Current Events

Periodic World Craziness Update # 6

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The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. Europe rocked by Spanish banking crisis, Time to Admit Defeat: Greece Can No Longer Delay Euro Zone Exit:  At the top of the news for a week or so was the impending meltdown of the Greek economy and Euro experiment. Greek euro exit looms as G8 gathers:  The question in my mind is not if Greece will leave the Euro, but when and what will be the wider consequences for the EU as a whole?  As I understand it, there is no mechanism for an EU country to exit the Euro without repudiating the EU treaty itself and also leaving the … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle by Michael Stephenson

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the publisher for purposes of reviewing it. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] Michael Stephenson’s work The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle follows somewhat in the tradition of classics such a Keegan’s The Face of Battle and Victor David Hanson’s The Western Way of War. Where it differs from these two works as that while Keegan and Hanson focus on specific battles or time periods this book aims to be a more general description of the experience of combat throughout recorded history.   In that, the book is … More after the Jump…

A Travesty Calling for Action

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In today’s edition of Stars and Stripes and the LA Times is an article about a combat engineer facing charges for actions he took in combat in Afghanistan last year.  The gist of the story is that the soldier involved shot an unarmed female in the middle of a firefight who was moving towards the rear of her vehicle.  The description of the incident from the article is here: His convoy was reeling from a roadside bomb, his fellow soldiers were engaged in combat with insurgents and a mysterious black car had just screeched to a stop in the middle of the firefight. Some nine minutes later, a black door opens. Second 1: A … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 5

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The last month’s wackiness in the world of international relations and brinkmanship. Israel becomes a target in Egypt’s presidential vote:  Stories such as this highlight two things.  1. The true nature of the supposed Arab Spring of 2011 and the way Islamists are subverting an infant democratic process if one ever existed and… 2. Why Israel should be worried.  Even supposed moderate candidates gain political traction from demonizing Israel thus illustrating the level of mainstream support for what the west like to call extremists but who are actually not within an Arab context. Can Obama Safely Embrace Islamists?:  I don’t quite know what to think about this quote from the state department informant. “The war on terror … More after the Jump…

The Moral Quandary?

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Lately I have been somewhat preoccupied thinking about the geostrategic position the US and even the wider Western world find themselves in.  While I do not believe that the world is on the cusp of some massive catastrophe, it does seem to me that the rise of Militant Islam in the last ten years presents problems that are new or that at least have not been faced on such a scale by Western countries since before the rise of the modern nation state. Essentially, I think that Islam is facing the West with a crucial choice, one the West would rather not have to make as it goes against all … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 4

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The latest installment of updates on the wackiness of Iran and the wider Muslim World.  I have also decided to change the title of this series and just make it a monthly installment, it will be an aggregation of what I consider the most relevant news pieces with my analysis and criticisms attached. George Kerchner and the Lessons of Afghanistan: This is not strictly about Iran and their idiocy but a good point is made about the lack of strategic focus of US and Western War Planning over the past decade. Obama Needs to Stay the Course in Afghanistan:  This article contains perhaps the most asinine sentence I have read regarding the deaths of our soldiers in a long time, perhaps … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #3

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The next round of news and intelligence updates about Iran and their seemingly stupid game of brinksmanship with Israel and the West. DM: Iran Has Defensive Secrets for Rainy Days Bluster, but maybe all they need to keep the US out of the initial stages of any conflict before the Presidential election is over. Iran diplomats see suspects in Thai bombings Apparently proof of some level of Iranian complicity in the recent bombing campaign against Israeli diplomats. Iran’s underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say Signal or bluster? I cannot tell but tend to think the latter. I get the sense that the current Admin. actually likes … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #2

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The next in the series of updates on doings with Iran. I even half thought about putting up some kind of war countdown clock. I then decided against it because I am not sure I can read the tea leaves well enough to really judge how close to war we are. US officials believe Iran sanctions will fail, making military action likely This article says an Israeli attack will likely come in September or October because of political factors. I think an attack is likely but it will be based more on perceptions of Iran’s capabilities and intents with politics being a minor concern, The sad fact is that Israel … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update # 1

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Links to articles of interest about Irans continuing hijinks and the World’s response. Intel Official: Iranian Missiles Could Hit Nearby U.S. Targets, Europe, Now what would happen were Iran to launch a missile at Israel or a US warship? At this point I am only certian that if they hit Israel, Iran would regret it. Thailand: Iranians’ targets were Israeli diplomats, Aparrently the Iranians are not so good at actually carrying out Terrorist attacks as the three essentially failed attacks in India, Georgia, and Thailand this week show. Perhaps they should have got some of their Hezbollah puppets support. On the plus side, if these attacks were carried by members … More after the Jump…

More Research Needed On Veterans Health Issues

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More Research Needed On Veterans Health Issues By: Doug Karr, USN Veteran Operations Desert Storm & Desert Shield The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are nearly 25 million veterans currently living in the United States. Nearly $60 billion is spent on federal programs for veterans, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is in addition to funding from individual states. Despite such efforts, there are still many health issues facing veterans today. A recent report released by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee shows that many veterans are facing disability and mental health issues. The report states an urgent need for services to deal with such conditions as … More after the Jump…

The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

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I had to post something about the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan last Friday.   First off, I hope that the death toll does not go as high as they currently fear.   Second, everything I have seen so far about the Japanese reactions to the quake inspires nothing but admiration and respect for the Japanese people.   My prayers go out to all the victims and their families. I am sure that if this disaster had happened in California the news would be full of stories about how the government is not doing enough and where is all the help people are supposed to be receiving from the government … More after the Jump…

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