The Great Western Retreat

• Of all French soldiers currently engaged in military operations, half of them are deployed inside France. And half of those are assigned to protect 717 Jewish schools.
• This massive deployment of armed forces in our own cities is a departure from history. It is a moral disarmament, before a military one.
• Why does anyone choose to fight in a war? Civilized nations go to war so that members of today’s generation may sacrifice themselves to protect future generations. But if there are no future generations, there is no reason whatever for today’s young men to die in war. It is “demography, stupid.”

On March 11, 2004, 192 people were killed and 1,400 wounded in a series of terrorist attacks in Madrid. Three days later, Spain’s Socialist leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was elected prime minister. Just 24 hours after being sworn in, Zapatero ordered Spanish troops to leave Iraq “as soon as possible.”

Exclusive: Russian troops join combat in Syria – sources

Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday.

The sources, speaking to Reuters on condition they not be identified, gave the most forthright account yet from the region of what U.S. officials say appears to be a new military buildup by Moscow, one of President Bashar al-Assad’s main allies, though one of the sources said the numbers of Russians involved so far were small.

EU preps to launch military strikes against Mediterranean people smugglers

Could this be the start of European Army operations? Only time will tell.

 

With migrants reaching the EU’s shores in record numbers, the EU is prepping to move into its second, active phase of military operations against human traffickers. Source: PA

 

The European Union (EU) is planning to shift its operation in the Mediterranean against human trafficking to a more aggressive stance, said Federica Mogherini, the EU’s top official for security and defence policy.

The change would authorise the mission’s naval commanders to chase down, capture, and destroy the flimsy and overcrowded vessels used to ferry refugees – often fatally – to Europe’s shores.

Taiwan defense ministry assesses chance of PLA invasion

In its 2015 report on China’s military power, the ministry assessed that China might invade Taiwan in some critical situations, which could include a declaration of formal independence or moves by the country toward de jure independence. Other scenarios also include massive civil unrest, Taiwan obtaining nuclear weapons, or foreign troops being deployed in Taiwan.

US Military Incapable of Overcoming Defenses of Russia, China and Iran

The US military has over-invested in purchasing short- range direct attack bombs and has under-invested in the long-range, stealth and precision-guided weapons.

Due to that, the United States cannot overcome the defenses of such countries as Russia, China and Iran. This conclusion was reached by experts of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, reports media outlet Flight Global.

China Prepares Its 172,000 Civilian Ships for War

A second article going into further detail related to a post from last week.

 

Chinese civilian shipbuilders have to ensure that their vessels can be used by the PLAN during times of ‘crisis’.

As my colleague Shannon Tiezzi reported a while back, the Chinese government has approved a plan to ensure that civilian vessels can support military operations of China’s maritime forces in the event of a crisis.

While the recruitment of civilian maritime assets for military purposes is not unusual (e.g., the Queen Elizabeth 2 transported the main British land fighting force to the Falkland Islands during the 1982 Falklands War), the recent announcement is nevertheless a sign of the growing aspirations of Chinese naval planners in developing  naval expeditionary warfare capabilities.

Operation: Jade Helm to train elite forces

BASTROP – The United States Army Special Operation Command is planning to train in counties and towns across the Western United States.

“Jade Helm” is a two-month long exercise with a combination of elite military forces designed offer realistic military training.

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The small and picturesque streets of Bastrop Texas offer an inviting scene to locals and welcome getaway for people trying to escape big city life.

Report: Pentagon Has No Plan For Troops, Military Assets

The Pentagon has failed to produce a legally mandated policy report that outlines to Congress its upcoming plans for overseas troop deployments and the allocation of military hardware, according to an oversight report.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is required by law to inform Congress about its plans and strategy for the military. However, officials have failed to issue any policy and it could be months before a concrete plan emerges, according to Department of Defense officials who spoke to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The Pentagon’s failure to craft a “warfighter support” plan for America’s military operations means that Congress cannot provide the required oversight over these critical plans.

As of mid-April, the DoD “has not established a policy or submitted an implementation plan to congressional committees as mandated by public law,” according to a newly issued GAO report.

The Pentagon says that the major policy document will not be ready until at least November 15, according to one “senior DoD official” who spoke to the GAO.

Experts: China Boosts Space Warfare Capabilities

U.S. military and commercial satellites highly vulnerable to Beijing’s anti-satellite missiles, killer robot satellites

China is developing anti-satellite missiles and other exotic weapons that can destroy or disrupt vital U.S. military and commercial communications, space warfare experts told Congress on Tuesday.

“The current and evolving counterpace threat posed by China to U.S. military operations in the Asia Pacific theater and outside is extremely serious,” said Ashley J. Tellis, a former State Department and National Security Council strategic specialist.

Obama frowns on Egyptian army’s alignment with Gulf regimes, coming crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood

After US Secretary of State John Kerry was filmed vacationing on his yacht at the peak of the Egyptian crisis, President Barack Obama released this statement early Sunday, July 7: “The US is not aligned with and is not supporting any particular Egyptian political party or group and condemns “ongoing violence across Egypt.”  Obama made these points in a telephone conference with the National Security Council from Camp David.

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Nothing was said about the general’s response. The military has along denied staging a coup, insisting it only stepped in to avert civil bloodshed and a provisional government would prepare the country for early elections.

Both parties to this exchange were putting on an act. For President Obama, the Muslim Brothers’ ouster was and remains unacceptable. By denying support for any particular party or group, he was also saying he wants no truck with the generals who made it happen.

China-Japan island dispute: Beijing orders helicopter units to be combat ready

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planned to change the training strategy of its army aviation unit as more and more armed helicopters joined the service, PLA Daily which is the official newspaper of the military quoted an army aviation unit as saying.

The focus of army aviation unit will be shifted from logistics missions to combat ones, from building the capacity for non-war military actions to core military actions, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the daily as saying.

China to deploy military garrison in S China Sea

GUANGZHOU – China’s central military authority has approved to form and deploy a military garrison in the newly established city of Sansha.

Sources with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Guangzhou Military Command said Friday that the Central Military Commission (CMC) had authorized it to form a garrison command in the city.

The garrison command will be a division-level command under the PLA’s Hainan provincial sub-command, responsible for managing the city’s national defense mobilization, military reserves and carrying out military operations.

The PLA’s Sansha Garrison Command will be under the dual leadership of the Hainan provincial sub-command and the city’s civilian leaders.

Full article: China to deploy military garrison in S China Sea (China Daily USA)

Report: Chinese military able to operate far afield

China’s military is developing capabilities to conduct “new historic missions” far beyond the communist country’s borders, according to an annual Pentagon report to Congress.

Described as “military operations other than war,” the missions include counter-piracy and counterterrorism operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, U.N. peacekeeping, protecting sea lanes and protecting space-based assets, the report states.

For example, the People’s Liberation Army in December deployed its 10th task force to the Gulf of Aden to support international counter-piracy efforts.

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The report estimates China’s defense budget as $106 billion in 2011, an 11.2 percent increase from the year before. The report notes that the budget could be as high as $180 billion.

Mr. Helvey said there could be associated defense spending not included in China’s reported budget, such as research and development, nuclear force modernization, foreign acquisitions of weapons systems, and local contributions to local military forces.

Full article: Report: Chinese military able to operate far afield (New York Times)

DIA director: China preparing for space warfare

“China’s successfully tested a direct ascent anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) missile and is developing jammers and directed-energy weapons for ASAT missions,” he said. “A prerequisite for ASAT attacks, China’s ability to track and identify satellites is enhanced by technologies from China’s manned and lunar programs as well as technologies and methods developed to detect and track space debris.”

China’s January 2007 anti-satellite missile test involved a modified DF-21 missile that destroyed a Chinese weather satellite. The blast created a debris field in space of some 10,000 pieces of space junk that could damage both manned and unmanned spacecraft.

For the U.S. military, the successful 2007 ASAT test represented a new strategic capability for China. Analysts estimate that with as many as two-dozen ASAT missiles, China could severely disrupt U.S. military operations through attacks on satellites.

Burgess said China rarely admits that its space program has direct military uses and refers to nearly all satellite launches as scientific or civil.

Additionally, Burgess said Chinese state-run enterprises “continue to proliferate space and counter-space related capabilities,” including some with direct military applications.

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The Chinese, as well as the Russians, are also developing space capabilities that interfere with or disable U.S. space-based navigation, communications, and intelligence satellites.

Moreover, North Korea has demonstrated its ability to disrupt U.S. navigational capabilities through Soviet-made electronic jammers placed on vehicles near the North-South demarcation line that, when activated, were able to disrupt U.S. Global Positioning System signals up to 62 miles away.

Full article: DIA director: China preparing for space warfare (Washington Free Beacon)