Tag: War Department

Pentagon Does It Again

The War Department has wasted truckloads of money on weaponry…..the F-35 comes to mind (it is called a ‘flying brick’ because it spends more time on the ground than in the air)….wasted money that that cannot let go and just scrap the POS.

This and a story I read over the weekend reminds of a movie about the design of a new tank for our troops….the movie is called the Pentagon Wars and it describes the process of a new weapon with humor.

For those interested the movie is clever and can be watched here…..https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle project, already stalled in development for seventeen years and at the running cost of $14 billion is the charge of Major General Partridge. In an effort to curtail further excessive Pentagon spending, Congress appoints U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Burton to observe the Bradley’s field development and tests.

Burton delves into the extensive and protracted development history, beginning in the 1960s originally under design supervision of then Colonel Robert L. Smith, who quickly becomes frustrated with the continuous change of design by the higher ups, eventually leading to the Bradley being drastically changed from its original role as a light troop carrier into a bulky tank-like vehicle that can only carry half of its original capacity.

The report that I referred to is about a new tank that has a similar humorous outcome.

As the 101st Airborne Division prepared last year to receive their first M10 Bookers—armored combat vehicles designed specifically for infantry forces—staff planners realized something: eight of the 11 bridges on Fort Campbell would crack under the weight of the “light tank.”

It turns out that though the vehicle was initially conceptualized as relatively lightweight—airdroppable by C-130—the twists and turns of the Army requirements process had rendered the tank too heavy to roll across the infrastructure at the infantry-centric Kentucky post, and nobody had thought about that until it was too late.

“This is not a story of acquisition gone awry,” Alex Miller, the Army’s chief technology officer, told Defense One. “This is a story of the requirements process creating so much inertia that the Army couldn’t get out of its own way, and it just kept rolling and rolling and rolling.”

It’s a twist on the classic Pentagon procurement snafu—a program that moves so slowly that it’s outdated by the time it reaches the field.

In this case, the Army knew early on that it wasn’t going to be able to make the thing it had set out to make, but it was bound and determined to make something. So it made something it doesn’t actually need.

https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/04/army-made-tank-it-doesnt-need-and-cant-use-now-its-figuring-out-what-do-it/404877/

Classic case of stupidity….wasting butt-loads of cash all in the name of national defense.

Can you now see the problem with the War Department and its defense industry co-conspirators?

On an unrelated topic….Hogsbreath (Hegseth)…..the idiot Donny put in charge of the US War machine….

Apparently he still using unsecured lines of communication and betting on sports.

Remember when defense secretary of the United States Pete Hegseth, the man at the center of all the “Signalgate” drama, accidentally texted a journalist about the need to maintain “100 percent OPSEC” about secret war plans?

As the New York Times reports, the same phone Hegseth used when he accidentally shared those covert military maneuvers is also his personal one. And embarrassingly, its number could easily be found online on a variety of public apps as recently as March, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Airbnb, and — we kid you not — a sports betting website.

“There’s zero percent chance that someone hasn’t tried to install Pegasus or some other spyware on his phone,” Mike Casey, the former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told the NYT. “He is one of the top five, probably, most targeted people in the world for espionage.”

According to security experts, it’s not surprising that Hegseth’s personal number is on the web, since he was a private citizen before being sworn in. Instead, the former Fox News host’s staggeringly stupid mistake was using the same phone number to do all his official top secret military stuff, like announcing the details of an airstrike in Yemen against Houthi forces in a group chat that also had his wife and brother (we should clarify: that was a separate incident from when he accidentally leaked stuff to a journalist).

As the NYT notes, even low-level government employees are forbidden from using personal devices for work-related tasks — and here’s the guy in charge of the entire nation’s defense efforts, leaving it all out in the open.

https://futurism.com/head-pentagon-personal-phone

This is what we get when amateurs are allowed to govern….if these transgressions do not worry then you need to return to head in sand.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Feeding The Insatiable Monster

The monster in question is the War Department….while all departments of the government are being cut to the bone and valuable programs are being sidelined the Pentagon smiles and wants more money.

The eyes of a new generation were opened in an episode that seemed like dark science fiction for those of a certain age, and an unyielding nightmare regardless: a genocide streaming into smartphones around the world in real time. Many American eyes were opened for the first time to the reality not only in Palestine, but in the places in the world that are meant to be forgotten, where the U.S. and its allies may tread at their will and pleasure. At the center of this system of license and aggression is the Department of Defense, as it is now euphemistically named. What we call “defense” spending in the United States is actually spending on weapons and war-making, and it has continued its unabated rise in both red and blue presidential administrations.

The U.S. spends far more on its military than any other country – it spends more than the next nine countries combined, and as a share of GDP, its military spending far outpaces that of other rich countries in the G7 group. The Department of Defense is massive, “with $4 trillion in assets dispersed across fifty states and over 4,500 locations worldwide,” and its sheer size is at the heart of pathological accounting failures in recent years. Last November, the Pentagon flunked its seventh audit in a row, again failing to properly account for its budget – over $800 billion. A Stimson Center policy brief published last July called the Pentagon’s wild spending “a budgetary time bomb set to explode in the next twenty years,” noting the explosion in Pentagon spending in the years since 9/11. “Adjusted for inflation, defense spending has increased more than 48% in just the first 24 years of this century.” The U.S. imperial military is a truly global enterprise. According to data compiled by political anthropologist David Vine at American University, there were about 750 bases outside of the United States as of 2021, scattered throughout the world in 80 countries and colonies. Vine points out that given the “sheer number of bases and the secrecy and lack of transparency” around the information, a complete list is impossible:

https://original.antiwar.com/David_DAmato/2025/04/08/the-all-devouring-machine-pentagon-malfeasance-and-insatiable-empire/

Pentagon has no cuts and no problem getting more than they want…..

So far, the only agency that seems to have escaped the ire of the DOGE is — don’t be shocked! — the Pentagon. After misleading headlines suggested that its topline would be cut by as much as 8% annually for the next five years as part of that supposed efficiency campaign, the real plan was revealed — finding savings in some parts of the Pentagon only to invest whatever money might be saved in — yes! — other military programs without any actual reductions in the department’s overall budget. Then, during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 7th, Trump announced that “we’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military . . . $1 trillion. Nobody has seen anything like it.”

So far, cuts to make room for new kinds of military investments have been limited to the firing of civilian Pentagon employees and the dismantling of a number of internal strategy and research departments. Activities that funnel revenue to weapons contractors have barely been touched — hardly surprising given that Musk himself presides over a significant Pentagon contractor, SpaceX.

(counterpunch.org)

Like I said all departments are suffering from the drag of Elmo and his scalpel (DOGE)…and yet the War Department is untouched by all these senseless cuts….they get money shoved up their butts without question…..to illustrate my point….

House Republicans will seek a $150 billion Pentagon spending hike as part of their party-line megabill, according to three people familiar with the process, granted anonymity to describe private deliberations, abandoning a lower defense target and aligning with plans set by their Senate counterparts.

The upward move by the House is a win for defense hawks, who have been pushing to use GOP’s control of Congress and the White House to maximize military spending.

The House Armed Services Committee will debate its portion of Republicans’ reconciliation package next week when lawmakers return from their recess and committees begin to advance their respective sections of the sprawling domestic policy legislation.

A budget framework that cleared both chambers earlier this month proposed $150 billion in additional defense spending on the Senate side, while the House settled for a lower $100 billion Pentagon goal. The instructions for House committees in the budget blueprint, however, can be waived with the same majority vote needed to pass a final bill.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/23/house-gop-pentagon-spending-bump-00307100

It is so sad that the rest of the country means so little to Little Donny and his GOP…..while children go hungry the defense industry gets everything they want, whether needed or not, just to keep the money rolling in for their campaigns (to me it is still a bribe).

When will people come first and not what the Fat Cats want?

Thoughts?

Side note–did you see that after 2 disastrous security breeches Hogsbreath has installed a new internet line to by-pass security?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told the AP. Known as a “dirty” internet line in the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain. The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive information could have been put at risk of hacking or surveillance.

What is this fool’s game?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Chaos In The War Department

+++Breaking News:  Pope Francis has died at ago 88+++

I said from the beginning when Hogsbreath was confirmed that the Pentagon was in than hands of an amateur and he seems to prove my prediction almost weekly.

After the firing of 3 of his most knowledgeable advisers the whole thing is going to crap.

The Pentagon is reeling as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing instability within his ranks following the sudden departure of his chief of staff – the fourth staffer exit amid the fallout of the disastrous Signal chat leak.

…

t the center of the ongoing controversy is a Signal group chat – a secure messaging app known for its privacy protections – created by National Security Adviser Michael Waltz to coordinate US military responses to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

However, the group inadvertently included editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, raising immediate concerns over the exposure of sensitive and potentially classified information.

Hegseth and others shared detailed operational plans within the chat, including timelines and specifics about US military assets.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14627737/Pete-hegseth-pentagon-chaos-signal-chat-fallout.html

A good administrator would learn from his blunders but apparently Hegseth is not the sharpest pencil in the box…..

They are calling all this chaos ‘signalgate’……

Signalgate is expanding: Four people tell the New York Times that, in addition to the infamous Signal chat that inadvertently included a journalist, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also used the messaging app to send sensitive military information to his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. The sources say that on March 15, Hegseth shared essentially the same details of upcoming strikes on Yemen in the two separate Signal chats: one titled “Houthi PC small group” (created by national security adviser Mike Waltz) to which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added, and another titled “Defense | Team Huddle” (created by Hegseth himself) that included the aforementioned trio along with others from his inner circle.

The sources say Hegseth created the “Team Huddle” group chat prior to his Senate confirmation, and that after he was installed at the Pentagon, several advisers encouraged him to move the chat to government channels, but he did not. Per the Times, the chat generally included “routine administrative or scheduling information,” and it’s not clear why the information about the Yemen strikes was shared there, but Hegseth’s inclusion of his wife and brother in his job has previously raised eyebrows.

Also included in the “Team Huddle” group chat were two of Hegseth’s senior advisers who were recently fired following accusations of leaking sensitive information to the media, accusations they denied in a public statement. The White House has decried the Times article as a “non-story,” insisting “no classified information was shared” and blaming the fired advisers for leaking the story to the newspaper, the AP reports. The chaos at the Pentagon has some speculating that Hegseth could be ousted soon, Axios reports.

Amateurs!  Can you see it now?

At what point is this juvenile person allowed to continue?

Please get rid of this clown before he does some real damage to this country.  (It may alreadsy be too late)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Panama Next?

We have all heard the lame ass rhetoric from Little Donny about the Panama Canal, right?  well this clueless POS, the amateur, at the War Department has jumped on the bandwagon and made a bold statement.

“China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. [A]nd China will not weaponize this canal. Together, we will take back the Panama Canal from China’s influence.” Those were Pete Hegseth’s fighting words on Tuesday during his visit to Panama—the first by a US defense secretary in more than 20 years—in which Hegseth met with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino. During his visit, Hegseth warned about the “ongoing threats” from China regarding the Panama Canal, which President Trump has hinted about “reclaiming,” reports Axios. More on Hegseth’s trip and its implications:

  • Making nice: Per Politico, despite Hegseth’s harsh words regarding China, he played “carrot, not stick” when it came to how he talked about the Central American nation. “Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations through the deterrent power of the strongest, most effective, and most lethal fighting force in the world,” Hegseth said Tuesday in a presser.
  • More hints of partnership: He added, per Axios: “The United States and Panama have done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defense and security cooperation than we have in decades.” Bloomberg looks at the interaction similarly, calling Hegseth’s tone toward Panama a “cooperative” one.
  • A discrepancy: Despite the seemingly conciliatory stance in terms of Panama, there was one important variation in two versions of a joint statement put out by the US and Panamanian governments after Hegseth and Mulino conferred. The Daily Beast notes that in the Spanish version, the following line appears: “Secretary Hegseth recognized the leadership and inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas.” That line is omitted from the US version.
  • Mulino’s take: His government’s statement after the Hegseth meeting aside, the Panamanian leader has issued past denials that China holds any sway over the canal. “We aren’t going to speak about what is not reality, but rather those issues that interest both countries,” he said in February, per the AP. Mulino has agreed, however, to allow for an audit that would be shared with the US of Beijing-operated ports at the canal, which the US fears may be being used for surveillance purposes.

Just how much control does China actually have in Panama?

And now US Troops are headed to Panama….

U.S. troops are now set to deploy near the Panama canal for military training, exercises and “other activities,” as per a new joint deal with the Panamanian government.

The deal, seen by AFP on Thursday, comes as an apparent concession to President Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to retake the major global trade route from Panama if it failed to reduce or axe fees it charged to American vessels passing through there.

“We’re going to take [the canal] back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump alleged in early February.

Notably, the deal walks back previous assertions by Hegseth, who posited on Wednesday that the U.S. could, “by invitation,” even “revive” military bases previously used in Panama to “secure [its] sovereignty.” Instead, American troops will be deployed to Panama-controlled facilities — though some of these facilities will be American built-ones, erected in Panama decades ago when it still occupied the canal zone.

“Panama made clear, through President Mulino, that we cannot accept military bases or defense sites,” Panama’s security minister, Frank Abrego, explained in a Wednesday appearance with Hegseth.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/troops-panama/

In true bullying form….Donny and his butt boyz are threatening the world (damn near) to get6 what they want.

Now just how much does China control in Panama or is this just using a very convenient ‘enemy’ to try and get their way?

This pathetic!

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What’s That Sound? War Drums?

The idiot in charge of the War Department is thumping his chest again about Iran, I am sure he had to clear it with the man in charge, if it is not China then it will be Iran.

Donny does what Donny does best….threaten.

President Trump again threatened the possibility of the US taking military action against Iran and suggested Israel might “lead” the attack.

“If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if the US would attack if a nuclear deal isn’t reached with Iran.

“Israel will obviously be very much involved in that — it’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do,” he added.

Trump’s latest threat comes ahead of negotiations between the US and Iran that will be held in Oman this Saturday. The talks will be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Trump has been increasing sanctions on Iran and threatening the country over its nuclear program even though US intelligence agencies recently reaffirmed that there’s no evidence Tehran is building a bomb.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian restated Iran’s long-standing pledge in comments on Wednesday. “We are not after a nuclear bomb,” Pezeshkian added. “You have verified it 100 times. Do it 1,000 times again,” he said.

(antiwar.com)

Let’s be honest for a change…..Hegseth is just sitting on his hands waiting for the Beserker-in-charge to give the word…..and it looks like it could be just weeks away if not sooner.  Why?

In the largest single deployment of stealth bombers in U.S. history, the Pentagon has sent six B-2 “Spirit” aircraft to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The long-range bombers, which are uniquely suited to evade Iranian air defenses and can carry America’s most potent bunker busting weapons, flew in from Missouri last week in a little noticed operation.

The B-2s carry not just bombs, but a message for Iran: “do you see our sword?,” as one retired general told Newsmax this week.

President Donald Trump hasn’t been shy in threatening Iran, saying that if Tehran doesn’t close the door on a nuclear capability they will experience “bombing the likes of which they haven’t seen.”

“Hell” will “rain down” on the country, Trump has also said. Just today, amidst the stock market meltdown Trump again reiterated his threat, saying that “doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious” — which to the president is undertaking a massive strike.

Blatant as the threat is, the U.S. government has not otherwise publicly acknowledged the bomber buildup. Though B-2 bombers were used to carry out strikes on underground Houthi facilities in Yemen (both under the Biden and Trump administration), the forward deployment of the bombers to the island of Diego Garcia was only reported when commercial satellite images of the airbase there revealed the six on the runway.

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/pentagon-prepares-for-trump-to-go

This is a stupid idea on so many levels….one using those barbarians from Israel and do we really want to make an even more ruthless adversary?

At some point there has to be a competent person at the War Department….we know that it is not the ass licker in charge.

This should worry every American….there are so many consequences that we are not told to a possible war with Iran.

When we ever learn?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

In The Hands Of Amateurs

So far after 3 extremely long months I just shake my head at the amateurs the Trump Administration has on its payroll….but the biggest one, for me that is, was his choice for Secretary of War, Hegseth.

Now this dude has put some of his family on the payroll to round out the ignorance he brought to the nation’s defense.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who’s under criticism for not maintaining security in planning strikes in Yemen, brought his wife along to two meetings with foreign officials for discussions of sensitive military information. Jennifer Hegseth, a former producer for Fox News, is not an employee of the Defense Department, and the Pentagon would not say whether she has a security clearance. Although the secretary can invite anyone to such meetings, it would be unusual for anyone without clearance to attend, the Wall Street Journal reports, and security staffers usually are assigned to keep that from happening. In addition, Hegseth’s younger brother is on the Pentagon payroll, per the AP. Details include:

  • Meeting No. 1: Pete and Jennifer Hegseth went to NATO headquarters in Brussels last month for a discussion of allied defense officials’ support for Ukraine. Such meetings, which take place behind closed doors, often involve nations offering information they do not want made public, such as details about aid to Ukraine. Some participants did not not know who Jennifer Hegseth was, per the Journal, though no one objected to her presence.
  • Meeting No. 2: The Hegseths met with UK Secretary of Defense John Healey and Adm. Tony Radakin, who heads British armed forces, at the Pentagon on March 6. That was the day after the Trump administration said it had stopped sharing military intelligence with Ukraine. Participants told the Journal that the administration’s reasoning for the intelligence decision and possible future US-UK military cooperation were discussed.
  • Phil Hegseth: The secretary’s younger brother has been hired as senior adviser to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department, a spokesperson said. The Pentagon also confirmed that Phil Hegseth is traveling with the secretary on official visits, including the current one to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and Japan, per the AP. The adviser’s public resume indicates that he founded a podcast production company and worked in social media and on podcasts for the Hudson Institute. Tax records show he was paid $108,000 for work he did for Concerned Veterans for America, the nonprofit where Pete Hegseth had a problematic reign.

A 1967 federal nepotism law enacted in 1967 bars government officials from hiring, promoting, or recommending family members for any civilian position over which they have control. The AP has seen an image of a Pentagon organizational chart that shows Phil Hegseth in a small group just below his brother, the secretary

If you are interested in learning about an incompetent bro then this link is for you.

https://www.militarytimes.com/pentagon/2025/03/28/hegseths-younger-brother-is-serving-in-a-key-role-inside-the-pentagon/

The entire heads of government are amateurs…..disgustingly inept.

This is truly a horrible kakistocracy a government of amateurs that on their best days would be panhandling on the streets with Donny.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The One DOGE Missed

The now infamous DOGE is raising all kinds of chaos in DC….but the one place that needs slimming down and budget cuts is somehow missing from the long list of targets.

CDC slashed to the bone, IRS being attacked, Social Security under a cloud, etc etc….but what about the one department with the most obscene budget and little to no oversight…..the War Department?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Monday that the Pentagon will soon have its first $1 trillion budget despite the Trump administration’s pledges to cut government spending.

Hegseth made the announcement on X while sharing a video of President Trump saying that his administration approved a plan for a $1 trillion military budget. “Nobody’s seen anything like it. We have to build out military, and we’re very cost-conscious, but the military is something we have to build, and we have to be strong,” he said while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump said he was “proud to say” it will be the biggest military budget “we’ve ever done.”

Hegseth wrote on X, “Thank you Mr. President! COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar [Defense Department] budget.”

Hegseth said the Pentagon would “spend every taxpayer dollar wisely,” but he is currently overseeing a massive bombing campaign in Yemen that’s failed to achieve its stated goal of stopping Houthi attacks and will soon cost over $1 billion in just a month of operations.

While the Pentagon has never had a $1 trillion budget, the actual cost of total US military spending has exceeded $1 trillion for years.

The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which President Biden signed into law in December 2023, totaled $895 billion. According to veteran defense analyst Winslow Wheeler, based on the $895 billion NDAA, US national security spending for 2025 is expected to reach about $1.77 trillion.

Wheeler’s estimate accounts for military-related spending from other government agencies not funded by the NDAA, such as the Department of Veteran Affairs and Homeland Security. It also includes the national security share of the interest accrued on the US debt and other factors.

Trump and Hegseth’s comments suggest the president will request a $1 trillion NDAA for 2026, which would really bring total US military spending close to $2 trillion.

(antiwar.com)

Seriously?

This is obscene…..this is pathetic…..this is stupid.

Does this country need to spend $2 trillion on war prep?

I think not!

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

China Response In Kind

Just a few days ago I wrote about the US master plan of prepping for conflict with China….here is that post….

WHOLLY SH*T! More War Prep?

Then there is the massive build-up of the US war machine in the South China Sea region….

A significant amount of US military power has been on the move over this past week, including several B-2 strategic bombers which have landed at the US military base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean just over 2,000 miles southeast of Iran. According to press reports this is the most significant B-2 presence on the Island in nearly half a decade. In addition flight trackers are showing increased activity by at least nine KC-135R refueling aircraft in the region. Several C-17 cargo planes have also been spotted by satellites on the Island.

(antiwar.com)

Now with all the threatening rhetoric China has reciprocated….with more threatening rhetoric….

The People’s Liberation Army will respond to any “dangerous provocations” by the US military in the waters and airspace near China, Beijing said on Thursday after a bilateral maritime security meeting in Shanghai.
“The reconnaissance, survey, and high-intensity drills conducted by US warships and aircraft in the sea and airspace near China are highly likely to cause misjudgment, jeopardising China’s sovereignty and military security,” the PLA Navy said.
This situation is getting close to being out-of-hand…..everyday the possibility of an incident occurring in the South China Sea area more and more possible.
This has the stench of war all around these plans…..
So is the US president elected with the promise to end wars rather than start them ready to launch a war against the modern, technologically-advanced nation of 90 million with an extremely complicated terrain, advanced military capabilities, and a newly-signed strategic partnership treaty with Russia?
Looks like yet another lameass promise of Little Donny was a LIE!
It is time for someone to pull the US from the brink of war that we are approaching….maybe Little Marco at State ….hahahaha he does not have the nuts to get into this debate he must wait for Little Donny to tell him what he is to do.
“When we ever learn”?
In closing song from Pete Seeger…..please listen closely….very informative.
Thoughts?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”

Prepping For War?

Those amateurs in the War Department are getting serious about a possible war with China…

Is the war that most fear getting closer?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth distributed a memo in mid-March ordering the Pentagon to put its focus on preparing for a war with China, a nuclear-armed power, by “assuming risk” in Europe and other parts of the world, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The Post didn’t publish the full memo, known as the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, but said it “outlines, in broad and sometimes partisan detail, the execution of President Donald Trump’s vision to prepare for and win a potential war against Beijing and defend the United States from threats in the ‘near abroad,’ including Greenland and the Panama Canal.”

The Pentagon has considered China the top “threat” facing the US since the first Trump administration, but the Post report said the memo is “extraordinary in its description of the potential invasion of Taiwan as the exclusive animating scenario that must be prioritized over other potential dangers — reorienting the vast US military architecture toward the Indo-Pacific region beyond its homeland defense mission.”

The report said that the guidance from Hegseth says the Pentagon’s force planning construct “will consider conflict only with Beijing when planning contingencies for a major power war” and leave the “threat from Moscow largely attended by European allies.”

Hegseth wrote that China “is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese fait accompli seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the US homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario.”

The memo also calls for the US to pressure Taiwan to increase military spending “significantly.”

For years now, the US military has been openly preparing for war with China despite the risk of nuclear escalation. It has done this by expanding military bases in the Asia Pacific, building alliances, and increasing support for Taiwan. While being done in the name of deterrence, these steps have only increased tensions in the region, making conflict more likely.

The Post report says that Hegseth’s plans to prepare a “denial defense” of Taiwan include “increasing the troop presence through submarines, bombers, unmanned ships, and specialty units from the Army and Marine Corps, as well as a greater focus on bombs that destroy reinforced and subterranean targets.” His memo also calls for increasing the defenses of US troop positions in the region and establishing more weapons stockpiles.

(antiwar.com)

We have troops stationed in the South China Sea patrolling for any abnormalities….and now the Chinese with all the news around the US designs has reacted….

Beijing started another series of joint military and coastguard drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, as experts said the exercises – which include the Shandong aircraft carrier – were intended to squeeze Taipei’s space to respond in the event of an attack.
According to a statement issued by the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, the patrols and exercises included simulated air and land strikes, as well as control of key passages to test the joint combat readiness of its troops.
“This is a stern warning and a strong deterrent to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence, and is a legitimate and necessary action to defend national sovereignty and safeguard national unity,” spokesman Colonel Shi Yi said.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunited, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as independent. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying weapons for its defence.
According to Shi, army, navy, air and rocket forces have been deployed on the multidirectional naval and aerial manoeuvres.

Some of these plans scare the crap out of me…..I can smell that old thinking from Vietnam creeping into the scenario.

Hopefully Americans can remember what a debacle Vietnam was 50 years ago….if you will recall it was a minor naval engagement that lead to the debacle of the Vietnam War.

Is there any memory of that huge mistake left?

If not we are doomed to repeat our mistakes and at the cost of American lives.

Will we do it again?

The present group of amateurs are headed in that direction.

What say you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Half The War Budget

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO ONE AND ALL!

++++This may be only post today for I have a meeting with the radiologist and later my infusion so it is no telling how I will feel after.   Sorry and I will bounce back as soon as possible.++++

Most of my regulars know that I am against the War Department having an almost trillion dollar budget….I believe we could be just as safe with a smaller budget for so-called defense.

I know I have been critical of Trump and his horde of minions but I will lighten up if he keeps a promise he has recently made….

President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believes US military spending could eventually be cut in half and that he wants to pursue the idea as part of an agreement with Russia and China. He also said there was no reason to build new nuclear weapons.

“At some point, when things settle down, I’m going to meet with China and I’m going to meet with Russia, in particular those two, and I’m going to say there’s no reason for us to be spending almost $1 trillion on the military … and I’m going to say we can spend this on other things,” Trump said.

“When we straighten it all out, then one of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia, and I want to say let’s cut our military budget in half. And we can do that, and I think we’ll be able to do that,” he added.

The US spends significantly more on its military than Russia and China combined. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2023, the US accounted for 37% of global military spending. China came in second but was still far behind, accounting for 12% of military spending, and Russia was in third at 4.5%.

Discussing nuclear weapons, Trump said, “There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons. We already have so many you could destroy the world 50 times over or 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and [Russia] is building new nuclear weapons, and China is building new nuclear weapons.”

Russia recently said the outlook was not good for the state of US arms control as the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two powers is due to expire in February 2026, and there’s currently no replacement. But Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war could lead to arms control negotiations.

On the other hand, Trump also recently signed an executive order to build a major new missile defense system to cover the US and its military bases abroad, which could lead to a new arms race and will come with a huge price tag. Republicans in Congress are also looking to increase military spending by at least $100 billion.

(antiwar.com)

I say ‘Bravo’ to this statement….it has been needed for a very long time.

If he tries to make good on this I foresee the arms industry having a meltdown, after all they are making obscene profits from the current conditions.

Or is this just another of Trump’s idle promises that grab headlines and then dies from inaction?

If he is successful where will the ‘savings’ go?

I applaud this but I fear that it is not all it is cracked up to be.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”