Europe...why we will never understand them but think we can...

I read an interesting post from a new author at Information Dissemination.  The guys name is GVG and he's got a take on Europe that should worry US diplomats.  It should down right scare military attache' in every country.

First this...

An often made distinction in regions is this one. It is a subdivision of the world in so called culture realms. Their scale, however, is so enormous and the diversity within each of the realms so great that the very concept misleads more than it informs.

And this...

And finally, we are talking about sovereign countries here people. And these sovereign countries sometimes have mutual interests, but as least as often they don't, certainly on military affairs.

The above results in three problems for me to give a single European point of view.

• A lot of times there is no single European point of view.
• I'd have to follow all European countries' foreign policy, which is impossible to do in my spare time.
• It would require me to know 23 languages, just for the EU.

So, while I can give the readers of Information Dissemination a point of view from the European side of the Atlantic Ocean and I will try to give a broader European view, it will never be the European point of view.Which brings up the natural question that no one will ask.  If that's the case (and even Marcase agrees with him) then why do we still have NATO?

Another question becomes...if what he said is true then how is the European Union ever going to work?  If that's true then how the HELL will they get a European Army off the ground?

Europe is a technological marvel but man---they have as many, if not more issues than we do!  The image below is also from GvG's article...but look at the different bureaucratic organizations that have formed!  How do they get anything done?!

24th MEU...rest of the military pulling out of Haiti...

A poorly planned, sloppily executed mission is coming to an end.  Good news.  USAID is about to get started on the work of rebuilding Haiti.  Expect our naval base in Puerto Rico to be closed and a new base established in Haiti.  Expect billions of dollars devoted to the rebuilding of that country.  Expect the experiment of the US State Dept and its puppet organization USAID to continue the failure that has been the hallmark of that island nation.

God help them but they will become the poster child of every social experiment proposed for the US will be field tested in Haiti.  National health care?  Haiti will get it if it fails to become law here.  Gun laws?  Haiti will be disarmed---completely.  UN sponsorship?  Oh you bet.  Bill Clinton on the new Haitian dollar?  Just joking, I doubt it but you get the point.

But at least the Marines aren't going to be bogged down there for another 20 years like I once feared.

via Marine Corps Times....

24th MEU, Nassau ARG complete Haiti work

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 8, 2010 15:18:44 EST

Thousands of Marines and sailors aboard three Navy ships have completed their relief work in earthquake-ravaged Haiti and will likely steam toward the Middle East in coming days.

The Nassau Amphibious Ready Group, including the North Carolina-based 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was released from relief duty in Haiti on Sunday, U.S. Southern Command said in a news release. The ARG includes the amphibious assault ship Nassau, the amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde and the amphibious dock landing ship Ashland, all of which are expected to travel to the Central Command area of operations for a previously scheduled deployment.

The ships were diverted to Haiti to help with humanitarian aid after the island nation was rocked by a Jan. 12 earthquake, killing thousands of people and destroying the capital city, Port-au-Prince. They arrived off the coast of Haiti on Jan. 23, and the troops on board joined relief efforts that already included several other units, including the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and accompanying 22nd MEU.

SouthCom officials said the Nassau ARG will be replaced in Haiti with about 2,000 logisticians from numerous Army installations. They will form a Joint Logistics Command that will transport donated supplies into Haiti using landing craft, heavy hauling vehicles and other equipment.

Death of a Terrorist...

CNN has a must read story of the murder mystery of a Hamas terrorist.

Retracing his footsteps, here's the picture that emerges: al-Mabhouh landed at Dubai International airport on the afternoon of January 19. Then, a short drive to his hotel, the al Bustan Rotana, where just hours later he would be killed.

Dubai police say he was not traveling under his real name, so the hotel staff would have been unaware he was one of the founding members of Hamas' military wing and was wanted by Israel for more than 20 years.

According to family members, he booked a room on the first floor, making sure there was no balcony and that the windows were sealed so no one could enter.

His brother in Gaza tells CNN he never ate or drank in a hotel or on a plane as he knew he was a target. Dubai police say he then left the hotel, returning around 9:30 p.m. They want to know where he was during that time and, crucially, who he met.

Dubai police refused to talk to CNN, but they told al-Mabhouh's family there were signs of five or six electric shocks on his legs, behind his ears, on his genitals and heart. Blood on a pillow led police to believe he was suffocated.

Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan, Dubai's chief of police, has told local media they are looking for a professional gang, many of whom held European passports.

I shed no tears but find the story intriguing.  Speculation is that Mossad is behind the killing but no one knows for sure.  Personally I like it.  Targeted killings should be used more against our enemies.

We just have to make sure that we're ready for retaliation.  We can do it, but we have to man up first.

China's Third Island Chain Strategy and the PAK-FA...

I have been curious about the Indian governments enthusiastic support of the PAK-FA.  To be quite honest it just didn't make sense until I came across a blurb on the GlobalSecurity.org website...

In the conception of Jiang Hong and Wei Yuejiang, the second island chain runs through Guam — another forward redoubt for US forces — and ends at Australia. Other analysts see Guam as in a "third island chain." Some unofficial Chinese publications refer to a “Third Island Chain” centered on America’s Hawaiian bases, viewed as a “strategic rear area” for the US military.

Taking this line east it extends toward India.  Although the Indian Navy and Air Force are in the process of modernizing their forces, they are without a heavy fighter in the class of the F-22.  The F-35 is a technological marvel but by virtue of its design requirements will not have the range of the larger F-22 or...the PAK-FA.

This is from Bill Sweetman over at Ares.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is the Indo-Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft." Air Cmdr. Jasjit Singh, director of the Center for Air Power Studies in New Delhi, and a long-time strategic advisor to the Indian parliament and others, made it clear at the Asia Pacific Security Conference in Singapore today that international collaboration on the Sukhoi T-50 is - in his view at least - a done deal.

It would seem that China's target list would be Taiwan...then India and lastly...if necessary the US and Australia.  The first major high tech war of the 21st century might well be the China vs. India.

What's even more disturbing is that they are building a blue water Navy while we are focusing on littoral warfare.  While they increase their expeditionary capability, we are fighting to maintain what assets we currently have.  Worse, we will have funded their war machine with our consumption and weakened our ability to confront them due to our debtor status.

MidRats!

I never heard of Elaine Donelly...but she kicked Robert Farley's ass!  I mean pounded him like a piece of cold meat!  It was a beautiful thing to hear.  You should check out MidRats.  I luv'ed it!

PS.  Elaine Donelly's organization "Center for Military Readiness" has information on the DADT controversy...its worth the read.