Thursday, August 15, 2019

US Ambassador to Israel on their snubbing of US Congress women...


Has something like this happened before? I'm not a fan of those two but this is unusual.

I know the roots of it though.  Israel is freaked out by the BDS movement.  The same tactic was used against S. Africa with much success and my feeling is they're trying to head this off before it gains momentum.

And the military dimension is obvious.

The US military is facing three huge geo-political issues.

1.  We must tilt toward a rising China.

2.  Most see Russia as a threat that must be defended against.

3.  The American people are tired of the Middle East and after almost 20 years of continuous war in the region I can't blame them.

And we can't forget the huge financial issue that is coming down the tracks.

*  The fiscal trainwreck is real.  Budget cuts are coming and prioritization must take place.

Long story short?

Israel fears it could be standing alone against Iran, Hezbollah, the PLO, and Syria all backed up by Russian aid/tech.

What's next?  The public relations battle.  These two (along with two others) have been a pain in the behind for the Democrat party.  The party will seek to rally around and defend them.  They'll be aided by the MSM.  But if you read the Ambassador's letter you'll see that its not as simple as its being portrayed.  How will the American people see this?  Will they even be alarmed or notice?  Or will they simply deem it as politics unworthy of outrage.

Merkel says Germany must improve its military to keep US bases...

via Stars and Stripes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country must take “pains” to improve its armed forces amid U.S. threats to move American bases from Germany unless Berlin boosts defense spending.

Merkel played down U.S. diplomatic warnings about the possibility of relocating some of the roughly 35,000 troops in Germany to neighboring Poland.

“I think that the German (bases) are good locations for the American soldiers,” she said after a meeting Wednesday with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, as cited by the German t-online news website.

“There are good reasons for the (U.S.) bases here in Germany but at the same time we know that we must take the pains to get the German military in better shape.”
Story here.

Hmm.  Merkel's bluster has disappeared now that the US has fully embraced Poland.

Pity.

No, not aligning more with Poland.  I'm good with that.  It's a pity that the German govt had banked so hard on having US forces on their soil...basically subsidizing their defense, that they allowed their forces to whither and die.

Change is constant.

The Germans bought into the lie that the US would always be in Germany.

They were wrong.

With looming budget cuts and the tilt toward the Pacific, the US won't be able to maintain bases in every European country.  From my chair we're going to have two hubs.  The UK for global operations (along with Spain) and Poland as the new base for our major US Army commitment to Europe.

Germany simply acted too slowly...and now I believe its too late.

McGregor has lost his mind...or are we really seeing him for what he is?


Wow.  Connor has been off for awhile now but this is outrageous.  Either he's lost his mind or we're seeing him for what he is.

If he's going thru something then he really needs to seek help.  If this is who he really is then he needs to seek help.

Connor is screwed up.  Hope he gets it together.

Sidenote.  That fight against the Russian really messed him up.  He was starting to exhibit this extreme behavior shortly before the bout and its continued since.  I wonder if that had something to do with this.

Polish Rosomak AFV in national colors looks like something from World Of Tanks...




Japan has a new self propelled howitzer (wheeled)...

Open Comment Post. 15 Aug 2019


Newly released pics of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy test firing missiles...




Note.  This is another bro you should be following!!!

2d LAR Fort Irwin NTC...Video by Cpl. Melanye Martinez

2nd Marine Division Combat Skills Company...Video by Cpl. Samuel Taylor (ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!)

Viper Ops during Strait Transit through the Strait of Hormuz ...pics by Lance Cpl. Dalton Swanbeck






Airliner makes emergency landing in a cornfield...all passengers alive...


Amazing...

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Weds Cringe Worthy Moment...How does this happen??


I can't even imagine.  How does this happen?

Milrem Robotics THeMIS...





I'm warming to the idea of using robots as carriers for what the infantry would consider heavy weapons.  Additionally with the size of some of the current vehicle mounted weapon systems coming down in size, I'm sure you could even mount a 25mm cannon onto some of the larger squad support vehicles.

If you could get a robot that could move at a bit of speed across broken ground while carrying a heavy weapon then it would be the perfect pairing with the MRZR.

Weds Funny. This is why you need a seatbelt!

Canadian Forces @ Operation Presence (Task Force-Mali)....Photos by Cpl Lessard




Chinese Marines headed to Hong Kong?


Those are the Chinese version of our AAV.  Are Chinese Marines headed to Hong Kong?

If this is real then we're looking at more than an ordinary crackdown.  This would indicate that they're about to take over the city.

Would the Chinese be that bold?

Declare martial law, dismiss the civilian govt and place the city under military rule?

That would fit what Chinese hardliners are calling for.

With the news coming from Russia of Putin's sudden weakness, perhaps the Chinese ruler is feeling a need to show strength.

Another new Mi-35M, for the Mali Air Force.



This will always amaze me.  Western forces assist govts all over the world with internal security issues and how do they repay us?  They buy Russian gear!  Not saying that Russian gear is bad, just the opposite actually, in many ways its more practical for many of the nations in question (Iraq and Afghanistan to name a few). 

But i guess the idea of even thinking about "equivalent exchange" is foreign. We risk lives and treasure to secure their nations and they spend their money elsewhere.

Probably a silly critique but its the feeling nonetheless.

Sidenote.  If you want to get the best view of Russia's military then follow Rob on his Twitter page.  You can thank me later!

Russian forces are on the move near the border with Ukraine...what's going on with this?


This is somewhat surprising.

Let me explain my thinking.  I've heard from readers about Putin's falling ratings in the polls and thought nothing of it.  Trump has had low ratings for the majority of his term and it was no big deal.

Some other readers were stating that we should be ready for some type of event to bring "patriotic fever" to the Russian populace to raise his numbers.

Again I thought nothing of it.

Then I saw a report on main stream news talking about his numbers earlier today and then saw this in my Twitter feed.

Could there be something to this?  Could the Russians be close to conducting "further operations" in Ukraine?

Seems like a VERY risky move but I have no view of Russian politics.

Is this possible?

Hong Kong protesters sing US anthem, with US flags...sorry bro, but this ain't our fight. Don't get pissed hear me out!



Heart warming ain't it?

Makes you BEYOND sympathetic to their cause doesn't it?

But the reality is this ain't our fight!  The protesters screwed this up.  The fate of their city was sealed long ago and this show of force is (maybe, I kinda feel like its gone off the rails) to be applauded.

But it still ain't our fight.

It's past time for the USA to start playing big boy politics.  How many times have we rushed into a situation in the name of "democracy" only to see the whole effort blow up in our faces?

How many times have YOU personally complained that we aren't taking care of issues here at home but instead spending lives and treasure pursuing the prosperity and happiness of people in other lands?

I'm past done with that madness.

It is heart warming to see them with US flags singing the national anthem.  It does make me sympathetic (to a point).

But this is a China problem.  The Brits gave the city back and that's a done deal.

Sidenote.  Does anyone actually know what they're protesting now?  I've seen this type of thing in the US.  Protests start and then once a concession is made the protests continue and its onto a totally different issue.  Frustrating as hell.


Open Comment Post. 14 Aug 2019