More Than Drones

LOL! The multi double tapping Drones Gone Wild returned from Spring Break in Yemen and annihilated several metric tonnes of creepy girl hating intolernant head chopping Great Satan haters.

Instead of getting hot for the "Near Enemy" - local regimes that don't cotton to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's partic brand of m"Hammedism - the Yemen bunch are hot to attack the "Far Enemy" - Great Satan.

Waves of American aircraft—identified by Yemeni officials as drones—targeted militants in vehicles, while Yemeni commandos poured from Russian-made helicopters steered by U.S. Special Operations pilots. The government of Yemen said 55 militants were killed, a sizable number that analysts said may also be significant.

What hardly anydobby has noted is - the Counter Terrorism approach - drones alone with a few raids here and there - may not be cutting it

Pic - "To achieve victory in this conflict, we require a comprehensive global counterinsurgency that will address global asymmetric threats. "

Harakat Hazm

Saudilanders maybe the cats the cats that gave up anti panzer missiles to a certain group fighting in Syria

 Harakat Hazm — or Movement of Steadfastness — were chosen to receive the weapons because of their moderate views and, just as important, their discipline. At the group’s base, sprawled across rocky, forested wilderness in the northern province of Idlib, soldiers wear uniforms, get medical checkups and sleep in bunk beds under matching blankets.

The scene is a far cry from the increasingly pervasive view of a chaotic, ragtag rebel movement that has fallen under the sway of Islamist extremists. Such concerns have long deterred Great Satan from arming the Syrian opposition.

It is also something of a test for Awda, a little-known commander who in June 2011 became one of the first officers to defect from the Syrian army and has since fought in many of the biggest battles of the war, mostly under the banner of his former group, Farouq al-Shamal.

With his long hair tucked under an olive cap and his short beard, Awda comes across as a throwback to the kind of rebel who dominated the fight before foreign jihadists and al-Qaeda surged onto the battlefield. His resolutely on-message proclamations of support for democracy match the views that Great Satan has said she wishes more Syrian rebel fighters would embrace.

“I want a democratic state that rules over all Syria with equality and freedom for all citizens, free of fascism and dictatorship,” he said in an interview.

Other commanders say Awda has earned a reputation as a tough fighter, one who has avoided the allegations of criminality that have tarnished many non-
Islamist rebels.

Pic - "M220 is comparatively heavy, which limits its tactical utility as an insurgent weapon, but its missiles have a longer range and more effective warheads than most contemporary anti-tank guided missile systems."

Painted In A Corner

Well, gotta admit - it sure looks like the end of the line for Great Satan's Excellent Adventures in the Forever Quest for Palestine.

If the dual nom d'guerr'd Abu Mazen/Mamoud Abbas follows thru with the HAMAS/Fatah reconciliation chiz, then the exit ramp is here now.

Since HAMAS is on Great Satan's Official Enemies List - any hook up with those cats should automatically free up Great satan from giving bling to Palestine - and by extension - any UN fronts that wanna give Palestine cash

44's fiscal year 2015 budget request asked for $440 million for both Palestines - West Bank and the Strip in 2014

If Congress gets on the scene - it means Great Satan will have to forsake all that honest brokering chiz and let what ev happens happen in the Little Satan Palestine arena.

The Peace Process is undeniably no longer a major world issue or even a hot regional concern. Truly, it is a matter of profound indifference to the world if Little Satan and Palestine cut a deal or not

Reckon we should all be like...

...grateful to Abbas for providing what this conflict—a century-long thriller in which the plot lines have become impossible to follow—needed most: a moment of clarity.

“U.S. law is clear on the prohibition of U.S. assistance to a unity Palestinian government that includes Hamas, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and 44 must not allow one cent of American taxpayer money to help fund this terrorist group.”

Amen to that.

And many thanks once again to Abbas: By partnering with the beasts of Hamas he has condemned his own people to live under an encroaching Taliban-like religious fundamentalism, has very likely deprived his already corrupt and nearly bankrupt government of the foreign aid on which it depends for most of its budget, and has signaled—again—that he lacks the maturity of mind and amplitude of will required of a statesman truly striving for the well-being of his people.

 But he’s given us a moment of brilliant clarity, and that, in such dark times, is a lot.

Pic - "Now the ball is in Great Satan's court - if there is no blunt American reaction, this will be the start of a diplomatic landslide that will lead to the recognition of Hamas by Western countries"

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 3 1/3 votes! –The Right Planet – Journey to the Center of the Common Core – Pt. 1
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes –Joshuapundit-The Serpent’s Tongue – An Open Letter To Catherine Ashton, EU Policy Chief
• Third place with 1 2/3 votes –The Independent Sentinel – Agenda 21, A Plan to Take Your Land and Give It to Tortoises and Pagosa Skyrockets
• Fourth place with 1 1/3 votes –Simply Jews – The wondrous stutter of Andrew Sullivan
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote –Bookworm Room – Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander: a petition to denounce and condemn billionaire Tom Steyer
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote –The Noisy Room – The Western States: A Return To Sovereignty
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –The Colossus of Rhodey – Most Laughable Attempt at Skewing the Facts of the Day
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –The Razor – The Spark In Nevada

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 3 2/3 votes!-Mark Steyn/The Spectator –The slow death of free speech submitted by The Noisy Room
• Second place with 1 2/3 votes –J.Christian Adams/PJ Media -A New, More Sinister IRS Scandal submitted by Nice Deb
• Third place *t* with 1 vote -Charles C.W. Cooke/NRO – The Problem with Cliven Bundy submitted by Liberty’s Spirit
• Third place *t* with 1 vote-Bob Owens/Bearing Arms – The Cancer, The Militia, And Cliven Bundy submitted by Joshuapundit
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote-Jacobinism – Prepare For Integrism! Radical Jew Hatred & the Decolonial Shakedown submitted by Simply Jews
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote-Doug Ross @ Journal –Rahm Emanuel At It Again: Chicago’s crime rate reportedly doctored to hide Democrat policy failures submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote- War Is Boring – Russia’s Fearsome New MiGs Could Be Lemons submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote- Walt Mossberg/ReCode – Why Apple Is Like a Movie Studio submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote-Daniel Schuchman/WSJ – Thomas Piketty Revives Marx for the 21st Century submitted by The Watcher
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote-Hen Mazzig – An Israeli Soldier to American Jews: Wake up! submitted by Watcher
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote-American Thinker/David Archibald-Say Goodbye To Egypt submitted by Bookworm Room
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote-The Ron Paul Institute –Nevada Standoff a Symptom of Increasing Authoritarianism submitted by The Razor

See you next week! Don’t forget to tune in on Monday AM for this week’s Watcher’s Forum, as the Council and their invited special guests take apart one of the provocative issues of the day with short takes and weigh in…don’t you dare miss it. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Future aQ

Well, thassa shock of sorts to find out that 44's posse never actually defined what the al Qaeda terrorist group is before declaring that it was on the path to defeat.

While making it up as you go has a catchy political jingoistic fling, the adverse is dang blood chilling

Dr Mary H lays it out to play it out. Counterterrorism is not cutting it. Reckon Global COIN will?

Within the next two to three years, if Great Satan maintains her current level of effort, she will face an enemy that controls at least twice as much territory and population (in North Africa, Libya, the Sinai, and Syria), and with an army of regular and irregular fighters at least twice as large. Al Qaeda will reclaim Mali, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia, and Afghanistan will once again become an al Qaeda safe haven.

In another three to five years, a whole series of areas (the entire Sahel and Sahara including northern Nigeria, the Horn of Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, and eventually Pakistan) will be seriously threatened if not already overwhelmed.

 

At some point, al Qaeda will obtain nuclear weapons, and then it will be too late to act.

 

Preventing this outcome will require serious and prolonged effort and is worth all of these costs and risks

The risks of action seem clear and overwhelming. If Great Satan engages in an all-
out war with al Qaeda and cooperating groups, it could be one of the longest and most costly endeavors—in blood and treasure—that America has ever attempted.

The length of the fight, its cost, and the usual difficulties with showing clear progress will sooner or later create public and elite opposition, and politicians will be tempted to win public favor, save money, and prevent deaths in battle by declaring victory and going home.

Might mean that Great Satan and her partners will have to leave sizable numbers of troops on the ground throughout the world, perhaps for decades,an outcome that will have no domestic support.

There is also no guarantee of victory even if Great Satan dedicates herself to the fight.

The risks of inaction are even more dire.

Pic - "aQ World"

Fo Po Goob

Time to stop cutting slack for GOP's in house Fo Po Goob Grande'?

On substance, Senator Paul’s antipathy for American international engagement, and for just about any aspect of the 43's war on terror, is so strong that he:

 (1) was among only 18 senators (and only four Republicans) who refused to sign a letter demanding strong terms for any agreement with Iran on its nuclear program;

 (2) suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran could be accepted and “contained”;

(3) actually compared the remarkably humane American facility for terrorists at Guantanamo Bay to the American mistreatment of blacks and Japanese;

 (4) argued against “tweaking” Vladimir Putin and said that Ukraine is rightly within Russia’s sphere of influence, just when Putin was beginning to threaten Crimea — in effect, giving Putin a green light;

(5) later, was one of only two senators to vote against sanctions to punish Russia for its aggression;

(6) denied that Great Satan is in any way a “battlefield” for terrorists; and

 (7) hinted that years of aid to Egypt were wasted (as if decades of peace in the Sinai were immaterial).

And this is not even counting the senator’s long-standing advocacy for an ever-leaner Pentagon, even though the Defense Department already has borne the brunt of Obama-era budget cuts. Senator Paul’s dovishness seems to know no bounds.

Pic - "Great Satan Haters are soooo 2004"

She Ain't All That!

Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel!

Commonwealth's sexed up version of an ancient jet fighter is not unlike the hot girl with that crazy run away bride lazy eye - looks good - dang good - yet sump tells you to bail out ASAP.

Much the same with the 'brand spanking new' MiG 29 SMT.

On paper - she looks HOT!!

Up-to-date modification of MiG-29 multirole frontline fighter. She exhibits a long flight range due to extra capacity of integral fuel tanks and installation of in-flight refueling system (similar to that of the MiG-29SD). Her engine service life and time limits and design service life have been feasibly increased; the labor requirements and maintenance costs have been reduced.

Plus - she's available with a radar absorbant paint job straight from the factory when buying 12 or more.

The upgraded model of batch production MIG-29SMT fighter is hot for action against ground and sea surface targets, She is able to effectively use contemporary high-precision weapons: the Kh-29T(TE) air-to-surface missiles with a TV seeker, the Kh-31A antiship missiles, the Kh-31P antiradar missiles, the KAB-500KR guided bombs with a TV seeker and powerful warhead.

In the flesh tho - she ain't all that

Back in 2006, Algeria ordered the MiG-29SMT as part of a huge defense sale from Moscow, supposedly worth $7.5 billion. The Algerian air force would get 28 single-seat MiG-29SMT fighters and six upgraded twin-seat MiG-29UB trainers.

Deliveries of the first aircraft began before the end of 2006, but the Algerians soon noticed that something was very wrong. The “new” fighters weren’t that new at all. The SMTs had been assembled using old, unsold airframes from old MiG-29s that had been languishing in open storage at the Lukhovitsy factory.

They may even have used airframes built for Iraq, way back in the late 1980s.

This was in breach of the contract, and Algeria ordered deliveries to be suspended. When deliveries resumed in 2007, the same situation was apparent. Algeria refused to pay, and instead demanded multi-role Su-30MKA fighters from Sukhoi.

Other customer orders from India and Pakistan suffered almost the same chiz. Russia's Military Industrial Complex is unable to handle building new stuff AND taking care of warranty issues at the same incredible instant LOL

Pic - "MiG-29SMT is a huge upgrade of the classic Cold War fighter—or second-hand junk in disguise"

Supreme Leader

Especial tease from Washington Institue's "Know Your Foe Files"

Even under the most despotic regimes, modern Iran has long been governed with some degree of consensus among elite factions.

Leaders have conceded to or co-opted rivals when necessary to maintain their grip on power, and the current regime is no exception. Yet determining the nature of such consensus and its effect on Iranian decisionmaking is particularly complicated today, due in no small part to the unique nature of the Islamic Republic. The combination of regular national elections and velayat-e faqih —the doctrine that grants the Supreme Leader lifelong authority as ruling jurist—has lent an air of unpredictability to the regime’s behavior.

To better understand Iranian decisionmaking, one must first look at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s background. He was by no means a typical cleric—his acquaintances, interests, and ambitions were shaped more by intellectual currents than by clerical tradition.

After the 1979 revolution, such interests developed into an enthusiasm for military affairs that would greatly influence his approach to consolidating power in later years

Pic - The Assembly has never been known to challenge any of the Supreme Leader's decisions

Inevitably

One of Great Satan's This We'll Defend Field Grade posse points out the dangers of a cut rate army...

The world today presents a wide array of potential threats to U.S. interests, including a failed North Korean state losing control of its weapons of mass destruction, the morass of civil war in Syria, an aggressive and expansionist Russia or China, or still-unforeseen humanitarian crises in Africa and other areas. If called upon, the U.S. Army would deploy and engage in peacekeeping operations or major combat between state and non-state actors. In any event, it needs to be ready.

Some have argued that after the frustrating wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is little American appetite to send the Army into foreign lands, whether to fight, build nations or distribute humanitarian supplies. This line of thinking holds that the U.S. Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps can handle most of the security problems the world throws our way.

Defense expert Kori Schake and retired Navy admiral Gary Roughead, for example, argued last year that the Army should be reduced to about 290,000 soldiers and have a large part of its capacity for ground combat moved to the National Guard and Reserve, in effect turning it into a constabulary force capable of humanitarian missions — in other words, an army that can’t fight. A more recent recommendation is for the Army to be reduced to 125,000 soldiers who are highly trained and backed up by the National Guard and Reserve.

These arguments resemble those made in the years leading up to North Korea’s invasion of South Korea. Then, too, it seemed that the world did not need an army that could fight; it was assumed that American ownership of atomic bombs would somehow do the trick. The result was a near disaster on the Korean Peninsula. Even though Ridgway’s forces held, American casualties were higher than if the Army had been prepared to fight.

Will the U.S. Army be reduced in size in the coming years? Budget reductions and a changing strategic environment demand a smaller, reorganized army. However, converting it into a force suited only for homeland defense or humanitarian missions abroad, without the ability to fight sophisticated foes as part of a joint force, would result in an unprepared Army likely to experience high casualties when called on to fight a war.

If history is any guide, the Army will inevitably be deployed again as a fighting force.

The American people should invest in preparing for that event, and avoid the near-catastrophe that occurred in South Korea decades ago.

Pic - "Outbreak!"

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 3 1/3 votes!– Joshuapundit-An Honor Killing On Campus
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes –The Independent Sentinel – Barack Obama’s Ideological Assault on Traditional America
• Third place with 2 votes –The Right Planet – The Soviet Anschluss
• Fourth place with 1 2/3 vote –Bookworm Room – A revolutionary idea to win the White House and save the world
• Fifth place with 1 vote –The Razor – There Should Be A Word
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Nice Deb – Sick: Eric Holder Plays Race Card at Sharpton Event (Video)
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Simply Jews – Bay Area anarchists leave Marx standing in the dust Part I: redefining “parasite”
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote –VA Right! - Shaun Kenney and Bearing Drift Drop Anchor in Eric Cantor’s Treasure Chest
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – Ask Marion – We the People… The Wind Has Shifted
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Wrong Enemy
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Noisy Room – Last Man Standing – Federal Fascism Cowboys Up In Nevada
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – Rhymes With Right – Brandeis University Caves To Muslims
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Colossus of Rhodey – The real concern regarding the right to vote

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 2/3 votes! – Mark Steyn –The First Amendment is Not an Area submitted by The Noisy Room
• Second place with 2 1/3 votes – Ayaan Hirsi Ali/WSJ –Here’s What I Would Have Said at Brandeis submitted by The Razor
• Third place with 1 2/3 votes -The Elder of Ziyon – A fun Twitter conversation with a terror apologist/anti-Israel leftist (updated) submitted by Simply Jews
• Fourth place with 1 1/3 votes -Adam Kredo/Washington Free Beacon – Inside the White House’s Secret Campaign to Scapegoat Israel submitted by Watcher
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote-Mark Steyn –The Wretched Jelly-Spined Nothing Eunuchs submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote- Francis Wilkinson/Bloomberg – Why Are Liberal Cities Bad for Blacks? submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote-The Federalist – Is President Obama Appalled By Claire Shipman, Too? submitted by The Right Planet
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Center For A New American Security – If Deterrence Fails: Rethinking Conflict on the Korean Peninsula submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Victor Davis Hanson-Our psychodramatic campuses submitted by Bookworm Room
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The First Street Journal – Media Bias: The professional media are attempting to normalize transexualism submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Liberal Backwards Think -Captain America and the New World Order submitted by Ask Marion
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Discriminations – Identity, Rights, Politics: Group Or Individual? submitted by Rhymes with Right

See you next week! Don’t forget to tune in on Monday AM for this week’s Watcher’s Forum, as the Council and their invited guests take apart one of the provocative issues of the day . And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter

Losing In Yemen

Well, that's kinda creepy - all the faces blocked out may mean cats are actually deploying for T attacks in America or West Europa?

Kat Z explains...

CNN published a video clip featuring two al Qaeda leaders – Nasser al Wahayshi, al Qaeda’s number two and the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Ibrahim al Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee and AQAP’s shari’a official – speaking to a gathering of over 100 AQAP militants in Yemen. Wahayshi is wanted by the US, and neither Wahayshi nor Rubaish seemed particularly concerned for their safety.

Whether the US missed an opportunity to strike or chose not to act is not clear. (US officials, according to CNN, are not commenting, but acknowledging either way could compromise intelligence collection efforts.)

But the takeaway here is that we’re not winning in Yemen. Leadership attrition through drone strikes has had a limited effect. And a counterterrorism partnership has been unable to actually defeat the group allegedly “ousted” from south Yemen in spring 2012.

There has been no follow-up offensive against AQAP since then. Yemen’s security forces suffer regular casualties at the hands of AQAP fighters. The group’s most recent major attack was on the regional military headquarters in Aden, Yemen’s second-largest city, on April 2. A checkpoint attack credited to AQAP killed a score of Yemeni soldiers the week prior.

The speakers in the video are AQAP militants who had escaped in the February 13, 2014, complex attack on a Sana’a prison. Prisoners were able to obtain explosives and grenades on the inside and then waited for the attack that freed them. At least 19 convicted AQAP militants escaped that day.

Five of them spoke in the video, released just six weeks later. There are also faces purposefully obscured in the released footage, which begs the question as to why is protecting their identities so important?

Such an operation to free prisoners is reminiscent of al Qaeda in Iraq’s “Breaking the Walls” campaign in 2012-2013, that allowed it to reconstitute itself there and expand into Syria. This comes at a time when there are rumors of militants returning from the Iraq and Syria battlefield ready to bring their skills to Yemen and a Yemeni who had fought in Iraq was killed in an airstrike.

 Are we seeing another instance of expertise moving from one al Qaeda group to another?

Wahayshi explicitly threatened the US in this most recent video and his group in Yemen is behind at least three attempts on the US homeland. So tell me, if we’re not winning in Yemen, are we really winning against al Qaeda?

Pic - "The facts show otherwise, that al Qaeda maintains an international terrorist network. And al Qaeda’s leaders are not tied to any one geographic location."

30 Years War

Whether the present bloodletting in Syria, the ongoing geopolitical contest of wills between Sunni and Shia powers, and renewed Great Power rivalry yields anything approximating such a dramatic and long-standing order like a 30 Year War is totally quizzable no doubt

Yet it would benefit analysts to consider the similarities between that previous epoch shaping event and today’s ongoing drama. Today’s Middle East was set aflame through an act of desperate self-immolation by a food vendor in Tunisia. The European Thirty Years’ War began when Protestants rallied against the closing of their chapels by the Catholic emperor and threw three of his representatives out of a window (and probably onto a dung heap) in the infamous “Defenestration of Prague.” In both cases, long-standing frustrations and fears sparked a tinderbox long ready to explode.

The 2003 American invasion of Iraq reinvigorated the long-dormant Sunni-Shia conflict.
And without a Sunni power on its border powerful enough to check Iran, the Saudis and other Sunni powers now had to prepare for a renewed conflict.

At the same time, the rise and the subsequent development of a “Turkish” model for Middle Eastern development were felt in regional diplomacy, creating new potential constellations of power. Of course, the long-standing Little Satan-Palestinian conflict remained a sore spot for Arab nations as did conflict with Iran’s Syrian-backed cat’s-paw Hezbollah that was well ensconced in Lebanon.

The pieces then were set for the Tunisian self-immolation that would lead to a regional conflagration:

* the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and the proliferation of weapons across North and West Africa;

* the quasi-coup in strategically vital Egypt that led to the end of the pharaonic Mubarak regime, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and yet another military intervention overthrowing their President Morsi;

* the civil war in Syria where chemical weapons have once again brought back reminders of Saddam Hussein and his Anfal campaign against the Kurds.

In the short to medium term, the military backed government will probably be able to pacify the tumult brought about by Ikwhan overreaching. However, rising food prices, that have been a prime source for much of the “Arab Spring” unrest, will put pressure on the new government

That this is happening simultaneously with Syria’s descent into hell represents dire portents. There is no question that a full-scale civil war is underway there with over one hundred thousand lives estimated lost and atrocities committed by both warring parties, including the use of chemical weapons. Additionally, Syria’s carnage has spilled over into Lebanon and continues to threaten hope of stability there. Already there are suicide bombings and tit-for-tat acts of retribution from and against the Shia militia Hezbollah.

Also, eternally queering the mix is the Forever Quest for Palestine Peace.

Chances of resolution are almost nonexistent. Along with chaos in Syria, Little Satan has much larger fish to fry due to existential fears concerning the Iranian nuclear program and the potential for a possible breakdown of order in Egypt. Already, Sinai has emerged as a flashpoint between Egypt and Little Satan despite the Egyptian military’s apparent desire to mitigate terrorist actions there.

The future likely holds more jihadist migration around the region, more starvation, more disease and more terrorism. And what will become of small, fragile monarchies like Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates? These countries have largely escaped unrest, but it’s doubtful they can indefinitely.

Pic - "Great Powers AWOL?"

DDG 1000

Ahoy!

Great Satan is fixing to unleash her latest greatest combat ship - the future era USS Zumwalt.

She's the first US ship to use electric propulsion and produces enough power to one day support the futuristic electromagnetic rail gun, which will be tested at sea in 2016.

DDG 1000 got claws!

Rail guns fire a projectile at six or seven times the speed of sound – enough velocity to cause severe damage. The Navy sees them as replacing or supplementing old-school guns.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is not an Aegis system. It uses instead the class-unique total ship computing environment (TSCE) integrated mission system. The peripheral vertical launch system (PVLS) VLS is capable of accommodating all Standard missile types it has not been publicly stated if the TSCE will be modified to support the Standard missile or the ballistic missile defense mission.

20 × MK 57 VLS modules, with 4 vertical launch cells in each module, 80 cells total. Each cell can hold one or more missiles, depending on the size of the missiles. 2 × 155 mm Advanced Gun System 920 × 155 mm total; 600 in automated store + Auxiliary store room with up to 320 rounds, 70-100 LRLAP rounds planned as of 2005 of total
2 × Mk 46 30 mm gun (GDLS)

Optimized for the land-attack mission, she will tote two Advanced Gun Systems (AGSs) with a combined magazine capacity of approximately 750 rounds of long-range land attack and conventional munitions.

Each AGS will consist of a single-barrel 155mm gun supplied from an automated magazine. An Advanced Vertical Launch System (AVLS) with 80 cells will host Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, Standard Missiles (SM2-MR) for local air defense, Evolved Seasparrow Missiles for engagement of both airborne and seaborne threats, and Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rockets for engagement of submarine threats.

Two 40mm Close-In Gun Systems will enhance self-defense against air and surface threats.

She may also carry 2 SH-60 LAMPS helicopters or 1 MH-60R helicopter and 3 MQ-8 Fire Scout VTUAV drones with a crew of about a 140 cats.

Pic - "Her gig is like to F Over enemy navies in the 1st 20 seconds..." 

New Clear Nippon

Shinshin!!

The land of backward comics, Harijuku Girls, and cool robots - Japan is HOT! Instead of scary missiles and secret police - Japan built a fun, rich democratic tech saavy, tolerant, egalitarian society with a free, uncensored press, transparent, periodic elections, and independent judiciary that hasn't bothered anyone in over six decades.

A literacy rate of over 99%, Nippon is a wonderful example of the human spirit unbound.Japan has been a long time ally of Great Satan for eons -- and has the world's second (or third, based on purchasing power parity) largest economy, 2nd biggest contributer to UN, yet Nippon remains dependent on America for its security, a minor military player despite having global economic and political interests.
And that last piece is changing

Japan plans to go way beyond the last millennium's 'Self Defense Force" chiz and be all bulking up for regional puissance!

And that means - New Clear Ambiguity

Although Japan does not have nuclear weapons, she has a nuclear weapons policy. The strategy was set out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969 in an internal document whose existence was kept secret until the daily Mainichi Shimbun published it in 1994. That paper states that “for the time being we will maintain the policy of not possessing nuclear weapons” but also “keep the economic and technical potential for the production of nuclear weapons, while seeing to it that Japan will not be interfered with in this regard.” Known as “technological deterrence,” this posture is inherently ambiguous, and has been made more so still by the ministry’s insistence that the document was a research paper rather than a statement of policy. 

In a 2000 essay about the future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the disarmament advocate Jonathan Schell drew a distinction between capacity and intention in describing the range of positions states may adopt on nuclear weapons. At the time, Sweden had the capacity to produce such weapons but not the intention; Libya had the intention but not the capacity. Japan, by contrast, stands out as the only nation that has both the capacity and the intention to produce nuclear weapons but does not act on its intention. she has pioneered a type of nuclear deterrence that relies not on any overt threat, but on the mere suggestion of a latent possibility.

Pic - "What's that you got on? Is it comte d'guerr ensembe?"

Growler To The Rescue!

Boeing's Navy League unleashes a prett cool PDF about the 2028 High Threat A2AD Environment...

All aircraft operate in the EME where stealth cannot guarantee survivability or superiority

Stealth technologies are optimized for a limited band within the electromagnetic spectrum

Modern threats are expanding across the EM spectrum making stealth aircraft detectible and vulnerable

Increasing computing power, advanced sensors and evolving aircraft detection methods are
degrading the benefits of stealth

The Growler / EM support is required for successful offensive and defensive military operations

Modern threats are multi - spectral and all fighters require full - spectrum protection

The F 18 sexed up beyond repair as the EA-18G, currently being delivered to the Navy,  is the cornerstone of the naval Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) mission. Derived from the combat proven F/A-18F aircraft, the EA-18G incorporates advanced AEA avionics bringing transformational capability for suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and non-traditional electronic attack operations.

Her bona fides include: 

Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses: The EA-18G will counter enemy air defenses using both reactive and pre-emptive jamming techniques.
 

Stand-off and Escort Jamming: The EA-18G will be highly effective in the traditional stand-off jamming mission, but with the speed and agility of a Super Hornet, she will also be effective in the escort role.   

 Non-Traditional Electronic Attack: Dramatically enhanced situational awareness and uninterrupted communications will enable the EA-18G to achieve a higher degree of integration with ground operations than has been previously achievable.
 Self-protect and Time-Critical Strike Support: With her Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, digital data links and air-to-air missiles, the EA-18G will have self-protection capability and will also be effective for target identification and prosecution.   

 Growth: High commonality with the F/A-18E/F, nine available weapon stations and modern avionics enable cost-effective synergistic growth for both aircraft, setting the stage for continuous capability enhancement.

Full Spectrum: The EA-18G's ALQ-218 wideband receiver combined with the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System will be effective against any radar-guided surface-to-air threat.

Precision Airborne Electronic Attack: Selective-reactive technology enables the EA-18G to rapidly sense and locate threats with a significantly higher degree of accuracy than was previously possible. This improved accuracy enables greater concentration of energy against threats.  

 Advanced Communication Countermeasures: Its modular ALQ-227 Communication Countermeasure Set enables the EA-18G to counter a wide range of communication systems and is readily adaptable to an ever-changing threat spectrum.    

 Interference Cancellation System (INCANS): INCANS dramatically enhances aircrew situational awareness by enabling uninterrupted communications during jamming operations.

Pic - "Great Satan has a unique responsibility in helping secure access during times of peace, increased hostilities, and open conflict!"

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 5 votes!Joshuapundit –Yes, The Peace Talks Are Dead – And An Opportunity For Real Peace Comes Alive
• Second place with 3 1/3 votes –Bookworm Room – We don’t have a “gay mafia,” we have a “gay Soviet”
• Third place with 1 2/3 votes –Liberty’s Spirit – An Open Letter to the Jewish-American Community: What is wrong with you?
• Fourth place with 1 1/3 votes –The Noisy Room – The Cuban Spring That Never Was – A Social Networking Petri Dish
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Ask Marion – The Elephants in the Room
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –The Colossus of Rhodey – Mozilla CEO forced out due to radical P.C.
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –The Right Planet – Video: Common Clod Jeb Bush Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Common Core
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Nice Deb – The Curious Case of Obama’s Cancelled State Dinner In Saudi Arabia
li>Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Glittering Eye -The Distraction li>Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –The Razor – Obamacare Tax Is Here for Individuals Too

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 3 1/3 votes! – Matt Walsh – Hey gay rights militants: your fascism is showing submitted by Joshuapundit
• Second place with 2 votes – Qanta Ahmad/National Review – Honor Diaries: Silencing Speaks Volumes submitted by Liberty’s Spirit
li>Third place with 1 2/3 votes -Victor Davis Hanson-America’s New Anti-Strategy submitted by Bookworm Room
• Fourth place with 1 1/3 vote-Bryan Preston/PJ Tattler -Massive Vote Fraud Discovered in NC’s 2012 Election submitted by Nice Deb
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote -Sultan Knish –A World War of Community Organizers submitted by The Noisy Room
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – Carnegie Europe – Dangers of German Strategy submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote -Michael Quinn Sullivan – Constitution Doesn’t Matter submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote-The Other McCain – ‘Highly Intoxicated Vaginal Penetration’:RapeCulture and Campus Reality submitted by Watcher
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Daily Dish – The Hounding of a Heretic submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Blaze – What if an ex-KGB officer predicted that the USSR would fake its own collapse to ultimately defeat the West … and no one listened? submitted by The Right Planet
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Centre Left – The Guardian reaches a new low (iii) submitted by Simply Jews
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote - Andrew Stiles/Washington Free Beacon – Harry Reid Took Money from Koch Lobbyist submitted by Ask Marion
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Yevgen Sautin/The American Interest –Russia’s Next Move in Ukraine submitted by The Razor

See you next week! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Apartments Of War?

While we all weep for something something Palestine, Sec o State Kerry gave congress the deets on the kabosh au courrant

Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that Little Satan’s announcement of 700 new apartments for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem precipitated the bitter impasse in peace negotiations last week between Little Satan and the Palestinians.   

While Mr. Kerry said both sides bore responsibility for “unhelpful” actions, he noted that the publication of tenders for housing units came four days after a deadline passed for Little Satan  to release Palestinian prisoners and complicated Little Satan’s own deliberations over whether to extend the talks.

“Poof, that was the moment,” Mr. Kerry said in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

 Oh no!!!!!!

Can apartments and condos really queer the mix beyond repair on Palestine's Forever Quest?

To blame the collapse on the decision to build apartments in Gilo—a 40-year-old  neighborhood in Jerusalem that would not change hands even in the event a peace treaty were ever signed and where Little Satan has never promised to stop building—is, to put it mildly, a mendacious effort to shift blame away from the side that seized the first pretext to flee talks onto the one that has made concessions in order to get the Palestinians to sit at the table.

So long as the Palestinians pay no price for their refusal to give up unrealistic demands for a retreat from Jerusalem as well as the “right of return” for the 1948 refugees and their descendants and a refusal to recognize Little Satan as a juice state and end the conflict, peace is impossible no matter what the Netanyahu government does.

Appeasing them with lies about Little Satan, like the efforts of some to absolve Arafat and Abbas for saying no to peace in 2000, 2001, and 2008, only makes it easier for the PA to go on saying no. Whether they are doing so in the hope of extorting more concessions from Little Satan or because, as is more likely, they have no intention of making peace on any terms, the result is the same.

Telling the truth about the Palestinians might make Kerry look foolish for devoting so much time and effort to a process that never had a chance. But it might lay the groundwork for future success in the event that the sea change in Palestinian opinion that might make peace possible were to occur. Falsely blaming Little Satan won’t bring that moment any closer. 

Pic - "Roadmap to Nowhere?"

Wrong Enemy

Whale, behind sight is like 20/20, right?

Imagine - just for a sec - that after 911 - Great Satan went kinda crazy, mean and scary. Nailed the Royal Whahabbi Saudis hair to the floor so tight they couldn't blink, knocked out the Taliban and stomped on Pakistan so bad she never recovered.

The diff ways of doing sump like that keep popping up in the mind's eye like an ancient Steely Dan tune that you can't ditch. Especially after czeching out Carlotta Gall's hot book "Wrong Enemy"

1st hand accounts of Taliban warlords, Pakistani intelligence thugs, American generals, Afghani politicians, and the many innocents who were caught up in this long war are riveting.

The real reason Kharzai is such a flake is that Pakistan has been a deceitful unAlly and has stymied Great Satan and Afghanistan at every turn:

President Musharraf was aiding and abetting the Taliban at first, organizing a meeting right after — in 2001, right after the fall of the Taliban, to how to regroup them and get them back on their feet, and to divide up areas of responsibility to go back in and run an insurgency against American troops.

And the idea was to trip America up. And that — that sounded strange to — when he was being an ally of the West in the war on terror, and he was handing over some al-Qaida people that were caught in Pakistan. But the real idea was to keep the Taliban going as a proxy force, which is, you know, aimed to then, in the end, have influence in Afghanistan for Pakistan, so they could control them or have them as a client state.

And that’s always been the aim of Pakistan, in fact, since right the beginning of the Taliban, and you could argue even before, when they supported the mujahideen against Russia, that they wanted a stake in what they regard as their backyard.

We learned in Quetta that families give their sons to the madrasas. They go because — they go for the religious instruction and because it is free.

So they give their sons, and then their sons have disappeared. And they will be told they have gone off on a training exercise or some — to some other course somewhere. And, in fact, then they have been sent into Afghanistan. And then days later or weeks later, they would be told, your son is being martyred in a suicide attack.

And it was a complete shock to these families. And we — I went around to try and find out what was happening. And I was amazed how these families didn’t know, and then they were also terrified to speak. So, it really showed me that there was some covert war that had to be exposed.

Money Shot:

According to one inside source, the ISI actually ran a special desk assigned to handle Bin Laden. It was operated independently, led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior. He handled only one person: Bin Laden.

The Pakistani military was still set on dominating Afghanistan and was still determined to use the Taliban to exert influence now that the United States was pulling out.

When I remember the beleaguered state of Afghanistan in 2001, I marvel at the changes the American intervention has fostered: the rebuilding, the modernity, the bright graduates in every office. Yet after 13 years, more than a trillion dollars spent, 120,000 foreign troops deployed at the height of the war and tens of thousands of lives lost, Afghanistan’s predicament has not changed: It remains a weak state, prey to the ambitions of its neighbors and extremist Islamists. This is perhaps an unpopular opinion, but to pull out now is, undeniably, to leave with the job only half-done.

Meanwhile, the real enemy remains at large.

Pic - "That Valuable Ally"

Westbindung!

Deutschland!

Since she won the 100 Years War, Germany has attained her spot as Europa's hegemonic dominant power - in cash, muscle, brains and trade.

As a demarcation of sorts betwixt West und Ost, her hook up with the West - Westbindung or Westintegration may seem old school...

Because Germany, Europe's largest, strongest, and most centrally located nation, is not instinctively Western in its political traditions and leanings. The geographic and political key to the old world is still tormented by its own past, obsessively fearful of conflict with Russia, and doubt-ridden over the modern Western capitalist society that has given the country two generations of unprecedented stability and well-being.

Distrust vis-à-vis the Kremlin is high, and there are no illusions about the nature of the regime in Moscow, as a recent poll by Germany's leading news outlet has confirmed. Eighty-one percent of those asked believed that Russia is not a trustworthy partner.

But 58 percent thought the same about the United States. It comes as no surprise, then, that in another poll by the same outlet, 49 percent of Germans stated that their desired political position is equidistance between the West and Russia. Only 45 percent believed that Germany should be firmly embedded in the West.

None of this would matter much if it were the mindset of a smallish country on the fringes of Europe. But when it's the big fat thing in the middle of the continent that harbors these leanings, it becomes a geopolitical issue of some consequence.

Moscow's aim is to de facto neutralize Germany despite its integration into the West.

These efforts have never been fully successful. But they have been successful enough to make Germany an often wobbly ally and to spread uncertainty and fear, especially among Central European countries, most notably Poland. The Kremlin knows full well that uncertainty and fear are the very ingredients that, if nurtured for long enough, will poison every relationship and even the strongest alliance.

German Westbindung traditionally comes through four channels: the special relationship with the United States; friendship with France; membership in the EU; and membership in NATO. All four sources are in trouble. The United States is distrusted, France is no longer taken seriously, the EU is seen as an economic liability, and NATO is often forgotten about. NATO is also the irritating reminder that there are such things out there as armies and wars.

Deutschland has become increasingly clear since the late 1990s that Germany is willing to go it alone on occasion, and even undermine shared Western positions. Examples range from trade with China to military intervention in Libya to energy policy vis-à-vis Russia. That temptation is visible even in the current Ukraine crisis, although Chancellor Angela Merkel has stood firm against the stated skepticism of the German public.

Germany's strategic folly is not that it wants to go East. It doesn't. Nor does it want to destroy NATO or transatlantic solidarity. Its strategic folly is that by following some of its lingering anti-Western sentiments, and by giving in to its desire for neutrality, it might do all of this unintentionally.

Yet Germans must understand that for the largest country in the center of Europe, neutrality is not an option. By wanting to be unaffiliated, Germany would tragically destroy the very world it needs to prosper and enjoy the fruits of its enormous achievements. German strategic haplessness is just as dangerous as German aggressiveness. The latter is history. The former, unfortunately, is not.

Pic - "Defeated twice militarily, now she ist der seig mein schatzen!!"

Honor Diaries

War on Girls, yep - it is horrific and out of sight...

Now that Western forces – along with Western media – have withdrawn from Afghanistan, we don’t hear enough about girls’ and women’s struggles in the Muslim world. That’s too bad, because in many places, things are getting worse.

In Pakistan, the Council of Islamic Ideology, a powerful body that advises the government and parliament on legal issues, has made several devastating pronouncements. It ruled that under sharia law, rape victims can’t use DNA evidence alone to prove their case; instead, they have to rely on the evidence of four witnesses. It wants the government to change the law that says a man must get the consent of his first wife before he takes a second one. It also says says the ban on child marriage (the legal age for girls is 16) is un-Islamic.

Welcome to the 12th century.

9 women who feature in a powerful new documentary called Honor Diaries. All are activists with roots in m"Hammedist world. Their aim is to call attention to the immense challenges faced by women in Muslim-majority countries, especially honour violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Most Western feminists are curiously silent about these issues. It seems they’d rather spend their time warning about “rape culture” and denouncing the misogyny, abuse and discrimination that permeate our society (or so they claim).

And not without reason. People who speak out about abuses in cultures other than their own – particularly white people – tend to get denounced as racist. Yet: “This isn’t about brown women or white women. This is about human rights.”

Honour crime – committed against a woman who has brought shame to the family – exists in Sikh and Hindu cultures, as well as Muslim ones. Such crimes draw much lighter sentences, and most “honour” crimes are really coverups for rape, domestic abuse, inheritance disputes or punishment of female independence.

Disturbing statistics aren’t hard to find. In Egypt, for example, 90 per cent of women have had their genitals cut. More than half the population still support the practice (even though it is illegal), and certain hard-line clerics encourage it in God’s name.

In the Palestinian territories, at least 27 women and girls are thought to have been killed in honour crimes last year, as reported in the Washington Post. One was a a young mother of six whose body was found hanging in an olive tree.

Not surprisingly, these pathologies have made their way in various measures to the West. In Britain, about 4,000 women and girls have been treated for genital mutilation since 2009, according to figures obtained by the British Broadcasting Corp. Campaigners say the public doesn’t grasp how big the problem is. According to London Mayor Boris Johnson: “This is a crime basically outlawed in the early-mid 1980s and yet, unlike France, we have not had one single successful prosecution for what is unquestionably a completely barbaric crime."

In Canada, honour killings are rare but not unknown, and girls from honour cultures are frequently in conflict with their families. In Ottawa, a mother and son from Pakistan were recently convicted of threatening to kill the family’s daughter, along with her white, non-Muslim boyfriend. In St. John’s, a Saudi man who tried to choke his 30-year-old daughter (she wanted to marry a non-Muslim) was sentenced to probation, on condition that he leave the country.

But police and schools don’t always know how to respond to these disputes.

Predictably, Honor Diaries has been denounced as Islamophobic by people who see it as an attempt to smear Islam. Ms. Raza argues that it is not a film about religion, but about destructive cultural practices.

Pic - "Failing to acknowledge this reality not only silences victims of honor violence globally, but emboldens the increasingly aggressive political Islamists in our midst, whose ultimate goal is to silence us all."

Enhanced Handwringing

Surprize!

A partisan Senate unleashes a partisan report!! 

CIA misled the government and the public about aspects of its brutal interrogation program for years — concealing details about the severity of its methods, overstating the significance of plots and prisoners, and taking credit for critical pieces of intelligence that detainees had in fact surrendered before they were subjected to harsh techniques. 

The report, built around detailed chronologies of dozens of CIA detainees, documents a long-standing pattern of unsubstantiated claims as agency officials sought permission to use — and later tried to defend — excruciating interrogation methods that yielded little, if any, significant intelligence, according to U.S. officials who have reviewed the document.

And, Must, Stay. Awake.

See

The committee’s staff members started with a conclusion in 2009 and have chased supportive evidence ever since. They never spoke to me or other top CIA leaders involved in the program, or let us see the report.

This program was approved at the highest levels of the government, judged legal by the Justice Department and regularly briefed to the leaders of our congressional oversight committees. There was never any effort to mislead the administration or Congress about the program. In 2006, then-CIA Director Michael Hayden expanded those fully briefed on the program to include all members of the intelligence oversight committees. It is a travesty that these efforts at transparency are now branded insufficient and misleading.

Pic - "Contrived indignation, phony moralizing and recklessness cloaked as righteousness."