HG S2 (Intel Bot)

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There has been a lot of talk about weapons carry status for our troops in Afghanistan and whether they are being told to carry in amber status i.e. no round in the chamber. I asked ISAF HQ and got the following response. Jim, Headquarters ISAF, the ISAF Joint Command and the Regional Commands have not issued guidance to units instructing them to conduct patrols without rounds chambered. Force protection levels are dictated by the local threats and determined by commanders at the lowest possible tactical level, so without knowing the specific unit from which this report came I can't verify with absolute certainty that verbal or written guidance has not been issued locally. But the intent to subordinate commanders should be clear. At no time do we remove our troops' inherent rights of self-defense, and we are confident that their training and discipline allows them to use force discriminately within the rules of engagement. We'd welcome information from anyone who has a problem with the way guidance is being implemented that they haven't been able to address with their immediate chain of command. So it is not policy for the theater and they are clear about the fact that our troops always have the ability to defend themselves. If it is happening it is being done at a tactical command level. I have not heard of any specific units that have done this. I think there would be a big difference between carrying in amber status while riding in up-armored vehicles v. carrying amber while on a foot patrol. I am OK with the first and vehemently opposed to the second. If anyone has word about something like that happening email me and I will pass it on to these folks. Next slide. Greyhawk has a fun piece about Patton and carry status. View the full article

This will be a wonderful capability some day, but when, and at what price? Without timely and accurate intelligence, regardless of source, an operator cannot maneuver his fleet or employ his weapons. Whether we want to find, fix, and finish terrorists from the sea, or engage in long range maritime scouting against a belligerent Navy, a sufficient quality and quantity of "multi-int" capable air platforms is essential. The SECDEF realized in 2008 that a shortage of airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms was hurting our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Following some prodding, the Air Force finally shifted into gear and began to build, borrow, and contract dozens of new aircraft, which are being employed to good effect on those two battlefields and elsewhere today. As Navy and Marine units find themselves dispersed wider sea and littoral areas, a sufficient quantity of supporting ISR becomes even more important. A couple of decades ago, a typical carrier air wing had a number of organic platforms capable of collecting intelligence, including fast movers with TARPS and ES-3A Shadows for ELINT. These aircraft were supplemented by a robust ground-based P-3 fleet along with numerous FLIR and radar capable LAMPS on the small boys. Contrast this capability with today's much-reduced organic ISR capability and some long-in-the-tooth P-3s which are often being employed overland. Today's global naval missions require extraordinary amounts of ISR, but the resources just aren't adequate to source them properly. ISR seems to be getting short shrift in the Navy's ever-changing procurement plans. Outside of the naval special operations community, the energy and funding to increase the fleet's airborne ISR capabilities seems lacking. The Navy is slowly introducing rotary and fixed-wing UAVs such as Fire Scout and BAMs, but lacks more robust collection capabilities that could be provided by manned sea-based aircraft. The P-8 will eventually bring a capable P-3 replacement to the fleet, albeit a big, expensive, noisy, and manpower intensive one. But there are numerous smaller prop-driven aircraft in use over battlefields today that provide similar, and in some cases better capabilities than the P-3 or P-8, at a significantly lower price point. Is a Navy ISR "surge" in order to fill some of the current capability gaps in this area until more advanced programs are brought online? A major R&D or procurement effort is not necessarily required. Rather, the Navy should leverage the work of the Air Force and SOCOM to rapidly acquire both manned and unmanned platforms and adapt them for sea service. Is there a reason that an aircraft similar to the Air Force's "Project Liberty" MC-12W couldn't be retrofitted with stronger landing gear and tail hook for use from carriers or even large deck amphibs? This sort of platform would provide a number of tactical and operational advantages over our current ISR fleet, giving the Navy the ability to collect volumes of intelligence over land and water from sovereign US territory without a large expeditionary footprint ashore. The opinions and views expressed in this post are those of the author alone and are presented in his personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Department of Defense or any of its agencies. View the full article

Amazing sniper shots recorded in Afghanistan: A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than 1 miles away. Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle. “The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,†said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move. “The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.†The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound. The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002. The first shot was remarkable, but taking down two at that distance? Incredible. View the full article

If you have an interest in the history of Russian shipbuilding, you'll find this page remarkably interesting. View the full article

Just saw some new photos of Varyag. Looks like they are close to finish painting the island. Not only that, I would saw that the structure of the island has now been modified to it's final form. I am just waiting for the sensors to be installed on the island. I have attached a photo of the mock up in Wuhan for comparison. I think that they should eventually look the same Picture of the full scale mock up in Wuhan for reference: View the full article

There was a Captain on a Navy boat (yeah I know, ship) who seems to have been auditioning for a role in the British Navy of the sailing era. WOW is she a nuttah. One look at her pic ought to send a wise soul running, but how far can you run on a boat. USNI's blog had the story back in January and now it is all the rage. View the full article

For those interested in the DADT debate, I have posted a piece I wrote almost five years ago and my opinion is the same. DADT is a "gay" rule. It is silly to have gay service members simply pretend they are not. View the full article

Heard the one about the UFO seen from NewFoundland? Check out the picture in the story. One might think the Canadians were watching the new French M51. Seems odd to me though. While the time would match up, that is a heck of a distance to get such accurate photography. In other news, North Korea looks to be preparing for their next ballistic missile launch. Not surprising, they traded artillery fire last night. Have you noticed Somali piracy has slowed down quite a bit in the new year? It must be coincidence the level of violence inside Somalia has risen considerably during the same time. They are different issues, but there are interesting patterns and relations that can be measured and compared. For example, even after the Monsoon season was over last year, piracy didn't increase immediately and very few contact incidents were reported at sea. At the same time, the level of violence in Somalia was very high. It is a repeating pattern worth observing. Singapore has taken over command of CTF-151. Tonight is the State of the Union. The Nation is still fighting 2 wars in Asia and has this enormous humanitarian operation underway in Haiti, all of which are heavily reliant on the work of our nations Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians. It is very telling the only defense related issue leaked so far regarding the State of the Union is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Obama administration is more like the Bush Jr. administration than the Clinton, Bush Sr., or Reagan administrations in my opinion, and it is easy to highlight why. Political issues are emphasized with more importance than the serious issues that are directly influencing the country. View the full article

A Japanese whaler rammed a Sea Shepard vessel this week. See video below. Two more videos for context and here. Serious question. Should we care and why? The Sea Shepard folks on their own show Whale Wars have done things that are clearly illegal, and this particular incident shows the Japanese Whaler clearly turning into the vessel to ram it. What does the ongoing saga represent? Is this non-state law enforcement in the protection of the environment? Is this international piracy by environmental groups? I have had the opinion expressed more than once to me that this is legitimatized Western maritime terrorism and can be classified as piracy under international law. Do I care? Not as much as I probably should. Seems to me the Japanese don't obey whaling laws, and the Sea Shepard folks pretend they are maritime law enforcement a bit too much for my taste. View the full article

It's kinda funny that just as the shrieking socialist, chicken littles are wrapping up their complete waste of time in Hopenchangen, huge snow storms hit there and DC. The one here is pretty awesome. We are 12 hours and about 12 inches into it and it is picking up steam if anything. Heh. View the full article

About half of this is from an email Sid sent me the other month. I added a little bit - but what a catch. An elderly leader with decades of experience at sea. Merchants without enough military ships to make the passage. Hostile waters. A mission. What do you do against a superior military force, when you basically have next to nothin'..? You have been put in command of really nothing of a military ability - but everything of an economic necessity. Your nation is one that is at war, and relies on sea born commerce to survive and prosper. Between you and your nation are thousands of miles of open ocean, and an enemy that wants to destroy you. You know you do not have what you need to fight and win ... at least on paper. So, what do you do? Well - if you are Commodore Sir Nathaniel Dance, you get to work. You go to war with the Fleet you have - not the Fleet you wish you had. Let's set the stage. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British economy depended on its ability to trade with the British Empire, particularly the valuable colonies in British India. The intercontinental trade was conducted by the governors of India, the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), using their fleet of large, well armed merchant vessels known as East Indiamen. These ships weighed between 500 long tons (508 t) and 1,200 long tons (1,219 t) and could carry up to 36 guns for defence against pirates, privateers and small warships. They were not, however, capable under normal circumstances of fighting off an enemy frigate or ship of the line. Their guns were usually of inferior design, and their crew smaller and less well trained than those on a naval ship. The East Indiamen sought to ensure the safety of their cargo and passengers, not defeat enemy warships in battle. Despite these disadvantages, the size of East Indiamen meant that from a distance they appeared quite similar to a small ship of the line, a deception usually augmented by paintwork and dummy cannon. The East Indiamen would gather at ports in India and the Far East and from there set out for Britain in large convoys, often carrying millions of pounds worth of trade goods. The journey would usually take six months and the ships would subsequently return carrying troops and passengers to augment the British forces stationed in India. "Country ships", smaller merchant vessels chartered for local trade, sometimes independently from the HEIC, would often join the convoys. To protect their ships from the depredations of pirates, the HEIC also operated its own private navy of small armed vessels. In combination, these ships were an effective deterrent against smaller raiders, but were no match for a professional warship. Understanding the importance of the Indian Ocean trade and seeking to threaten it from the start of the inevitable war, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a squadron to sail for India in March 1803. This force was under the command of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois and consisted of the ship of the line Marengo and three frigates. What was Commodore Dance working with? The China Fleet was a large annual British merchant convoy that gathered at Canton in the Pearl River during the winter before sailing for Britain, via India. As the convoy passed through the East Indies, it was joined by vessels sailing from other European ports in the region on the route to India, until it often numbered dozens of ships. The 1804 fleet departed in late January, and by the time it reached the approaches to the Strait of Malacca it had swelled to include 16 East Indiamen, 11 country ships, a Portuguese merchant ship from Macau and a vessel from Botany Bay in Australia. Although the HEIC had provided the small, armed brig Ganges as an escort, this vessel could only dissuade pirates; it could not hope to compete with a French warship. There was no military escort: news of the outbreak of war had reached Canton before reinforcements had arrived from the squadron in India. Spies based in Canton had passed the composition and date of departure of the China Fleet to Linois in Batavia, and he set out to intercept it. However, Dutch informants at Canton had also passed on false reports that Royal Navy warships were accompanying the convoy, reports that may have been deliberately placed by British authorities. The convoy was an immensely valuable prize, its cargo of tea, silk and porcelain valued at over £8 million in contemporary values (the equivalent of £541,000,000 as of 2009). Also on board were 80 Chinese plants ordered by Sir Joseph Banks for the royal gardens and carried in a specially designed plant room. The HEIC Select Committee in Canton had been very concerned for the safety of the unescorted convoy, and had debated delaying its departure. The various captains had been consulted, including Henry Meriton, who in his ship Exeter had captured a frigate during the Action of 4 August 1800, a disastrous French attack on a convoy of East Indiamen off Brazil. Meriton advised that the convoy was powerful enough in both appearance and reality to dissuade any attack. He was opposed by John Farquharson of Alfred, who considered that the crews of East Indiamen were so badly trained that they would be unable to mutually defend one another if faced with a determined enemy. Eventually the Committee decided that it could delay the convoy no longer and awarded command to the most experienced captain, Commodore Nathaniel Dance in the East Indiaman Earl Camden, an officer of over 45 years service at sea. Not perfect - not even good; but what does a leader do? Improvise, adapt - overcome. Lead. Dance had been taken seriously ill at Bombay during the outward voyage, but had recovered in time to sail with the convoy. The fleet did not have any naval escorts, and though the East Indiamen were heavily armed for merchants, carrying nominal batteries of between 30 and 36 guns, they were no match for disciplined and professional naval forces. Not all of their listed armament was always carried, but to give the illusion of greater strength, fake gunports were often painted on the hulls, in the hope of distant observers mistaking them for 64-gun ships of the Royal Navy ...Maneuver and Deceive... At dawn on 15 February, both the British and French forces raised their colours. Dance hoped to persuade Linois that his ships included some fully armed warships and he therefore ordered the brig Ganges and the four lead ships to hoist blue ensigns, while the rest of the convoy raised red ensigns. By the system of national flags then in use in British ships, this implied that the ships with blue ensigns were warships attached to the squadron of Admiral Rainier, while the others were merchant ships under their protection. Dance was unknowingly assisted by the information that had reached Linois at Batavia, which claimed that there were 23 merchant ships and the brig in the convoy. Dance had collected six additional ships during his journey, and the identity of these were unknown to the French, who assumed that at least some of the unidentified vessels must be warships, particularly as several vessels had been recently painted at Canton to resemble ships of the line. At 09:00 Linois was still only observing the convoy, reluctant to attack until he could be sure of the nature of his opponents. Dance responded to the reprieve by reforming the line of battle into sailing formation to increase his convoy’s speed with the intention of reaching the Straits ahead of Linois. With the convoy a less intimidating target, Linois began to slowly approach the British ships. By 13:00 it was clear that Linois's faster ships were in danger of isolating the rear of the convoy, and Dance ordered his lead ships to tack and come about, so that they would cross in front of the French squadron. The British successfully executed the manoeuvre, and at 13:15 Linois opened fire on the lead ship, Royal George, under the command of John Fam Timmins. The Royal George and the next four ships in line, the Indiaman Ganges, Dance's Earl Camden, the Warley and the Alfred, all returned the fire, Ganges initially attacking the Royal George in error. Captain James Prendergrass in Hope, the next in line, was so eager to join the battle that he misjudged his speed and collided with Warley, the ships falling back as their crews worked to separate their rigging. Shots were then exchanged at long range for 43 minutes, neither side inflicting severe damage. Royal George had one man killed: a sailor named Hugh Watt, another man wounded, and suffered some damage to her hull. None of the other British ships or any of the French reported anything worse than superficial damage in the engagement. At 14:00, Linois abandoned the action and ordered his squadron to haul away with the wind and sail eastwards, away from the convoy, under all sail. Determined to maintain the pretence of the presence of warships, Dance ordered the ships flying naval ensigns, including his flagship Earl Camden, to chase the French. None of the merchant ships could match the French speed, but an attempt at a chase would hopefully dissuade the French from returning. For two hours, Dance's squadron followed Linois, Hope coming close to catching Aventurier but ultimately unable to overtake the brig. At 16:00, Dance decided to gather his scattered ships and return to his former heading rather than risk attack from other raiders or lose sight of his convoy in the darkness. By 20:00, the entire British convoy had anchored at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca. On 28 February the British ships of the line HMS Sceptre and HMS Albion joined them in the Strait and convoyed them safely to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, from where the convoy returned to Britain without further incident. The attitude and conduct of the French Admiral is telling as an example of how not to fight war at sea. The French admiral later attempted to explain his conduct during the engagement: The ships which had tacked rejoined those which were engaging us, and three of the engaging ships manoeuvred to double our rear, while the remainder of the fleet, crowding sail and bearing up, evinced an intention to surround us. By this manoeuvre the enemy would have rendered my situation very dangerous. The superiority of his force was ascertained, and I had no longer to deliberate on the part I should take to avoid the consequence of an unequal engagement: profiting by the smoke, I hauled up to port, and steering east-north-east, I increased by distance from the enemy, who continued the pursuit of the squadron for three hours, discharging at it several broadsides. —Linois, quoted in translation in William James' The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Volume 3, 1827, That is pathetic. To end this FbF on a positive note - let's go back to Commodore Dance. Good leaders always are humble and thankful. Placed, by the adventitious circumstances of seniority of service and absence of convoy, in the chief command of the fleet intrusted to my care, it has been my good fortune to have been enabled, by the firmness of those by whom I was supported, to perform my trust not only with fidelity, but without loss to my employers. Public opinion and public rewards have already far outrun my deserts; and I cannot but be sensible that the liberal spirit of my generous countrymen has measured what they are pleased to term their grateful sense of my conduct, rather by the particular utility of the exploit, than by any individual merit I can claim. Class act. View the full article

DDG-110 Construction” (click to view full) On April 8/09, “Bath, Ingalls Agree to Navy’s Surface Combatant Plans” heralded a significant restructuring within the American naval shipbuilding community. Under the agreements, the USA would end production at 3 Graf Spee sized DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class “destroyers,” but shift all production from the Congressionally-mandated joint arrangements to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine, which had already made program-related investments in advanced shipbuilding technologies. Northrop Grumman would retain its DDG-1000 deckhouse work, but their main exchange was additional orders for DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers. Their Ingalls yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi would continue building the DDG-51 destroyers, beginning with 2 in FY 2010. They would also become the lead design yard for the program, taking over from Bath Iron Works. So far, the company has delivered 26 of 28 destroyers in this class, with 2 more ships currently under construction in Pascagoula: DDG 107 Gravely, and DDG 110 William P. Lawrence. Now, the firm has received the first contract under this new arrangement, as it revs up to begin building DDG 113… (more…) View the full article

Hat tip Lee. View the full article

Reuters Photo A U.S. Army cadet reads a book entitled "Kill Bin Laden" as he waits with other cadets for U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver an address on U.S. policy and the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York December 1, 2009. View the full article

Is there a Fullbore attitude? Is there something about the game that can demonstrate an attitude that is hard to describe - but is essential to what makes an American an American? Perhaps. To understand the USA, you must understand football. Hat tip The Good Lt. View the full article

You know I liked the LCS-I better than the mission-module-madness ..... and it looks like LCS-I has morphed into the cringe inducing Multi-Mission Surface Combatant .... that has morphed into what is showing up at the Dubai Air Show as the "Named by Captain Obvious" Surface Combatant Ship ...... which if you must give me something in a USA designed hull that is ready to go now and is smaller than a DDG-51 in order to meet the Frigate Gap ..... I'll take this over the uni-mission LCS any day. Just look at it! ...provides simultaneous Anti-Air, Anti-Surface, Anti-Submarine, Electronic Warfare and Special Operations support capabilities. ... is a high speed, highly maneuverable combatant capable of executing missions both in open ocean and near coastlines in all sea state conditions. The MMSC design uses the latest U.S. Navy technologies, allowing interoperability with U.S. and allied naval forces to participate on joint and coalition operations. .... available in multiple configurations and is adaptable to meet the needs of naval forces around the globe. The international design features the proven Aegis combat system with the SPY-1F (V) radar and the MK 41 Vertical Launching System. (click here for larger picture) That ain't a Corvette - that ain't a Frigate - give it a larger gun and it would be a Pocket Cruiser. For now though - what we have here is a smaller variation of the Spanish F100. This has inherent multi-mission capability. Can defend itself adequately and though a lot will have to be shoe-horned in - it is a tough 'lil uber-Corvette. Still a china doll with a glass jaw - but one that might get in a hit or two in a fight. If you are going to force the LCS hull on me - then give it to me in this package. Sure, it will cost $1 billion+; but it is what it is and gets you more than a LCS + two mission-modules and logistics tail it needs ever could. At least with this ship - if you send the CO and his Sailors in harm's way they will at least have the tools to be able to put up a fight against whatever comes their way. Hat tip Mike. View the full article

(h/t HA) Holy crap. This might be funnier than those MMA guys giving wedgies. The most realistic depiction of life during wartime you may ever see short of enlisting yourself. View the full article

So you hate the Littoral Combat Ship? Looking for that Frigate alternative? How about a frigate based on a modern, mature, evolved design? Look no further than South Korea. The Navy plans to launch six 5,600-ton "mini-Aegis'' destroyers between 2019 and 2026 in an effort to help facilitate coastal and blue-water operations, the service said Tuesday. The plan was unveiled in a report submitted to a National Assembly inspection of the Navy at the Gyeryongdae military compound in South Chungcheong Province. The medium-sized KDX-IIA destroyers equipped with SPY radar and close-in weapon systems will be a core part of the Navy's strategic mobile fleet led by 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyers, it said. The mobile fleet is to consist of two KDX-III destroyer-led squadrons involving KDX-II or KDX-IIA ships, support vessels, new frigates and attack submarines. A new naval base to be built on the southern island of Jeju by 2014 will serve as homeport for the fleet. South Korea expects to build three KDX-IIA hulls for the price of one KDX-III hull (KSX-III runs about $860 million per hull), with a KDX-IIA price coming in around $286 million each. As I understand it, all the system costs will pile on top of that. Ultimately, this will be a ship that costs South Korea about the same as we are spending on the LCS. It is a bit worrisome how much more bang for the buck the rest of the world is getting out of new Navy ships while we are stuck on a 70s-80s design Burke with questionable growth options for the future. View the full article

Pirates from Somalia have struck in the Somali basin. Pirates hijacked a Spanish trawler with a 36-member crew Friday in the Indian Ocean, an official said. The boat, called the Alakrana, sent out distress signals advising of a pirate attack and since then the company has not been able to communicate with Alakrana, said Echebastar Fleet, the company that owns the ship. Two planes from Luxembourg, taking part in an EU anti-piracy flotilla, flew over the ship and saw armed people aboard, said Pilar Unzalu, the Basque region's fisheries and agriculture minister. The Alakrana is based in the Basque port of Bermeo. The ship was 415 miles (670 kilometers) from the Seychelles islands, Unzalu said. Company executives were headed for the Spanish Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, Echebastar Fleet said. It was the second attack in less than a month against the Alakrana. On Sept. 4, while operating in waters off the Seychelles islands, the vessel dodged an attack by taking evasive action. ONI issued an alert this morning warning that attacks may continue over the next 24-48 hours, wind and weather conditions are favorable for more pirate activity in that area. The success of pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden will force tactical adaptation from pirates, and the fishing regions south of Somalia off the Kenyan coast are a likely tactical adjustment. David Axe has had some great materials over the last few days on the efforts in the Gulf of Aden, including articles in the Washington Times and World Politics Review. View the full article

I just saw this on the Navy Times Website--news of a new Navy commercial soon to replace the "Accelerate Your Life" campaign. Obviously aimed at the demographic groups most likely to enlist, the commercial features lots of pictures of Seals and inshore types, some ships, some airplanes, and some footage of WWII sailors doing the things they did. (Here is the commercial) I've had conversations many times with Peter Swartz of the Center for Naval Analyses, a brilliant man, a great American, and one of the godfathers of the 1980's Maritime Strategy. He was particularly helpful to me and the strategy team as we conducted our deliberations, serving as a sounding board for many ideas and putting together extraordinarily helpful workshops that prodded our thinking along. Peter does a wonderful job of sending stuff to me that shows the CNO or other officials making references to the Maritime Strategy--mostly I think to show me that it is still being talked about. Just the other night, he and I discussed the very consistent messaging the Navy is doing with respect to CS21. At the end of the conversation, I repeated something I've said since the document came out--until it moves money, the Maritime Strategy is just good birdcage carpeting. That said--this commercial is clearly derivative of the Maritime Strategy---especially the key message "A Global Force For Good". The very last paragraph of the Strategy says, "United States seapower is a force for good, protecting the Nation's vital interests even as it joins with others to promote security and prosperity across the globe". Whatever advertising agency the Navy is using has clearly determined that young people with a propensity to join the Navy increasingly see themselves as connected with the rest of the world--in a global system, if you will. Cribbing this theme from the Maritime Strategy is a wise play, and I think it serves as an effective theme for the campaign. By the way--we stole the "force for good" thing from a Royal Navy strategy document I read. Always thought it was a great way to sum things up. Bryan McGrath View the full article

ID contributor Robert Farley has posted his thoughts on the BMD decision over at the Guardian. Rob mentions something in his article that I've been thinking about for awhile regarding the Eastern European missile shield floated by the Bush administration. The reaction in Poland and the Czech Republic clearly illustrates that the purpose of the ballistic missiles in those countries was to influence Russia, yet the Bush administration always sold the concept domestically from the political position that the shield protects the US from Iranian ballistic missiles, an obvious disingenuous position. To me, that indicated Bush was sending a signal to Russia that the ballistic missile shield was on the negotiating table for the subject of Iran. I look at the decision today and see a smart move by Gates, for reasons previously discussed, but believe the politics of this has everything to do with the Obama administration successfully trading the ballistic missile shield deployment to eastern Europe for something in regards to Iran. France is now 'sure' Iran is working on nukes. Israel is sending every signal it can that it is poised to attack. The IAEA now says Iran has sufficient information to build a bomb. Israel is calling for tough sanctions, and suggests they will attack if tough sanctions aren't applied. Then there is the immediate effect the timing the Eastern European decision has on Israel. All that equipment heading to Israel for the Juniper Cobra exercise in mid-October is supposedly going to stay put now. That will be useful. We seem to be heading towards one of two conclusions. Either big time sanctions are applied on Iran, or Israel attacks Iran by the end of the year. Today's actions suggest Russia will support the sanctions, but I guess we will have to wait and see. As for the non-political side of the BMD events on Thursday, my thoughts are on the USNI Blog: Thinking About Future Ballistic Missile Defense. View the full article

You can say one thing about President Obama, he is consistent on foreign affairs. Kick our allies in the teeth and kiss our enemies on the ass. I guess weakness is the new strength. WASHINGTON – Citing a need to refocus America's defenses against missiles, the White House said it will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. "After an estensive process, I have approved the unanimous recommendations of my secretary of defense and my joint chiefs of staff to strenghten America's defenses against ballistic-missile attack," Mr. Obama said in a morning address. If all of those people did call for this, then we are in deep shite. This was so shocking the WSJ even released this piece with multiple spelling errors. Their editors must be in shock. I guess Obama is trying to curry favor w/ the Putin regime, so he can claim we are working with them to stop Iran from getting nukes. In the end this will show just how much he is getting played. I am gonna cut this off now before I spend a couple thousand words explaining just what a naif our President is. Unicorns and freaking bunnies FFS! View the full article

A touching story about a man who went to Iraq and embedded with the unit his son was serving with when he was killed. . After he buried Darrell "Skip" Griffin Jr. and after the sympathy calls faded, the elder Griffin, like every American who has ever lost a beloved soldier, struggled to resume life's normal rhythms. But this is where Griffin's journey veered from others and took a twist so unique that it made the U.S. Army bend its rock-hard rules. The 55-year-old accounting consultant, who opposed Vietnam and had never served in combat, traveled to the epicenter of the Iraq war. There, he would trace his son's last days. The result, "Last Journey: A Father and Son in Wartime," is a common story about a father-son relationship, told in an uncommon way. View the full article

Lets see, the US has rejected the Iranian nuclear proposal, Russia's Kommersant paper quotes an 'informed Israeli' source that Netanyahu flew to Russia to inform them about an impending Israeli attack on Iran. Interesting rumor, because if true it wouldn't be Netanyahu's first secret trip out of town this week, if the rumors are to be believed. Ramadan ends on September 19th. When the sun sets on Eid-al-Fitr, it will be the night after a new moon, so it will be a very dark night over Tehran. Gates comments about Iran this week didn't hint to urgency, rather it sounded to me like he was trying to be an arms salesman to the region. Maybe it's all part of a conspiracy to export of the F-22 to Israel? Or maybe Israel is getting ready to strike. View the full article