Combat assessment.
The Red Sea
I thought it might be time to take a look at the various wars and hostile actions taking place around the world since Joe Biden became president. One of the many side conflicts emanating from the war in Gaza has been the one initiated by one of Iran's many proxies. There is a Shia militia group from Yemen, known as the Houthis. Yemen sits in a prime spot allowing the Houthis to attack international shipping going in and out of the Red Sea. Biden called on the US Navy to protect shipping and play defense. Thus, the US Navy has been involved in its first major fight of the 21st century.
It all started about 3 months ago when the Houthis hijacked a Japanese ship carrying cars. Since then, according to the Pentagon, the Houthis have attacked at least 45 ships, and the U.S. Navy has shot down more than 95 drones & missiles fired by the Houthis. Some of the targets were Navy warships. A Navy commander has less than a minute to decide on shooting down an incoming missile. It is a deadly game, especially for the side playing defense. The Houthis only have to get it right once. Thus far the Houthis have shot down three advanced Navy drones.
War in Ukraine
Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have disappeared after Russian forces took the eastern city of Avdiivka last week. Officials believe the Russians may have captured them. In southern Ukraine, Russian forces are trying to take back territory that Ukraine won last summer. The war was mired in stalemate for many months, but it appears that Russia has gained the momentum. It is doubtful that any agreement can be reached with the Russians advancing.
Israel-Hamas War
IDF forces are beginning to fight on two fronts. As Israeli forces have been decimating the last Hamas regiments in Jaffa, Hezbollah, as predicted, has begun attacking from the north. On Wednesday one Israeli soldier was killed and two others were seriously wounded as heavy fighting flared again in northern Gaza, where the military had previously said it had largely completed its main operations to destroy Hamas forces.
The U.S. cast the sole vote against a U.N. resolution that would have called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
In other news:
A former F.B.I. informant charged with making false bribery claims about Biden and his son Hunter reportedly met with Russian intelligence officials. That informant was a valued and trusted FBI informant and he had met with Russian intelligence officers in the past. I don't know what the difference is now?
Democrats are beginning a multimillion-dollar effort to appoint more State Judges. It is called authoritarian control.
Two men face murder charges in the KC Super Bowl shootings.
Political commentator and elections analyst Nate Silver is sounding the alarm about President Joe Biden’s chances of winning reelection, writing in a Substack post that Biden is “losing” and appears to have no clear plan to right the ship.
Nate Silver Sounds the Alarm on Biden Campaign: ‘He’s Losing Now and There’s No Plan’ (msn.com)
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Good morning
Did anyone catch the Town Hall from South Carolina last night?
Last night the man who I think of when I look at the New York Skyline was asked why Nikki Haley is subjecting herself to an embarrassing defeat in her home state.
He pointed out that the democrats keep giving her money and she may not know how to get out.
I'm sure that's the same man he was thinking of when he said later the same morning the twin towers came down that he now owned the tallest building in lower Manhattan
From the 2016 RNC debates:
"When the world trade center came down I saw something that no place on earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanely than New York"..Donald Trump
The same Trump that saw ''thousands of Muslims dancing in the streets in Jersey City'' when the towers came down he was the only person on earth that saw it, amazing vision.
And the Arabs/Muslims danced in the streets and handed out candy in the West Bank and Gaza when the twin-towers fell, and they danced in the streets and handed out candy in the West Bank and Gaza on October 7, and Americans marched and demonstrated in support of the infant-baking teenager-raping civilian-slaughtering hostage-torturing Hamas ever since. There's strange fruit growing on trees these days.
Was Trump there?
I believe Trump was in the US, not in Gaza or the West Bank.
How would I know? Did I say he was? I was speaking of the celebrants, not Trump.
It was very plain what you said, Buzz, but getting a dig in at Trump is more important than reading.
I don't think I follow you. All I did was make a comment about the Arabs/Muslims celebrating 9/11 and Oct7 and about those who marched and demonstrated in support of Hamas.
a post replied to you with some Trump shit.
Near as I could tell, your post didn't have anything to do with Trump.
Ah, I understand. Your comment was really meant for the person who brought Trump into it, not me.
A big thank you to Donald Trump for an insightful Town Hall . If you missed the live broadcast, head over to #FoxNews to watch the full discussion.
Trump was asked by a voter if he would seek revenge if elected.
Trump said "My only revenge will be being a success."
Ingraham: How many debates would you commit to?
Donald J. Trump ( 07:52 ):
As many as necessary. I would like to do it starting now. I don’t think he’s going to debate, though. I really don’t think so. We had a debate where he, at the end of the debate, he admitted I was right about almost everything, but in particular on energy. Do you remember? I said, “I feel like Perry Mason, the way you just collapsed.” And he admitted everything about energy. And that’s what actually happened, and that’s why your energy costs went up three and four times. We had $1.87 and he was up to $5, $6, $7.
( 08:23 )
And that’s going to happen immediately after the election. Let’s not even talk about if he wins. We can’t allow it to win. We’re not going to have a country left. You’ll have energy costs and this whole concept of all electric, everybody having an electric vehicle. They don’t go far. People don’t want that. They want everything. They may want electric, but they also want other choices. I pair-
The country should not want a debate with Trump in it. He will act like a lunatic. We've had more than enough of that s*** for the last 9 years
What we have had enough of is TDS driven mighty mental midgets trying to out Trump Trump for the last nine years.
Democrats seem to think they can get away with being more vile than Trump.
They are just pissed they aren't as good as it as he is.
He revels in shit just like they do. He was one of them to begin with after all.
When a presidential candidate (likely nominee) is silenced for any reason including not having a debate then democracy is truly lost. I thought folks on the left were all about preserving democracy.
People deserve to see the men up for the most powerful position in the world debate so they can make an informed choice. Or is there another reason they don't want a debate between Joe and Donald. Maybe they are concerned it will highlight Joes order of magnitude worse mental decline than Donald?
Trump's performance in the 2020 debate was widely believed to be the most disgraceful presidential debate performance in U.S. history
he interrupted Biden dozens of times generally acted like a lunatic
Liberal CNN stated "Joe Biden did a better job in the final debate on Thursday, according to a CNN Instant Poll of debate watchers. Overall, 53% of voters who watched the debate said that Biden won the matchup, while 39% said that President Donald Trump did." Hardly one of the most disgraceful debates in History
Holy cow. People were interrupting during a political debate? That never happens.
Seems like pretty weak excuses not to have a debate. So again:
When a presidential candidate (likely nominee) is silenced for any reason including not having a debate then democracy is truly lost. I thought folks on the left were all about preserving democracy.
People deserve to see the men up for the most powerful position in the world debate so they can make an informed choice. Or is there another reason they don't want a debate between Joe and Donald. Maybe they are concerned it will highlight Joes order of magnitude worse mental decline than Donald?
In that case maybe he should be poisoned. Lawfare isn't working.
The war that Biden wanted is not going well and that's Republicans' fault. And the war that Biden wants to ignore is heating up but Biden can't scapegoat anyone without drawing attention to the debacle. Biden has botched things so badly that Obama's pivot to China has fallen off the neoliberal agenda.
Russia has proven to be no threat to the United States. Iran has been supporting attacks on US troops in Syria, Jordan, northern Iraq, and the Red Sea. The Taliban have turned their attention toward Pakistan. India is riding the fence between western and eastern spheres of influence. The political environment in South America (Venezuela comes to mind) has been deteriorating. The world has become less peaceful and prosperous during Biden's tenure as demonstrated by asylum seekers from around the world crossing the unprotected southern and northern American borders.
Biden confusion and incompetence may seem plain for all to see. But what is happening may be a bit more subtle. The rest of the world is no longer following the neoliberal playbook. Money has lost a great deal of its luster as diplomatic inducement. And money has lost considerable effectiveness as a geopolitical weapon. Being the richest nation on the planet doesn't provide as many advantages as it did only a few decades ago. As neoliberalism fades, we're entering a era of geopolitical revival where real weapons and real wars exert more influence than money. What was old has become new again.
What has been so amazing is that people like Elon Musk have proven to be more important to battlefield results than has the government partnership with the defense industry. The military-industrial complex excuses itself by pleading poverty while advocating 19th century battlefield strategy. Money isn't enough to win wars any longer.
So, the asylum seekers have spoken volumes.
As neoliberalism fades, we're entering a era of geopolitical revival where real weapons and real wars exert more influence than money. What was old has become new again.
I think I hear Otto Von Bismark in the distance..."The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood."
Money isn't enough to win wars any longer.
Especially when one side uses a million-dollar weapon to shoot down a $10,000 missile.
Actions can speak louder than words. Biden's sought after bipartisan immigration legislation was really a tacit admission of defeat. Notice that money hasn't been an appreciable consideration in Biden's debate? It's rather telling that Biden hasn't used the illegal immigrant crisis to justify more spending. US border security was only a bargaining chip for money to save the neoliberal strategy in Ukraine. Biden is paying for the war to avoid fighting the war; the money is supposed to grease the rails for the peace train.
Asymmetric warfare has transformed itself into asymmetric politics. Isn't that what the 'woke' movement taught us? The modern minority politics (around the world, not just the US) has been extremely effective at using iron and blood to obtain power. The Houthis aren't quaking in their boots are they? What have they got to lose? A couple of bomber wings delivering low-tech incendiary munitions on a round-the-clock schedule would prove most effective; Curtis LeMay knew how to fight.
IMO we are entering an era where 'blood and guts' describes a more traditional meaning rather than as a rhetorical device. You do realize that we spent 20 years fighting opium farmers - and - they won.
And an iPhone becomes essential battlefield equipment. What's happening is akin to farmers taking their scythes into battle as weapons of war.
Oh darn, the termites snorted all of my sawdust ... /S
Well played LOL