Tag: Military Action

He’s At It Again

Around here gas prices have come down a bit and then Donny had to open that useless mouth of his and let more manure fall out.

President Trump is preparing to escalate the five-month-plus conflict with Iran, authorizing a new round of US strikes that could start as soon as this weekend and run for several days, according to American officials. Speaking at Camp David, Trump vowed that “we will be hitting them very hard” to compel talks and predicted the regime would eventually “peter out,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,'” the president predicted. He added, per the AP: “We just want to win.” Officials noted that the plan could still be halted if there’s sudden diplomatic movement, or if Trump simply reconsiders, per the Journal.

Sources tell CBS News that energy infrastructure such as power plants and refineries will be the likely targets. Those sources also note there’d been discussion about trying to wrap up the strikes before the financial markets kick off on Monday to minimize impact to the US and global economy. The shift comes days after a surprise Iranian attack on US troops in Jordan and subsequent American retaliation. Trump has privately dismissed the interim peace deal as meaningless and described Iranian negotiators as untrustworthy, while Iranian officials say constant US threats undermine any remaining confidence, per the Journal.

After this piece of crap….Iran has basically dared him to do what he spouted off about…..

Iran took another step Saturday toward widening the Gulf fighting, sending a wave of drones toward Kuwait in an attack that the US ally said it intercepted. The strike added tension to the region, the Wall Street Journal reports, after President Trump’s pledge to sharply escalate the US bombardment of Iran at any moment now. US embassies urged Americans to consider leaving the region, and airlines extended cancellations to key Gulf in the face of warnings that airspace closures could be next. Iran’s military warned countries in the region not to cooperate with the US, which it accused of “escalating tensions,” per AFP.

he flare-up centers on energy chokepoints: Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, where a ship was damaged and another reported a near-miss on Friday, and unrest has spread to Egypt’s Damietta port and the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthis say they are blocking Saudi oil shipments, while Saudi Arabia has hit Iran-linked militias in Iraq, per the Journal. Analysts describe ever-faster cycles of escalation that are eroding trust, unnerving Gulf governments, and pushing any renewed truce further out of reach.

All I can say is….’Here we go yet again’

Iran is goading Donny into making good on his infantile threats.

The idiot with the big mouth is not believing his luck….

Sources say that President Donald Trump is becoming “exasperated” as he did not anticipate it would be difficult to make Iran comply with his demands.

“The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal. There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint,” an unnamed ally of the President told NBC News. “He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war.”

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a joint, surprise attack on Iran in February that ignited a Middle East-wide war. At the time, the leaders predicted a quick victory that would eliminate any threat Iran could pose.

However, the war has turned into a quagmire for Trump as Iran seized control over the Strait of Hormuz and the IRGC retains a significant portion of its missile capabilities. A US official speaking with NBC News explained that part of Trump’s frustration comes from his advisers’ division on what to do next.

“After all this time, there is no unity,” the official said. “We have had a series of tactical victories, but are facing a strategic defeat without clear policy guidance or a decision about where this is going.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/trump-is-exasperated-with-iran-war/

Here is an idea or two….stop being such a douche bag and work to really end this and two for god sake stop listening to those bastards in Israel.

And there go the prices for gas….a I’m so happy to be here now…..sarcasm….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The “Donroe” Doctrine

I have written about the antiquated document, the Monroe Doctrine, and Donny cannot even get that piece of history right even when he tries to justify it’s use.

Was it a flob up or is he trying to claim ownership of the region?

In his triumphant post-operation remarks, President Donald Trump openly invoked what he termed a “Donroe Doctrine”—a vision of US hemispheric dominance backed by military power. For Europe, this moment marks not only a rupture in norms surrounding sovereignty, but also a warning sign of how America may behave across multiple theatres.

If you still do not think that Donny is trying to build an empire then some of his comments recently should erase any doubt.

The State Department on Monday echoed President Trump’s rhetoric on U.S. authority in the Western Hemisphere.

“This is OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened,” the department wrote on the social platform X.

…

The Trump administration has cited stopping the flow of drugs, gangs and sanctioned oil from Venezuela in justifying the removal of Maduro. Trump said Saturday that the U.S. will “run” the South American country until a proper transition can occur, with American oil companies taking control of the nation’s petroleum reserves, the largest in the world.

“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out, because that’s good, it gets the prices down,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

Also Sunday, the president threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro and warned that Mexico “has to get their act together” regarding the flow of drugs.

Trump also said that Cuba’s communist regime, heavily dependent on Venezuelan oil imports, is “ready to fall.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Saturday that the Cuban government should “be concerned” in the wake of Maduro’s capture.

“It’s very similar [to Venezuela] in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people who are forced out of Cuba and living in this country,” said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.

(thehill.com)

The US has always used the ‘people’ as an excuse for military action…..they are doing whats best for the people….my happy ass!

Donny is on the move to establish an American Empire with his ‘Donroe Doctrine’….

In discussing the US seizure of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, President Trump has resurrected talk about the Monroe Doctrine—the idea espoused by the nation’s fifth president in 1823 that Europe should butt out of Latin America. Trump, however, is pushing a more aggressive version, which he referred to as the “Donroe doctrine” while speaking to reporters on Sunday.

  • “The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal,” said Trump. “But we’ve superseded it by a lot, a real lot.”
  • As an analysis at the New York Times explains, his administration did, in fact, beef up the doctrine in the National Security Strategy document released two months ago. It speaks of a need to “restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere,” and to prevent “non-Hemispheric competitors” such as China from staking a claim to assets such as oil. “In other words, we will assert and enforce a ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine,” the document states.
  • At the Wall Street Journal, Greg Ip wonders about the precedent involved. “In re-establishing the Western Hemisphere as the U.S.’s sole sphere of influence, is Trump OK with China doing the same in Taiwan and, more broadly, Asia; or Russia in Ukraine and its other neighbors? Officially, no; yet Trump’s tone toward both is notably friendlier now than in his first term.”
  • When Monroe voiced his doctrine, it was mostly over a worry about European powers interfering in the affairs of their former colonies in Latin America. President Teddy Roosevelt later expanded it to justify military interventions, notes the Hill. Trump is further expanding it by asserting that he “can claim resources (oil) that, in his view, America cannot live without,” according to the Times analysis.
  • Trump’s actions mark quite a turnaround from the Obama administration. Back in 2013, then-Secretary of State John Kerry declared, “The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,” as this Wall Street Journal story from the time reports. The story includes this context: “By giving more leeway to big regional players such as Colombia and Brazil, and not getting too worked up about the anti-American antics of strongmen in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, the administration has tried to put U.S.-Latin American relations on a new footing.”

Yeah, like Chile in the 70s, Iraq in the 00s, Iran in the 50s….none of that was ‘for the people’…..matters not who is president the US will act with force to preserve the assets in countries.

None of this sounds like an act of empire?

Drugs will continue to flow…..that is for certain.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Attack On Mexico

News came out that there are plans for the US to attack Mexico and the cartels……after Donny threatening to do so will he make good on those threats?

The Trump administration has directed the military to prepare for lethal strikes against cartel targets inside Mexico, three military sources tell us. The Top Secret planning order, issued in late Spring, directs Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to manage the attack plans, which are to be ready by mid-September.

Though U.S.-Mexico military relations are broad and cooperative, any military action south of the border is considered extremely sensitive for both Washington and the Mexican federal government and is rarely discussed in public.

“Not only is Donald Trump uniquely focused on TCOs [transnational criminal organizations, the official name for cartels], having designated them terrorists in one of his first Executive Orders, but he has shown himself to be willing to take unilateral action despite potentially negative political ramifications,” says one senior intelligence official. He and the other sources say that military action could be unilateral — that is, without the involvement or approval of the Mexican government.

The unprecedented order was discussed at a July meeting at NORTHCOM headquarters in Colorado Springs that was led by Colby Jenkins, the unconfirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. Within days, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of NORTHCOM, hosted the two highest ranking Mexican military officials: Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretary of National Defense, and Adm. Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, Secretary of the Navy.

“Today, more than ever, the challenges we face demand a joint, coordinated, and adapted response,” Morales said after the Colorado visit, trying to impress upon Pentagon and military leaders that any potential operation be conducted by the two nations together.

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/military-preparing-attacks-on-mexican

Is this a good idea?

What will happen when Mexican civilians start dying because of our military actions?

I think this is a crap idea?

How about you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The War That Israel Has Wanted

As the sun awaits it’s trip over the horizon word has come out that Israel has started a war that it has been brooding over for 50 years…major attacks on Iranian soil.

Explosions rang out across Iran’s capital early Friday local time as Israel said it was attacking the country. People in Tehran awoke to the sound of the blasts. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a “special situation” in Israel over the attack on Iran and declared a nationwide special state of emergency, saying schools would be closed in the country on Friday. He described it as a “pre-emptive strike” and said a missile and drone counterattack “is expected in the immediate time frame,” the New York Times reports.

The White House did not have an immediate comment Thursday night. As the explosions in Tehran started, President Trump was on the lawn of the White House mingling with members of Congress, the AP reports. It was unclear if he had been informed, but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for several minutes. The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

And as predicted Tehran has retaliated….

Following the launch of Israel’s major attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Islamic Republic retaliated with more than 100 drones, the Israeli military said on Friday.

Over the past few hours, more than 100 drones have been sent towards Israel, according to Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin. The army and military defence systems are working to shoot them down, Defrin said.

Israel attacked more than 100 targets in Iran overnight with approximately 200 fighter jets, including Iranian nuclear facilities, Defrin said. A total of 330 different types of munitions were used, the spokesman added.

Israel must expect “harsh punishment,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying in a statement from his office. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency for the country and urged citizens to take precautions.

In a statement released by the White House shortly after the first reports of the attacks surfaced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not involved in the attacks.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” according to the statement. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”

Us has allowed this stupidity to happen….for Israel is allowed to do as they want regardless of the consequences.

Could this be the war that Israel has been planning for 50 years?

Eventually the us will be in this situation ass deep for Israel has paid good money to allow their adventurism.

This is not a good thing that is happening and we should make it stop before it escalates.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

WTF? Greenland?

Before this situation gets swept under some rug…..

My regular visitors know that I am writing about Trump’s ‘big’ foreign policy statement about Greenland….it appears that he wants Greenland bad….so bad that he would consider US military force to acquire it.

He even sent one of his larva on an unofficial visit to the island…..

The eldest son of President-elect Trump arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a private visit that heightened speculation that the incoming US administration could seek to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory. (In a Tuesday news conference, President-elect Trump did not rule out the possibility of military action.) The Danish state broadcaster reported that Donald Trump Jr.’s plane landed in Nuuk, capital of the vast and icy Arctic territory. Local media broadcast footage of him walking across a snowy tarmac.

Greenland’s government said Trump Jr. was visiting “as a private individual” and that Greenlandic representatives wouldn’t meet with him. Trump Jr. is in Greenland for a day trip to shoot video content for podcasting. Mininnguaq Kleist, permanent secretary for the Greenland foreign affairs department, told the AP that Trump Jr. would stay for about four to five hours. The visit nonetheless had political overtones. The president-elect recently voiced a desire—also expressed during his first presidency—to acquire the territory in the Arctic, an area of strategic importance for the US, China, Russia, and others.

“I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr., and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” the president-elect posted on Truth Social on Monday night. “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump continued. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

Since the acquisition of Greenland would mean a direct confrontation with a valued ally why is Greenland so important to Trump?

But he also wants to strike his largest ever real estate deal because Greenland is “massive”, he “loves maps” and because he is very, very stubborn.

…

Unlike all hard-nosed negotiators, Mr Trump doesn’t take no for an answer and took the chance of naming his ambassador to Denmark to revive the demand this weekend.

As his son Donald Trump Junior arrived for a visit to Greenland, Mr Trump declared: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA’.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/01/07/donald-trump-buy-greenland-denmark-minerals-security-space/

This is an absurd pronouncement….but then look who we are talking about.

Even our most loyal allies have something to say….

European leaders are taking President-elect Trump’s remarks about acquiring Greenland for the US very seriously. On Wednesday, the day after Trump said he wouldn’t rule out using military force, officials in Germany and France warned the president-elect against threatening Greenland, the BBC reports. “The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country—regardless of whether it is east of us or to the west—and every state must respect that, regardless of whether it is a small country or a very powerful state,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, per the Guardian.

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said “there is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders.” He said that while he doesn’t believe the US will invade Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of fellow NATO member Denmark, the remarks show “we have entered an era that is seeing the return of the law of the strongest.” Barrot said European Union countries “must wake up, build up our strength.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that “the idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one,” the AP reports. “Maybe more important, it’s obviously one that’s not going to happen,” he said. “So we probably shouldn’t waste a lot of time talking about it.”

Danish officials, however, are taking the remarks very seriously, CNN reports. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Wednesday that the country is “open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled.” Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, met with the Danish king on Wednesday, the Guardian reports. A day earlier, he said, “Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland. Our future and fight for independence is our business.”

What is this senile old fart’s game?

While we are at it the idea being floated that the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America…..

Can the US unilaterally rename it the body of water?

President-elect Donald Trump is once again mulling a major, long-shot global grab — like pondering the “absolute neccessity” of America’s purchase of Greenland — ahead of his upcoming administration.

Now Trump is tossing around the idea of changing the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”

The nations with the most “control” over the gulf are the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba, and for years have shared the body of water. The gulf serves as an important center of economic activity, including fishing, electricity generation, and shipping.

Why does the gulf bear Mexico’s name? It’s actually not a reference to the modern state of Mexico, but rather to a Native American city bearing the same moniker, and it has borne that name for more than 400 years.

Despite the fact that the gulf is shared by multiple nations, Trump recently said that the US does the “most work” on the gulf, and insisted that the body of water should bear America’s name “because it’s ours.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/can-trump-rename-gulf-of-mexico-b2675496.html

+++I am sorry to put it this way but I can think of nothing else+++

Has this old fart lost his fucking mind?

If this is any indication how the next 4 years will be then this country is so fucked.

Could this be a diversion?

Or is this egotist that fucking arrogant?

What will any of this do to help the struggling families that voted for this moron?

Questions that need answer….but will they be forthcoming?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Military Force On The Table?

After silly statements made by the president-elect I made my thoughts known on his first foreign policy statement…..

Is This Trump Foreign Policy?

The whole idea is ludicrous….but what he said after that statement sends chills up my spine…..

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been rebuked in recent days by the leaders of both Panama and Denmark for his insistence that the Panama Canal and Danish territory Greenland must be under American control, and his latest comments on Tuesday were expected to garner more anger—and eye-rolling—from abroad.

At a press conference at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, the Republican leader refused to rule out using military force to take over the canal and Greenland.

“It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country,” said Trump. “We need Greenland for national security purposes.”

He added that both the canal and Greenland, the world’s largest island and home to a U.S. military base, are needed for U.S. “economic security.”

Under President Jimmy Carter, who died late last month, the U.S. signed a treaty returning the Panama Canal Zone to Panama in 1979, and the waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has been solely controlled by the Panamanian government since 1999.

Trump repeated a false claim that the canal is being “operated by China.”

Last month, after the president-elect demanded “that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question,” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino posted a video to social media in response.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/panama-canal-importance-us-history

Hopefully this is just one of his idle threats while chest thumping….like the threat to use US troops to invade Mexico back in his last admin….

There is a couple more totally absurd claims and threats issued by the clown-in-waiting…..

On Canada, he said he was willing to use “economic force” to acquire the nation, reports USA Today. “Canada and the United States—that would really be something,” he said. “You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.”

Trump also continued to needle Mexico in regard to trade and immigration, per the Hill. “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.” Ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted that she would quickly introduce legislation to make it so.

Is this the beginning of an imperial America?

If this is any indication on the policies that the Trump administration is going to follow then I say the country needs help and the world should be prepared for the stupid to come.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Deeper We Go

The events in the Middle East is doing nothing to keep Americans safe….Biden is using the deaths of Americans to legitimize his actions.

The problem is that Biden makes Americans targets by his less than effective policies and will no doubt use those deaths to his advantage.

These revenge attacks will dig a deeper hole for the US to try and dig out of kinda like the invasion of Iraq

U.S. officials may not acknowledge the connection between the Gaza War and the U.S. bombing campaign, but there is no question that Israeli militarism is relevant to the increased attacks from the Houthis against commercial shipping in the Red Sea as well as the increased attacks from Iranian-backed militia against U.S. facilities in Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

As a result of these developments, the United States has taken a stronger stand against Iran, and suggested the possibility of an expanded security alliance with Saudi Arabia in return for Saudi diplomatic recognition of Israel.  These steps would require a deeper U.S. commitment in the Middle East with greater instability and uncertainty at a time when we should be looking for a way to reduce our presence.

Biden is Dragging the United States Deeper Into the Middle East

To use a popular term….the sh*t is getting deep in the Middle East and it is partially the fault of the US,

I question the US whether they truly want a more peaceful Middle East or not….from where I sit I say it is the later.

And sadly it is not just the Middle East….’experts’ are expecting deeper problems in almost every corner of the planet.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media is predictably advocating the use of greater military force by the United States.  In recent days, for example, the Washington Post has run lead editorials that were titled “North Korea goes from bad to much, much worse” and “The U.S. needs to strike Iran, and make it smart.”  The New York Times ran a long article (“A Worried NATO Prepares for a Russian Invasion”) that gives credibility to the idea that Putin “could invade a NATO nation over the coming decade” and that NATO “might have to face his forces without U.S. support.”

Have we forgotten so soon that it was the Bush administration’s misuse of military power against Iraq in 2003 that led to the chaos that now dominates the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.  If ever there were a time for official Washington to take a deep breath and to consider the diplomatic options for dealing with Iran and North Korea as well as Russia and China, this is it.

Biden just keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper and the US will soon be in a quagmire that it has no hope to end.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Putin Has A Plan

Let me say at the onset this story sounds a bit hinkey to me.

It appears some think that Putin is use ‘waves of kids’ thrown at the Ukraine military…..which made me think of the news in the 1980s with the Iraq-Iran War when Iran used kids armed with the Koran to walk in front of their troops looking for mines….Iran lost a whole generation of males because of this stupidity.

Putin’s Plan?

Former senior army officials accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of deploying waves of untrained kids to the front lines in an effort to outmatch the West.

British generals have weighed in on the ongoing war in Ukraine, drawing parallels to the style of warfare seen in the battles of Verdun and the Somme during World War I. Speaking to the Sun Online, they accused the Russian leader of relying on sheer numbers to overpower the well-trained and better-armed Ukrainian forces.

The British veterans further asserted that Putin’s primary strategy was to prolong the war, leveraging manpower as their only significant resource, with the hope that Western nations would eventually lose interest, thus facilitating a forced settlement.

General Sir Richard Shirreff claimed that Russia was deploying troops in successive waves, while General Sir Richard Barrons agreed, stating that these waves were deliberately sent to be decimated by Ukrainian fire.

The generals also expressed their suspicion that Putin’s approach aimed to demonstrate a greater level of resilience compared to Ukraine and its allies.

In support of their claims, Ukraine has reported over 200,000 killed enemy soldiers to date. If these figures hold true, it would mean that the Russian Army has suffered casualties at a rate of one soldier every three minutes since Putin initiated his “Special Military Operation” in February of last year, per The Sun.

While the veteran generals appeared skeptical of the exact figure, they do acknowledge that Russia has incurred significant losses in its attempts to seize control of Ukraine.

“What the Russians have consistently demonstrated is their lack of concern for their own people and the number of casualties,” stated General Shirreff.

He further added, “Putin believes that the Ukrainian people will eventually lose their will to fight, and the West will perceive it as a stalemate, ultimately forcing a settlement.”

(knewz.com)

Maybe my UK visitors have more info on this story….if they would like to update us we will be appreciative.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Beautiful Balloons

Well the country and world has lost its collective mind over balloons.

The US has shot down several in the last week….the big one was the Chinese model and now we know(?) what it was all about….

The US has finished its efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon, US officials said Friday. Officials said Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI personnel collected all of the balloon debris off the ocean floor, which included equipment from the payload that could reveal what information it collected. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that a significant amount of debris was recovered and that it included “electronics and optics” from the payload, the AP reports. He declined to say what, if anything, the US has learned from the wreckage so far.

That is what is great about this country…the transparency….

Then there are the few other balloons that were shot down….

President Biden on Thursday acknowledged that the three unidentified objects he ordered the US military to shoot down were likely harmless weather balloons.

“The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research,” Biden said.

Following the panic caused by the Chinese balloon that floated over the United States, US fighter jets shot down unidentified objects on February 10, 11, and 12 using heat-seeking AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, which are worth over $400,000 apiece.

Biden said the military was still working to collect the debris. “Our military and the Canadian military are seeking to recover the debris so we can learn more about these three objects,” he said.

According to a report from Aviation Week, at least one of the objects may have been a hobby balloon reported missing by a club in Illinois that launches small balloons with tracking devices that are capable of traveling the globe at high altitudes.

The club, the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB), said its balloon was last reported off the coast of Alaska on February 10, and tracking data projected that it would be floating over Canada’s Yukon Territory on February 11, the same day a US F-22 shot down an object in the area.

The balloon they launched is known as a “pico balloon,” a small silver-coated party-style balloon that carries a transmitter. A Pentagon memo described the object that was shot down over Canada as a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it.”

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio, another group that launches hobby balloons, describes the pico balloons as “a 3-foot mylar foil party balloon, filled partially with ultra-pure helium, and carrying a 13-gram solar-powered APRS transmitter. The balloon is intended to travel for long distances (not to achieve heights) and is not intended to be recovered. These balloons have literally circumnavigated the globe — even multiple times — before finally descending.”

News that Ukraine has shot down some balloons….jumping on the media bandwagon.

Hopefully this bit of paranoia will subside…..but not to worry we will find another.

I am sure there is another diversion waiting on the horizon to drive the imagination of the media and the public.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Are The Tanks Rolling?

The news shot across the media….the US and its allies will be sending tanks to the Ukrainian forces in their on-going conflict with the forces of Russia.

The US announced on January 25 that it will send thirty-one M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The tanks may take months or even years to arrive and may never see the battlefield. But that may never have been the intent.

The M1 Abrams is the main battle tank of the US military and is one of the most powerful and sophisticated tanks in the world. But, for Ukraine, that is both the advantage and the problem.

According to military analyst Daniel Davis, “it could take a year or more for all these Abrams to make it to Ukraine, so any expectations that these tanks will have an immediate impact on the fighting needs to be tempered.”

In his comments announcing the decision, Biden said that delivering the tanks to Ukraine will “take time” without further specification.

Reporting ahead of the Biden administration’s announcement, the Associated Press said that “it could take months for the tanks to be delivered.” Other reporting by the AP added that “it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.” The longer estimate seems to be based on US intentions to purchase new tanks through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, which provides longer-range funding for weapons, rather than sending tanks from US stockpiles.

US Is Sending Tanks to Ukraine. But Why?

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that Ukraine expects to receive between 120 and 140 Western-made tanks in the “first wave” of deliveries.

“The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks,” Kuleba said. “These are Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams.”

Tanks may not be the answer that Kyiv thinks it will be…..

It seems to be a case of little provision for so much supposed effect. The debates, the squabbles, the to-and-fro about supplying Ukraine with tanks from Western arsenals has served to confirm one thing: this is an ever-broadening war between the West against Russia with Ukraine an experimental proxy convinced it will win through. Efforts to limit the deepening conflict continue to be seen as the quailing sentiments of appeasers, the wobbly types who find democracy a less than lovable thing.

So far, promises have been made to ship the US M1A2 Abrams, Germany’s Leopard 2 and the UK’s Challenger. Others have alluded to doing the same thing – including France regarding its Leclerc tanks – but tardiness fills the ranks, and logistics will make the provision of such weapons a long affair. Re-export licenses will have to be issued, notably regarding the Leopard 2; training Ukrainian tank crews will also need to be undertaken.

All in all, the picture is not as rosy as those in Kyiv think, despite the confident assessment from Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Andriy Melnyk that his country’s defence forces would have access to “at least a hundred tanks” within three months.

Ukraine’s Tank Problem

How will this end?

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”