McCat Fight

Well, well, well - is the verdict really in on General McChrystal's pre emptive strike on 44's rather seemingly underwhelming attachment to assorted gigs like, 0h, being Commander In Chief?

First off - and no one has yet to really point this out - General McChrystal's shout out to get serious - any time now would be fine and "...Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is..." may have involved way more than one rowdy hunter killer super ninja Especial Ops cat (true that - General Mac be both Ranger and Green Beret!) sounding off all by his lonesome.

It could be interpreted as Great Satan's entire military establishment pushing 44 to get with it.

Like Sec Gates recent caveat that Taliban has gained momentum, just as Pakistan's Taliban declares nothing but "...love and affection..." for Super Villan OBL and al Qaeda.

Consider - neither CENTCOM, Pentagon or JCS seem to have any probs with AFPAK, McChrystal's strategy, his report, his request or his robust penchant for telling it like it is.

Even 44's 2 metre tall Teufel Hunden at NSC General Jones Jr seemed pretty cool with it - admitting additional troops are part of the answer in an increasingly difficult war in a country with a weak central government currently mired in a possibly fraudulent election plauged with dope dealing creeps, murderous girl phobic time traveling intolerants and a diminishing al Qaeda presence.

And to be fair - time is running out.

The fighting season will soon be past and it could be next year before troops sent could decisively change the theatre in Great Satan's favor -- as General McChrystal sees it.

The Chain of Command smokescreen seems awful suspect too - face it - in Great Satan's military - they don't get any higher than 4 stars - any one that high up is by design very comfy with civilian command.

So as Americans --the pride of our nation, semi surges -- in dark, scary places in the world where a girls school could get a girl a face full of acid -- fight, kill and die in remote corners of the earth -- 44's inactivity (sans failures like health something reform, Olympics, Little Satan's apartment boom in West Bank, energy policies - you know -- all the stuff that really wouldn't matter if a T type attack struck Great Satan) must be maddening.

And that's the rub - civie command as embodied by 44 may be civie light and command free.

Pic - "You wanna cash out and get the hell out of town? - Don't be a baby Remember what you told me"

The Coming War With Iran

"War with Iran is now inevitable. The only question is: Will it happen sooner or later? Tehran's recent missile tests and war games suggest that the apocalyptic mullahs have reached the same conclusion."

Whoa! This is amazing - hot on the heels of daemoneoconic philospher king Robert Kagan' s recent 'Forget the Nukes - Kill the Regime" thingy - the diametrically opposed Burkean bunker huncher cats opine the very same.

"Iran is on the march. Their medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles can reach Israel, the entire Middle East and parts of Europe. Tehran is slowly expanding its regional sphere of influence. It has backed insurgency groups in Iraq, which have killed U.S. soldiers. It sponsors Hamas and Hiz'B'Allah."

"It has transformed Syria into a political vassal. It has forged an alliance with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. It has purchased key air defense systems from Vladimir Putin's Russia."

Any attempt to change the nature of the regime ala changing the regime itself could unleash pure heck:

"A devastating strike would likely trigger a fierce Iranian response, including waves of suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians and U.S. troops in Iraq. Iranian missiles would pound Israeli and, maybe, European cities."

"Vital shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf would be disrupted, driving the price of oil to more than $300 a barrel - plunging the West into a possible depression."

"Hiz'B'allah sleeper cells might be activated within the United States, unleashing deadly atrocities on American soil."

Yes, yes, yes and yes - all of these nasty things could indeed happen if the regime in Mullahopolis felt threatened, or actually found themselves on the biz end of Great Satan's military.

So what?

That list of uncool stuff would certainly be exponentially worse if Preacher Command actually developed and deployed nuclear weaponry.

The most direct threat to Great Satan's home turf in a "When in doubt -- knock 'em out' preventive pre emption may very well be Hiz'B'Allah

As a strategic resouce and proxy -- if Hiz'B'allah -- the most proficent killers and serial tormentors of Americans in history till 911 indeed acted out- they would undoubtedly cease to exist. There would be NO statue of limitations on chucking HBA on the same pile as Waffen SS, Confederacy or Kamikazes ended up on.

Or little concern if a certain Teuffel Hunden unit extracted righteous payback.
6th Fleet carries a significant threat to Hiz'B'Allaland.

While Iran poses more threats as a terrorist regional power than a conventional regional power -- that raison d'etre is all the more reason to take the mullahs out.

All the way out.

Pic - "Iran, Le Choix des Armes"

Party In The USA!

Happy BDay Red China!

When it come to the League of Not! Hot Autocrazies - The Chinese Mommyland got game!



Celebrating her 60th this week, last of the old school collectivist regimes brings out the bling in a week long, totally off the hook party.



Ignoring her near death experience way back at T Square 20 years ago, China has managed to embrace a type of instant gratification for her citizens as well as hang on to near total control in a semi open/semi closed unfree society.



Chian's military power is overtly robust though to be fair - she does hang in a tough hood.



Scary scary NoKo guy on the northeast 40 (her own client state - no less), a fully crunk nuked up Pakistan on the south 40, a fun free democrazy like nuclear India, a rowdy, resurgent Russia -- not to mention hot! little hoes like Nippon, SoKo and Taiwan (who could all go nuclear over a long weekend) fronting and showcasing sexyful freedom just out of arms reach.



Ideally, a tiny baby democrazy will be born with all the internal attention it requires to get future China to negotiate for all the goodies she needs instead of cranking out an expensive blue water navy to sealane stuff or act out militarily over resource rich Siberia.



Ideally.



Congrats on the 60th, Red China!



Hope it's the last.



Pic "Peoples Liberation Army stands every ready against capitalist chicanery and the world hegemon"

Open Letter To 44: Ost Europa

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

In the wake of your recent decision on European missile defense, we write in the hope that you honor the deep and principled connections that have bound the United States and the nations of Central and Eastern Europe since the time of Woodrow Wilson. Mindful of these links, we are concerned about the impact that canceling the planned missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic will have on our relationship with these strategic allies, other countries in the region, and our global credibility.

The Polish and Czech installations were a proposed response to the threat from Iran's missile and nuclear programs. As you said in April in Prague, "Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles." Let us not ignore that courage amid debates about revised time tables, intelligence estimates, and technological feasibility.

We urge you to reiterate America's commitment to these allies that have endured Russian intimidation in support of the United States and a shared commitment to democracy. One way to do this is to move quickly to ensure that some of the land-based SM-3 missile defense sites your administration is proposing will be placed on Polish and Czech soil. Further, the United States should leave the door open to deploying Ground Based Interceptors should a long-range missile threat from Iran materialize sooner than you anticipate and alternative technologies not be available to defend against it. The planned deployment of a U.S. Patriot battery to Poland should proceed without delay, and similar arrangements should be explored with other allies in the region. We also encourage you to explore other ways to improve the U.S. defense relationship with both countries as well as their neighbors, including increased U.S. support for defense modernization efforts.

In July, a group of Central European leaders addressed to you, in an open letter, their concerns about the weakening state of U.S. relations with their region. "When it comes to Russia," they wrote, "our experience has been that a more determined and principled policy toward Moscow will not only strengthen the West's security but will ultimately lead Moscow to follow a more cooperative policy." Mr. President, our friends' advice is sound. Their wisdom has been earned both under the thumb of Soviet rule and in the shadow of today's more assertive Kremlin.

Polish and Czech leaders supported U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan despite heavy criticism. Though the signatories of this bipartisan letter have varying views on the merits of your administration's proposed missile defense architecture for Europe, we are united in our concern about the effect that even the perception of U.S. disengagement from Central Europe could have on our allies in the region. Supporters of the United States should not have to gamble on the staying power - or the commitment - of American leadership. We urge you to make every effort to ensure that Moscow does not conclude that America retreats in the face of threats to its most loyal allies.

Continuing plans to build missile defense sites in both Poland and the Czech Republic would send a clear message about the depth and sincerity of America's engagement in this region that shares our values and is vital to our security. The Central European letter stated: "Many in the region are looking with hope to the Obama Administration to restore the Atlantic relationship as a moral compass for their domestic as well as foreign policies." Many in America are hoping the same. Rather than raising additional doubts about our commitment to European allies, we urge you to work assiduously to strengthen it.

Sincerely,

Elliott Abrams
Max Boot
Seth Cropsey
Thomas Donnelly
Jamie M. Fly
Richard W. Graber
Brian Green
Jakub Grygiel
Larry Hirsch
Robert Kagan
David J. Kramer
William Kristol
Charles W. Larson
Robert J. Lieber
Tod Lindberg
Thomas G. Mahnken
Michael Makovsky
Clifford D. May
Courtney Messerschmidt
A. Wess Mitchell
Martin Peretz
Peter Podbielski
David Satter
Randy Scheunemann
Gary Schmitt
Dan Senor
Simon Serfaty
Marc Thiessen
William Tobey
David J. Trachtenberg
Ken Weinstein
Leon Wieseltier

Art - "Center For European Policy Analysis "

Enemy Reactions

As 44 considers strategic approach and future resource levels in Afghanistan, CTP Director Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan (Institute for the Study of War) have produced a second report, "Enemy Reactions to Great Satan's Strategy and Force Sizing Options" considering how enemy groups and other stakeholders in Afghanistan and Pakistan would respond to several Policy scenarios:

• Scenario 1: The President orders all US forces out of Afghanistan, including Special Operations Forces (SOF) and classified forces

• Scenario 2: The President orders US combat forces out of Afghanistan, including all trainers and forces supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), but not including SOF and classified forces

• Scenario 3: The President orders US combat forces out of Afghanistan, but trainers, SOF, classified forces, and forces assisting the ANSF remain

• Scenario 4: US combat forces remain as currently deployed, with additional emphasis on expansion of the ANSF

• Scenario 5: US combat forces are augmented as proposed by General McChrystal and the expansion of the ANSF is accelerated

As we evaluate the various options available to us in Afghanistan, it is essential to consider the path from the current situation to the proposed future strategy. What will Afghanistan and the region look like as the US and NATO withdraw forces and prepare to pursue a pure counter-terrorism strategy?

How will the various enemy groups and Pakistan react to a reinforced counter-insurgency strategy?

What would emphasizing only the training of Afghan security forces look like?

This report seeks to address these and other critical questions and is available @ Iran Tracker .

Pic "Force Multipliers"

Forget The Nukes - Kill The Regime

"Between the future and the past tense - Lies the present in the distance

So you think we're never coming back. Scoring points for passionate resistence

Between the lines and the highway Lies the danger and the safety

You never thought this was gonna last - I always knew you'd never take it back"

The above refrain is prob the best sound track out there that goes further than happy non profit jawflapping kicking off betwixt the P 5+ 1 posse and Iran.

First, that neoconservatism is making a comeback should be no surprise - thanks to creepy state and non state actors and regional destabilizers like Axis of Evil (NoKo, Iran and Syria) and frenemies (China and Russia) and dangerous doofuses like Khadaffy, Chavez and the outright insane like Sudan's Field Marshal President For Life.

"Neoconservatives generally take the view that the internal character of a regime usually predicts the nature of its foreign policy. Governments that are answerable to their own people and accountable to a rule of law tend to respect the rights of their neighbors, honor their treaty commitments, and abide by the international rules of the road. "

"By contrast, regimes that prey on their own citizens are likely to prey on their neighbors as well.

Their word is the opposite of their ond."

Since 44 tried an honest attempt at returning to the happy happy days when Great Satan's enemies acted out far, far away in the last millennium and the result in record time has totally sucked.

Containment, engagement and sanctions are all meaningless with corrupt regional hegemons like Commonwealth and China. Cutting deals with known oath breakers is a bust like Chavez and China promising Iran sanction proof goodies to maintain their weak internal control and continue their regional ambitions to create a global hegemony from Persia all the way to the Red and Med seas -- and beyond.

Realism is truly dead.

One of the hottest brainiacs in Daemoneoconic designs is Dr Robert Kagan.

Pointing out that Free World and others in the P5 + 1 are getting it entirely bass ackwards:

"What the world has not focused on is the one thing Iran's rulers care about: their own survival."

"In such situations, an autocratic regime's biggest fear, well-grounded in history, is that domestic opponents may gain the support of powerful foreign patrons. The toppling of dictators -- Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua, the Polish Communists -- has frequently been aided, sometimes decisively, by foreign involvement, through support to opposition forces or sanctions against the government.

"One of the main fears of Chinese leaders in 1989 was that students carrying replicas of the Statue of Liberty might gather support from abroad. It is obvious from the show trials in Iran, where the accused have "admitted" being part of various American plots to overthrow the regime in a "velvet revolution," that this is the clerics' principal fixation.

"The regime's overriding goal since the election, therefore, has been to buy time and try to reestablish and consolidate control without any foreign interference in its internal affairs. In this Tehran has succeeded admirably. "

Of course, 44's Bystander In Chief mode was like divine intervention for the Ayatollahs while they slaughtered their own people on the streets, cut off the internet and stole an election in broad daylight.

Indeed, 44 seems -

"to regard the ongoing turmoil as a distraction from the main business of stopping Iran's nuclear program. And this is exactly what the rulers in Tehran want him to do: focus on the nukes and ignore the regime's instability."

And attacking the regime may be easier done than said.

As one hot! psychic said a while back:

"Launch a massive blitz on the top 20% of Iran's ruling clerics using cruise and conventional missiles, attack aircraft and old school special ops.

While Iran's rulers have some redundancy in their command and control posts, these are actually quite few in number as are the few calling the shots.

"Militarily, Iran is still a basket case. Iran banged on the gates of Basra for six years and never made it in during the horrible Iran Iraq war."

Other targets that would be fun to kill or cripple would be the internal control freaks like the Beseej. Al Qods and Revo Guards shouldn't be spared either.

Regime change in Iran would

solve way more problems than it would create:

"Americans have a fundamental strategic interest in seeing a change of leadership in Iran.

"There is good reason to believe that a democratic Iran might forgo a nuclear weapon -- just as a democratizing Russia abandoned long-standing Soviet foreign and defense strategies -- or at least be more amenable to serious negotiations.

"Even if it is not, we have much less to fear from a nuclear weapon in the hands of

a democratic Iran integrated into the liberal democratic world than from a weapon in the hands of Ahmadinejad."

Pic - "Checkmate bitches!"