End of Bombing in Cambodia

For John, BLUF:  History may be boring, but it is important.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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1973 – Vietnam War: The USAF bombing of Cambodia ends.

From Wikipedia.

Here is the extract:

August 15 – The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, officially halting 12 years of combat activity in Southeast Asia according to the Case–Church Amendment-an act that prohibits military operations in Laos, Cambodia, and North and South Vietnam as a follow-up of the Paris Peace Accords.

This is just a very small note on the last USAF mission into Cambocia.

In August of 1973 I was the Wing Commander's back seater in the F-4E, at Korat RTAFB (Royal Thai Air Force Base).  I had the position because I was an Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner.  Five years laterr I again worked for Colonel Robert Crouch, although several layers down in the NATO Air Headquarters in Naples, Italy (AIRSOUTH).

It was public knowledge that our efforts in support of the Cambodian Military was coming to an end.  The US Congress had voted to quit.  I decided that there would be press present and I further decided that I would not wish to be interviewed.  I didn't expect I would have nice things to say.

So, I took leave and flew back to be with my family in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  Sitting in our Florida Room I watch Colonel Crouch on TV News, nding the last official flight, taxing into his parking spot and deplaning, alonog with Major Paul Schwimm, who was his back seater for the day.  That was my war [termination] protest.

In researching this blog post I came across a New York Times article from 16 August 1973, "No Champagne or Cheers as Last Plane Comes In From Cambodia;" which said the last to land from Cambodia was Captain Lonnie 0. Ratley, an A-7 Pilot.  I knew Lon Rstley, from Ramstein Air Base, in Germany.  He was a Suadron Commander in the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Retired in Lowell, MA, every week I run into Refugees from Cambodia, or their children.  My State Rep is a Cambodian Refugee.  I know a couple of City Councillors, including our Vice Mayor, who are Cambodian Refugees.  Sometimes I apologize for our failure in our support of the Cambodian Army, which led to the Cambodian Genocide.

UPDATED.

Regards  —  Cliff

Seeking a Dismount Point

For John, BLUF:  the major problem with the war in Gaza is that no one has a clue as to how this ends.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Israel's War Against Gaza Should Not Be America's War Too

Here is the sub-headline:

In the wake of the atrocities committed on October 7th and Washington’s tacit acquiescence in Israel’s maximalist war aims, the dubious notion that vital American interests are still at stake in the Greater Middle East has taken on new life.

From Common Dreams, by Dr Andrew Bacevich.

Here is the lede plus three:

One way of understanding the ongoing bloodbath pitting Israel against Hamas is to see it as just the latest chapter in an existential struggle dating back to the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. While the appalling scope, destructiveness, and duration of the fighting in Gaza may outstrip previous episodes, this latest go-around serves chiefly to reaffirm the remarkable intractability of the underlying Arab-Israeli conflict.

Although the shape of that war has changed over time, certain constants remain. Neither side, for instance, seems capable of achieving its ultimate political goals through violence. And each side adamantly refuses to concede to the core demands of its adversary. In truth, while the actual fighting may ebb and flow, pause and resume, the Holy Land has become the site of what is effectively permanent conflict.

For several decades, the United States sought to keep its distance from that war by casting itself in the role of regional arbiter. While providing Israel with arms and diplomatic cover, successive administrations have simultaneously sought to position the U.S. as an “honest broker,” committed to advancing the larger cause of Middle Eastern peace and stability. Of course, a generous dose of cynicism has always informed this “peace process.”

On that score, however, the present moment has let the cat fully out of the bag.  The Biden administration responded to the gruesome terrorist attack on October 7th by unequivocally endorsing and underwriting Israeli efforts to annihilate Hamas, with Gazans thereby subjected to a World War II-style obliteration bombing campaign.  Meanwhile, ignoring tepid Biden administration protests, Israeli settlers continue to expel Palestinians from parts of the West Bank where they have lived for generations.  If Hamas’s October assault was a tragedy, proponents of a Greater Israel also saw it as a unique opportunity that they’ve seized with alacrity.  As for the peace process, already on life support, it now seems altogether defunct.  Prospects of reviving it anytime soon appear remote.

Reading Andrew Bacevich's article I find it doesn't answer the long term question—How does this end?

There are possibly two questions there for Americans.  The first is how we avoid a repeat of the outcome of the Wannsee Conference of 1942.  In the wake of World War II we committed to "Never Again".  Are we backing off that commitment?

While I have great hope the Abraham Accords will create a new Middle East (notwithstanding Iran's opposition), I think success depends on Israel's confidence that it will not being abandoned.

But, if the Abraham Accords fail, then what?  A second Holocaust?  What a blot that would be.

Dr Bacevich offers nothing in that direction.

Then there is internal American politics.  While the Coastal Elites may not give a fig, across the fruited plain are God fearing people who believe "Those who support my People, I will support."  This is a political fact of life.  The students and faculty of Harvard, MIT and Penn may laugh at such silly thinking, but I expect politicians like Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio hear it.  Then, with this crisis you have the Second Reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, which sounds a little like global nuclear war (That is Roman Catholic liturgy, but Protestants read the same Bible).

If Israel goes down, there may be millions of refugees.  Are they coming here?  Worse would be no refugees.  Then it would be more like the Vendee during the French Revolution.

My conclusion is there is no plan there.  No "what if" thinking.

And, here is a comment on the original article by retired Atmy Ranger Colonel Keith Knightingale:

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any viable solution other than some sort of military occupation which is a transitory solution.  Worst case is the IDF occupies.  Best case is some form of mixed Arab/Western/Asian force.  Good luck in forming the latter.  So, for the foreseeable future, we have no possibility of a permanent solution.  Both sides will continue to hate each other and the US will be pilloried for its support choices and our forces imperiled for the foreseeable future.  And Iran will find many ways to keep the pot boiling and we will do little to contain those efforts.

We have no idea.  Do you?

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Veterans Day

For John, BLUF:  Being a Military Veteran is an honor, but an honor gained at some risk, small for some and large for others.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Veterans Day

From Wikipedia.

Here is the lede:

Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.  It began, and now coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are commemorated in other countries, marking the anniversary of the end of World War I.  Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.  At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Below is the Veterans Day Proclamation for this year, by President Joseph R Biden, Jr, and the 1954 Proclamation on the first "Veterans Day", by then President Dwight D Eisenhower.

• A Proclamation on Veterans Day, 2023
• Proclamation 3071—Veteran's Day, 1954

To all who have wished me a Happy Veterans Day, I say, "Thank You."  Thank you for paying taxes so that I could enjoy a fun and rewarding life and fly some of the finest aircraft in the world.  You, and the legislators you elected made it possible.

Regards  —  Cliff

Kudus to Sanders

For John, BLUF:  Many from the Democratic Party are calling for israel to back down with regard to Hamas and Palestine, but not all.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Wait... Who Actually Just Said NO to a Ceasefire with Hamas?

From PJ Media, by Writer Stephen Green. 6 November 2023, 8:00 AM.

Here is the last part of the Post:

But back to Bernie Sanders who, despite the growing pressure on the Left to force Israel into a ceasefire, stood fast on Sunday.  On CNN's "State of the Union," anchor Dana Bash asked, "Some of you fellow progressives say that there should be a full-on ceasefire which would require an agreement on both sides to halt the fighting.  Do you support a ceasefire and if not, why not?"

Sanders didn't hesitate when he answered, "I don't know how you can have a permanent ceasefire with an organization like Hamas, which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of Israel."

"And I think what the Arab countries in the region understand is that Hamas has got to go," Sanders added.

He's right on both counts and kudus to Sanders for getting it right this once.

I agree, kudos for Senator Sanders.  I don't always agree with the Senator from Vermont, but I find his position here straight forward and correct.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hamas Overreach?

For John, BLUF:  Terrorism is a blunt instrument and Hamas has made more blunt than usual.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Proportionate about Gang Rape

From Steyn on Line, by by Mark Steyn, 8 October 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

In our initial report on this new war yesterday, we published a video showing a terrified young lady being abducted by Hamas "soldiers" from an Israeli music festival.  She was delivered to Gaza.  This is the condition she arrived in:

Paul Golding
@GoldingBF
WARNING GRAPHIC:  Palestinians strip the corpse of an Israeli woman, put it on display and desecrate it while shouting ‘Allah Akbar’.
Hamas and Israel are now at war.

"Allahu Akbar!"  Because Allah is truly great, isn't he?  He let us target the Jewess, and then strip her and beat her and rape her.  And then, when we drive what's left to the dar al-Islam, we all get to dance in the streets and desecrate her corpse.  Boy, what a generous guy that Allah is!

The infidel has a name:  Shana Louk, a citizen of Germany visiting Israel to attend a "Festival for Peace".  It didn't work out that way:

The purpose of terrorism is to mke life so miserable the other side will gldly grant political concessions..  It would appear that Hamas is working at that, hard.  The questiono is, will they succeed, or will they generate more resistance.  I could be wrong, but OI think they crossed thst magic political line.  Their supporters will say they are just resisting colonialism.  Their oponentd eill say that they have gone from moral patriots to barbaarians.

There are a couple of points that re key.  OOne is the ability of Hamas to generate international support.  Another will be the skill of the Israeli military to winkle out the Hamas fighters without ecess collateral damage.  Another will be the steady hand of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.  Finally, there is the question of how Iran will play its hand.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Free Passage for International Trade

For John, BLUF:  China is trying to expand its maritime frontiers and this has resulted in confrontations with a number of nearby states.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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China's attempt to seize another island in the South China Sea failed (for now)

From Hot Air, by Reporter John Sexton, 26 August 2023, 5:30 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

There has been a strategic battle taking place in the South China Sea this year between China and the Philippines.  As you probably know, China has laid claim to most of the South China Sea and over the past decade has been using a strategy called the cabbage strategy to gradually claim individual islands.

The cabbage strategy involves surrounding islands with Chinese boats like the leaves of a cabbage.  China starts with fishing vessels, dozens of which anchor around an island or shoal making it difficult for any other vessels to approach.  Once that’s done, Chinese Coast Guard vessels move in to surround the fishing boats and formally prevent other boats from coming close.  Having established control, the fishing boats go away and sends in construction equipment to militarize the island.

One of the islands China has its eyes on is called Ayungin Shoal or, to foreigners, Second Thomas Shoal. Ayungin Shoal is only a few miles east of Mischief Reef, an area that China has already claimed and heavily militarized.  Both islands are well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone which stretches 200 miles to sea from the coast.

China relies on The Nine Dash Line as its legal authority to claim the whole of the Suoth China Sea as its own.  If China was able to claim at the waters encmpassed by The Nine Dash Line it would put a severe crimp in international ocean, and aviation, traffic.  On the other hand. resisting Chinese expansiono includes military confrontation.

Per Wikipedia, in January 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over a range of issues, including China's historic rights claims inside the nine-dash line.  On 12 July 2016, the tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions.

The United States should support other nations in their assertions of their rights in the Suoth China Sea.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Secret Insight

For John, BLUF:  The Biden Administration has been dooing almost everything in its power to weaken US Oil Production.  Why?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Did Biden Seal a 'Clandestine' Saudi Oil Deal to Manipulate Prices Ahead of the Midterms?

From PJ Media, by Reporter Ryan Ledendecker, 5 December 2022, 10:30 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Back in July, a seemingly desperate President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia on a high-stakes trip where he met the Saudi Royal family, including the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The president took a lot of heat for the trip for several reasons, including his scheduled meetup with the crown prince, who had previously signed off on the murder of WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  Biden was also criticized for appearing to use the trip to request help from a foreign nation on the oil production front, though the White House denied that was the case.

However, in a bombshell revelation this week, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who will soon lead the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee, announced that his committee will investigate what he believes to be a “secret deal” with Saudi Arabia regarding increasing OPEC+ oil production to manipulate the U.S. energy market ahead of the 2022 midterms.

I find it fairly cynical to think that the Biden Administration would manipulate world oil markets for the purpose of winning Congressional races in a mid-term election  That would have been a very cynical move, one disrespectful of petroleum woorkers across the nation.

Calling for increased oil production around the world, in the face of perceived climate change makes no swnse, unless there are other humanitarian factors in plan.

I think the Biden Administration has stumbled onto a problem in the mid- to long-term.  I don't knoow what it is, but I would look at the coming winter and Europe's shortage of energy, given the War in Ukraine and the various embargoes ongoing around the world.  What if President Biden is trying to increase oil production around the world, with the US as the hidden backup, when all else fails?  That makes much more sense.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Peace for Ukraine

For John, BLUF:  This is a few days late, but the problem persists and the need is there.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The growing chorus for peace in Ukraine

Here is the sub-headline:

There is an alternative.  We can and must resolve this conflict through peaceful diplomacy and negotiation, to end the killing and destruction and let the people of Ukraine live in peace.

From Nation of Change, by CODEPINK Members Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies, 31 October 2022.

Here is the lede plus three:

Ukraine has been wracked by shocking destruction and deadly violence since Russia invaded the country in February. Estimates of the death toll range from a confirmed minimum of 27,577 people, including 6,374 civilians, to over 150,000.  The slaughter can only get more horrific as long as all sides, including the United States and its NATO allies, remain committed to war.

In the first weeks of the war, the United States and NATO countries sent weapons to Ukraine to try to prevent Russia from quickly defeating Ukraine’s armed forces and conducting a U.S.-style “regime change” in Kyiv.  But since that goal was achieved, the only goals that President Zelenskyy and his Western allies have publicly proclaimed are to recover all of pre-2014 Ukraine and decisively defeat and weaken Russia.

These are aspirational goals at best, which require sacrificing hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Ukrainian lives, regardless of the outcome.  Even worse, if they should come close to succeeding, they are likely to trigger a nuclear war, making this the all-time epitome of a “no-win predicament.”  At the end of May, President Biden responded to probing questions about the contradictions in his Ukraine policy from the New York Times Editorial Board, replying that the United States was sending weapons so that Ukraine “can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”

But when Biden wrote that, Ukraine had no position at any negotiating table, thanks mainly to the conditions that Biden and NATO leaders attached to their support.  In April, after Ukraine negotiated a15-point peace plan for a ceasefire, a Russian withdrawal and a peaceful future as a neutral country, the United States and United Kingdom refused to provide Ukraine with the security guarantees that were a critical part of the agreement.

Regarding the headline, I don't hear this growing cry.  Yes, on Democracy Now and some parts of the GOP, but not across the Democratic Party or the Nation as a whole.  Should we be striving for peace?  Absolutely.  For the People of Ukraine, and for the rest of us, who suffer the knock on effects of war, such as grain and oil shortages.

As Mr Fred Iklé says, Every War must end.  What we creatively need is a peace proposal that does not back one party or another into a corner, from which they will fight for survival.  While there are issues of justice to be considered, they should not overwhelm the political issues.  For example, while I might think that President Putin deserves punishment for starting the latest military phase of this war, that is not as important to me as finding an exit ramp that would allow Mr Putin to pull back without plunging Russia into a coup or revolution, which would be a reason for Mr Putin to not go there.  There is no King Solomon here.  We have to work it out ourselves.

Don't count on the United Nations to solve this.  The various nations are going to have to agree to treaty boundaries and reparations and other nations are going to have to offer up guarantees, which means enforcement against violations.  Which we would hope would work this time, unlike the Budapest Memoorandum of 1994.

Regards  —  Cliff

Peace for Ukraine

For John, BLUF:  As discussed previously, there has been precious little talk of peace in Ukraine.  It is nice to see the President's own Party take a step forward.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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""A group of 30 House liberals is urging President Biden to dramatically shift his strategy on the Ukraine war and pursue direct negotiations with Russia..."

From the Althouse Blog, by Law Professor Ann Althouse, 24 Octoner 2022, 3:47 PM.

Here is the rest of the excerpt:

"... the first time prominent members of his own party have pushed him to change his approach to Ukraine....The Democrats are specifically concerned that the United States is not engaging in regular dialogue with Russia as part of its effort to end a protracted war.... The Biden administration has been adamant that it is up to Kyiv whether and when to negotiate with Russia, arguing that Ukrainians as a free people should decide their fate. But some Russia experts say Moscow will only negotiate with the United States, a fellow superpower. The lawmakers say that opening must be seized given the war’s spreading devastation.... The letter was signed by some of the best-known and most outspoken liberal Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Ro Khanna (Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.)."

There are three very good reasons to look at a peace effort.  First is the danger of escalation to nuclear warfare.  The second is the cost to Ukraine in terms of lines and treasure.  The third is the cost, this Winter, to the People of Europe in terms of energy, food and economic sustainment.  There is a fourth, the cost of the war to the Russian People.

I am not optomistic about this effort.  That said, peace efforts have to start at some place, at some time.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Where Have All the Peaceniks Gone

For John, BLUF:  Yes, the absence of the Peace Demonstrations are strange.  What have they bewen doing these last six months.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, Et Cetera

From Chicago Boyz, by Sgt. Mom, 19 October 2022.

Here is the lede plus foour:

So last week’s post regarding the paucity of lefty anti-war protesters regarding the Ukrainian war is still going strong with comments, reminding me once again of the great sage, Donald Rumsfeld, regarding what we know, and what we know that we don’t know … and what we really don’t know that we don’t know.

What do I know for sure about the war? I know that both sides are … parsimonious with the truth about everything that is happening in the zone of conflict, to the point where a truckload of salt is necessary when reading the headlines, no matter if it’s the established print media, or blogs.  What to believe?  Practically nothing, save that yes, indeed, there is a war and a pretty hot one, too.

I am pretty certain that Ukraine served basically as the Biden family’s ATM.  Corrupt government – yeah, that I do believe.  But as corrupt than Russia itself, Nigeria, Pakistan, Belarus, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Venezuela, and other frequent fliers on ‘most corrupt evah!’ list?

I do believe that Putin’s Russia apparently went into the Ukraine believing that it would be a one-two punch and settled to the advantage of Russia within a fortnight.  That the war has been going on without a resolution since February of this year argues that Putin and his generals did indeed bite off more than they could chew, seriously overestimating their own capabilities and the Ukrainian will to resist.

The modern Ukrainians are descended from the Cossacks, in culture if not in blood, who had for centuries a tradition of making war … enthusiastically.  They also, if I read my history right, still hold a grudge for being subjected to the Holodomor, the mass starvation under Stalin’s harsh rule in the 1930s.  And that has to cast a very long shadow, among survivors of that state-instituted horror and their descendants.

There is no doubt that Russia has gone back on its signature on the Budapest 1994 Memorandum.  There is no doubt that the United States signed on to iplement and ghuarantee the Budapest 1994 JMemorandum.  zthere is also no douobt thsat there is the danger the Russians could use nuclear weapons in this conflict.  That would not be fun.

What is not obvious is how we back out of this situstion, without Ukraine losing its independence and without falling into a World War I type debacle.  I would like to see a little more explortion of the Unknowns.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

It Is War

For John, BLUF:  I was wrong.  President Putin has stumbled into war.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Russia's Putin announces military operation in Ukraine

From The Associated Press, 23 February 2022.

Here is the lede plus six:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it's intended to protect civilians.

In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine.  He added that Russia doesn't have a goal to occupy Ukraine. Putin said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian "regime."

Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen."

He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.

He said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a "demilitarization" of Ukraine.  Putin said that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down arms will be able to safely leave the zone of combat.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Putin's remarks, but U.S. officials have repeatedly pledged to place overwhelming sanctions on the Russian economy and Putin allies in retaliation for a further invasion of Ukraine.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

This is looking, so far, like the Coalition air attack on Baghdad as a prelude to the ground attack into Iraq in 1991.

I believe President Putin has stumbled here, but suffering will be widespread.

No, I do not believe this is the fullfilment of the promises in the Book of Revelation.  But, I have been wrong before, but not on tht scale.

Regards  —  Cliff

Free to Express Your View

For John, BLUF:  Different people see 9/11 through different lenses.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Student government official caught red-handed yanking flags from 9/11 memorial

From The College Fix, by the Staff, 11 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

A student senator at Washington University in St. Louis was nabbed red-handed removing American flags from a 9/11 memorial on this day of tribute.

According to The New Guard, a member of the WashU College Republicans recorded Fadel Alkilani carrying trash bags full of the flags he had just yanked.

Alkilani told the person filming that the memorial was “in violation of school rules” and he “expressed no remorse” for his actions.

When the Young America’s Foundation contacted Alkilani about the incident, he told the group “I did not violate any university or legal policy.  Now go away.”

The senator said in a now-protected tweet that he plucked the flags as a “protest against American imperialism and the 900,000 lives lost as a result of post 9/11 war.”

I am sure that Washington University Student Senator Fadel Alkilani is one American who is a celebrant of the First Amendment.  And he is right to be so.  On the other hand, pulling up someone else's tribute to the dead on 9/11 seems a little narrow.

All that said, I wonder from where he gets the "900,000 lives lost".  Yes, lives lost, but that seems like a miscount.  And I wonder where on the ledger he puts the Yazidis.  And other minority groups?  And what he thinks of the ravanchism within Islam, and how much space should be allow for it?  And what he thinks of Charlie Hebdo?

I do think yanking up US Flags at a memorial for 9/11 victims does seem tacky.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Memorial Day Meditation

For John, BLUF:  With the end of the Military Draft a smaller and smaller portion of the nation has participated in Military Service, and in War, which means fewer with understanding of what war is about.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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THE RISKS OF MEMORIAL DAY NOT BEING PERSONAL

From War on the Rocks, by Marine Scott Cooper, 31 May 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

In 2007, I spent Memorial Day in Fallujah. Although I was on my fifth tour in Iraq, it was the first deployment when I buried friends.  I attended more than three dozen memorial services that deployment.  I remember the names and faces of the dead. Memorial Day was no longer an abstraction.

This year’s Memorial Day carries with it the anticipation that the country might be bringing the 9/11 wars to a conclusion.  America’s twenty-year war in Afghanistan is coming to an end.  The words that echo in my mind each year on this occasion are a phrase from President Abraham Lincoln:  “that these dead shall not have died in vain.”  It’s an unresolved prayer as I mourn lost comrades.

I worry that Memorial Day is personal to a smaller and smaller number of Americans.  As a national community, Americans may no longer have the ability to collectively remember and honor shared sacrifice, because the sacrifice is not shared.  The all-volunteer force created a military that is self-selecting.  The wars of 9/11 created many veterans who are self-regarding and condescending to those who haven’t served in the military.  A 2020 National Opinion Research Center survey found that a full 60 percent of post-9/11 veterans “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the eligible Americans who did not volunteer to serve during wartime should feel guilty, compared to just 43 percent of older veterans and 22 percent of civilians.  That is dangerous for the country.

The Author, Scott Cooper is a retired Marine Corps officer and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

If this intrigues you, read more of the article at the link, above.

Hat tip to my Buddy, and fellow Air Force Vet, Neal.

Regards  —  Cliff

Memorial Day 2021

For John, BLUF:  Yesterday I attended a short ceremony, in the drizzle, at the Ladd Whitney Memorial, in front of Lowell City Hall.  It was a proper Memorial Day Ceremony, with Colonel Sam Poulten playing taps on his bugle at the end.

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MEMORIAL DAY

It used to be called Decortion Day, because we were putting flowers or flags on the tombstones of those who died while on military service.  It didn't have to be in combat.  It could of been like my classmate who died in 1961 in a plane crash in Brussels, Cadet William Holmes Hickox.  He was enroute to Prague, as a member of the United States Figure Skating Team to the competition for World Championships.

All who have died while on duty were serving their nation by their presence.

And not to be forgotten are those who served and then returned to civilian life, and then passed on.  They too gave part of their life to their nation.

Regards  —  Cliff

Russian Payback

For John, BLUF:  Wouldn't you expect the Russians to return any mililtary "favors", to undermine our efforts in lands where we previouisly undermined their's?  I would, and I likely wouldn't be dissappointed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lawmakers want answers from Trump Administration on reports Russia paid Taliban to attack US troops

Here is the sub-headline:

White House denies that President Trump was briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence.

From Fox News, by Reporter Marisa Schultz, 27 June 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

The bombshell New York Times report says the financial bounties offered to Taliban-linked fighters have been around for several months; Mark Meredith reports.

Lawmakers on both sides the aisle in Washington want answers on new explosive reporting that a Russian spy unit paid the Taliban to attack U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The New York Times first reported that American intelligence officials have determined a Russian military unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces, including targeting American troops.  The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post also reported on the Kremlin's effort to orchestrate attacks on Western troops.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., called for the Senate to vote on new sanctions against Russia.

Frankly, this looks like a leak designed to force an action by the Administration or to provide campaign fodder for Vice President Joe Biden.  I find neither very admirable.  On the other hand, I can see how the media might enjoy publishing this news.

Publishing this news muddies up the President and doesn't risk actual war with Russia.  In fact, we were doing a version of this back when most reporters were in diapers.  See Charlie Wilson's War for an example.

Then there is this:

"Lack of a response by [Trump] suggests he may be beholden to Putin," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., tweeted.  "[Trump] is putting US troops’ lives at risk by doing nothing.  Having served on active duty, I find this behavior by our Commander in Chief to be unacceptable."

What exactly does Rep Ted Lieu have in mind?.  I am assuming he doesn't wish to go to nuclear war.  Would he wish us to target Russian soldiers in Syria or the Wagner Group people in Libya?

Frankly, I don't think Rep Ted Lieu has a clue.  He is just prattling on, because Orange Man Bad.  What if, however, the President took some action, some overt action?  Would Rep Ted Lieu then applaud the President?  I am very doubtful.

Regards  —  Cliff

Jihad In Our Future

For John, BLUF:  Peace in the Holy Land has been long sought, but progress has been halting.  I can understand President Trump thinking that an overall solution that would make life better fo rPalestinians as well as Israelis might work.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Iran's Khamenei Calls for Global Jihad Against Israel and America in Response to Trump Peace Plan

From PJ Media, by Writer Tyler O'Neil, 5 February 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei responded to President Donald Trump's Israel-Palestine peace plan by calling on "all Muslim nations & the world of Islam" to engage in a jihad against "the Zionist enemy & the U.S."  President Trump and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the "Deal of the Century," a two-state plan for peace between Israel and Palestine, on January 28.  Palestinian leaders immediately rejected the plan and cut off ties with the U.S. and Israel.

Khamenei's declaration of war echoes his previous diatribes against Israel and the U.S., but it may take the tensions to another level.

The Iranian leader argued that the peace plan "is indicative of the U.S.' [viciousness] and manipulation.  They have come to negotiate with the [Zionists] over what belongs to the Palestinians! Palestine belongs to the Palestinians.  Who are you to make a decision on it?!"

He advocated jihad as the "remedy" for the situation.

I think we can pretty much blame President Trump for this Iranian call for Jihadism.  If he hadn't tried to break the logjam that is the Middlee East Peace Negotiations Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei might have settled for WWIII.  But, no, President Trump had to try and broker peace between Palestinian Israel.  For which he got no bouquets here in the US.

Exit question:  Do the Palestinians want anything that is short of Israel disappearing?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Iran Mess Here at Home

For John, BLUF:  I have been reading The New Yorker since from around 1950—or at least reading the cartoons.  It was in the living room of the house behind ours, the DeHarts on Lincoln Street.  I think it would be fair to characterize Clara DeHart as the intellectual on South Lincoln Street.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Real Backstory of Why Trump Ordered the Killing of Suleimani Is Becoming More Clear

From The New Yorker, by Writer John Cassidy, 10 January 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

The Trump-Iran story continues to develop in alarming ways.  On Thursday, reports that Western governments believe Iranian military forces mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing a hundred and seventy-six passengers and crew members, produced a predictably divided reaction.  “Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat,” Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic Presidential candidate, said, on Twitter, immediately drawing cries of outrage from Trump supporters who insisted that Iran was entirely responsible.  Iran’s government dismissed the reports as disinformation.  But, if it does turn out that the Iranian military made a terrible blunder amid the frightening escalation in long-running tensions between Tehran and the Trump Administration, it will be ever more imperative to get a full account, not only of that blunder but also of the escalation.

On that subject, more disturbing details are emerging by the day.  The picture we are getting is of the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and Vice-President Mike Pence both egging on an impetuous President to launch the January 2nd drone attack that killed the Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani at Baghdad International Airport.  None of Trump’s other senior political or military advisers, meanwhile, appear to have urged restraint, despite the near-certainty that the move would inflame the entire Middle East and provoke reprisals.  Any deliberative policymaking process appears to have been replaced by a combination of belligerence, toadyism, and saluting the Commander-in-Chief.

Really, Mr Cassidy is supporting Mayor Pete Buttigieg's contention that President Trump is responsible for the downing of the Ukranian airliner on takeoff from Tehran?  Is he willing to take it to the next step, which is, as Senator Warren suggests, that the President ordered the attack on Major General Suleimani because of the Impeachment action, a sort of Wag the Dog scenario.  Is Speaker Pelosi ultimately responsible for this?

But, more fundamental is the question of if the attack on Major General Suleimani was "an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat"? History tells us that this kind of targeting is not unknown:

• There was the British assisted attack (Operation Anthropoid) on Nazi SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, the leader of the Einsatzgruppen killing groups and the Chairman of the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which gave us the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"; the rounding up of all Jews in Germany and German occupied Europe, with deportation and genocide to follow.  From our perspective, a very bad person.
• There was the shootdown of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who, as Japanese Pacific commander-in-chief commanded both the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway.  Operation VENGEANCE, based on highly classified intelligence,♠ resulted in 339th Fighter Squadron P-38s being sent to intercept the Admiral's aircraft over Bougainville Island.♥

Notwithstanding the hagiography to be found in leading US newspapers and media outlets, General Saleimani was in fact an enemy of the United States and a very effective one.  The Iranian catch phrase, "Death to America" is a phrase from Iran familiar in the US.  Here is a Wall Street Journal article, "The Sinister Genius of Qassem Soleimani."  The sub-headline is "The Iranian commander harnessed both Shiite extremists and Sunni radicals, even as he built a 'foreign legion' to project Iran's power."  We are talking about a genius, a genius who kept us hopping for two decades.  We have heard the line about him being responsible for 600 American dead.  The real issue is the thousands of Iraqis who died because of General Suleimani's genius for irregular warfare.  Taking him off the table only makes sense.

"Why now" asks Senator Warren and others.  Why now is that it is time to put a stake in the ground over the increasing escalation of actions by Iran over the last nine months:

• 7 May — United Arab Emirates claims four commercial ships “were subjected to sabotage operations.”
• 13 June — Two oil tankers near strategic Strait of Hormuz hit, leaving one ablaze and adrift as 44 sailors are evacuated from both vessels.
• 20 June — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shoots down a U.S. military surveillance drone.  President Trump lets it pass.
• 1 July — Iran follows through on a threat to exceed the limit set by the nuclear deal on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, which is used for civilian applications
• 14 Sept. — A drone attack on Saudi oil facilities temporarily cuts off half the oil supplies of the world’s largest producer, causing a spike in prices.
• November — Protests break out in some 100 cities and towns in Iran after authorities raise the price of gasoline.  Scale of protests and resulting crackdown hard to determine as authorities shut down internet for several days.  Amnesty International estimates more than 300 people killed.
• 27 Dec. — A US contractor is killed and several American and Iraqi troops are wounded in rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq.  US blames the attack on Kataeb Hezbollah, one of several Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq.
• 29 Dec. — US hits Kataeb Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria, killing at least 25 fighters and bringing vows of revenge.
• 31 Dec. — Hundreds of Iran-backed militiamen their supporters barge through an outer barrier of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and hold two days of violent protests, smashing windows, setting fires and hurling rocks.

I will admit there is a down side.  Per The Daily Mail, out of the UK, "Protesters in Tehran clash with riot police as they demand the Ayatollah RESIGNS and call for regime change after Iran finally admits to shooting down jet and killing 176 people."  I blame President Trump.  Heck, protestors were even avoiding stepping on the US and Israeli flags.  And, to stir up the problem, President Trump even tweeted out a greeting to the protestors ("To the brave and suffering people of Iran:  I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you.  We are following your protests closely.  Your courage is inspiring").  The Democrat Presidential Candidates?  Crickets.

Did it make us safer?  Yes.

There has been questions as to if the President has done the appropriate notices to the US Congress.  I think that the answer is yes, both in terms of the law and in terms of precedent, set by those who occupied the Oval Office before him.

Opponents of the President have asserted that he, and his Administration, has no strategy.  It appears to me to be restraint, but responses to attacks targeting Americans and killing them.  We will support our allies, but at the same time, scale down our deployments in the Middle and Near East. 

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  The British were very concerned about the use of ULTRA signals intelligence for this particular raid.  It caused tension in the ULTRA intelligence sharing arrangement.
♥  There has been some controversy in the award of credit for shooting down Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft.  This Blogger was part of a three member panel that reviewed the evidence back in the mid-1980s.

This Veterans Day

For John, BLUF:  Being a Vet isn’t about the sacrifice, but about the willingness to lay it all on the line.  Many had it worse than me, tramping through the jungles of Viet-nam.  Some gave all, like my wife's late husband, whose plane crashed in the Western Pacific on a peacetime training mission.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Sometimes the herd is wrong

From The Citizen (Fayette County GA), by Mr Terry Garlock, 29 January 2019.

Here is the lede plus two:

Well into the autumn of my life, I am occasionally reminded the end is not too far over the horizon.  Mortality puts thoughts in my head, like, “What have I done to leave this world a better place?”

There actually are a few things that I think made my existence worthwhile.  I will tell you just one of them, because so many of you need to hear it.

No matter how much this rubs the wrong way, I am quite proud to have served my country in the Vietnam War.  Yes, I know, most of you were taught there is shame attached to any role in the war that America lost, an unfortunate mistake, an immoral war, an unwise intrusion into a civil war, a racist war, a war in which American troops committed widespread atrocities, where America had no strategic interest, and that our North Vietnamese enemy was innocently striving to re-unite Vietnam.

I had two tours in Southeast Asia.  My second was in Thailand in 1973.  We were flying missions in support of the Cambodian Government, against the soon to be infamous Khmer Rouge.  But the US Congress, lacking strategic insight, cut off the funding for our operations in mid-summer.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ukraine's East Under Threat

For John, BLUF:  The Russia irritation with Ukraine is not going away, at least under President Putin.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why Russia is swallowing the Black Sea and won’t stop until it has ‘choked out Ukraine’

From Defense News, by Reporter Kyle Rempfer, 1 January 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

After Russia fired on two Ukrainian naval ships in late November, seizing the vessels and crew, tensions between Russia and the West waxed and waned in a succession that has become all too common.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea roughly five years ago, and sponsorship of separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region, brought similar condemnation from the U.S. and its NATO allies, as did the Russian annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia in 2008.

And yet those breakaway regions remain under Russian control, as the Kremlin proves that geographic boundaries can be redrawn without much more than stern words from the West.  But absent harsher measures and greater push-back, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe warns that the Russian Federation won’t let up.

“I think they won’t stop until they completely own the Sea of Azov and have choked out Ukraine’s very important seaport of Mariupol," said retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who helmed U.S. European Command’s Army component from late 2014 through 2017.

During his tenure, Hodges helped oversee the largest buildup of U.S. troops and base infrastructure since the Cold War, as Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a quest for client states to buffer against what he sees as NATO’s own expansionism.

To be fair, the two Ukraine naval vessels were barges with field artillery pieces mounted, but the point is a good one.  The Russians are acting like imperialist bullies.  This is not a good thing for a member of the UN Security Council with veto power.  This is made worse by the Budapest Agreement, signed by the US and Russia.  Without the agreement and assurances this would be a confrontation between nuclear armed nations.

All those people, all those pundits and Democrats, weeping crocodile tears over us pulling out of Syria, should ponder this situation and its potential for trouble in 2019.

Hat tip to the Defense News.

Regards  —  Cliff

Liberation of Manila, With Casualties

For John, BLUF:  War in built up areas is particularly ugly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Manila Massacred: Remembering One of the Pacific War’s Nastiest Battles

This is, in essence, a review of a new book, Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila, by Mr James M. Scott.

From Task and Purpose, by Mr James M Scott, 21 November 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

American General Douglas MacArthur, driven from the Philippines at the start of World War II, famously vowed to return. Few people recall the tragedy of his homecoming.

The 29-day battle to liberate Manila in February 1945 proved a fight unlike any other in the Pacific War, a bloody urban brawl that forced American soldiers to battle block by block, house by house and even room by room.  The end result was the catastrophic destruction of the Philippine capital—613 city blocks flattened, 200,000 civilians left homeless, and another 100,000 killed, many raped and murdered by the Japanese in atrocities that mirrored the Rape of Nanking.

The battle was very ugly and little noted.  And still, at the time, The Philippines was a Commonwealth under the United States.  Our responsibility to liberate Manila, and the rest of the Commonwealth.

Regards  —  Cliff