Liberating Kuwait

  Liberating Kuwait

Rushes....photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink

Romanian Battalion fighting for new Russia in Ukraine?

Thanks MC for the link.

Battalion soldiers arrived in Donetsk to strengthen the ranks of those who have taken today opolcheniya.V oath of allegiance to the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk were foreign volunteers. One of the Romanian soldiers told LifeNews, that a whole battalion of Bucharest joined the army DNR because they stand for independence in any of its manifestations.

Wow on two counts.

First, if Romanians actually are fighting for "new" Russia then we're seeing a new kind of dynamic that I can't even begin to figure out.

Second, the separatists consistent.  If the overthrow of the old govt was considered a "yearning" for people to be free then how can the "yearnings" of the separatist be considered a bad thing?

Overall I thought we were heading to an endgame but it looks like a few more chapters are being written.  My hope for an end to hostilities is beginning to look more and more naive.

UK Armed Forces Commentary expresses fear before the Scotland vote...

There is real fear and loathing in the UK right now.  You can hear it in Cameron's voice when he talks about the subject.  Now you can read it over at UK Armed Forces Commentary Blog.  But its even worse than that.  According to UKAFC even if they vote it down, the divisions will be even bigger and the pain will continue no matter what.  Read it here but check out this tidbit.

What worries me, and surprises me in the worst possible sense of the word, is that the result is so uncertain. It is scary to me that it is such a close race, and that there is such division, and that i hear people saying that the heart tells them to break out of the Union. Sincerely, i never imagined something like this.
Even if the no wins, as i hope, it looks like it will be with a small majority from what i see, and this is still bad news. It is painful to see Scotland in this state, and so divided and eager to get out. Moreover, such a tight margin is a source of enduring uncertainty: will we go through a whole new drama in a few years time? How will this issue evolve? A break up would be a disaster, but the "neverendum" scenario that already some fear would be just as bad and in some ways worse.

From a purely armed forces focused angle, the uncertainty resulting from a narrow victory would make me hesitate a hell of a lot in going ahead with investment in Faslane, in the shipyards, in the spaceport for which Leuchars is in the shortlist of possible locations. How can huge investments be made with the real risk of turning out being money burned soon afterwards? How can the future of the armed forces, already strapped for cash, be further tied to Scotland with the risk of even greater damage if this nightmare lives on?

On the other hand, of course, not making the investments and bring stuff south of the border would only reinforce the divisions. It looks like a Lose - Lose situation. Very scary.

This is getting beyond good.

I've said that the ramifications of vote that supports breaking away will reach far and wide.

I'm more convinced of that than ever.

Pass the popcorn.  Yes or no, this is gonna be good.  We're seeing a history altering event and few people realize it.   

Power plant blown up in Ukraine?

via English Russia

Meanwhile they report that a few hours ago a major power plant was destroyed in Lughansk, Ukraine leaving over one million people around it without power. There is no estimate yet given if there any chance for the power to be restored in near future. There were two versions of whats happened – some say it was shelled by the rocket systems others say there were mines set before and they were activated now. Anyways this is pretty disturbing.

Interesting.

I wonder what the motivation is behind this move? 

Question. Has the UN finally become irrelevant?

I ask you all this question.  Has the UN finally become irrelevant on the world stage?

Remember back when the UK and France were pushing for action against Libya and President Obama made his famous lead from behind remark?  The UK didn't, neither did France and certainly not this liberal administration ask for UN assistance or permission.

Remember the issues in Ukraine?  The UN was on the sidelines.

Today we're talking about taking action against ISIS.  Not once has the Obama administration talked about getting the UN's blessings....and just today I read where the UN is pulling out of the Golan Heights and no one is even batting an eye.

Have we all missed a very important development?  Has the UN been rendered irrelevant when it comes to dealing with the world's most important issues?  Is it now only a glorified Red Cross that agitates when a humanitarian crisis erupts?  Is it headed toward becoming a modern day League of Nations....as in soon to be kaput...and no one is noticing?

China adding another branch to their armed force...a Space Force!

via Military Tech.

Increasingly strong reports continue to circulate that China is in the process of creating a fifth service within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) structure – a force devoted to space operations. Unconfirmed reports, to be sure, but on the grounds there is rarely any smoke without fire it is worth examining the issue in more detail.
The PLA currently consists of ground, air and naval services as well as the curiously named Second Artillery service, which controls China’s ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal. Reports now claim a fifth service dedicated to space operations is being created as a focus around which to integrate some of the partial initiatives taken in recent years. The latest report surfaced in Japan’s respected national newspaper Yomihuri Shimbun in August and, although the story has subsequently been deleted from the journal’s website, the claims that President Xi has ordered the action do seem credible.
In April, the English language paper China Daily reported a speech made by Xi to PLA Air Force officers, urging them “to speed up air and space integration and sharpen [their] offensive and defensive capabilities,” and to create “a new type of combat unit” to act as the platform in which to achieve the ambition. "The US has paid considerable attention and resources to the integration of capabilities in both air and space, and other powers have also moved progressively toward space militarization. Though China has stated that it sticks to the peaceful use of space, we must make sure that we have the ability to cope with others' operations in space,” he said.
Chinese academic literature also provides some food for thought. One recent report correlates the issues of space warfare and cyber warfare, making the statement that “space will surely be the main battlefield of cyber warfare.” Taken in conjunction with US claims that China has concentrated massive efforts on hacking into and stealing information from prominent companies in the US and European satellite and aerospace industries, it would certainly make sense that China is carefully managing the creation of an organisation to integrate and exploit its growing capabilities in this area.
Some of these capabilities include an already developed anti-satellite system, tested in 2007, 2013 and this year, which in Chinese eyes is an essential capacity that would help counter American GPS capabilities in the event of an open conflict. A US DoD report to Congress in 2013 observed that China’s space programme had produced 18 separate launches the previous year, many of which placed new space-based intelligence and communications satellites in orbit. The report also made the point that China is developing anti-satellite technologies.

Read it all here.

I've always known it but this seals the deal...this is aimed directly at the US. You talk stealth?  I talk sats.

If the Chinese can neutralize our satellites or destroy them outright then half the US military will be rendered ineffective.

We continue to waste money in the Middle East protecting Saudi Arabia, UAE and others while China is concentrating on defeating us on an inevitable future battlefield.

Ain't that grand.