COIN Passé?

Passé!

Perhaps the cruelest term in all of girlworld - meaning out of fashion and out of date as smashing sooo 2000 and 8

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

As Great Satan licks her bloody nails clean in the killing fields of the AF end of AFPAK, those magically delicious blast walls in the Dad of Bahg are getting all dismantled. 

This is significant.

All the cool kids know the crown jewel of counter insurgency ops and expertise is the pop centric popular population protection. Buddying up to the innocents and fence sitters, winning friends influencing ppl, gleaming sweet meats of intell on where the bad guys are at and convincing them to hop on the cool train to fun and free choice or into a body bag. It's their choice, and Great Satan is only too happy to assist either way.

It's a slow, grinding - nasty - process. COIN ain't into time, and it worked - on a tactical level for sure - in the Land betwixt the two Rivers.

And for AFPAK, it's a diff critter and sparking a serious quiz as Zen's killer piece serves up (avec killer artwork too!)

Is COIN Dead?
 
"...Is it de facto dead as USG policy or is COIN theory formally evolved to officially embrace strong elements of CT, targeted assassinations, FID, “open-source counterinsurgency” and even bare-knuckled conventional warfare tactics?

COIN, as done up in Iraq is certainly not a one size fits all bustier  - and the debate may be more about style over substance.

As world famous Surge Expert and charter member of Great Satan's cadre of Combat Rock Stars Major Few recently shared about the sexyful upgradation of FM 3-24 - v2.0

 "...Courtney, FM 3-24 was born out of necessity.  GEN Petraeus brought together a team of experts to provide the US military some desperately needed help while Iraq was spiraling out of control.  The majority of the text covers the wisdom of David Galula, the godfather of population-centric counterinsurgency.   It was a good start.  Galula was smart, had a lot of experience, and could write, but, it was only a start." (GsGf Editorial note -Italics bis mein)

 There's more than one way to nail a hottie or do a Surge, as Captain Burke of WoI fame psychically predicted.

"Bottom line: keep FM 3-24--updated as necessary--on the bookshelves. While the book is not without its flaws, it does have a number of good lessons applicable from everything from counterinsurgency, to hybrid-style wars, to disaster relief.

"Secondly, COIN is an operational framework, not a strategic one. Furthermore, FM 3-24 was written in a specific context, when America was good at offensive operations, but poor at human intelligence gathering and population security."

Thus, P4's influx of real time battlefield intell sources (prepped and plotted even in Mc4's tenure) hooked up with relatively few urban spots (comp'd with Iraq), terrorist and Taliban loving sanctuaries just over Durand line all result in multi killing fields - closer to old school clear and hold tactical designs - a bit more than being polite, professional and having a plan to kill everyone you meet.

And intuition will serve COINdinistas as they face off on 2 challenges for the foreseeable decade. Zen Pundit's Professor S's exclusive commentary lays it out as a top down approach from the highest levels of Great Satan's diplopolititary coterie:

"...First, the doctrine of pop-centric COIN as it was written in FM 3-24 is not going to be regarded as an affordable policy option for America in overseas military interventions unless they are broadly multilateral with other great powers putting up substantial numbers of troops. American politicians will demand cheaper, lighter, quieter versions of COIN closer to FID for any unilateral operations of this nature, if they permit new ones at all.

"...Secondly, the heavy reliance of two administrations on COIN as an operational paradigm points to a broken national security community that is unable to craft a durable and coherent grand strategy to sync and integrate military operations with diplomacy and other levers on national power. The overarching vision is absent and unsurprisingly we lack the ability to make realistic strategic choices or get a "whole of government" unified effort to achieve national goals. Until this essentially political problem is recognized and fixed, we fight with one arm tied behind our back.

Pic - "Scoring points for passion and resistance"

Open Letter To 44 to Take Action to Halt Violence in Libya

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

February 25, 2011

Dear Mr. President:

In your 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, you rightly declared that “Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later.”  Today the United States and our allies in Europe must take action in response to the unfolding crisis in Libya.  With violence spiraling to new heights, and with the apparent willingness of the Qaddafi regime to use all weapons at its disposal against the Libyan people, we may be on the threshold of a moral and humanitarian catastrophe. 

Inaction, or slow and inadequate measures, may not only fail to stop the slaughter in Libya but will cast doubt on the commitment of the United States and Europe to basic principles of human rights and freedoms.  Therefore, we recommend the United States, in conjunction with NATO allies, take the following specific actions immediately:

1)  The United States should call upon NATO to develop operational plans to urgently:

• Establish a presence in Libyan airspace to prevent the continued use of fighter jets and helicopter gunships against civilians and carry out other missions as required.
• Move naval assets into Libyan waters to aid in evacuation efforts and prepare for possible contingencies. Establish the capability to disable Libyan naval vessels used to attack civilians.

2)  Freeze all Libyan government assets in the United States and Europe.

3)  Consider temporarily halting importation of Libyan oil to the United States and Europe.

4)  Make a clear statement that Col. Qaddafi and other officials who order and participate in massacres of civilians will be held accountable for their crimes under international law.

5)  Provide humanitarian aid to the Libyan people as quickly as possible.

The United States and our European allies have a moral interest in both an end to the violence and an end to the murderous Libyan regime.  There is no time for delay and indecisiveness.  The people of Libya, the people of the Middle East, and the world require clear U.S. leadership in this time of opportunity and peril.

Sincerely,

Elliott Abrams	Neil Hicks	John Podhoretz
Stephen E. Biegun	William Inboden	Randy Scheunemann
Max Boot	Bruce Pitcairn Jackson	Dan Senor
Ellen Bork	Ash Jain	John Shattuck
Scott Carpenter	Robert Kagan	Mike Singh
Eliot Cohen	David Kramer	Gare Smith
Seth Cropsey	Irina Krasovskaya	William Taft
Larry Diamond	William Kristol	Marc Thiessen
Thomas Donnelly	Tod Lindberg	Daniel Twining
Michelle Dunne	Michael Makovsky	Pete Wehner
Eric Edelman	Cliff May	Ken Weinstein
Peter Feaver	Courtney Messerschmidt	Leon Wieseltier
Jamie Fly	Joshua Muravchik	Damon Wilson
Reuel Marc Gerecht	Martin Peretz	Jennifer Windsor
John Hannah	Danielle Pletka	Paul Wolfowitz

Pic - "Foreign Policy Initiatives"

WoW Council

Honorable Mentions

• Wolf Howling – Marx & The Communist Manifesto, From Feb. 21, 1848 To Today 
• Abu Muqawama - What We Are Reading (And What We Are Not Reading (Updated) 
• Center for Security Policy - Regime Change in Libya

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes! – Bookworm Room--Thoughts about the Wisconsin teachers’ union
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – The Colossus of Rhodey-Students — see the world and keep your head on straight
• third place with 2 votes – Rhymes With Right – A Texas Teacher Looks At Wisconsin
• Fourth place with 1 vote – Joshuapundit – Supporting regime Change In Libya: A Powerful opportunity
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Glittering Eye- Fallacies of Composition
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD- Black Veil Brides
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Political Commentator- “The Ground Zero Mosque – Second Wave of the 911 Attacks” premiers in New York
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Simply Jews- And your candidate for the Senate is…
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -VA Right- Is Tim Kaine Instigating Wildcat Strikes in Wisconsin?
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Snapped Shot – Mourning A Man named Jihad
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Right Truth – Saif al-Islam Qaddafi: Moammar 2.0
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Razor – Let’s Chant: The Future of the Middle East is Impossible to Predict

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! – Pajamas Media/Zombie- Death Channels submitted byBookworm Room
• Second place *t* with 2 votes – Ann Althouse – Madison schools close for the day to allow teachers to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting budget plan submitted byThe Glittering Eye
• Second place *t* with 2 votes – The Volokh Conspiracy – Words You Can’t Say At The Pentagon submitted byThe Watcher
• Third Place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Michael Totten – In The Land Of The Brother Leader submitted by Joshuapundit
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes -The Hoover Institution -The Persistence of Genocide submitted by the Colossus of Rhodey
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -TF Stern’s Rantings -Public Servants and Unions submitted by Rhymes With Right
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Small Wars Journal -The Wrong War: An Interview with Bing West submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Sultan Knish -5 Reasons Why the Christie Presidential Express is Premature submitted by Right Truth
• Fifth place with 2/3 vote -Isi Leibler – Avoiding Euphoria Over Obama submitted by Simply Jews
• Sixth place with 1/3 vote -Jane Jamison/Uncoverage – Prosecute the Wisconsin Doctors and Teachers Who Colluded on “Sick” Passes submitted by VA Right

See you next week!

Raptorlicious

Tally Ho!

As previously recce'd, all the cool kids know Great Satan's global air dominance sweetly maintains the world Great Satan herself created

This is significant. 

Gulf War, Libya, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq all proved Air Power is simply the most best way to get the point across - indeed, even Great Satan's Combat Rock Stars developed fast track communications to precisely apply formidable air power to sensitive tender spots during Surge - and any COIN ops.

Great Satan's hyper puissance depends on it.  Lost among civie leaders, and maybe within bits of the Air Force herself, is the understandment of strategic airpower and her hot role playing in doing Great Satan's national - whoa - make that internat'l - security policies.

Since the world famous F22 Raptor program has been stalled, the number of combat aircraft able to sortee,  pre empt, prevent or respond to any diplopolititary diktats could shrink up faster than a viagra free swim meet.

"...The result will be a force of 186 Raptors (one having crashed late last year), though of this rump fleet, only 130 or so will be combat- capable. Readiness, maintenance and scheduling demands will reduce the operational force to merely 30 or so F-22s globally available to throw into a fight at any given moment.

Oh snap!

“It's a global revolution to modernize air defense systems. When taken in total, our potential adversaries can create a nearly impenetrable box that our legacy fighters cannot enter, thus denying us our air supremacy”

 Essentially Great Satan is losing her air dominance "...and is dangerously ill-prepared to stop the gap-closing efforts of China and Russia.

Such magically remanufactured 5th Generation combat jets competing - from surface-to-air defenses to air-to-air fighters - means Great Satan is forsaking an ancient daemoneoconical imperial designs that are now doctrine!

"These future threats are now current."

Whoa!

Tiny tiny numbers like this mean several operational scary scenarios may come to pass:

"...The emergence of foreign challengers. Russia and China are steadily developing heavy, twin- engine aircraft with stealth capabilities. Based on their size and potential capabilities, the smaller, single-engine F-35 probably will not have the speed or power to compete.

">>>The Chinese ostentatiously first test-flew their J-20 prototype last month during Mr. Gates's visit to Beijing. Western analysts are still debating the plane's capabilities. Some believe it will serve as a supersonic fighter-bomber, given its large size (more than 20% bigger than the F-22 itself). Whatever the ultimate capabilities of the J-20 or the Russian PAK-FA turn out to be, we can expect more surprises in their development. The U.S. government apparently did not know about two new Chinese nuclear submarine models until they were revealed on the Internet several years ago.

  "...Sophisticated air defenses are a growing threat to American fighters. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, among others, are developing and fielding integrated air-defense systems, including interlinked radar sites and advanced surface-to-air missiles such as the S-400. The lower operational ceiling of the F-35 (around 40,000 feet) and its subsonic cruising speed means it will be at much higher risk in attempting to penetrate such heavily defended airspace.

"...The F-22 was designed precisely to fight and survive in such environments-as attested by its 60,000-foot operational ceiling and supercruise (cruising at plus-mach speeds without afterburners) ability.

  "...F-35 delays and cost overruns. The JSF program has run into numerous delays and cost increases, with the unit price of each plane nearing $100 million. In early January, Mr. Gates put the F-35B program on hold for two years, as its vertical take-off-and-landing capabilities ran into significant development problems.

"...Many industry observers question whether the F-35 will reach initial operating capability before the end of this decade. And given the rising costs of the plane, the likelihood of further procurement cuts is very real, putting the F-35 potentially on the same death-spiral as the F-22.

"...Any numbers are speculative, but cutting 400 F-35As from the Air Force's projected total of 1,700 would leave a fleet of at least 1,300-more than enough to deal with most likely threats. This would free funds to build at least 150 more F-22s, bringing their numbers close to what the Air Force has long argued is needed to ensure a viable Raptor force. 

 Sweet! 

"... It would also provide U.S. military leaders with the "high-low" mix of F-22s' air superiority and F-35s' ground-attack superiority that was envisioned in the 1990s. Lawmakers should then demand an independent, comprehensive study of how much it would cost to keep the plane in production, perhaps at the rate of 10 per year.


Pic - "Air dominance by collecting intelligence and using long-range bombing to control the enemy’s skies, and also provided full tactical support for ground troops engaged in combat."

Amazonian Guard

Jamahiriya!

Perhaps the strongest case ever for not drinking the bong water?

While John, Paul and George plotted and prepped the guitar arrangements for Abbey Road's "The End" - wiping clean and drawing yet again the face of popular music, certain diplopolititary arrangements were being plotted and prepped that, like the influence of the Fab Four, are still with us today. 

Seduced by hot nat'lism ala Nasser, a young Bedouin Captain - fresh back from command schools like the prestigious Evelpidon Military Academy in Greece and extended courses at Great Britain's Sandhurst - led a bloodless coup d'état against Libya's old King Idris totally seizing power in about 2 hours.

And it's been a freak show every since.

Expelling Eye tyes, asking Great Satan to split from Wheelus AFB - even kicking out 30K Palestinians in a mini Nakbah - Captain Khadaffy ceremoniously promoted himself to full bird Colonel, proclaiming the full time gig as Prime Minister of Libya's Revolutionary Command Council. Then he ditched the title in 1972, gaming the far hotter sounding nom d'guerre "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution".

In an omage to Chairman Mao's Lil Red Booklet, Colonel Khadaffy wrote the Lil Green Booklet 
which outlined the idea of "Jamahiriya" or "State of the masses" often unxlated into the Queen's english as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - not unlike a Peoples Republic.

Colonel Khadaffy also pioneered terrorism as an extension of covert statecraft. Aside from fundage for Black September of München Massacre infamy, this cat also patronized the PLOld school pre Fatah killers and creeps - eventually going one on one with Great Satan like the Berlin bombing that killed American GI's at Le Bell Tanz Club which dang near got him killed in 40's famous "Operation El Dorado" payback op

Libya took terror to Great Britain - senselessly killing a London police lady and literally blew hundreds of innocents out of the sky over Lockerbie Scotland.

Deploying hot! Praetorians like the amazing cherry intact Amazonian Guards -

"...The Amazonian Guard are put through rigorous training at a special academy and if they make it through the basic training ordeal are experts with firearms and martial arts making them trained killers. The women who qualify for duty are required to be virgins and must be hand picked by Qaddafi himself.

"...There are perks to swearing allegiance and life to Qaddafi. The Amazonian guard dress in western style fatigues, can wear make up, western hair styles, high heels, and other clothing not deemed acceptable in the Muslim world. Their very existence challenges the role of women in the Islamic world

The name Khadaffy alone is something of a record for Arab League's longest ruling despot. Just lucky, thanks to Arabic transliteration there are an unbelievable 112 diff ways to spell it! For the record, the Colonel has spelled it two totally different ways in English - "Moammar El-Gadhafi" in a letter to a school in Minnesota and his website (currently intermittent)  says "Welcome to the official site of Muammar Al Gathafi" 

Aside from his 'toonish anime jackassedness, the Colonel penned an interesting piece about the Little Satan/Palestine conflict - advocating a one state solution called "Isratine" for NYT and shared empathy and sympathy for Great Satan on 911      

"...Irrespective of the conflict with America, it is a human duty to show sympathy with the American people and be with them at these horrifying and awesome events which are bound to awaken human conscience

And now, Colonel Khadaffy is reeling in open combat for the regime's survival. Deploying foreign mercs and killers to attack his own people in their own capitol, as his own ministers and military distance themselves or out right defect.

Colonel Khadaffy is a killer, a terrorist and an enemy of humanity. Ideally he should be captured, put on trial followed by a first class execution. Or killed at the first opportunity by any American or allied forces. 

Either way - just as good. 

Pic - "The Mad Dog of the Middle East" 

Tea Party Fo Po

 Don't Tread On Me!

Since the 20th letter of the alphabet went far beyond a well deserved rep as a powerful refresher - hot or chilled - it's also became a major diplopolitical outlook - with several foreign policy views.

Jacksonianism - Best determined as a common sense approach - that Americans can best determine for themselves - that hot stuffs like moral, scientific, political and religious truths are sweetly grasped and understood by average cats — versus brainiac giganteuses and curious idiosities perceived as inept, suspect, misguided or old school corrupt'd. 

"...Jacksonianism is always an important force in American politics; at times of social and economic stress and change, like the present, its importance tends to grow. In foreign policy, Jacksonians embrace a set of strongly nationalist ideas. They combine a firm belief in American exceptionalism with deep skepticism about the nation’s ability to create a liberal world order. 

 While events au courant can change FoPo outlook overnight (like discovering  Hiz'B'Allah rocketeer brigades in Mexico within Shahab-2 range of several Great Satan's hot military installations - just a for instance) two camps seem to be forming up in the tea party.

"...The first is that the contest in the Tea Party between what might be called its Palinite and its Paulite wings will likely end in a victory for the Palinites. 

"...The Palinite wing of the Tea Party (after Sarah Palin) wants a vigorous, proactive approach to the problem of terrorism in the Middle East, one that rests on a close alliance between Great and Little Satan

"...The Paulite wing (Rand Paul) would rather distance Great Satan from Little Satan as part of a general reduction of the United States’ profile in a part of the world from which little good can be expected. 

"...The Paulites are likely to lose this contest because the commonsense reasoning of the American people now generally takes as axiomatic that security at home cannot be protected without substantial engagement overseas.

Pic - "6 bags of Earl Grey with 6 bags of Green tea brewed and served unsweetened extremely cold often allows diplopolititary astral projections throughout the space time continuum"with The Pretty Reckless

General Washington's BDay!

Perhaps the most coolest, exclusive clique club ev!

Talking bout Great Satan's cadre of Presidents! Only 44 (so - far!) cats have ever made the cut and all have their charms.

Yet the first President ever is still the most awesomest.

For nearly 50 years - GW practically dominated America's destiny from helping to kick off the French Indian Wars all the the way through the Revolution and serving two terms as Great Satan's 1st president.
 
Washington was selected through powerful Fairfax family connections to create and command the very first professional all volunteer "Virginia Regiment" of full time troops, later he created the Army, served as CiC, led it through the insurgency's desperate dark days like Valley Forge, created smoking hot battlefield exploits and traditions like killing our enemies on Xmas Day, the Purple Heart, suffered horrific betrayal by You know Who Arnold, and led Great Satan's baby Army to total victory over Great Britain's professional conscript army - the deadliest of the age (until Yorktown)!

As 1 - the first Pres - his FoPo was a delightful mix of interventionary - like helping Haiti's revolution, creating the concept of Foreign Aid (400K in 1790 dollars) and cleverly hot make up sex with Great Britain like the Jay Treaty

"...The British agreed to depart from their forts around the Great Lakes, subsequently the U.S.-Canadian boundary had to be re-adjusted, numerous pre-Revolutionary debts were liquidated, and the British opened their West Indies colonies to American trade. Most importantly, the treaty delayed war with Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with Britain. The treaty angered the French and became a central issue in many political debates

Nobody's perfect - and 1 often gets dissed about evil slavery, yet the truth is like General Light Horse Lee eulogized it  

"...First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting

"...Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues...Such was the man for whom our nation mourns.

As President Washington said during his hail and farewell - "If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the Passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected"

 Pic - "In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude, which I owe to my beloved country,—for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the stedfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal."

Naval Chicanery

As Arab League and surrounding environs blaze, smolder or massacre their own - a delightful little drama ala Suez Canal is playing out.

News that Persia is sortee'ing two ships into the Med - the infamous Alvand (nee' Saam) class Missile Frigate consorted by her attendant supply consort Kharg - to allegedly dock and hang in Syria for the next year and to engage in joint training exercises.

While despotries always need external enemies to complement internal enemies - Alvand's mission does not contribute much to Persia military projection in the Med. Alvand wouldn't last very long in any naval engagement - so what up?

"It's not really about the ships. It's what are the ships carrying, what's their destination, what's the cargo on board, where is it going, to whom, for what benefit. We have ongoing concerns."

Supplying Hiz'B'Allah with missiles is hardly news - HbA has been re fully stocked since the 'tarded Rocket War of '06 - Iran has enjoyed direct flights to Beirut Internat'l (where HizB'Allah maintains a command and control presence) for years. Syria acts out as an off site strategic depth warehouse too.

Blockade runners come to mind - like the faux flotilla planning to crash the Strip during the Last Days of May, being escorted by Alvand is hardly comforting. 

Unless of course, Alvand is part of a pan Arabic/Persian Naval flotilla acting as escorts - Pyramidlander, Ottoman and Persian contingents would be a significant threat entering a legal blockade 


Pic - "Operation Praying Mantis II"

"Perfect Weapon"

Saturday WoW!

Honorable Mentions

• The Grouch – Thank You FDA!
• The Political Commentator – Lambs Being Led To Slaughter Or…
• Daily Gut - Nir Rosen Shut Up

 Council Winners

• *First place with 2 1/3 votes! – Joshuapundit--Turkish PM Erdogan Consolidates His Islamist Regime By Purging The Military
• Second place with 1 2/3 votes – Right Truth-Lies That Lead To War And Death
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Simply Jews – In Doubt About Multiculturalism
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –The Razor – The Real Problem With Libertarianism
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – VA Right – Ron Paul’s Drug Problem
• Third place with *t* 1 1/3 votes – Bookworm Room – Obama suffers an empathy failure when it comes to Israel
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Rhymes With Right – Odd, No Liberals Objected To Political Activity By This Judicial Spouse
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Noisy Room - Soros, the Youth, High Tech and the Fundamental Change that is Revolution
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Glittering Eye- From Memory
• Sixth place with 1/3 vote – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – L’Etat C’est Moi

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 votes! – Gulag Bound- Top 5 Revolutions Backed by George Soros submitted byThe Noisy Room
• Second place *t* with i 2/3 votes – Ace of Spades – Thank G-d Obama Gave That Cairo Speech, Eh?submitted bySnapped Shot
• Second place *t* with i 2/3 votes – Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion – The Muslim Brotherhood’s Five-Year Plansubmitted byThe Watcher
• Third Place with 1 1/3 votes –Wolf Howling – http://wolfhowling.blogspot.com/2011/02/battles-that-changed-history-chip-yong.html submitted by Bookworm Room
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Melanie Phillips -The Palestine Paper That Got Away submitted by Joshuapundit
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -USNI Blog -HH104, WWATMD… submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Zero Hedge – Jim Quinn -Guest Post: Grapes Of Wrath – 2011 submitted by The Razor
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Danger Room – Wired – ‘Armed Humanitarians’ Kill People Between Sips of Tea submitted by Right Truth
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Project Syndicate – The Poverty of Dictatorship submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Modernity Blog – Chomsky And The IHR submitted by Simply Jews
Sixth place *t* with 1/3 voteThe Best Defense – What can Ike and Lawrence of Arabia teach us about Army personnel policy? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Ray Gross/American Thinker – Sarah and the San Francisco Poster Wars submitted by The Watcher

See you next week!

Supreme Authority

Learn it! Live it! Love it!

"Violence is the supreme authority - from which all authority is derived"

As best understood, unarmed civilians are no match for a well motivated M60 crew - or a squad of ppl smushing panzers. 

The rowdy ex Persian province of Bahrain has certainly internalized Pharoh For Life Hosni's switcheroo unrevolutionary adventure that got him semi retired while the unchanged regime rules intact.

Don't goof off hoping for the best - use force right off the bat and avoid any conflicting signals that will only result in despots and their posse catching the last jet out of Darling Leader Internat'l Aerodrome. 

Super strategic tyrannies (horrid or benign ) that clung to in the ancient realpolitik era have a bit more leeway - they truly believe the regime can kill their ppl on the streets and indulge Great Satan with suck up rapprochement after the smoke clears, shell casings policed, bodies toted off and blood washed away.

The tiny tiny oil rich island nation - 238,300 barrels per day - is also fully stocked with Shia yet lucky enough to have the Sunni al Khalifa family as royal sovereigns.

And Bahrain is also home hood for Great Satan's 5th Fleet, a significant arsenal in Great Satan's warcraft hyperpuissance

One scenario that may be in play is that Iran has a hand in the protests and demonstrations  

"....The Arab sheikhdoms are militarily weak; there's nothing they can do to fight back. And lest we forget, Iran is the only true local power in the Gulf. If the United States were to reduce its presence in the region, Iran, without serious impediment, could intimidate the Gulf Arabs into accepting Iranian suzerainty over the Gulf's waters.

"...Worst-case scenario, this is where we end up: Bahrain would be the first Arab sheikdom to fall under Iran's control, and as Bahrain goes, so goes the Persian Gulf. With its 70 percent Shia population, gaining control of the country would only be a matter of Iran inciting its Bahraini Shia proxies to declare the end of the monarchy and then stepping in with armed force to support the new "legitimate" government.

"...The other sheikdoms, too, would not take much to topple. They are largely unpopular regimes and militarily weak. The Shah's Iran already seized three islands from the United Arab Emirates in the 1970s. A taste of what's to come? If Iran and the United States come to blows, it is almost certain that Tehran would consider a putsch to take over Dubai, not unlike the Bahrain scenario. 

 Pic - "How long can we hold on to another ugly status quo? It’s really about how bad the change will get the longer we wait."

Pakistan's New Clear Bubble

NPT!

Global 1st glancers could be forgiven for thinking at 1st glance that Land of the Pure's nation/state motto is  "Hey y'all! Watch this!" 

In addition to being the Pak in the AFPAK, Land of the Pure  is Great Satan's only client new clear Army with a nation/state attached (blinging the fastest sprouting new clear arsenal on the planet) and is a magical place where anything can happen!

Barely 69 miles away from where Pakistani Talibani film promotional girl beating vids, is an airbase where PAK Air Force is teaching girls to fly jets.

Aside from enjoying an amazingly underwhelming lit rate of 49%, Pakistan is sweetly poised to leap way ahead of Great Britain in the number of weaponry available for deployment and detonation as the world's 5th largest new clear power 

"...Pakistan's jump from an estimated 60 to 110 nuclear weapons is unlikely to shift the balance of power vis a vis India. With 60 warheads, Pakistan possessed enough weapons for a viable nuclear deterrent and second-strike capability against India or any other nation. While the jump to 110 weapons may put Pakistan's arsenal slightly ahead of India's in numerical terms, it does not increase the effectiveness of Pakistan's deterrent.

"...In fact, Pakistan's focus on nuclear buildup appears unlikely to improve the country's security in any way. While relations between Pakistan and India are far from cordial, the most immediate threats to Pakistani stability are domestic. Heavily reliant on foreign aid, Pakistan faces severe economic problems as well as an armed, extremist insurgency. 

"...Additional nuclear weapons are unlikely to help the Pakistani government solve either of these internal problems -- particularly considering the fact it's almost impossible to think of a situation in which it makes sense for a government to use nuclear weapons domestically.

"...While Pakistan cannot match the strength of India's economy or its conventional military capabilities, its nuclear arsenal provides an opportunity for Pakistan to one-up India, even if this victory provides negligible security benefits.

What ev.

Land of the Pure has a shady track record of being a hook up spot for illicit new clear chicanery ala "AQ" Khan and is prob like the hottest spot ever as "the intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism."

All the jazz about PAK Army being a somewhat stabilizing institutional element is currently suspect as Land of the Pure could enjoy a revolting revolution of her very own - one that splinters and weakens PAK Army since the gov "...disastrously bungled the recent blasphemy furor, and is struggling to deal with the case of Raymond Davis, an American official who shot two people dead on a Lahore street."

Pic - "“We want to fight America with ideology and politics, not suicide bombers and naked hatred"

Black Veil Brides (Abridged)

Ihkwan - rhymes with 'stick one.'

Just saying. In certain circles - concern for a re crunk'd up Caliphate is LOL'd. The bringer upper is often regarded as being paranoid, hot for fear mongering, loving Little Satan a little too much, m"Hammedist phobic - or worse - woefully misinformed.

Regardless of any chances that a trip on the Way Back Machine will - or will not -create a redux of Ottoman like Imperial m"Hammedism, there is a very serious - secular - concern about the Ihkwan.

Especially in Egypt.

And it should be addressed repeatedly until it's common knowledge in diplopolititary discourse au courant.

One of the charming things about Ihkwan in Pyramidland is all the jazz about all the 'hospitals' and 'clinics' they fund and run.

Try and find or search something about them - it's nigh impossible to find any specifics.

It is actually mind crawlingly creepy to add that to the mix that Egypt is the world's leader in horrific gender apartheid of the most depraved control freak mentality ever devised. Indeed - little girls from all over the AO are taken to Egypt to undergo a procedure that decorum prohibits mentioning.

So, is this the work of the Ihkwan 'clinics' and 'hospitals'? 

Pic - "The Brotherhood envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures of freedom and justice, with central Islamic values serving all Egyptians regardless of colour, creed, political trend or religion" 

Black Veil Brides

Ihkwan - rhymes with 'stick one.'

Just saying. In certain circles - concern for a re crunk'd up Caliphate is LOL'd. The bringer upper is often regarded as being paranoid, hot for fear mongering, loving Little Satan a little too much, m"Hammedist phobic - or worse - woefully misinformed.

So what?

"...Mubarak is gone. Just as Sadat is gone, and Nasser, and King Farouk, and the Brits. The Brotherhood has outlasted all of them. Time after time, it has been repressed, persecuted, driven underground, and officially banned. 

The Brotherhood survives and thrives in Egypt because its credo — “Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran is our law, jihad is our way, and dying in the way of Allah is our highest objective” — concisely speaks the sentiments of Islamic Egypt. It survives and thrives throughout the Islamic world because its Salafist ideology admonishes Muslims to take Mohammed, Islam’s warrior prophet, as their guide and to honor the principles of Islam’s founders, the “rightly guided caliphs.”

"...That is not to say all Muslims agree with the Brotherhood’s call to install strict sharia. Many don’t. It is a disagreement, though, that is perilous to voice. 

"...The Brotherhood perceives itself, and is widely perceived, as guardian of the true Islam. If you’re a Muslim, you can rationalize that the Islamists are too retrograde, too literal in their construction of doctrine. In the confines of your mind, you can admire Western thought and the place it reserves in faith for reason — an attribute on which Islam slammed shut its “gates of Ijtihad” a millennium ago. You can insist, in the silence of your conscience, that while you will take sharia as your private ethical guide, you have no interest in its public program. But you won’t say it aloud.

"...This is the quandary. If you are a Muslim, from exactly what part of the Brotherhood’s motto would you dissent? Allah obviously is your objective. Mohammed is regarded by your scriptures as the perfect human model to be emulated. Are you going to dissent from sharia, the law of Islam taken straight from the Koran and authoritative accounts of the Prophet’s words and deeds? Or from the imperative of jihad, a divine injunction the scriptures say Allah has elevated over all others?

Regardless of any chances that a trip on the Way Back Machine will - or will not -create a redux of Ottoman like Imperial m"Hammedism, there is a very serious - secular - concern about the Ihkwan.

Especially in Egypt.

And it should be addressed repeatedly until it's common knowledge in diplopolititary discourse au courant.

One of the charming things about Ihkwan in Pyramidland is all the jazz about all the 'hospitals' and 'clinics' they fund and run.

Try and find or search something about them - it's nigh impossible to find any specifics.

It is actually mind crawlingly creepy to add that to the mix that Egypt is the world's leader in horrific gender apartheid of the most depraved control freak mentality ever devised. Indeed - little girls from all over the AO are taken to Egypt to undergo a procedure that decorum prohibits mentioning.

So, is this the work of the Ihkwan 'clinics' and 'hospitals'? 

Pic - "The Brotherhood envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures of freedom and justice, with central Islamic values serving all Egyptians regardless of colour, creed, political trend or religion" 

Dissing Declinists

Decline time!

While certain elements in the rowdy, risque and often risible realm of diplopolititary declinists moan and thrash about  - cautioning tall tales of Great Satan's inevitable decline via collectivist China - one of Great Satan's premier intelligentsia drops sweet deets and thoughtful tho'ts about the future of Great Satan's benevolent hegemony.

"...American power is based on alliances rather than colonies, and it is associated with an ideology that is flexible and to which America can return even after it has overextended itself. Looking to the future, Anne-Marie Slaughter of Princeton argues that America's culture of openness and innovation will keep it central in an information age when networks supplement, if not fully replace, hierarchical power.

"...On the question of absolute rather than relative American decline, the U.S. faces serious problems in areas like debt, secondary education and political gridlock. But solutions exist. Among the possible negative futures are ones in which the U.S. overreacts to terrorist attacks by closing inwards and thus cuts itself off from the strength that it obtains from openness.

"...But there are answers to major American problems that preoccupy us today, such as long-term debt (see the recommendations of recent deficit commissions) and political gridlock (for example, changes in redistricting procedures to reduce gerrymandering). Such solutions may remain forever out of reach, but it is important to distinguish situations where there are no solutions from those that could in principle be solved.

"...America is likely to remain more powerful than any single state in the coming decades. At the same time, we will certainly face a rise in the power resources of many others - both states and nonstate actors. We will also face an increasing number of issues to which solutions will require power with others as well as power over others. Our capacity to maintain alliances and create networks will be an important dimension of our hard and soft power.

"...Rather than succumb to self-fulfilling prophecies of inevitable decline, we need a vision that combines domestic reforms with smart strategies for the international deployment of our power in an information age.

Pic - "When the Chinese demanded that the Farragut leave, and trained their guns on the Stars and Stripes, Pacific Command called the White House" 

L'Etat C'est Moi

"L'Etat C'est Moi" - an ancient Canadian phrase roughly meaning "hey ya'll - look - I AM the state" is a very nice way for absolute rulers to say that whatever they say goes.

Louis XIV, der Fuhrer, Dear Leader, Saudi King, Supreme Leader, even Vlad, have all espoused despotic designer ala prose and made it perfectly clear who is large and in charge. 

Sometimes this a momentary mindset in personal relations too.

Yet not on St. Valentines Day! It's all about reaching out - dialogue, negotiations, alliances and relationships.

Is there anything that Internat'l Relations and theories can add to the mix?

Heck yeah!

"To begin with, any romantic partnership is essentially an alliance, and alliances are a core concept on international relations. Alliances bring many benefits to the members (or else why would we form them?) but as we also know, they sometimes reflect irrational passions and inevitably limit each member's autonomy. Many IR theorists believe that institutionalizing an alliance makes it more effective and enduring, but that’s also why making a relationship more formal is a significant step that needs to be carefully considered.

And then the two of you might also decide to mobilize combined resources and grow a collectivist co op and alliance network. Like sweet precious little babies.

When that happens - the opportunities to learn another set of IR theories and concepts like sanctions, coercive diplomacy, deterrence, pre emption, preventive war and regime change are totally unbound!

Yet that is a whole 'nother essay from a whole 'nother source!

Any wrought - know what all happens after Valentine's Day?

That's right - Valentine's Night!

Over 230K hits in one year from all my sweethearts -

Happy St Valentine's Day Y'all!

MwAh!

Pic - "Would you hold it against me?"

Hot! Exports!

Amraam!

One of the multitude of cool things about being the only global hyper puissant (the only one of her kind - ever!) is - everybody wants your goodies de guerre!

And Great Satan's Warcraft moderne bling bling is simply - the. Best. Hottest. Ever, mon frer!   


"....The countries with the biggest appetite for U.S. weapons are, conveniently, the same ones that have the money to buy them: oil-rich nations in the Middle East. Nearly 50% of foreign military sales signed between 2006 and 2009 were with Middle Eastern countries, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Oh, it gets better!

"...Stepping up -- or "burden sharing," as military types like to call it -- is the theory that arming allies with U.S. weapons will lighten the load for U.S. troops. There is a belief in the region that the U.S. is gradually disengaging (yeah let's just see how well that works out).

Also check the hottest weaponry and deals   

Pic - "Great Satan must endeavor that no near field competitor emerges" 

Weekend WoW

Honorable Mentions

• Boker Tov Boulder – Moslem ‘Authorities’ Dug up Temple Mount “to Erase Traces of Jewish Altar”
• The Political Commentator – Financial Derivatives Explained As Only A Bartender Can!
• Small Wars Journal – Realism, Idealism, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Islamic World

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes! – Rhymes With Right--A Message To The CPAC Boycotters
• Second place with 2 1/3 votes – Joshuapundit-Is Egypt The Next Iran?
• Third place with 1 2/3 votes – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Hyper Puissant
• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – The Noisy Room – Obama’s Pal George Soros And The Fall Of Egypt
• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Right Truth – Irreconcilable Differences
• Fifth place with 1 vote -Bookworm Room-Defining our terms when we speak about Egypt
• Sixth place with 2/3 vote -The Razor- Lost Friendship
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – Colossus of Rhodey – “Cap” movie poster
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Glittering Eye – How Much Did the Stimulus Stimulate?
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – Snapped Shot – Egypt In A Nutshell
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right – Republican Victory in November Leads to Lower Unemployment – Now at 9%

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 3 1/3 votes! – Foreign Affairs- Egypt’s Democratic Mirage submitted bySimply Jews
• Second place with i 2/3 votes – Ann Althouse – Professor Tribe would like you to know how nonpartisan the Supreme Court Justices are … I mean, will be, when they decide the individual mandate question the way he would like. submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Third Place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –The Radio Patriot – Bill Kristol, Rich Lowry and Joe Klein Gang Up on Glenn Beck submitted by The Noisy Room
• strong> Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Victor Davis Hanson – Clueless In Cairo submitted by The The Watcher
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 vote -Iowahawk – Stay Hungry For Learning submitted by Joshuapundit
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Atlas Shrugs -Virginia Military Institute Infiltrated by Islamic Supremacists submitted by Snapped Shot
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Commentary -Beck’s Fevered Mind submitted by Bookworm Room
• Fifth place with 2/3 vote -Daled Amos – Dear Washington Post: The Muslim Brotherhood Is NOT Your Father’s YMCA submitted by The Watcher
• Sixth place with 1/3 vote -UN-PC in the USA – Liberal “Logic” on Guns submitted by The Razor

See you next week!

End Of Despotry

Quiz time!

Not to get all Fukuyama on ya (look how well that turned out!) yet the tingly feeling that assorted despotries (horrid or benign) are at the end of their collective lifespans in nation/state history pops up.

"...Why have the Arabs not raged before as they do now—why has there not been this avalanche of anger that we have witnessed in Tunisia and in Egypt? Why did the Arabs not rage last year, or the year before that, or in the last decades? 

"...An answer, one that makes the blood go cold, is Hama.

Whoa! Talk about a counter insurgency! When Syria's au courant despot's father was despot - Syria's General President For Life Hafiz al Assad reaction to a co op of rowdy Ikwhan, m"Hammedist Brohood cats and mercantile class at Hama made Waffen Ss Das Reich's  merciless bloody orgy at Oradour-sur-Glane seem tame, tempered and thoughtful.

Besieged by 12k troops - fighting in Hama lasted for 27 days - the first week "in regaining control of the town," and the last two "in hunting down the insurgents."

Syria's Air Force (this was back when Syria had one) bombed and strafed the city, ringed by at least two artillery brigades that fired non stop for days - blasting entry points in the ancient town to accommodate panzers and mechanized troops - huge bits of the city were destroyed with wicked rumours of Syrian truppen deploying WMD ala cyanide gas. 

Syria's ruling Ba'Ath Party scored big - crushing the upstart uprisers and racking up a literally killer score - killing 30,000 or 40,000 of Hama's homies - "...in addition to the 15,000 missing who have not been found to this day, and the 100,000 expelled."

"...Hama became a code word for the terror that awaited those who dared challenge the men in power. It sent forth a message in Syria, and to other Arab lands, that the tumultuous ways of street politics and demonstrations and intermittent military seizures of power had drawn to a close. Assad would die in his bed nearly two decades later, bequeathing power to his son. Tyranny and state terror had yielded huge dynastic dividends.

"...So three despots have fallen: Saddam Hussein in 2003, Ben Ali, and, to all intents, Hosni Mubarak. Saddam’s regime had of course been decapitated by American arms. Ben Ali and Mubarak have been brought to account by their own populations. 

"...This revolt is an Arab affair through and through. It caught the Pax Americana by surprise; no one in Tunis and Cairo and beyond was waiting on a green light from Washington. The Arab liberals were quick to read Barack Obama, and they gave up on him. They saw his comfort with the autocracies, his eagerness to “engage” and conciliate the dictators.

"...From afar, the “realists” tell the Arabs that they are playing with fire, that beyond the prison walls there is danger and chaos. Luckily for them, the Arabs pay no heed to these realists, and can recognize the “soft bigotry of low expectations” that animates them. Arabs have quit railing against powers beyond and infidels and foreign conspiracies. For now they are out making and claiming their own history.

Pic - "5 Threats To Arab Tyrants"