than average. THIS HOWEVER DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE CASE! Good yes, but nothing more than that."

coolbert.

Songar.

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Combat drone Turkish style. Songar drone. Impressive technology. Thanks to Freeper for the input.

"Turkey acquires machine gun-toting octocopters with anti-recoil systems"

"Turkey is preparing to receive its first shipment of armed multicopter drones this month, according to New Scientist. Made by the country's own Asisguard, the Songar drone can carry 200 rounds of 5.56 x 45 mm NATO class ammo, and can hit a 15-cm-square (6-inch-square) target from 200 m (650 ft) away with single shots, 15-bullet bursts or a full auto unloading."

AND AN ANTI-RECOIL SYSTEM EMBEDDED FOR WEAPONS STABILITY. WHEN ON-TARGET YOU ARE ON-TARGET!

These drones will be capable of Artificial Intelligence [AI] and autonomous capability? Using swarm attack mode? Skynet closer than we think? Beware?

Indeed, you can for a relatively low cost proliferate the battlefield with such a weapons system. In the manner of the ancient berserker a throw-away suicide type drone with lethality but expendable.

See previous blog entries [with further embedded links] the combat drone and anti-combat-drone topics:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/09/rays.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/07/nerod-f5.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/07/madis.html

coolbert.

Close.

This is coolbert:

From controlled [?] Russian media outlets Sputnik and Russian Times perspectives and the latest news regarding the joint NATO airbase Incirlik.

1. "Greece Ready to Host US Military Bases Amid Turkey’s Threats to Close Incirlik - Source [diplomatic source]"

"ATHENS (Sputnik) - Greece could host US military bases on its territory if Turkey decides to close the Incirlik and Kurecik airbases, a Greek diplomatic source told reporters on Thursday."

2. "US-Turkey relations at critical crossroads: what’s behind Erdogan’s threat to shutter Incirlik Air Base?"

3. "Farewell, Incirlik? What US stands to lose if it’s evicted from crucial Turkish air base"

AMERICAN MILITARY AIR ASSETS TO BE REMOVED FROM TURKEY AND SENT TO GREECE?

THAT POSITIONING OF AMERICAN ATOMIC MUNITIONS [SUPPOSEDLY] INCIRLIK ALSO A CONCERN.

Greece a constituent member of NATO but often at loggerheads with Turkey.

See previous blog entry the topic [with many additional embedded links] Incirlik:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/10/action.html

coolbert.

Eugenics.

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Genetic profile Russian style. Countering the ethnic bomb?

Not exactly eugenics as that word commonly, ordinarily and usually meant to mean. More correctly described as gene-profiling.

From the Russian-English Internet web site and thanks to same. And in absolute consonance with a previous blog entry.

"AAAHHH! EUGENICS! Russian Army to Use Soldiers' Gene-Profiles to Assign Roles"

"Next thing you know, Putin will implement a Nazi-style program to create a Slavic master-race"

"The Russian military will be assigning soldiers based on their 'genetic passports'.”

“'The project is far-reaching, scientific, fundamental,' . . . 'Its essence is to find such genetic predispositions among military personnel, which will allow them to be properly oriented according to military specialties.'”

. . . .

"In March, the Kremlin issued a decree that called for 'implementation of genetic certification of the population, taking into account the legal framework for the protection of data on the personal human genome and the formation of the genetic profile of the population.' Ostensibly this is to protect Russia’s population against chemical and biological attack, as well as safeguard Russia’s genetic patrimony from Western spies and saboteurs."

SAFEGUARDS! "WESTERN SPIES AND SABOTEURS" WIELDING THE ETHNIC BOMB. A BIO-WEAPON THAT KILLS ONLY RUSSIANS AND LEAVES OTHERS UNSCATHED. "WESTERN SPIES AND SABOTEURS" A PHRASE AS I RECALL QUITE OFTEN HEARD DURING THE DAYS OF THE OLD SOVIET UNION.

coolbert.

Yangtze.

This is coolbert:

"Fighting the bloodthirsty Chinese river pirates who recognize no man-made law and regard human life as a joke is one of the major jobs of Uncle Sam's Yangtze patrol. Six American gunboats travel daily back and forth along the 1,000 tortuous miles [1,600 kilometers] of the Yangtze between Nanking, capital of China and Chungking, deep in the interior."

United States Navy, China. Yangtze river patrol. American brown water navy.

From a comment by L.C. Rees to a recent isegoria.net blog entry:

"The Yangtze Patrol started as early as 1854"

American naval vessels sailing the Yangtze river inland almost the entire navigable length I had thought a relatively recent phenomenon, more or less from the era between the two Great Wars [WW1 and WW2].

"The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol . . . was a prolonged naval operation from 1854–1949 to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. The Yangtze Patrol also patrolled the coastal waters of China where they protected U.S. citizens, their property, and Christian missionaries."

Read here and here details of the Nineteenth Century patrols. American naval contingents hardly alone with such missions far inland from the ocean. Other European powers also displaying such military might on the river also.

You learn something new everyday and are more the better for it!

coolbert.

Footprint.

This is coolbert:

The unreported and unheralded war participants to include Israel, Iran and Iranian proxies continues unabated. Abu Kamal the main target of attack by Israeli Air force [IAF] air strikes.

NOW the USA enters the fray? Al Quds = Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

From the latest version of the DEBKAfile news letter.

1. "US ends non-response policy to Iranian attacks.  Iran deploys Bavar-373 missiles in Syria"

7 December.

"This time [in response to Iranian provocation], US forces pushed back immediately after Iraqi Shiite militias lobbed five rockets into the big Ain Al-Assad airbase in western Iraq. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, American aircraft attacked their base in the Iranian Al Qods Brigades military compound near Abu Kamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border and destroyed their rocket launchers. This was Washington’s signal that its non-response posture was at an end. Henceforth, US would push back for every attack by Iranian or pro-Iranian forces on US or allied targets in the Middle East."

"Tehran has meanwhile boosted its military footprint in Syria with an advanced Bavar-373 air defense system, posted at the big Syrian T-4 air base east of Homs, to cover all eastern Syria, including the border with Iraq, against advanced US and Israeli F-35 and F-22 warplanes and cruise missiles."

Bavar-373 at least [?] equal to the Russian S-300 [SA-10 Grumble] AD system.

2. "Systematic air strikes [Israeli?] are dismantling the Al Quds compound at Abu Kamal"

8 December.

"The air strike of Saturday night, Dec. 7, was the fourth this week in the campaign for gutting the Iranian Al Qods strategic hub housing Iraqi Shiite militias outside Abu Kamal near the Iraqi border.  Its intensity is being gradually notched up. The latest bombardment, the heaviest, caused excessive damage and a casualty count running to dozens, mostly Iraqi Shiite militiamen but also Iranian Al Qods officers "

coolbert.

2/11/1.

This is coolbert

Two men, eleven dogs and a sled. 2/11/1. Sirius.

Thanks to You tube some video and within context of a previous blog entry the Danish dog sled Sovereignty Patrols [SOVPATS].

Interview in English with a veteran of the Danish dog sled SOVPATS.

Documentary only in Danish language without translation subtitles. Dangerous duty. Threat from both the elements and the attack by the killer polar bear. Preferred weapon of choice for defense the Gevar bolt action rifle. Ideal for cold weather conditions/arctic warfare. Buddy team of Danish military personnel their selection process and training roughly equivalent to that of an astronaut/cosmonaut? I especially like the part where you are taught to strike a match with frozen hands. Training, preparation with meticulous attention to detail a must in such operations. Survival cannot be taken lightly.

Once again, when the machine stops, the dogs keep going. The men too!

Go doggy!

coolbert.

CAV-X.

This is coolbert:

Macro to micro. Super-cavitation-expialidocious.

"Supercavitation: Supercavitation is the use of cavitation to reduce skin friction drag on a submerged object and enable high speeds. Current applications include torpedoes and propellers"

From the Internet web site Strategy Page and thanks to same.

"Weapons: The Underwater Shot"

"December 10, 2019: For several years Norwegian firm DSG has been developing a breakthrough bullet design that enables bullets to use supercavitation when in the water to travel farther than two meters (six feet) at high enough speeds to actually hurt people. DSG has finally perfected its CAV-X Supercavitating Ammunition that is effective at up to 45 meters underwater. U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) now plans to adopt the CAV-X for use by its special operations troops, particularly the U.S. Navy SEALs."

NAVAL COMMANDO SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION HIGH-TECHNOLOGY!

CAV-X super-cavitation weaponry at the micro level. Consider the Soviet/Russian super-cavitation torpedo at the macro level.

"VA-111 Shkval: The VA-111 Shkval . . . torpedo and its descendants are supercavitating torpedoes originally developed by the Soviet Union. They are capable of speeds in excess of 200 knots (370 km/h or 230 miles/h)."

VA-111 AN OVERRATED WEAPON? SPEED IMPRESSIVE BUT RANGE LIMITED TO 200 METERS [SIX HUNDRED FEET]? VA-111 TO ONLY BE USED ONLY IN COMBAT DURING A NUCLEAR WAR BETWEEN THE USA AND THE SOVIET UNION/RUSSIA?

coolbert.

DNA.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy the tip from Jay. I already knew there was law enforcement interest in DNA kits and results as obtained from same but also this can be a national security issue?

When the American Chief of Naval Operations [CNO] speaks, we must all listen?

"Mail-In Ancestry DNA Kits May Help Enemy to Target You, Navy's Top Officer Says"

"The Navy's top officer warned against using popular at-home ancestry DNA test kits this week, saying scientific advancements are making biological weapons more tailorable."

THIS IS THE ETHNIC BOMB. A SUBJECT FIRST PROPOSED WITH SERIOUSNESS IN THE MID-1970'S AT LEAST TO MY KNOWLEDGE.

"Biological weapons that can target specific groups or individuals vulnerable to pathogens or other diseases are a growing national security concern, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said during a Tuesday speech on nuclear deterrence in Washington, D.C."

WHO NEEDS NUKES [ATOMIC WEAPONS] WHEN YOU CAN DESTROY AN ENTIRE CIVILIZATION USING AN ETHNIC BOMB!!

The ethnic bomb a bio-weapon genetically modified to attack and kill persons of a certain racial, ethnic or national grouping. Leaves others unscathed.

DNA kits for ancestry research produce a genetic profile that could be used by a foreign power hostile to the USA to devise a tailor-able ethnic bomb? So is the assertion of the CNO?

Dig this amazing stuff from the wiki. Russian FSB [foreign intelligence service] forbids export of Russian DNA and has done so for some time. What does the Russian know we in the USA do not?

coolbert.

Sled.

This is coolbert:

When the machine stops, the dog keeps going. When the machine stops, the reindeer keep going.

From the Barents Observer and thanks to same.

1. "Mushers from Russia’s Arctic Brigade ride sleds along border to Finland"

"musher:  a person who competes in cross-country races with dog team and sled."

RUSSIAN MILITARY DOG SLEDDERS!

"With weapons on the shoulders, infantry solders learn how to traverse Arctic borderlands with dogs."

"The first dogs arrived in the Northern Fleet base of Alakurtti  earlier this year and local servicemen have since been engaged in training in the forest lands along the border to nearby Finland."

"Dog sledding has now been included in the regular training of intelligence personnel in the Arctic Brigade. It is the soldiers with the best skills in skiing that have chosen for the mushing, the Northern Fleet informs."

THAT USE OF ANIMALS AS USED FOR SLED TRANSPORT HARDLY CONFINED TO DOGS!

2. "Arctic Brigade riding reindeer"

"Elite soldiers from the Northern Fleet team up with local Sámi herders"

"Sami: The Sami people are a Finno-Ugric people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses large parts of Norway and Sweden, northern parts of Finland, and the Murmansk Oblast of Russia."

"In a show-off of skills, Russian Arctic brigadiers move over the snow in sleds pulled by reindeer and dogs while gun fire sends echoes over the training ground."

REINDEER IN CONTRAST TO DOGS ALSO ABLE TO FORAGE FREELY. ABLE TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES WITHOUT RESUPPLY.

Danish troops during Greenland Sovereignty Patrols [SOVPAT] also employing dog sleds.

THE OLD WAYS ARE OFTEN THE BEST WAYS?

coolbert.

Raimundas.

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Guns or butter. The eternal question? Lithuanian style.

Defmin = Defense Minister.

"People have misconception about defense funding, Lithuanian defmin says"

"VILNIUS – Public disapproval of plans to increase defense spending is affected by unresolved social problems and misconception of funds allocated to national defense, Lithuanian National Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis says, stressing the need to increase the defense budget in response to a fundamentally changed security situation."

Lithuanian a constituent member of the NATO alliance struggling to meet the agreed upon minimum  2 % of the national budget as devoted to national defense.

That agreed upon agreement of 2 % a goal to meet and hopefully at the insistence of President Trump of the USA sooner than later.

As to what the "misconceptions" are the devoted follower to the blog will have to read for themselves.

UNDERSTAND FULLY WELL THAT LITHUANIA HIGHLY RELIANT ON THE NATO ALLIANCE TO GUARANTEE CONTINUED INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM FROM INTIMIDATION BY THE RUSSIAN BEAR.

See previous blog entries as pertinent:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/11/negotiate.html

coolbert.

Boom.

This is coolbert:

Chinese boomer submarine gone boom?

"boom: 1. to make a deep, prolonged, resonant sound."

Chinese missile firing submarine [boomer] suffering an accidental atomic warhead detonation? As reported by the Russian Internet media outlet Russian Times.

"‘NUCLEAR INCIDENT’ in South China Sea that no one actually noticed hits the headlines (Fake news 101)"

"Brewing a solid piece of fake news is tricky – it has to be hot enough to take off and believable enough to not get debunked at once. The scare around a 'radiation incident' in the South China Sea appears to be almost perfect."

"The story of the ‘incident’ in the South China Sea was broken by the Hal Turner Radio Show on Wednesday, promptly spreading on social media – and eventually getting into more respectable news outlets, and even invoking official reaction."

HAL TURNER A KNOWN CONTROLLED AGENT OF THE AMERICAN FBI. AN AGITATOR WITHOUT SCRUPLES.

"The ‘news’ piece by the right-wing outlet, that has been repeatedly accused of spreading fake news and conspiracy theories, was sensational indeed. It claimed there was a 'significant undersea explosion' in the contested waters of the South China Sea, that was followed by an increase in background radiation across the coast."

UNDERSTAND AS ALLEGED THIS NOT A MELTDOWN OF A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE REACTOR SPEWING ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF RADIOACTIVITY INTO THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. RATHER THINK OF A DETONATION OF AN ATOMIC WARHEAD SOME SORT OF SPONTANEOUS AND PRESUMABLY ACCIDENTAL CATASTROPHE.

There is a world-wide monitoring system [IMS] to detect the detonation of atomic weapons. Presumably if such a spontaneous and unplanned [?] explosion had occurred we would have known about it by now?

coolbert.

Cyborg 2050.

This is coolbert:

The super-soldier. Four enhancements.

Cyborg USA 2050. 

Not a robot. A cyborg. A combination of the living human with cyber enhancements embedded. The meld of human and machine, artificial intelligence and way beyond that perhaps.

"A cyborg, short for 'cybernetic organism', is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts."

From Russian Internet media Sputnik.

"Ultimate Weapon! US Army Prepares to Merge Soldiers With Robots"

NOT NECESSARILY A ROBOT AS THAT WORD ROBOT NORMALLY UNDERSTOOD BUT AN ENHANCED HUMAN BEING [SOLDIER] WITH EMBEDDED CYBER CAPABILITY.

"According to a study, cyborg technology will also be used by civilians in the next 30 years or so. The benefits of connecting humans with robots will positively affect humanity, as people will be able to live a full life after sustaining an injury or being exposed to disease."

"The US Army plans to enhance the capability of soldiers via a human-machine fusion programme, including connecting human brains to computers . . . The report was written by a research group that studies the effects of military bio-technology. The group outlined four enhancements that are 'technically feasible by 2050 or earlier'”.

AS TO WHAT THE FOUR ENHANCEMENTS ARE THE DEVOTED FOLLOWER OF THE BLOG WILL HAVE TO READ FOR THEMSELVES.

See previous blog entry [with additional links] the topic the cyborg soldier:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/06/fourth.html

coolbert.

Bates.

This is coolbert:

"His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels ; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels." - -  1 Samuel 17.

Goliath of Gath. From the Holy Bible. Philistine warrior of enormous stature and formidable armaments.

Here with the story of the American Goliath. From  the era of the American Civil War.

Martin Van Buren Bates. American Goliath.

"An actual giant served in the Civil War"

"The people of Letcher County, Kentucky are currently raising money to build a bronze statue of one of their most iconic civil war veterans, Martin Van Buren Bates. This statue is meant to celebrate more than just his military service, however. It is celebrating his international celebrity status as an actual giant."

"Martin Van Buren Bates came from a well-known family in Letcher County. According to historical records, he was born in 1837, and by the age of 13, would weigh 300 pounds. Bates would continue to grow until he was 28 years old, measuring an astounding 7-foot-11 inches [241 cm.] tall and weighing 500 pounds. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Bates at 7-foot-9 inches [236 cm.] tall."

Bates comporting himself well during his military service. Bates marrying a woman also a giant.

A MAN SUCH AS BATES BY CURRENT REGULATION UNABLE TO ENLIST IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY. TOO TALL!

"The cause for rejection for Armed Forces male applicants is height less than 60 inches [153 cm.] or more than 80 inches [203 cm.]. The cause for rejection for Armed Forces female applicants is height less than 58 inches [147 cm.] or more than 80 inches [203 cm.]. The Marines are more restrictive. For the Marines, height standards for male applicants range from 58 [147 cm.] to 78 inches [190 cm.]. Height standards for female applicants range from 58 [147 cm.] to 72 inches [183 cm.]."

Goliath of Gath described in the Bible his height as understood by measure of the time anywhere between six feet six inches [198 cm.] to nine feet six inches [290 cm.].

THERE WERE GIANTS BACK IN THOSE DAYS.

coolbert.

UFO.

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UFO U.S. Navy! 2004 and 2015. Nimitz and Roosevelt. Space aliens?

Military observers preferred when paranormal phenomenon encountered? There is a simple explanation for all this?

"Area 51 Veteran And CIA Electronic Warfare Pioneer Weigh In On Navy UFO Encounters"

"Having worked on some of the most highly-classified aerospace programs in the world, all this new UFO talk sounds very familiar to these two men."

Thanks to the The Drive for the article and the History Channel for the video.

Sightings both visual and electronic. From multiple sources simultaneously. Something was being seen. Always the description since the time military aviators spotting unidentified flying objects [UFO] the same. Strange shape and lighting. Able to make impossible aerial maneuvers at incredible speeds way beyond any remote capability of modern warplanes. 

This is all electronic-counter-measures [ECM] of some sort? Sophisticated real-world testing of electronic "spoofing" that does indeed confuse.

The experts know something we do not know? Or is it those damned aliens again?

coolbert.

Porpoise.

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The brutal Hun?

From the Russian media Internet outlet Sputnik the German military behaving badly?

"German Navy in Hot Water as 18 Endangered Maritime Mammals Found Dead After NATO Baltic Drills"

"The German Defence Ministry has insisted that there is 'no direct link' between de-mining and the porpoise deaths, but that if such a link is found, 'we obviously regret it'."

"A German animal rights organization has pointed the finger at the country’s navy over the deaths of at least 18 endangered marine mammals after the detonation of WWII-era mines during military exercises in the Baltic Sea."

WE NEED TO BE ABSOLUTELY 100 % CLEAR ABOUT WHAT IS OCCURRING. SECOND WORLD WAR NAVAL SEA MINE MUNITIONS BEING DETONATED AS PART OF DE-MINING OPERATIONS. ORDNANCE OF A VERY LETHAL NATURE ACTIVE AND EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS.

Death of endangered sea mammals incidental to the process and regrettable but understandable under the circumstances?

"I merely did as I was ordered to do. I was just a small fry. I did nothing seriously wrong. I helped some when I could. Others did worse. Think of me as a paper pusher and nothing more."

"No direct link." They always say that too, don't they?

coolbert.

Auspices.

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Found this one in the Strategy Page Professor Al Nofi CIC entry # 3.

The reasoning and logic is impeccable, without question?

"As late as the eighteenth century [1700's], military engineers selecting sites for fortresses were wont to 'consult the auspices' by examining the livers of domestic animals, not for reasons of superstition, but rather because a healthy liver was generally an indication of a healthy site with safe water".

TRADITIONALLY IN WARFARE THE TWO BIGGEST KILLERS HAVE BEEN FEET AND WATER AND NOT MORTAL COMBAT!

A troop having bad feet falling out on the march and being set upon and killed by local civilians, marauders, guerrillas.

Water soldiers not having enough water to drink or drinking bad polluted and diseased water.

Even unto most recent time [The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan] the Red Army suffering 300,000 non-battlefield casualties. I assume hepatitis as a result of drinking contaminated and unsafe water.

What was true in the past is true in the present and always will be. Eternal warfare. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever.

coolbert.

Mini-CV.

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What was thought to be possible is now shown to be possible.

Experiment! VSTOL F-35B sea control mode. Amphibious Assault Vessel [AAV] U.S. Marine Corps.

V/STOL: A vertical and/or short take-off and landing aircraft.

Success!

Thanks to the item as seen at the Internet web site Strategy Page.

"Naval Air: Mini-CV Works"

"November 22, 2019: The U.S. Navy recently conducted more extensive tests of operating F-35B vertical take-off and landing aircraft from amphibious ships that normally operate helicopters from their flight decks. This test included the navy’s first (of at least three) 45,000 ton LHA amphibious ships. These are the largest amphibs the navy has ever built and can handle up to twenty F-35Bs. For this test the LHA-6 America had 13 F-35Bs on board. Currently, the marines only have 70 of the 340 F-35Bs they will eventually get so obtaining 20 of them for a test was not possible. The two week test at sea was mainly to determine if the LHA and F-35Bs could operate together as a unique type of light aircraft carrier."

Comments:

* VSTOL the main problem during combat operations is limited range of the warplane. VSTOL operation very fuel consumptive. As is noted in the article however these AAV warships uses turbine power and the same fuel as the aircraft, so that is a plus.

* AAV in the sea control mode lacking additional essential organic aircraft as is needed for conventional totally independent and autonomous carrier operations. Essential organic aircraft of the type * Airborne Early Warning [AEW] * Electronic warfare [EW] * Anti-submarine warfare [ASW] * tanker * helicopter for search and rescue of downed friendly aviators.

Depending on who is doing the counting at any given moment the U.S. Navy has a dozen to twenty aircraft carriers. F-35B does make a big difference.

coolbert.

Beyond.

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The paranormal experience with the military dimension!

Described as: "A matter of human record." Or is it?

"The Haunted U-Boat"

From an episode of the made-for-television psychic phenomenon series "One Step Beyond."

"While on patrol [1945] during WWII, a German U-boat [U-147] attempts to evade detection from the sonar of the American and British ships. But their location is repeatedly betrayed by the noise of a rhythmic banging sound caused by someone . . . or something . . . on board the submarine."

How well I remember this television series and this particular episode. I was only twelve years old at the time but it did make an impression. I recommend highly without qualification or reservation.

Now for the rest of the story:

From the Internet web site Uboat.net:  [U-147] "Sunk on 2 June 1941 in the North Atlantic north-west of Ireland, in position 56.38N, 10.24W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Wanderer and the British corvette HMS Periwinkle. 26 dead (all hands lost)."

The television episode "Haunted U-Boat" as set in the year 1945, the very end of the war in Europe. So there you have it. A matter of human record?

coolbert.

Blue Flag.

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Combined arms NATO aviation! But beyond NATO!

From the Russian Internet web site Russian Times [RT}:

"Israel and NATO penetrate Russia’s S-400 air defenses… ‘simulated’ by US Patriots?"

"Israel, together with the US and some European NATO allies, have wrapped up massive war games, which in part focused on countering advanced air defenses, such as Russia’s S-400, that Washington has been so worried about recently."

"The Israeli Air Force hosted American, German, Italian and Greek fighter jets at its Uvda airbase in the Negev Desert located in southern Israel for nearly two weeks, between November 3 and 14. A total of 800 servicemen and around 100 aircraft took part in the ‘Blue Flag’ drills, including the stealthy F-35 fighter jets, which took part in this exercise for the first time."

INCLUDING THE ISRAELI F-35 ADIR. OBJECT OF BLUE FLAG TO FORMULATE AND PRACTICE SOLUTIONS TO THE AIR DEFENSE PROBLEM AS POSTED BY THE RUSSIAN S-300 AND S-400 MISSILES.

From some comments to the Russian Times Internet web site entry:

* "It appears that JORDANIAN (RJAF) F-16AM and F-16BM (ex-RNLAF) fighter jets have been flying over both Israel and Jordan over the past four days (3-6 Nov) using '#NASHMI' (Arabic for 'fragrance') callsigns."

* "— Gerjon | חריון (@Gerjon_) November 6, 2019
Israeli and NATO pilots honed their skills in penetrating the enemy airspace and countering Russian-made S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems, according to IAF press release and the Breaking Defense military blog"

USA PATRIOT MISSILE FIRING BATTERIES THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OF RADARS AND MISSILES SIMULATING THE RUSSIAN SURFACE-AIR-MISSILES?

coolbert.

Pony.

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First we take Berlin, then Seoul and finally Tokyo??

"pony:  pony up Slang - - To pay (money owed or due)."

Fourfold?

"Trump Asks Tokyo to Quadruple Payments for U.S. Troops in Japan"

"The move is part of the administration’s campaign to get U.S. allies to pay more for defense. South Korea is also being asked to pony up."

"As Washington seeks to renew de-nuclearization talks with Pyongyang, U.S. President Donald Trump is asking Japan, a longtime ally that the United States leans on for stability in the region, to pay drastically more to cover the cost of a continued U.S. military presence in that country."

ASKS! ASKS! A STARTING POINT FROM WHICH NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN?

See previous blog entry [with additional embedded link] as relevant:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/11/fivefold.html

coolbert.

Illiterate.

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"It is not that I don't believe you, it is that I do not want to believe you!"

Please someone tell me this is not so!! From a Jan 11, 2016 blog entry G2mil courtesy the editor Carlton Meyer and as copied and posted more or less in entirety.

"10 Percent of U.S. Army Majors are Illiterate!"

Staff officers of the USA military not able to read and write? ABC's.

"One problem in our military and government is that poorly educated people are promoted to important positions. Some advance because of good looks and a pleasing personality, while others benefit from nepotism, political connections, or racial advancement quotas. I saw many during my time in military and government service. These people never send out e-mails knowing they can't write proper sentences and misspell common words. The spell checker helps, but they confuse their/there, whose/who's, role/roll etc. We all make such mistakes, but patterns become evident, like spelling truck as 'truk' several times in one message. In meetings it becomes apparent that they cannot grasp certain things. I [editor G2mil] found this recent article of interest"

"'Unlike the other armed services, who only send 25 percent or fewer members of each year group to resident staff college, the Army sends almost 50 percent of each year group. This results in functionally illiterate Army majors coming to [Command and General Staff College] CGSC."

"Think I’m exaggerating? Then you need to see the test scores from the Nelson-Denny Reading Exam. The Nelson-Denny, which has been around since 1929, measures the reading and comprehension ability of students. Approximately five percent of incoming U.S. Army students at CGSC each year score so low on the Nelson-Denny that they could fairly be classified as functionally illiterate."

"'Keep in mind that our Army sends its best majors to CGSC as a prerequisite of promotion. So the overall number of illiterate Majors is probably around 10%."

NOT NECESSARILY ILLITERATE AS BEING TOTALLY UNABLE TO READ. FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE IS A BETTER DESCRIPTION.

And I do indeed hope such is not so.

coolbert.

Fivefold.

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It is not only the Europeans and NATO that must fear the wrath of President Trump of the USA. Beware the Don.

So must the leadership of the Republic of Korea [ROK]. South Korea. Thanks to American and Asian sources.

"If Trump wins in 2020, he will pull US troops out of South Korea"

"Officials in Seoul laughed at his request for $5 billion to keep army [USA] presence"

"According to a report on July 30 from a South Korean newspaper, Washington has requested that the government in Seoul pay $5 billion next year for the continued presence of its armed forces [USA] on South Korean soil. This would be more than a fivefold increase from 2019, when Seoul paid $879 million."

A threat or a negotiating starting point?

See previous blog entry with emphasis on item # 2 the topic NATO alliance pay your fair share:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/11/annegret.html

coolbert.

Abomination II.

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Continuing and concluding the topic the desecration of war memorials.

Port Angeles, Washington state, USA also this sort of thing occurs. And even controversy beyond vandalism exists.

MEASURES AS TAKEN TO PREVENT VANDALISM TOO EXTREME FOR SOME?

"WA: Port Angeles Mayor receives Pushback over Attempt to alter War Memorial Image"

"WA: Port Angeles Mayor receives Pushback over Attempt to alter War Memorial. The replica Liberty Bell in the Veterans Memorial Park in Port Angeles,  Washington, was installed as a private initiative in the bicentennial year of 1976. For several years, the replica and the park have been subject to vandalism."

Silhouette images of American Revolutionary War soldiers guarding a replica of the Liberty Bell. The memorial [a private concern] enclosed by a fence. Someone takes exception to this? And the fear or offense  is what exactly?

And alteration is suggested? And what alteration would be acceptable? None I suspect. Again, persons objecting to these sort of monuments and beyond even the mere monument itself terribly troubled persons with grave mental issues. Heavy pharmaceuticals required to manage their awful and overwhelming condition.

coolbert.

Abomination I.

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Even in Canada this sort of thing occurs. Even there!!

Thanks to Freeper.

"Police arrest man over vandalism at Toronto cenotaph"

"Police have arrested a Toronto man for allegedly vandalizing the Old City Hall cenotaph with spray paint hours after it was the site of a downtown Remembrance Day ceremony."

What is called Veterans Day in the USA is called Remembrance Day in Canada!

"The cenotaph, which honours those who died in both World Wars and the Korean War, was vandalized with dark blue spray-painted letters sometime between 10 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday"

"The words 'ye broke faith' could be seen written in capital letters across the bottom of the monument on Tuesday morning, behind wreaths that had been placed at the base for the previous day's service."

"Ye broke faith". Hard to say within context what that means. Those persons doing such mischief are very misguided and soulless human beings, having enormous mental issues and should be imprisoned with heavy pharmaceuticals applied. Only under such circumstances can this terribly troubled individual manage his awful condition.

See previous blog entries the topic desecration of war memorials:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/11/plovdiv.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/08/desecration.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/11/prank.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/01/outrage-raf.html

coolbert.

Potatoes.

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Within context of the previous blog entry consider that the Battle of the Little Big Horn [1876] small potatoes in comparison with Frenchtown and St. Clair's Defeat.

"The Battle of the Little Bighorn . . . was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army."

Casualties among the American military present at Little Big Horn:

* 268 killed, 55 wounded (6 of whom later died of wounds). Number of U.S. troopers killed at the Little Bighorn in totality, including but not limited to those with G. A. Custer.

Additionally and thanks to a CIC entry by Professor Al Nofi as seen at the Internet web site Strategy Page:

"Little Turtle [American Indian commander with Blue Jacket during the battle know as St. Clair's Defeat] inflicted more casualties on the United States Army than any other Indian war chief. In just two battles, traditionally known as 'Harmer’s Defeat' and 'St. Clair’s Defeat,' he [Little Turtle] slew some 820 American soldiers. In contrast, the best that all the great warrior peoples – the Apache, the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Nez Perce, and all the rest – west of the Mississippi could do in some 940 fights with the army between 1866 and 1892 was to kill about 920 boys in blue, only about 12-percent more than Little Turtle had accounted for."

My comment:

I might very well suspect that more troops killed during a thirty year [1862-1892] period on the American frontier by a kick to the head from a horse or fell off their horse and broke their neck than killed-in-action during combat with the American Indian.

coolbert.

Frenchtown.

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Worst American military defeat of the War of 1812.

This was a new one on me. Thanks to the tip from Lee.

1. Battle of Frenchtown.

Decisive engagement, an American military force of about 1,000 Kentucky mounted riflemen their casualties almost 100 %.

"The Battles of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, was a series of conflicts in Michigan Territory that took place from January 18–23, 1813, during the War of 1812. It was fought between the United States and a British and Native American alliance near the River Raisin in Frenchtown"

* 410 killed, 94+ wounded, 547 captured.

FRENCHTOWN ONLY POSSIBLY SURPASSED AS AN AMERICAN DEFEAT IN TOTALITY BY "BATTLE OF A THOUSAND SLAIN" FROM THE NORTHWEST INDIAN WAR. ALSO KNOWN AS ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT.

2. St. Clair's defeat.

"St. Clair's defeat, also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was a battle fought on November 4, 1791, in the Northwest Territory of the United States of America. The U.S. Army faced the Western Confederacy of Native Americans, as part of the Northwest Indian War. It was 'the most decisive defeat in the history of the American military,' and the largest victory ever won by Native Americans"

Again and prior to Frenchtown another American military force of approximately 1,000 troops annihilated almost to the last man. Washer-women as accompanying the troops also counted.

* 632 soldiers killed or captured, 264 soldiers wounded, 24 workers killed, 13 workers wounded, total: 933.

FOR THOSE CAPTURED THE EXECUTION FIRES BURNED FOR TWO DAYS!!

Two-star general St. Clair his force almost totally destroyed. 

Hey, nobody said any of this was going to be easy, did they?

coolbert.

Volatile.

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From the Sheldon Adelson Internet web site Israel Hayom and the article by Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen.

And in keeping with the tenor of the previous blog entry. Armageddon and conflagration at hand?

"New threats require new defense concepts"

"The accumulation of threats Israel faces and the fact that they can now emerge on multiple fronts simultaneously require both the IDF and the home front to brace for the unexpected."

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi have recently made it clear that addressing the threats Israel faces requires an urgent response. Some castigated them for sparking unnecessary anxiety, and while it is true that none of the current threats are new, they are all directed by Iran, making for a particularly volatile mix."

Threats to include:

* The two-front war. Hezbollah and Hamas.
* Iranian precision-guided cruise missiles and drones.

Devoted followers to the blog go read the entire article for yourself. Expect the unexpected! Always in the long recorded history of warfare.

P.S. Within context see my previous blog entry https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/95.html that amount of firepower the Iranian and Hezbollah has amassed in case of conflict with Israel. And is prepared to use. Not merely a hollow threat.

coolbert.

Destiny.

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"The recent attack on Saudi oil facilities achieved an astonishing precision of less than one meter [three feet] despite the fact that it was launched from 650 miles away and delivered with it a clear message to Israel. Iran can attack any target in Israel from Western Iraq with precision and without being detected. It proved that Iranian technology is decades ahead of anything offered by Israel, America or the west."

CONFLAGRATION MIDDLE EAST! BLOW YOUR HORN AND THE WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN?

Thanks to several Israeli authors and The Atlantic.

1. "The Coming Middle East Conflagration"

"Israel is bracing itself for war with Iranian proxies, as Tehran escalates its provocations. But what will the United States do if conflict comes?"

"The senior ministers of the Israeli government met twice last week to discuss the possibility of open war with Iran. They were mindful of the Iranian plan for a drone attack from Syria in August, aborted at the last minute by an Israeli air strike, as well as Iran’s need to deflect attention from the mass protests against Hezbollah’s rule in Lebanon. The ministers also reviewed the recent attack by Iranian drones and cruise missiles on two Saudi oil installations, reportedly concluding that a similar assault could be mounted against Israel from Iraq."

2. "Iran, Israel and Destiny"

"Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to form a new government and tries valiantly to stay out of jail but he has managed to find the time to pledge to spend many more shekels. Finally, it dawned on Netanyahu that Israel lags Iran in an arms race. Yesterday, Netanyahu announced that Israel must increase its defense spending by 'many billions immediately and then many billions every year' to counter the threat from Iran that 'has intensified in recent weeks.'”

WE ARE TALKING HERE ONLY CONVENTIONAL MUNITIONS BEING EMPLOYED AND NO ATOMIC WEAPONS. AT LEAST NOT YET!

ARE YOU READY FOR A RUMBLE? APOCALYPTIC VISIONS OF WAR THAT CANNOT BE DENIED?

P.S. Within context see my previous blog entry https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/06/95.html that amount of firepower the Iranian and Hezbollah has amassed in case of conflict with Israel. And is prepared to use. Not merely a hollow threat.

coolbert.

Negotiate.

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It is with much trepidation that I make this post. But here goes.

As extracted from: "A Jewish Editorial" a portion of which entitled: "Negotiating with NATO" by Rabbi Dov Fischer and without any commentary on my part.

"NATO is our friend." 

"They also rip off America. They have been ripping us off forever. We saved their butts — before there even was a NATO — in World War I. They messed up, and 116,456 Americans had to die to save their butts. Then they messed up again for the next two decades because West Europeans are effete and so obsessed with their class manners and their rules of savoir faire and their socialist welfare states and their early retirements that they did not have the character to stand up to Hitler in the 1930s. Peace in our time. So they messed up, and we had to save their butts again. And another 405,399 Americans died for them during World War II. And then we had to rebuild them! And we had to station our boys in Germany and all over their blood-stained continent. So, hey, we love those guys. We love NATO. And yet they still rip us off. We pay 4% of our gigantic gross domestic product to protect them, and they will not pay a lousy 2% of their GDP towards their own defense. Is there a culture more penny-pinching-cheap-and-stingy than the fine constituents of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? These cheap baseborn prigs will not pay their fare. They are too cheap. They expect America to send boys to die for them in one world war, then another — hundreds of thousands — and then to pay for their NATO defense even a century later. And then they have the temerity to cheat us further in trade. Long before Trump, they set up tariffs against us for so many things If the average American knew how badly Europe has been ripping us off for decades with their tariffs, no one in this country would buy anything European again. We would say, as a matter of self-respect and personal pride, 'I no longer will buy anything but American, no matter what it costs.'”


"Every American President has complained about the cheating and imbalance — the NATO penny-pinching-cheapness, the tariff and trade imbalances. In more recent years, the various Bushes complained about it. Even Obama complained about it. But they all did it so gently, so diplomatically. They would deliver the sermon, just as the pastor predictably tells the church-goers on Sunday morning that he is against sin, and the Europeans would sit quietly and nod their heads — nodding from sleeping, not from agreeing — and then they would go back out and sin some more. Another four years of America being suckered and snookered. All they had to do was give Obama a Nobel Peace Prize his ninth month in office and let Kerry ride his bike around Paris. So Trump did what any effective negotiator would do: he took note of past approaches to NATO and their failures, and correctly determined that the only way to get these penny-pinching- cheap baseborn prigs to pay their freight would be to bulldoze right into their faces, stare them right in their glazed eyes with cameras rolling, and tell them point-blank the equivalent of: 'You are the cheapest penny-pinching, miserly, stingy, tight wadded skinflints ever. And it is going to stop on my watch. Whatever it takes from my end, you selfish, curmudgeonly cheap prigs, you are going to pay your fair share. I am not being diplomatic. I am being All-Business: either you start to pay or, wow, are you in for some surprises! And you know what you read in the Fake News: I am crazy! I am out of control! So, lemme see. I know: We will go to trade war! How do you like that? Maybe we even will pull all our troops out of Europe. Hmmm. Yeah, maybe. Why not? Sounds good. Well, let’s see.' So Trump stuffed it into their quiche-and-schnitzel ingesting faces. And he convinced them — thanks to America’s Seedier Media who are the real secret to the 'Legend That is Trump' — that he just might be crazy enough to go to trade war and to pull American boys home. They knew that Clinton and Bush x 2 and Kerry and Hillary and Nobel Laureate Obama never would do it. But they also know that Trump just might. And if they think they are going to find comfort and moderating in his new advisers, John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, alongside him…. Nuh-uh. So CNN and the Washington Post and all the Seedier Media attacked Trump for days: He is destroying the alliance! He attacks our friends! Baloney. Obama was the one whom the Left Echo Chamber… never called out for attacking our friends — Israel, Britain, so many others — while cozying up to Hugo Chavez, bowing to dictators, and dancing the tango for Raul Castro. Trump is just the opposite: He knows who the friends are, and he wants to maintain and strengthen those friendships. It is no different from a parent telling a 35-year old son: 'I have been supporting you for thirty-five years. I put you through college by signing four years and $100,000 PLUS in Loans. You graduated college fifteen years ago. For fifteen years I have been asking you nicely to look for a job and to start contributing. Instead, you sit home all day playing video games, texting your friends on a smartphone I pay for, and picking little fuzz balls out of your navel. So, look, I love you. You are my flesh and blood. But if you are not employed and earning a paycheck — and contributing to the cost of this household — in six months, we are throwing you out of the house.' That boy is NATO. Trump is Dad. And all of us have been signing for the PLUS Loans."

The editorial opinion piece of Rabbi Dov actually quite longer. I  have only extracted and posted that portion relevant to NATO. Comments of Rabbi Dov quite germane within the context of the previous blog entry and item # 2 as applies to NATO spending.

coolbert.

Annegret.

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Brain death as meaning no leadership at the top? Devoted readers to the blog will have to decide for themselves. From a variety of sources.

1. "France’s Macron says NATO is experiencing ‘brain death’"

"French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed NATO was undergoing 'brain death,' lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States and unilateral action in Syria by key member Turkey"

FRENCH TROOP DEPLOYMENTS IN NE SYRIA OF MAJOR CONCERN TO THE FRENCH. ONE NATO PARTNER LEAVES [USA], THE FRENCH LEFT HIGH AND DRY ALSO AT THE MERCY OF ANOTHER NATO PARTNER [TURKEY].

2. "Germany commits to NATO spending goal by 2031 for first time"

"BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will reach a NATO defense spending target by 2031, its defense minister said, missing a 2024 deadline agreed by the allies who are under heavy U.S. pressure to beef up their military budgets."

"Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Germany would spend 2% of its economic output on defense by 2031, belatedly reaching the goal set by NATO leaders at a 2014 summit"

Goal as I understand the meaning of the word something to be worked toward but not an absolute MUST achieve. So we wait with bated breath as they say. 2031 here we come.

coolbert.