Day: April 17, 2018

Closing Thought–17Apr18

Back during World War 2 there was a small cadre of non-commissioned officers that were pilots…..one of my uncles on my gather’s side was one of these he flew a P38…..

I bring this up because the service is having a hard time with their pilots……they are considering a return to a historical thing…….

Eugene Taylor remembers how eager enlisted airmen like him were to fly.

Taylor, who enlisted in 1968 and deployed to Vietnam, first worked as an avionics technician. Nearly a decade later, Taylor, a tech sergeant, became a T-37 and T-38 flight simulator instructor with the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He became so adept that he was occasionally given the chance to fly the T-38, with permission from the pilot, during stateside flights.

It has been decades since enlisted airmen had the chance to sit in the cockpit. But as the Air Force faces the greatest pilot shortages since its inception, service leaders are contemplating a return to a model that includes enlisted pilots. A Rand Corp. study, set to be completed this month, is exploring the feasibility of bringing back a warrant officer corps for that purpose. And another, separate Air Force study is examining, in part, whether enlisted pilots could benefit from new high-tech training that leverages artificial intelligence and simulation.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/03/31/air-force-may-approve-enlisted-pilots-first-time-75-years.html

I do not see any problem with this…..I am sure that some self-centered tool will find a problem with having a lowly NCO pilot a multi-million dollar aircraft….but hey…if capable then let them do it.

My day has been tied up so I want to end it while there is time to enjoy some of my day….TTFN….chuq

WAR–What’s It Good For?

A great antiwar song from days gone by…..but it asks an timely question….

My time spent researching topics I run across articles that most people would have missed….

So first of all….what is war?

From the ancient age , WAR inclusively and exclusively had and has been an important part of the society . WAR equally and effectively influences the people of the society to the same extent as to the policy makers and soldiers who fight for their nation . Several WARs fought till now resulted in different outcomes which led to the development of some and the extinction of the other civilization . The evolution of mankind and development of WAR occurred simultaneously

https://thewriterinme598043429.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/defence-notes-definitions-militaryscience/

That helps to define what war is….now how about explaining what are the causes…..

War and conflict has been as much a constant in human history as humans. As Kenneth Waltz states, “there is no peace in a condition of anarchy,” and there will always be a form of anarchy as long as human nature is a variable in our complex domestic and international systems. Many scholars have analyzed the causes of war on a state-by-state-basis, other writers believe that it is possible to provide a wider, more generalized explanation (Baylis et al, 2017, pg. 239).  Additionally, many well-known international relations theorists have applied forms of theoretical framework to understand how and why we create friction in our societies, focusing on a variety of aspects, from international institutions to gender. For neorealist writers such as John Mearsheimer, international politics is not characterized by these constant wars, but nevertheless a relentless security competition, as we will discuss in this essay (Baylis et al, 2017, pg. 242).

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/causes-war-theory-analysis

Everybody turns to Clausewitz for anything remotely to do with war and its execution…..but could war be a paradox?

Many in political and military circles quote him, and selections of his work On War are de rigueur on war college reading lists across the globe; he is discussed in terms of strategy primarily, and tactics secondarily. He is also most commonly cited for his view that war is politics with the addition of other means and that war must be considered in relation to the political aims and within the constraints of the state and people.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/04/02/war_as_paradox_113270.html

After all that the question remains…..WAR–What’s It Good For?

Syria: Is It Over?

The US, France and the UK have released their penalty on Syria for the alleged CW attack on civilians……the attack occurred before there was a positive report saying beyond the shadow of a doubt it was Syria that attack and killed civilians….

Now after the attack can we say that Assad will never be able to do this accused dastardly deed again?

If your takeaway from the reports on Friday’s air strikes on Syria’s chemical weapons facilities by US, French, and British forces was that President Bashar al-Assad’s ability to conduct future chemical strikes had been eliminated, you’d be wrong. In an analysis titled, “A Hard Lesson in Syria: Assad Can Still Gas His Own People,” the New York Times outlines four reasons why this is so, and the Wall Street Journal adds a fifth:

  1. Though the Pentagon characterized the strike’s three targets as “fundamental components of the regime’s chemical weapons warfare infrastructure,” it’s possible that is only true in a historical sense. In the wake of the strikes, there have been no reports of casualties at the targeted facilities—the Barzeh research and development center, the Him Shinshar storage facility, and a bunker—nor any reports of gas leakage, suggesting the sites could have been abandoned or only in light use.
  • The Times takes a historical view, to 2014, when Syria agreed to hand over its “declared” stockpiles of chemical weapons. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry said “we got 100% of the chemical weapons out,” and some 600 metric tons of chemical agents were destroyed by the US. The takeaway: “Mr. Assad has learned a lot about how to hide his stockpiles from inspectors.”
  • And not everything is in hiding: The Journal cites a UN report from early 2018 that names at least two suspected chemical weapons facilities that weren’t taken out on Saturday. The Pentagon reportedly limited the strikes to targets where civilians wouldn’t be affected.
  • Even if the destroyed facilities were key, it’s not that hard to rebuild them elsewhere, at least when it comes to making chlorine or sarin, which can be produced in bThe U.S. military claims the ability of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons has been set back “for years” following strikes on Saturday. Given it is just one year since the U.S. last struck Syrian targets following a chemical weapons attack, the latest claim won’t wash for many.Indeed, the Pentagon concedes Bashar al-Assad will still likely have the ability to use chemical agents following the weekend attacks by U.S., British and French forces. The U.S. has warned it remains “locked and loaded” to strike again.
  1. And in terms of chlorine, it’s a big challenge. It’s essential in the Middle East for water purification, making it both legal and lethal. Though chemical weapons treaties ban the use of chlorine as a poison, they do not make it illegal to possess. How Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, puts it: “For me, the big story is chlorine; it’s not sarin. … You either have to deter the regime from using it by imposing significant costs, or you have to get rid of the regime. But there is no way you can get rid of the capability.”

Head to the Times for the full analysis.

Basically this attack will be as useless as the attack from a year ago……

The U.S. military claims the ability of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons ha

s been set back “for years” following strikes on Saturday. Given it is just one year since the U.S. last struck Syrian targets following a chemical weapons attack, the latest claim won’t wash for many.

Indeed, the Pentagon concedes Bashar al-Assad will still likely have the ability to use chemical agents following the weekend attacks by U.S., British and French forces. The U.S. has warned it remains “locked and loaded” to strike again.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/04/16/syria_strikes_mission_accomplished_113327.html

 

Impact Of War On Foreign Policy

AS a foreign policy wonk I like to read just how our wars have impacted our foreign policies going forward.  World War One is very telling it was our first international war and our policies were changed after the end of that war….

A new book covers the US foreign policy changes after WW1…………

The United States, disenchanted with war, disenfranchised by financial crisis, and ready to embrace populism and isolationism faces dual challenges. A rising Asian power, seeking to up-end the established international order, and a series of protracted and controversial small wars.

Surprisingly, this is not a description of the current state of world affairs, but the picture that emerges from Carew’s study of the inter-war years, an era that saw U.S. policy makers faced with challenges that will resonate with their modern counterparts. But history does not repeat and it rarely rhymes, for the differences between 1938 and today are as stark as the similarities due in no small part to the legacy of the First World War.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/03/20/the_impact_of_the_first_world_war_on_us_policymakers_113224.html

The US has so many wars in the fire I am wondering just how these conflicts will effect our foreign policy…..we have not seemed to change our military ops very well…..can we find it in our DNA to find a good foreign policy…..in all the suffering and sorrow that we spread today.