NoKo Military Report 2014

Juche'!

Since way back in the Before Time the world has been magically blessed with 2 Koreas - the yankee part is little more than a starving, slave trading underground rocket factory with an unfree, unfun new clear weaponized nation state attached.

And now Pentagon just unleashed the 2014 Tell All PDF'ing about NoKo's Military chiz

Money Shots:

Forced to make do without traditional weaponry, North Korea is expanding her "asymmetric" forces, including nuclear weapons, commandos, and hackers, the report concludes.

The Pentagon is remarkably downbeat on the state of North Korean conventional forces — to the point of being dismissive and repeatedly referring to the North Korea People's Army as "antiquated" and "outdated."

While the report notes newly identified NKPA tanks, artillery, and other panzerlicious vehiculars, it doesn't even bother going into detail. This suggests Great Satan doesn't think much of the new vehicles' potential to shift the balance of power on the ground.

The North Korean air force gets slightly more attention. The report notes that the air arm hasn't received any new fighter planes in 15 years, when it purchased decades-old used MiG-21s from Kazakhstan.

The Pentagon is equally unimpressed with Pyongyang's apparent new surface-to-air missiles, which are outwardly similar to Russian S-300s and Chinese HQ-9s.

 

Swarms of mini subs, cyber attacks and especial commando ops along with her New Clear capable rocketeering aside - NoKo's new asymmetric military posture reflects economic realities.

Impoverished Pyongyang has no choice but to get creative.

Regime survival has overtaken the strategery bout Koreunification of the peninsula

 

Pic - "조선인민군"

WWI Rap Battle

The Coming Iran Saudi War

Well, see - it's complicated.

On or about August 16th 2014 1630 local time, two Royal Saudi Air Force F 16 fighter jets intercept and shoot down 6 new Iraqi Sukhoi 25 ground attack jets enroute to attack in the 2nd Battle of Tikrit.

As the New Caliphate absorbs turf in hand and cuts deals with sunnilicious tribal cats their advance on the shiafied bits of Iraq could be fighting to a stalemate of sorts. Hot gossip that Commonwealth Russia is like gon give up Frogfoots (the Russian version of an A 10)to beleagured Bahgdad as Suriya al Kubra and Persian Pasdaran intervene to shore up al Maliki's shaky gov, paints a pic of a way more bigger war to come.

If the anti ISIS coalition starts turning the Caliphates roads and supply lines into a Sunni Highway of Death, Royal Whahabbi Arabia could step up with an intervening intervention.

If ISIS really goes bold and starts seizing Jordan border crossings and turf

Imagine a time in the not-too-distant future when the Islamic State that ISIS seeks to establish or its failed-state doppelgänger has had some time to take root, acquire further assets, and start picking at the Jordanian border, perhaps from Iraq and Syria simultaneously. Without saying such an incursion is even likely, simply consider its consequences.

How far into Jordan would an ISIS incursion have to go before alarms went off in Washington, Riyad and Tel Aviv?

Pic - "Disaffection, desertion, disobedience, and public mistrust plague Iraq's military"

Caliphate

Whoa snap!

The Artist Formerly Known As al Qaeda In Iraq has just declared their ill gotten turf a bona fide Caliphate!!

The group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and also known as ISIS, has renamed itself "Islamic State" and proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as "Caliph" - the head of the state, the statement said.

"He is the imam and khalifah (Caliph) for the Muslims everywhere," the group's spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said in the statement, which was translated into several languages and read out in an Arabic audio speech.

"Accordingly, the "Iraq and Sham" (Levant) in the name of the Islamic State is henceforth removed from all official deliberations and communications, and the official name is the Islamic State from the date of this declaration"

The caliphate – an Islamic state with a single political and religious leader, ruled by a would-be successor to Mohammed – seems to be back in fashion. The institution is a millennium old, though the last caliphate was abolished in 1924, when the secular republic of Turkey snuffed out the final vestiges of the Ottoman Empire. A century on, the Iraqi jihadist group Isis wants to resurrect the caliphate across the Fertile Crescent, that beautiful but war-studded arc of land stretching from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf. Medieval aims, through modern means.

 Can they do it?

Isis has hostile forces in every direction. It will face resistance from anti-Isis Syrian rebels in the west, the hostility of Kurds in the north, and, eventually, a counter-offensive from government forces to the south. Even if the government collapses – and we are a long way from that – then Iraq’s Shia majority will not accept a permanent jihadist state on their northern flank, let alone allow Isis to stroll into Baghdad. Saddam slaughtered Shias in 1991, and Isis has been slaughtering Shias for over a decade. The Shias have had quite enough, thank you. 

Iraq’s neighbours will also fight back. Ankara does not look kindly at the fact that Isis has kidnapped Turkish diplomats in Mosul. Iran is not just aghast at the rise of a radical Sunni force on its western border, but concerned about losing an ally in Baghdad that it views as more important than even Assad. Tehran is reportedly airlifting over a hundred tons of supplies to Baghdad daily, and deployed its special forces there weeks ago.

If Isis attempts to conduct attacks against Western countries, as the prime minister warned last week, then it will face the near certainty of air strikes. It can hunker down safely in urban areas like Mosul, but large stretches of its territory are completely devoid of cover. It will suffer grievous losses.

But Isis’ biggest challenge is closer to home. It depends on a coalition of other Sunni militants and local Sunni tribes. Without such allies, it could not possibly have walked over Iraqi security forces so easily. But coalitions like this can fall apart. Remember that Isis was defeated once before, in its previous incarnation as Al Qaida in Iraq. Their campaign of terror was quelled by 2008, thanks to a surge of US troops and the so-called ‘awakening’ of local Sunni tribes who grew tired of the group’s brutality.

True, Isis is stronger now than it was then. The civil war in Syria has buoyed the group, swelling its ranks and hardening its fighters in combat. Those US troops are long gone, and won’t be returning. And the Sunnis who once turned on ISIS are now so embittered by the heavy-handed sectarianism of the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad that many have thrown their lot back in with the jihadists.

The key is whether ISIS can keep local Sunnis on side – or at least on the fence. Currently, Isis have learnt from their past mistakes. They seem to be governing newly occupied cities with a lighter touch, focusing on delivery of public services rather than just beheadings. They have even promised to hand over the captured Baiji oil refinery to local tribes.

But ISIS’ leaders are ultimately power-hungry ideologues. I am sceptical that they can keep up this charade. Sooner or later, they will move towards draconian sharia law, prompting the sort of backlash they faced last year in Syria. This is already apparent in Falluajh.

Or they will clash with their allies. We have already seen hints of this in Kirkuk, where ISIS came to blows with JRTN, a group led by Saddam’s former deputy, over control of fuel tankers. Moreover, where will the money come from? Iraq’s north and west depend on subsidies from the capital. Isis is rich, but it can’t run its own state in perpetuity.

Reports of the Middle East’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Isis is laying the foundations for a caliphate, and it may remain entrenched in Iraq and Syria for years, but its grandiose, imperial vision is a pipe dream. Jihadists are utopians and nihilists. That’s not a particularly durable combination.

WoW!!

The Watchers Council- it's the oldest, longest running cyber comte d'guere ensembe in existence - started online in 1912 by Sirs Jacky Fisher and Winston Churchill themselves - an eclective collective of cats both cruel and benign with their ability to put steel on target (figuratively - natch) on a wide variety of topictry across American, Allied, Frenemy and Enemy concerns, memes, delights and discourse.

Every week these cats hook up each other with hot hits and big phazed cookies to peruse and then vote on their individual fancy catchers

Thus, sans further adieu (or a don't)


Council Winners

• *First place with 4 votes!- The Right Planet – About That ‘Server Ate My Emails’ Thing
• Second place with 3 votes –Joshuapundit-How The Palestinians And The Left Are Celebrating The Israeli Kidnappings
• Third place with 2 votes – The Independent Sentinel – Obama’s Presidency Is Over for the Public But He’s Just Getting Started
• Fourth place with 1 2/3 votes – The Colossus of Rhodey – Why (some) teachers complain so much
• Fifth place with 1 1/3 votes – The Razor – Immigration for Idiots
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Glittering Eye -What Should We Do In Iraq?
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Nice Deb – Rep Brady to Koskinen: “This is the most corrupt and deceitful IRS in history.”
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Noisy Room – The IRS Missing Email Scandal – A Brazen Obstruction Of Justice
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Simply Jews – A Hanukkah miracle in Aleppo – with a bit of physics
• Seventh place with 1/3 vote -VA Right! - Nancy Russell MUST Step Down as Chair of Hanover Republican Committee

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! – Mark Steyn –We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ E-Mails submitted by The Noisy Room
• Second place *t* with 2 votes – Doug Ross@Journal –IT’S COME TO THIS: Senile, Doddering Beltway GOP Begs Democrats to Support Thad Cochran in MS Primary submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Second place *t* with 2 votes –Kim Strassel/WSJ – About Those Missing Emails submitted by Joshuapundit
• Third place with 1 2/3 votes -International Business Times – Isis Hoodies and T-Shirts For Sale Online As Islamist ‘Brand’ Goes Global submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes -Gabriel Malor/The Federalist -A Basic Primer On The Scott Walker Case For Ignorant Reporters – submitted by Nice Deb
• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes -Walter Russell Mead/The American Interest – The Jihadi Menace Gets Real submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote -The Passing Parade – Disinvitation and the expanding intestine submitted by Simply Jews
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote -Wayne Dupree/ News Ninja -The Day The Democrats Took Over submitted by Ask Marion
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Weekly Standard Blog – Feminism And Its Discontents submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Yid With Lid – Congressional Report Quashes the Lie That the IRS Targeted Liberal/Progressive Groups submitted by The Right Planet

See you next week!  And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter

"Pleasant Journey"

WWI usually conjures up images of horrific trench warfare or colorful Abatross fighters and Flying Circuses.

The Schlieffen plan was a triumph of Imperial Duetschland's ruthlessness, discipline and industrial organization. Mobilizing an obedient army of 5 million cats by rail to sweep first west and then east. In just weeks, Germany thought  her two dangerous neighbors would be crushed. Great Britain's tiny tiny army would not be able to help and she'd sue for peace.  

At last! An infallible plan to make Imperial Deutschland master of Europa.

All that was needed was a Casus Belli

Meanwhile

Relations betwixt Great Britain's Royal Navy and Deutschland's Kriegsmarine were never more cordial. When Kiel Canal was officially opened in June 1914, Great Britain sent her 2nd Battle Squadron with her latest greatest dreadnaughts to help celebrate -  HMS King George V, HMS Ajax, HMS Audacious and HMS Centurion.

British sailors cheered the Hoch Kaiser as he sailed past them in review on Hohenzollern and he respectfully returned the salute. British officers allowed their Germaqn counterparts to tour every inch of their ships with zero restrictions. Captain von Hase of Derflinger, would later years say "I shall ever forget the fatherly affectionate hospitality of Britain's Admiral  Warrender at Kiel and the other English officers"

Then, on June 28 the news flashed that Arch Duke Ferdinand had been assissinated. The Kaiser cancelled the yacht race and left for Berlin. Admirals Warrender and Tirpitz shook hands and said goodbye.

As the British left Kiel, German warships ran up the signal "Pleasant Journey."

The Royal Navy sent her reply by wireless:

FRIENDS TODAY
FRIENDS IN FUTURE
FRIENDS FOREVER.

The next time these cats met up they would be lobbing 1,000 pound shells at each other for control of the North Sea

Pic - "Kiel und Jutland"

Hyper!

Little Satan brainiac Orit Perlov describes the two dominant Arab governing models au courrant:

Hyper - m"Hammedism like the ISIS and Hyper - Nat'list, like General Presedent Sissi in Pyramidland.

Both suck totally and won't last...

Both have failed and will continue to fail — and require coercion to stay in power — because they cannot deliver for young Arabs and Muslims what they need most: the education, freedom and jobs to realize their full potential and the ability to participate as equal citizens in their political life.

We are going to have to wait for a new generation that “puts society in the center,” argues Perlov, a new Arab/Muslim generation that asks not “how can we serve god or how can we serve the state but how can they serve us.”

These governing models — hyper-Islamism (ISIS) driven by a war against “takfiris,” or apostates, which is how Sunni Muslim extremists refer to Shiite Muslims; and hyper-nationalism (SISI) driven by a war against Islamist “terrorists,” which is what the Egyptian state calls the Muslim Brotherhood — need to be exhausted to make room for a third option built on pluralism in society, religion and thought.

The Arab world needs to finally puncture the twin myths of the military state (SISI) or the Islamic state (ISIS) that will bring prosperity, stability and dignity. Only when the general populations “finally admit that they are both failed and unworkable models,” argues Perlov, might there be “a chance to see this region move to the 21st century.”

The situation is not totally bleak. You have two emergent models, both frail and neither perfect, where Muslim Middle East nations have built decent, democratizing governance, based on society and with some political, cultural and religious pluralism: Tunisia and Kurdistan. Again both are works in progress, but what is important is that they did emerge from the societies themselves. Then there's the relatively soft monarchies — like Jordan and Morocco — that are at least experimenting at the margins with more participatory governance, allow for some opposition and do not rule with the brutality of the secular autocrats.

"Second Arab Awakening and the Battle for Pluralism.”  

“They did because they have not addressed peoples’ real needs: improving the quality of their life, both in economic and development terms, and also in feeling they are part of the decision-making process. Both models have been exclusionist, presenting themselves as the holders of absolute truth and of the solution to all society’s problems.”

But the Arab public “is not stupid,” Muasher added. “While we will continue to see exclusionist discourses in much of the Arab world for the foreseeable future, results will end up trumping ideology. And results can only come from policies of inclusion, that would give all forces a stake in the system, thereby producing stability, checks and balances, and ultimately prosperity.   

ISIS and Sisi cannot win. Unfortunately, it might take exhausting all other options before a critical mass is developed that internalizes this basic fact. That is the challenge of the new generation in the Arab world, where 70 percent of the population is under 30 years of age.   

The old generation, secular or religious, seems to have learned nothing from the failure of the postindependence era to achieve sustainable development, and the danger of exclusionist policies.”

Indeed, the Iraq founded in 1921 is gone with the wind. The new Egypt imagined in Tahrir Square is stillborn. Too many leaders and followers in both societies seem intent on giving their failed ideas of the past another spin around the block before, hopefully, they opt for the only idea that works: pluralism in politics, education and religion.  

Going forward, where we see people truly committed to pluralism, we should help support them. And where we see islands of decency threatened, we should help protect them. But this is primarily about them, about their need to learn to live together without an iron fist from the top, and it will happen only when and if they want it to happen.

Pic - "The Next Wave"