Pentagon Sending Heavily Armed Marine Units To East Asia To “Counter China Threat”

 

According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is considering plans to transfer heavily armed, versatile Marine Corps Expeditionary Units (MEU) to East-Asia, citing the rapidly expanding Chinese influence in the region.

After 16-years of military embarrassments in the Middle East, the Pentagon appears to have realized that its misfortunes in the area have transformed into nothing more than Vietnam 2.0; alternatively it is merely provoking Asian superpowers into a new race for military dominance in the region.

Pentagon: Iran Seeking New Missiles, War Equipment

Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Joseph Dunford / AP

 

Says American cash has not fueled Tehran’s buildup

Pentagon officials are downplaying declarations by Iran that it is spending some $1.7 billion provided by the United States on new advanced weapons systems, while also acknowledging that the Islamic Republic continues to build its military arsenal at an increasing rate, according to a Defense Department assessment obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Congress in an unclassified communication last week that the Pentagon does not believe Iran has spent some $1.7 billion awarded by the United States as part of what many described as a “ransom” payment to purchase new military equipment.

Military to Military

Seymour M. Hersh on US intelligence sharing in the Syrian war

Barack Obama’s repeated insistence that Bashar al-Assad must leave office – and that there are ‘moderate’ rebel groups in Syria capable of defeating him – has in recent years provoked quiet dissent, and even overt opposition, among some of the most senior officers on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. Their criticism has focused on what they see as the administration’s fixation on Assad’s primary ally, Vladimir Putin. In their view, Obama is captive to Cold War thinking about Russia and China, and hasn’t adjusted his stance on Syria to the fact both countries share Washington’s anxiety about the spread of terrorism in and beyond Syria; like Washington, they believe that Islamic State must be stopped.

S. Korean navy fires warning shots at Chinese patrol boat

The South Korean navy fired warning shots Tuesday at a Chinese patrol boat that crossed the disputed maritime border between South and North Korea, military officials in Seoul said.

A statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the action was taken after the initially unidentified vessel encroached on South Korean territorial waters.

“It retreated as the warning shots were being fired,” the statement said.

Joint Chiefs chairman: ‘We have not contained’ ISIS

 

“We have not contained” ISIS, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.The comment runs counter to what the president said days before ISIS launched a string of attacks across Paris.

“I don’t think they’re gaining strength. What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them,” Obama told ABC News. 

U.S. to Iraq on fight against ISIL: If Russia is in, we’re out

An excuse for the current administration to retreat or an actual concern? The latest Iraqi government has already turned on America and it shouldn’t be of surprise if they allow Russian intervention. Only time will tell.

 

The United States has issued an ultimatum to Iraq in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL): If you ask for Russia to intervene, America can no longer help you.

“I said it would make it very difficult for us to be able to provide the kind of support you need if the Russians were here conducting operations as well,” Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Oct. 20. “We can’t conduct operations if the Russians were operating in Iraq right now.”

Russia Again Flight Tests Illegal INF Cruise Missile

Russia has and always will cheat on weapons treaties. It’s to the Soviet’s strategic advantage to continue to make deals with America.

Russia knows that America will always take the “moral high road” and abide by the treaty, whereas Russia uses the treaty as a strategic step to make advances and get the upper hand. Throughout the last few decades, America has become completely disillusioned into believing that total disarmament is a demonstration of moral strength. In contrast, a nation can actually remain on the moral high road and simultaneously serve as the world’s hammer with a vast nuclear arsenal, without firing off one nuke. That is how America once was, today it is different and bent on its own demise. Today, and likewise because of this, Russia smells blood and is heading towards nuclear first-strike capability, full-steam ahead.

The Pentagon sees the threat and the White House continues to whitewash it, make concessions and put out happy news in the media. It makes you wonder what side the current administration is working for as suicidally disarming an entire nation is not a mistake. There are checks and balances in America for preventing such mistakes, that is, if you obey the rule of law.

At this pace, if strategic thinking does not change within the American political leadership, it’s only a matter of time before Vladimir Putin (or the next President) can claim checkmate and force America into either capitulation or, or worse, decimation.

“Treaties are like pie crusts, they are made to be broken.”

– Vladimir Lenin

 

A test of Russia’s SSN-30A Kalibr missile, of which the SS-X-8 might be a variant (screenshot)

 

Obama administration still weighing response—years after violation detected

Russia flight-tested a new ground-launched cruise missile this month that U.S. intelligence agencies say further violates the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, according to Obama administration defense and security officials.

The missile launch Sept. 2 was the latest flight test for what the Pentagon is calling the SSC-X-8 cruise missile. The cruise missile did not fly beyond the 300-mile range limit for an INF-banned missile, said officials familiar with reports of the test.

However, intelligence analysts reported that the missile’s assessed range is between 300 miles and 3,400 miles—the distance covered under the landmark INF treaty that banned an entire class of intermediate-range missiles.

The SSC-X-8 test also involved what officials called a “nuclear profile,” meaning that the weapon is part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.

Russia hacks Pentagon computers: NBC, citing sources

U.S. officials tell NBC News that Russia launched a “sophisticated cyberattack” against the Pentagon’s Joint Staff unclassified email system, which has been shut down and taken off line for nearly two weeks. According to the officials, the “sophisticated cyber intrusion” occurred sometime around July 25 and affected some 4,000 military and civilian personnel work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

U.S. Military Unprepared for Multiplying Threats Abroad

In the foreword to the 2015 National Military Strategy (NMS), Gen. Martin Dempsey, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, writes that the “global security environment is the most unpredictable I have seen in 40 years of service.”“Since the last National Military Strategy was published in 2011, global disorder has significantly increased while some of our comparative military advantage has begun to erode,” he adds.

…

“When read alongside its predecessor, the 2011 NMS, the new version testifies to the array of strategic surprises that have confronted the Obama administration in recent years,” wrote David Adesnik, policy director at the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI).

US Commander: Take Nukes Off High Alert or Risk Hackers Starting a War

 

Retired Gen. James Cartwright — who was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before retiring in 2011 — told the Associated Press that “de-alerting” nuclear weapons could reduce the likelihood of launching them in response to a false attack warning.

Just adding a little more time necessary to launch — which would do nothing to affect the deterrent value of the weapons — could make all the difference, said Cartwright, who was also the head of Strategic Command from 2004 to 2007.

…

Cartwright said that its an idea that should be revisited since “the sophistication of the cyberthreat has increased exponentially” in recent years.

Former Joint Chiefs chairman: Obama plotted to destabilize regimes in Bahrain, Egypt

WASHINGTON — The United States was said to have planned to destabilize at least two Arab countries over the last two years.

A former leading U.S. military commander asserted that the administration of President Barack Obama worked to destabilize the regimes of Bahrain and Egypt.

[Ret.] Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the administration’s drive against Bahrain, wracked by a Shi’ite revolt, was led by the intelligence community.

As ‘tide seems to have shifted’ in Assad’s favour, U.S. considering military action in Syria: top general

NEW YORK — The U.S. is considering the use of military force in Syria, the country’s top general said Thursday.

Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he has provided President Barack Obama with options for military strikes in Syria, where the civil war has cost at least 93,000 lives.

Top General: Protecting U.S. from ‘Catastrophic Attack’ is Lower Priority than Protecting ‘Global Economic System’

(CNSNews.com) – The nation’s top general says “contributing to the stability of the global economy” is a higher priority national security interest for the U.S. military than “protecting the country from catastrophic attack.”

In a Jan. 31 speech, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., that the unpredictability of the dangers facing the nation will require in years to come that the military have “a very clear understanding of our national interests.”

Chinese communists influence U.S. policy through ex-military officials

China uses retired U.S. military leaders for intelligence operations, report says

China’s intelligence services are using a private exchange program for retired U.S. and Chinese generals to influence the U.S. government and downplay Beijing’s large-scale military buildup, according to a congressional report.

The Sanya Initiative launched in 2008 with support from retired Adm. Bill Owens, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC), a Chinese military front organization, the report said.

“Institutions and persons affiliated with [People’s Liberation Army] military intelligence entities play a prominent role in the Sanya Initiative,” the report by Congress’ U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.

The intelligence and influence effort was outlined in a late draft of the commission’s 2011 annual report. However, the section containing details of the intelligence links was left out of the commission’s final report made public in November.

Full article: Chinese communists influence U.S. policy through ex-military officials (The Washington Free Beacon)

Nuclear Iran is past its point-of-no-return, yet oil sanctions remain on paper

It shouldn’t come as a surprise if Iran has “the bomb” all of a sudden as western powers, the US in particular, have been behind the intelligence curve for at least a decade and has previously been caught by surprise with foreign country technology and capability from time to time.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu advised visiting Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey Friday, Jan.20 that the time for action against Iran was now, for two reasons: First, the conviction that Iran has passed the point of no return for developing a nuclear weapon; and second, the diminishing prospects for a US-led embargo on Iranian oil to catch on before it is too late.

The Obama administration disputes the Israeli prime minister on both points, insisting there is still time for tough sanctions to incapacitate the Iranian economy and stop Tehran before it reaches the point of no return in its drive for a nuke. Israel insists that this pivotal point was reached four years ago in 2008.

Gen. Dempsey was exhaustively briefed on the Israeli position during his whirlwind interviews Friday with President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and three conversations with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, one with key General Staff officers.

It was not by chance that Maj. Gen. (ret.) Asher Yadlin, until last year Israel chief of military intelligence, maintained in a detailed article in the Tel Aviv daily Maariv: “If Iranian leaders were to convene tonight and decide to go ahead with the secret production of a nuclear bomb, they already possess the resources and components for doing so. This [capability] was once defined as the point of no return. [As matters stand] now, Iran’s nuclear timeline no longer hinges on the calendar; it rests entirely on a decision in Tehran.”

The former intelligence chief was saying that for four years, the US and Israeli governments colluded in propagating the false assumption that Iran had not reached a nuclear weapon capability. Presenting a highly problematic oil embargo in 2012 as capable of putting Iran off its nuclear stride is equally illusory.

Continue reading article: Nuclear Iran is past its point-of-no-return, yet oil sanctions remain on paper (DEBKAfile)