Contemporary Wars

Posts about present and near-present wars. Think Gulf War to the present

US Secretary of State Announces “Peace in our Time.”

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Obama: Nuclear deal blocks Iran’s path to bomb In an ironic twist showing that the 60+ years since World War II have only fostered institutional amnesia the US and five other powers buckled and agreed to appease Iran in talks about its nuclear program.  Agreeing that sanctions will be eased in return for Iran behaving US Secretary of State John Kerry channeled former British Prime minister Neville Chamberlain by paraphrasing him and tweeting:

 I just wonder if he is going to wave a piece of paper around when he gets home too?

neville-chamberlainHas the world really forgotten that appeasing tyrannical regimes is a recipe for getting heartbroken and sore?  Why would any sane, rational person think for a minute that Iran would give up the nuclear program they have defended so fiercely over the past decade+ in return for access to less than $10 billion dollars of oil revenue?  My guess is that Iran already has enough fissile material for at least one but probably more bombs and thus it suits them to play nice right now in return for concessions.  Remember, Hitler agreed to only take the Sudetenland in September of 1938, because he was not quite ready for war.  But then he turned around and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia in spring 1939 and kicked off World War II less than a year later.

Should I be worried about being recalled to active duty to go fight in the next world war?

Periodic World Craziness Update # 24

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. Syria: Al-Qaida group changes shape of civil war – It seems increasingly clear that the Syrian Civil War is starting to morph into a more regional conflict.  I would expect that before next summer we will star to see more overt regional alignments and the conflict will start to spread.  Give it another 18 months and we may very well start to see the fighting spread outside of Syria.  I would expect that Lebanon would be the first foreign country to see significant fighting spread onto it’s territory although I can picture a scenario where Iraq is also … More after the Jump…

Remember Those who Served both Today and all through the Year

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The following is an excerpt from The Sky Behind Me: A Memoir of Flying & Life. Taken from chapter 14, this piece is dedicated to my fellow veterans, of Vietnam and all wars Americans have been involved in through the years. For non-veteran readers, please keep in mind that returning GIs want nothing more than to be welcomed home, that politics and ideology play no part in that welcome. When I returned from Vietnam all those years ago I was expecting hostility, judgement, interrogation and doubt concerning my effort in that conflict, and my behavior in the war zone. Imagine my pleasant surprise when the following event took place instead. … More after the Jump…

When the Tigers Broke Free – Rape in World War Two

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I am afraid that the top side is not completely satisfied with my work… They are naturally disappointed that I failed to chase the Hun out of Italy but there was no military reason why I should have been able to do so. In fact there is no military reason for “Shingle”. – Major General John P. Lucas     The Royal Fusiliers Company C were not the only men sacrificed for the imbibing hereditary duke beyond the Cliffs of Dover. The Battle of Monte Cassino and its sub theaters were a great multicultural event. The last time so many nations had uplifted and hurled themselves at an object was … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 22

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship.   U.S. weapons reaching Syrian rebels, Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane’s report:  As far as foreign policy stupidity goes, arming the Syrian rebels is right up there with deposing the Diem brothers in South Vietnam was in 1963.  I can think of no other act more guaranteed to put American weapons in the hands of America’s enemies unless we were to ship them directly to Al Qaeda.  I am starting to seriously think Alex Jones has the right of the criminal stupidity and treason of the current administration.  It is … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 21

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. EGYPT: 36 KILLED IN PRISON TRUCK ESCAPE ATTEMPT:  As predicted, Egypt appears to be slipping into a Civil War.  How long until McCain starts saying we need to arm the MB there to protect them against the Military that is trying to keep Egypt secular if not exactly Democratic? In Egyptian village, Christian shops marked ahead of church attack:  What do the Christians have to do with the military – Muslim Brotherhood conflict/argument?  I see these attacks as the MB using the opportunity of the unrest to get rid of a minority they despise anyway.  If the … More after the Jump…

Syria and the Latest Iteration of the Flawed Doctrine of R2P

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I have the sinking feeling that events will outpace my monthly update so I wanted to throw this out there to stay ahead of the curve.  Ironically, it seems I now have the answer to the question I posed in April of 2011, and the answer is 28 months. Exclusive: Syria strike due in days, West tells opposition – sources:  The Admin is talking itself into a corner.  here is also the strong possibility that they want to do this anyway in hopes of polishing up their Foreign Policy credibility.  We all know how swimmingly their last foray into R2P in Libya went.  What we are seeing here is the … More after the Jump…

Never say the USMC aint Full of Smart Officers

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Marine Corps to open infantry training to enlisted women Who said Marines are stupid?  Letting female Marines attend Infantry training as it is right now, before it is feminized is one of the smartest moves they could make.  When females drop from the course lke flies it will make a strong argument to keep women out of front-line infantry jobs.  As the story points out, the Marines allowed females into the Infantry Officer Course last year and all that have tried it have washed out so far. Never doubt though that regardless of the evidence that comes out of any studies on the rle of women in combat, it will … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 20

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. US ‘considering military force in Syria’:  If you read this article the headline is not exactly true, the Pentagon is enaged in contingency planning but is not preparing for imminent action.  There are elements in Congress that would love to see it but as of now Obama is still being partially smart and resisting calls for direct US intervention, which would be a mistake no matter how you look at it. With little argument, House limits U.S. military involvement in Syria, Egypt:  I wil believe it when I see it.  The administration will do whatever they think … More after the Jump…

Ft Hood Shooter Trial starts Tuesday- It’s about damn time

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The Court-Martial of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan (left) is set to start on Tuesday almost four years after the 5 November, 2009 rampage at the Fort Hood Deployment Readiness Center that left 13 people dead and over 30 wounded.  He has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and military prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.  Incredibly, Hasan has decided to represent himself at trial after numerous conflicts with his court provided attorneys. I have a sneaking suspicion that he chose to be his own lawyer as a sneaky way to sabotage his own defense and try and save his neck when his almost certain conviction goes to appeal. … More after the Jump…

Women in Combat-Part 4

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This is an issue I feel strongly about so every time there is a development I will be posting updates. According to “Women in combat no later than 2016, Pentagon says“, the latest timeline for women being introduced into combat positions is 2016.  Maybe the slip to the right means clear heads are having second thoughts and hoping that pushing the implementation into the next administration means that the next SecDef will see the idiocy of the idea and backtrack.  I doubt it though, the slip is probably the result of planners realizing they need more time to 1. figure out how to neuter standards, and 2. figure out how … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 19

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. Iran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria:  If true this begs the question of whether the goal of Iran is to provoke a confrontation with any US troops sent in to train/assist the rebels given that that is the stupid idea the Administration has come up with.  The Civil War in Syria shows every sign of being in the early stages of blowing up into a wider regional conflict and moves like the one’s both Iran and the US are taking do not help keep the war within Syria’s borders. Special Report: … More after the Jump…

Murder in Iraq

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This is kind of an amusing story, unless of course you are the guy that got killed.  When I was deployed to Iraq in 2004 with C Troop 1/4 Cav we had a platoon of National Guard soldiers assigned to my FOB to assist with Force Protection (Guard Duty).  The Guardsmen pulled duty in the towers ringing the perimeter of the FOB.  Along with the Americans, Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) pulled duty, supposedly it was some sort of trust building thing although I was never certain of the logic behind that decision.  That set up the circumstances whereby the murder could occur.  I was at FOB Wilson, which is about … More after the Jump…

Women in Combat-Part 3

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This is an issue I feel strongly about so every time there is a development I will be posting updates. The DoD has now announced there is a plan in place to see most jobs in the military that are currently barred to women opened by 2015.  Military plans would put women in most combat jobs  There was a briefing held on 18 June about the implementation plan; the transcript is here and video is below. . It seems that the US is going to push ahead with this plan.  My only hope is that it is implemented smartly without lowering standards in order to achieve some kind of quota of … More after the Jump…

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