Day: July 14, 2016

Were We Truly Prepared?

Do you remember those words?

They are words that most of us try to live by…..especially if you live where I live…..in the path of a hurricane.  If you do then you are well aware of what “be prepared” means.

But for this post I am not going to go on about a hurricane….nope this time I want to talk about our longest war…..Afghanistan and the Taleban.  Now with the mission extended indefinitely….are we more prepared now?

Were we as a nation ready to fight the Taleban?  Were we prepared?  I mean they, Taleban, are having some amazing successes….why is that?

I know that we, at least to some, have an unbeatable military….but the problem is we were fighting with the tactics of our last war…..Gulf War in 1991.

For instance in the 1960’s when the CIA and the Bolivian government were hunting down Che they made it mandatory that his book on guerilla warfare was “must” reading and they used his tactics against him….he was captured and murdered.

Vietnam is an example where they were employing the wrong strategy….the Viet Cong and the NVA were masters at guerilla warfare….it was a winner against the French….but for some reason we did not take their tactics seriously and look where that lead the country.

If our “leaders” had spent a little time reading the book by Giap, “People’s Army People’s War” then were would have been more successful….for in his book he outlines the best strategies to use against a larger more powerful enemy….

This brings me to our 2001 invasion of Afghanistan……it is true that we routed the Taleban in a very short time….but it was NOT defeated and has been a hit and run pain in the ass for 15 years.

I know hindsight is 20/20 but it also can be very telling of inadequacies….

Are you scratching your head yet?

In 1995 a book was published entitled “the Other Side Of The Mountain” about the Afghan guerilla warfare….it is choked full of tactics used by the Mujahideen fighters against the Russians in the 1980’s…..

The book is full of detailed tactics that were used….the same tactics that are being used today by the Taleban against the forces that are occupying the country.

I believe that we would be having greater success against the Taleban if this had been required reading of those that were leading the fight in Afghanistan….

Remember:  Reading is Fundamental!

Send In A Clown

I thought the we Americans had a lock on toady politicians but the circus is bigger than I thought…..as a junkie for international situations I wanted to see how the new British PM would react to the role of her country in the world today…..

The UK has a new PM and she has a new foreign minister…Boris Johnson.

Was this the best she could do for her new cabinet?

Personally I think he is a clown…at best…..but some of his pronouncements should have eliminated him out front……

Turkey – May 2016

Boris Johnson wins a £1,000 prize for penning a rude poem about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, having sex with a goat. His limerick, published by the Spectator as a rebuff to Erdoğan’s efforts to prosecute a German comedian’s offensive poem, also calls the Turkish leader a “wankerer”.

United States – April 2016

The MP for Uxbridge and Ruislip is criticised for describing Barack Obama as a “part-Kenyan” who harboured an “ancestral dislike” of Britain. He made the comments in a newspaper article after the US president supported the remain campaign during a visit to Britain.

Israel – November 2015

Johnson’s visit to the occupied Palestinian territories is severely curtailed by his hosts in protest at a series of strongly pro-Israel remarks. They included telling an audience in Tel Aviv that a trade boycott of Israeli goods was “completely crazy” and supported by “corduroy-jacketed, snaggletoothed, lefty academics in the UK”.

Japan – October 2015

Is filmed wiping out a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy, Toki Sekiguchi, during a game of street rugby on a visit to Tokyo.

United States – June 2012

Johnson tells TV chat show host David Letterman that he “could be president of the United States, technically speaking” given that he was born in New York City on 19 June 1964.

China – August 2008

In Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, Johnson said “respectfully to our Chinese hosts” that ping pong was “invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century. It was. And it was called wiff waff”.

United States – November 2007

In a Telegraph column headlined I Want Hillary Clinton to be President, Johnson describes the Democrat: “She’s got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”.

Papua New Guinea – September 2006

In another attack on Tony Blair in another Telegraph column, Johnson wrote: “For 10 years we in the Tory party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing and so it is with a happy amazement that we watch as the madness engulfs the Labour party.”

After later apologising for any offence caused, the then MP for Henley said he would be happy to “add Papua New Guinea to my global itinerary of apology”. However, he insisted he was not mistaken about cannibalism in the country: “My remarks were inspired by a Time Life book I have which does indeed show relatively recent photos of Papua New Guinean tribes engaged in warfare, and I’m fairly certain that cannibalism was involved.”

Just a small collection of some of Boris’ best zingers aimed at foreign stage……there is so much more about this clown….

Source: Boris Johnson and diplomacy are not synonymous | Politics | The Guardian

The UK can join the US as the butt of jokes in the world…..this should endear the UK to the world……

Let The Defeat Begin!

To start a little history….today, 14 July, is Bastille Day….the defeat of the French monarchy…..

For a couple of years now we have been told that this country will defeat the menace ISIS…..personally, I believe that we can defeat them…..but so far there have been very few plans put forth…..

I do not know if many realize this one simple fact…to defeat ISIS you must have a PLAN!

A couple of months ago I wrote a post along these lines…..it included a plan that I had found on the ‘net……

Source: Defeating ISIS – In Saner Thought

Since I wrote that piece I have found a few other thoughts on the techniques that it will take to bring this murderous bunch down……

I read an article that says that using ex-ISIS fighters to help stem the tide of the social media recruiting programs of ISIS…

A new project that compiles testimony from former ISIS members who escaped and fled to Turkey could help stifle the appeal of the group’s propaganda.

Source: Islamic State Defectors Hold Key to Countering Group’s Recruitment

I also read a paper by the US Institute for Peace that puts forth the idea of using a Gandhian technique of non-violence……

The extremist group ISIS exhibits attributes of both an insurgency and a totalitarian regime. Even top U.S. generals acknowledge that military force alone is insufficient to degrade, much less defeat an organization that rules an area larger than the United Kingdom. ISIS will only be weakened through a multifaceted strategy combining diplomatic, economic, political and other means. Organized civilian action that aims to disrupt and deny the group’s key sources of power could be a critical part of that strategy.

Source: Defeating ISIS Through Civil Resistance? | United States Institute of Peace

This one has me skeptical……I just cannot see where the use of non-violent protests will do nay damage to a group that relishes the use of murder, torture and rape as weapons…..

If you have read the Peace Institute paper….what do you think?

Once the caliphate collapses what will be the targets for the military ops?

Keep in mind that terrorism is a tactic not an entity….”lone wolf” attacks are hard to predict and even harder to defeat.

 

South China Sea Bingo

I try to keep my readers abreast of the international situations that could blow up in the country’s face and present yet more opportunities for it to be drawn into conflicts that are none of our business…..

The situation in the South China Sea has been in the news for over a year now…..and still few have any idea of what it is all about…..basically, it is a game of Risk, a geopolitical thriller…..

In my attempt to help my readers understand some of the more complex situations internationally…..and when the Spratley Islands are mentioned it usually is met with a big “dunno”….

Karte Südchinesisches Meer Besitzanspruch China Englisch

I found a good piece that will help my reader understand this situation…..

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has delivered its verdict on the territorial spat. DW answers some of the questions related to the case to explain what the dispute is about and what is at stake.

Source: What is the South China Sea row about? | Asia | DW.COM | 12.07.2016

There are at least 7 countries that are claiming some part of the island chain….and then there is the US that must feel compelled to stick our noses into this situation….we are sending many Naval vessels to the region to counter the moves by China….it seems that China has a massive interest in the islands……

What obliges the US to get involved in this land claim?  Will this descend into another NATO conflict that we must supply troops for?