Day: December 2, 2013

Game Of Drones–Revisited

Speaking of drones…….

Our dynamite drone program has killed many suspected and actual leaders of both the Taleban and AQ…..but in the same tone it has killed many civilians….and that is where we have the problem.  With every civilian we killed there is a family member that has the need for revenge……and what is the best and most assessable means of revenge?  A terrorist group like the Taleban or AQ……..

The problem is….this program will not stop killing civilians…..some think it is a small pricew to pay to rid the world of terrorist….the rub is it creates more than it eliminates…..as I said….this program will not stop and because of that we have a new incident…..

(AP) – The top US commander in Afghanistan apologized to President Hamid Karzai for a drone strike that killed a child and NATO promised an investigation today as rising tensions threatened efforts to persuade the Afghan leader to sign a long-delayed security agreement. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford called Karzai late yesterday to express “deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties,” the commander’s spokesman said. Karzai condemned the attack, which also wounded two women earlier yesterday, and said all airstrikes and foreign raids on Afghan homes must stop if the United States expects him to sign the pact that would allow thousands of Americans to stay in the country beyond a 2014 withdrawal deadline.

“This attack shows that American forces do not respect the safety of the Afghan people in their homes,” Karzai said in a Dari-language statement on his website. The coalition, known as the International Security Assistance Force, said the airstrike had killed an insurgent on a motorbike in Helmand and also promised to investigate Karzai’s claims that it also killed a child and injured two women. In the phone call, Dunford talked to Karzai directly and “expressed deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties assured Karzai that an investigation would be conducted into Thursday’s airstrike, which the Afghan president said was carried out by a drone in southern Helmand province,” Dunford’s spokesman says.

I guess an apology and/or cash is suppose to make things better…..I do not see it as doing so….

I understand the need to the drones…..it keeps many US troops out of harm’s way……which is a good thing….but if we make more bad guys to replace the one bad guy we eliminate….where would this ever end?

I can see both sides of the equation….and like math…the equation has to balance….the problem for me is that I do not see any balance possible.

Thoughts?

While You Were Distracted

Blah….Blah…Obamacare sucks…..Blah….blah

Yada…..yada….Iranian deal blows….yada

And other mindless regurgitation…..but if you decide to keep puking up pathetic crap that has NO standing in truth or reality….then I will not participate….but if you want to know what is happening while you were visiting the Vomitarium…..well……that is why I am HERE!

And there my friends is the major problem with this country.  People would rather regurgitate mindless bullsh*t than look for news that will eventually effect us and the world…..

Okay….what the Hell are you going on about Professor?

Fine….maybe you will pay attention!

While you were going on about how much Obama sucks and rattling on and on about what a crappy deal the Iranian nuke thing is……more was happening….

(Newser) – North Korea vowed to restart its Yongbyon reactor in April, and the International Atomic Energy Agency today indicates that the country continues to head down that path. Relying largely on satellite imagery, the IAEA’s chief noted that “activities have been observed at the site that are consistent with an effort to restart the 5MW(e) reactor.” Reuters explains that is Yongbyon’s research reactor. Yukiya Amano noted that the agency’s lack of accessibility to the nuclear site renders it unable to “conclusively determine” if North Korea has gone so far as to restart the reactor.

Experts had expected it to take about six months to get the reactor operational again, and white steam was spotted at Yongbon about six weeks ago. Amano added that he remains “seriously concerned” about the situation.

Believe my friends…there is more to worry about in this world than how fast a website is working.

I wish I could say that Americans will eventually pull their heads out their collective asses…..but I am too realistic and I would be lying!

Now you know…..and that is WHY I AM HERE!

Are You F*cking Kidding?

Hopefully everyone had a great T’givings and all have had enough of the food, the napping and the burping!  I decided to hold off writing this post until all the festivities of the holiday have past…..

While you were chuckling your ass off at the antics of Uncle Lenny……..the world moved closer to another unfortunate situation…..what you ask?  Chinese air space, that’s what!

Chinese air space?  WTF?

AP) – China acknowledged today that it let two American B-52 bombers fly unhindered through its newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea despite its earlier threat to take defensive measures against unidentified foreign aircraft. The US flights, which tested the Chinese zone for the first time since it was declared over the weekend, raised questions about Beijing’s determination to enforce its requirement that foreign aircraft identify themselves and accept Chinese instructions.

A Chinese Defense Ministry statement says the US planes were detected and monitored as they flew through the area for two hours and 22 minutes. It said all aircraft flying through the zone would be monitored and that “China has the capability to exercise effective control over the relevant airspace.” But China’s lack of any action suggests that it was merely playing out a diplomatic game to establish ownership over the area rather than provoke an international incident.

Now this may sound like a minor thingy….but keep inmind we have gone to war over minor BS……think not?

I am an old fart and I am a Viet vet….and my little war, that killed 50,000+ troops, began over an incursion by a US Navy destroyer, the USS Maddox……it slipped into North Vietnam’s waters and was challenged by 3 NVN patrol boats and because of this challenge the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by Congress that allowed the troops to be sent to South Vietnam and……as they say it is now history.  And we seem to be playing that game yet again.

And now we are at it again….challenging another country over a seemingly minor situation…….and we have our “allies” playing this dangerous game….

Newser) – The US may not be the only country to have dipped a toe in China’s newly declared air defense zone: Japan and South Korea now say they’ve both flown planes through it, unannounced, as well. A rep for the Japan government describes its activity as routine “surveillance” over the the East China Sea, though he did not specify when the flight occurred. Since Saturday, “we have continued our surveillance activities as before in the East China Sea, including in the zone,” he said. South Korea says it entered the zone the same day the US did: Tuesday.

Per China’s Saturday declaration of the zone, any planes entering the airspace must convey a flight plan to China and accept its instructions, or else be subject to emergency military measures, reports the BBC (which has a great graphic outlining the area’s air zones). Japan and South Korea did no such thing, seemingly without response. The countries are embroiled in a battle with China over bits of land contained in the zone: islands alternately known as the Senkaku and Diaoyu that Japan claims, as well as a submerged rock that South Korea considers part of its land. Meanwhile, the AP reports that the Philippines today joined the clamor against the zone, with a government rep saying the zone infringes on the freedom to fly in international airspace and compromises the safety of civil aviation.

The US did not just fly through the air space once to check their response….nope….we have to keep scratching that scab…….

Newser) – After the US, Japan, and South Korea all managed to fly through China’s newly declared air defense zone over the East China Sea issue-free, China has been left embarrassed, reports the AP—and, it seems, finally ready to respond. It sent warplanes of its own, as well as an early warning aircraft, into the zone yesterday, per a rep for China’s air force. He described the flights as “a defensive measure and in line with international common practices.”

Reuters adds that he emphasized that the air force is prepared to “take measures to deal with diverse air threats to firmly protect the security of the country’s airspace.” But a rep for the Defense Ministry says the suggestion that China is prepared to shoot down aircraft that don’t follow its rules is “incorrect.”

As I have stated…we are playing a dangerous game…..and if history is any indication….it could not end well for the nation……..the possibility is there!

Thoughts?