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Concur with all, with one caveat. There are few ports in the world that handle deep water and very large merchants. Strategically, access to those ports are a strategic 'strait' for globalization trade flow, since despite all our technological geegaws we still need to move atoms and not just bits. That's why Smash's other job is so important.
Straits are attractive targets, but so is Sembawang or San Diego, and those have the added negative attraction of news cameras to advertise the destruction. If looking at seaborne attack on globalization nodes, ports might be more attractive to an enemy.
"[W]e probably have some plans in place to deal with any Iranian attempts to close down the Straits of Hormuz."
No need for hedging, you can delete the word "probably" from that statement. We've been actively wargaming this scenario since at least 1979 (and probably even before then).
Many thanks for GreyHawk's invitation. From the beginning, Cap Weinberger and I felt that the milblogs
held the key to overcoming the MSM's naysaying and negativity about our military and, specifically, OIF, and we said so in our book's controversial afterword titled, "Have the Mainstream Media Ignored Our Heroes?"
So I am grateful for the invite.
As GreyHawk, Blackfive, Andi, and others have kindly mentioned, Cap and my book, Home of the Brave : Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror
You couldn't ask for a better contrast of theses.
When we got to baggage claim Sonny, our pleasant well-dressed chauffeur, stood smiling with a placcard that read "Hall." I think my blue jeans, short-sleeve shirt, and tennis shoes sort of threw him off.
We arrived at the 70 Park Place Hotel, the place where our publisher has me for the next four nights. Incredible joint. But best of all, any moment now, four of the heroes we profile in Home of the Brave will be checking in as well. Tomorrow Steve Forbes will be hosting the official book launch party from 6-8PM in the Forbes Building. If your publisher is serious about the marketing effort they will usually supply a few hundred books for the event to be given to guests and signed by the author(s). I thought it would be really cool to have the heroes sign books as well. So I asked Steve Forbes's folks to set up a signing table for the heroes. I know I'll be standing in that line.
After the Forbes launch party the plan is to head over to FOX News for Hannity & Colmes. Whether the President's immigration speech will get us bumped remains to be seen. You just have to roll with the news cycle, so there's no fighting it. Still, Sean kindly blurbbed the cover of the book, so we're hopeful that if we have to reschedule we can rebook soon. If I'm on, I'll likely have one or two heroes with me.
Other confirmed media bookings include: Laura Ingraham's Radio Show, Michael Reagan's Radio Show, FOX & Friends, plugs by Rush Limbaugh, and many more. I'll try to blog a bit before or after these. If there are specific aspects of the NYC book publishing/publicity process you'd like me to address, just ask and I'll do my best to answer them.
Gotta run. Taking the Mrs. out to dinner. Any recommendations?
Onward,
W
Smash makes some good points about maritime chokepoints below, and correctly mentions that, despite what you might hear from some quarters, we probably have some plans in place to deal with any Iranian attempts to close down the Straits of Hormuz. Our biggest potential problem if the flag drops comes from the perceived difficulties we might face in dealing with the Iranians, spurred on by alarmist editorials from people who should know better about militarily-useless "superweapons" the Iranians may have developed.
Charlie at Op-For asks, "Would a Palestinian Civil War Benefit…the Palestinians?"
The Canadians are using "noisy" UAVs to pin down the Taliban:
Afghans had learned, when fighting the Russians during the 1980s, to fall flat on the ground when they heard aircraft overhead. From the air, the dirt colored Afghan clothes blended in with the ground, making the prone Afghans invisible. That doesn't work with UAVs, who have a much better view of the ground than passing aircraft or helicopters. UAVs also carry heat sensors. But it gets worse for the prone Taliban. Not only are the bad guys now immobile, but they tend to stay that way for a while, as the Sperwer circles overhead, and the pursuing Canadian troops get closer.
The Sperwer UAV is built by SAGEM, a French company.
...Wynton Hall might stop by later. He's the co-author (with the late Caspar Weinberger ) of Home of the Brave : Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror
Blackfive and Mike Yon were on Pundit Review radio last night - listen here.
And Blackfive's on-air "Someone you should Know" segment was a tribute to Soldier's Angels founder Patti Bader. Check it out.
Spreading the word - it's why we're here.
The military has been guarding the southern border for some time, via the Air Force's Tethered Aerostat Radar System; baloon-borne radars whose primary purpose is detection of northbound low flying planes (drug smugglers, dontcha know).
A few years ago I visited several of the sites. They're manned by civilians, but managed by the USAF, so not quite the same as having actual active duty folks patrolling the border. But the guys at the sites assured me - and I have no reason to believe they were joking - that their efforts had been so successful that the smugglers were relying increasingly on foot soldiers to walk their goods over the border. A not-uncommon site (they said by way of warning me) in the area was a lone gunman (AK47, specifically ) strolling northward with a big backpack.
Something for the Guard to prepare for. What will they do when they meet any such well-armed "immigrants"?
I suppose since the White House went to the trouble to send some excerpts of the President's speech I should post them here. See below.
Or read Scott Ott's version.
Maybe we can get a Texas ANG guy to blog from the border.
(The US Naval Academy) recently created a Center for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies to give context to individual departments' teaching of the politics, economy, language and history of that region. Other centers specializing in Asia, Latin America and Africa may follow.Faculty members have begun offering anthropology, literature and history courses that focus on certain regions as well. These include teaching about the Crusades from the Arab perspective, or multicultural literature.
Ryan McGeough, a (USNA) sophomore from South Dartmouth, Mass., who wants to be a Marine or Navy SEAL, said learning Arabic has been a challenge but one that will almost certainly be worth it.
"It's one of those things that's going to help me when I get out of here, since I'm sure to be on the ground somewhere speaking Arabic," said McGeough, 21. "Knowing even a little will help me and my troops a lot more."
I studied French back when I was a mid - and I'm still ready to serve, should my country ever need my services in that department.
STRATEGYPAGE has a list of "The Five Most Attractive Targets" for international terrorists. It's a good list, but I don't think it's quite so easy to "shut down" the Strait of Malacca (about 2 miles wide at its narrowest point), even if you did manage to sink a big ship in the middle of the shallow portion of the channel. Likewise, the Strait of Hormuz is vulnerable to mines, submarines, and Iranian missiles -- but the U.S. Navy has some contingency plans for that particular scenario.
By far the most worrisome maritime choke point, in my book, is the Suez Canal. Very easy to shut down, and the effect on the world economy would be devastating. Security for the canal is the responsiblity of the Egyptian military. U.S. Naval vessels pass through it all the time...
Marines don't wear pink, for starters.
There, that's more like it.
Smash is not timid about venturing into enemy camps.
So is heavy metal and thrash-type stuff now officially right wing conservative music? I suppose Ted Nugent won't be surprised.
Unscrupulous recruiters using a band to entice young people to join the military - reminds me of this one episode of the Simpson's where the Navy guy forms a boy band...
Vietnam and the United States have reached an agreement in principle on terms for Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization, clearing the way for Vietnam to join the group this year.
Condi Rice announces the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Libya.
Today's Winds of Change Monday Winds of War round-up links to an alarming piece by Gordon Thomas at World Net Daily, about Al Qaeda operations and coordination of terrorist support in the Americas...
Some of it looked significant, other parts seem anecdotal. Demands more attention.
Dude, that's embarassing. At least he didn't yak, like Rick "Two Bags" Reilly.
Stephen Hayes serves as correspondent in reporting on the Bush Administration’s war against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), published in the Weekly Standard.
I guess Intel -- or rather news that our Intel operations are under assault from within or without -- will always be what fires me up.
This guy has found a way to chew gum in a manner that would entertain aviator types. Just ask the dude..
Dude?
(via b3ta,link not safe for work; actually, not safe for humans)
...bring the noise, it's time to rock ya from the delta to the DMZ...
Welcome to the new headquarters of the MilBlogs Ring. Live, worldwide, 24/7 free speech from those who help make it possible. You'll see some familiar names here, and hopefully some new. (Don't worry, we aren't abandoning the "home blogs" this is just a gathering place for "off duty" conversation.)
Scroll around, make yourselves at home. Bookmark us and stop by anytime, we're never closed.
And if you're a milblogger don't feel left out - we're going to expand, and you're part of the plan.
Lex, something about your post only registered long after I first read it. A quote from the story you linked:
Blasts kill 14 at Baghdad airportSo, was it "at" - or "near"? To a casual reader this might seem like a nitpick, but for us this is more than a semantic issue. There are layers of security that must be breached to achieve "at". I suspect "near" is the reality, but "at" somehow made it's way into the headline.Fourteen people have died and six were hurt in a double suicide attack near Baghdad airport, on a day of violence that claimed at least 30 lives in Iraq...
I noticed when I was there during the Jan 2005 election and prior that suicide bombers would strike "near" political party headquarters and other hard targets, invariably claiming some number of victims. The reality (that never found it's way into the story) was that security was working - insofar as the intended targets were missed. On one day in particular (if memory serves) there were 5 such attacks that essentially failed. Of course, as a result of those failures, innocent bystanders were killed. (If anyone is compelled to blame anyone other than the bombers, I have more words for you here.)
And the next day headlines reported attacks "on" locations a, b, c, etc, along with total dead (probably including the bombers). Their failed attacks were redeemed somewhat by the effectiveness of those headlines.
But days later, purple fingers.
KENNETH ALLARD on the "uppity military:"
[T]he same sloppy thinking, mindless stereotypes and casual acceptance of second-class citizenship that once marked American race relations all now reign unchallenged whenever the military class appears to be getting a little uppity. Fact is, there is a gap — already miles-wide and growing every day — between the American people and their highly professional military.
This is the battle we're fighting at home today -- it's a battle for the hearts and minds of the American people -- and we can't afford to lose this one.
Countercolumn's Jason van Steenwyk has a good response to the CNN/MSNBC military "outrage" of the day.
OpFor translates Iranian concessions generation strategic theory in the format any staff officer understands.
Apparently Ramadi chose their side in the Jerky Wars. Is Smash down with that?
And is jerky the new East Coast / West Coast thing?
Okay Andi - here's a second opinion:
Marine Lance Cpl. Taylor Prazynski, 20, died May 9, 2005, in a hospital in Fallujah of shrapnel wounds from a mortar shell that exploded near him during combat in Anbar Province.The AP is carrying that story. I think there are plenty of Americans who'd align themselves with Prazynski over Sheehan, although Matthews might not know any himself.Until then, John Prazynski, 43, a soft-spoken suburban real-estate broker, didn’t consider himself political and never expected to become a public figure, much less a pro-war activist.
On opening day of the baseball season in Cincinnati, he joined President Bush and two wounded soldiers on the field in pregame ceremonies. Prazynski said he wanted to thank Bush for his support “and give him two thumbs up with his positive stance on security, military and veterans’ issues.”
Prazynski has been interviewed repeatedly by news media about the war in the past year, while organizing a series of 5-kilometer runs and motorcycle rides to raise money for scholarships for children of slain soldiers and Marines.
“I do this to keep Taylor’s memory alive,” said Prazynski.
Robert Stokely, for one.
I suppose "Go Out There and Conquer the World" is so passé these days.
Scary stuff. Really scary stuff.
But then again, there's a history there (scroll down).
Mark Steyn: coupla thousand words.
Google: one screenshot.
Can't say who wins on this one.
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