Day: July 22, 2019

Thoughts On Veterans

Closing Thought–22Jul19

Veterans are once again making news…first it is a situation that they face overseas that is making them ill…..

The Department of Defense seemingly acknowledged the dangers of burn pit exposure in a new report released by Congress — but falls short of offering solutions.

A feasibility study conducted by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, which was provided to Congress last month, was supposed to figure out how to end burn pits for waste disposal on overseas military bases. Instead, critics said, the report seemingly defended the use of burn pits because there are no other options.

Since veterans returned home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been a long and contentious debate over the data surrounding the effects of burn pit exposure. Thousands of veterans have linked their chronic medical issues, including cancer and respiratory illnesses, to burn pits that release dangerous toxins.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/pentagon-fails-to-provide-accountability-for-veteran-burn-pit-exposure-in-report-to-congress

Bad enough there is an enemy that wants them dead and now the Pentagon is helping with that desire.

Looks like veterans are finally starting to ask questions about their forever wars.

It is undoubtedly my favorite part of every wedding. That awkward, but strangely forthright moment when the preacher asks the crowd for any objections to the couple’s marriage. No one ever objects, of course, but it’s still a raw, if tense, moment. I just love it.

I suppose we had that ubiquitous ritual in mind back in 2007 when Keith – a close buddy and fellow officer – and I crafted our own plan of objection. The setting was Baghdad, Iraq, at the start of the “surge” and the climax of the bloody civil war the U.S. invasion had unleashed. Just twenty three years old and only eighteen months out of the academy, my clique of officers had already decided the war was a mess, shouldn’t have been fought, and couldn’t be won

What Was It All for For: Vets Have Finally Turned on America’s Endless Wars

If there is anyone that has the RIGHT to oppose war then it is the veterans that must fight them.

They need to make their voices heard …..a LOUD voice…..time to make the society actually feel the guilt of aiding the death of so many.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

That Magna Crata

We Americans recently celebrated our Declaration of Independence and I got to thinking about other great documents throughout history and the first to come to mind was the Magna Carta.

This document was used as a template for the demands of the DoI…….

Americans are taught very little about this historic document so I thought I would try to help out…..I am by NO means an expert on this but I will try….

Magna Carta, meaning ‘The Great Charter’, is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England (r. 1199–1216) as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. Although nearly a third of the text was deleted or substantially rewritten within ten years, and almost all the clauses have been repealed in modern times, Magna Carta remains a cornerstone of the British constitution.

Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule. However, buried within them were a number of fundamental values that both challenged the autocracy of the king and proved highly adaptable in future centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950).

Although Magna Carta contained 63 clauses when it was first granted, only three of those clauses remain part of English law. One defends the liberties and rights of the English Church, another confirms the liberties and customs of London and other towns, but the third is the most famous:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction#

Like I said before I am no expert and if my British readers would like to add more then feel free to do so…..

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Class Dismissed!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Nukes For China

We have heard all the spurious arguments for the nuke policies for Iran and North Korea……but what about a strategy for a nuclear power and one of our biggest opponents? China.

A diverse range of external stimuli, including technological trends and geopolitical shifts, is leading the strategic community of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to reconsider existing nuclear policy, strategy, and operations. According to Chinese open sources, U.S. global conventional precision strike systems, U.S. missile defenses, and India’s nuclear weapons modernization, among other threats, could shake the PRC’s faith in longstanding nuclear doctrine and posture. The 2013 Science of Military Strategy confirms that “the nuclear security circumstances facing China in overall terms are trending toward complexity.”   In response to such challenges, some Chinese analysts have proposed loosening the no-first-use policy and undertaking quantitative and qualitative improvements to China’s nuclear forces.

A departure from enduring nuclear policy and strategy may also reflect China’s growing power and sense of purpose as it seeks to reshape its surroundings and accelerate the erosion of the U.S. position in the Western Pacific. Indeed, Chinese analysts are exploring Cold War history in Europe, from which they may be drawing lessons about the vulnerabilities of U.S. extended deterrence in Asia. While it remains unclear how and to what extent Chinese nuclear strategy will advance Beijing’s expanding ambitions, the internal debates suggest that China may be increasingly inclined to adopt a more coercive nuclear strategy.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2019/07/17/chinese_nuclear_weapons_strategyleaning_towards_a_more_proactive_posture_part_ii_external_drivers_of_potential_changetechnical-military_developments_and_perceptions_of_credibility.html

China continues to confront the US and its Asian allies on many fronts and yet the president is concerned over a country that is not yet a nuclear power…..where is the sanity there?

I believe you ignore China’s nukes at your own peril.