Filed under: Resource Wars, War | Tags: dod, military, obama, penatgon, qdr, War
An ever increasing defense budget clearly demonstrates the priorities of the U.S government/military. Freedom of movement and the ability to engage multiple enemies on multiple fronts will characterize warfare in 2010 and beyond. The disingenuous demagogue Obama had promised to end these type of conflicts, yet more than a year after his election we are expanding our presence aggressively in several new areas of operation and are continuing the derided policies of the Bush administration. Will this ever end?
Matthew Berger: America’s “War without Borders”
WASHINGTON – A report and budget request from the U.S. Defense Department released Monday reveal both new and old priorities for President Barack Obama’s Pentagon.
Strategically, the military recognizes new, non-traditional threats ranging from failed states to cyber-warfare to climate change. But there is little change in the military spending habits of the Obama Pentagon versus that of his predecessor.
The new Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressionally mandated report on the direction of U.S. national security strategy, marks several major breaks from past reports. Whereas previous QDRs have had at their heart a strategy in which the country is able to fight two separate conventional wars, Monday’s report shifts the focus to multiple and diffuse simultaneous threats.
“We have learned through painful experience that the wars we fight are rarely the wars we plan,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon Monday afternoon.
New threats require new responses, and the report emphasizes having increased numbers of special forces, drones and helicopters as well as preparing for conflicts that take place in the realms of counterinsurgencies and cyberspace.
“Although it is a manmade domain, cyberspace is now as relevant a domain for DoD activities as the naturally occurring domains of land, sea, air, and space,” the report notes.
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Filed under: Latin America | Tags: aid, dod, haiti, military, obama, southcom, us
It just so happened that SOUTHCOM was conducting a drill involving assisting Haiti in the aftermath of a hurricane the day before the first earthquake hit the island nation. It was at this point that U.S commanders decided to take the drill “live”. Thank god for the U.S military and its uncanny ability to predict disasters in the days before they occur.
Michel Chossudovsky: A Haiti Disaster Relief Scenario Was Envisaged by the US Military One Day Before the Earthquake
A Haiti disaster relief scenario had been envisaged at the headquarters of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami one day prior to the earthquake.
The holding of pre-disaster simulations pertained to the impacts of a hurricane in Haiti. They were held on January 11. (Bob Brewin, Defense launches online system to coordinate Haiti relief efforts (1/15/10) — GovExec.com, complete text of article is contained in Annex)
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense (DoD), was involved in organizing these scenarios on behalf of US Southern Command.(SOUTHCOM).
Defined as a “Combat Support Agency”, DISA has a mandate to provide IT and telecommunications, systems, logistics services in support of the US military. (See DISA website: Defense Information Systems Agency).
On the day prior to the earthquake, “on Monday [January 11, 2010], Jean Demay, DISA’s technical manager for the agency’s Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project, happened to be at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami preparing for a test of the system in a scenario that involved providing relief to Haiti in the wake of a hurricane.” (Bob Brewin, op cit, emphasis added) Continue reading
Filed under: Latin America | Tags: aid, doctors, haiti, military, port-au-prince, relief, us
After successfully gaining control of the Port-au-Prince airport, the goals for U.S military engagement have focused on domestic policing and ensuring the freedom of movement for American forces and equipment. These objectives are being accomplished with resolute action, while the real issue of Haitian humanitarian needs are being grossly overlooked and (purposely?) hampered.
The main pipeline for relief services and aid Haiti in the aftermath of several earthquakes has been completely disabled as American military officials are refusing to allow vital medical necessities to land in the country, claiming that flights with “known” cargo are being given preferential treatment. Obviously at this point, “known” cargo is that which originates from the U.S military. Worse, equipment which is being allowed to land is being distributed so ineffectively and slow that its impact is woefully inadequate to ensure an increased survival rate. Deaths from gangrene, starvation and malnutrition are increasing dramatically due to this incompetence/malfeasance. Workers and volunteers from other nations (Iceland, Cuba, D. Republic) are assisting with no military escort and limited resources and seem to be having more effect then the remarkably militaristic disposition of the U.S
Global Research: US military blocks relief efforts in Haiti
2009-01-19; Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders Plane with Lifesaving Medical Supplies Diverted Again from Landing in Haiti
An MSF cargo plane carrying 12 tons of lifesaving medical supplies has been turned away three times from Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night, despite assurances of its ability to land.
2009-01-17; Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders Cargo Plane With Full Hospital and Staff Blocked From Landing in Port-au-Prince
Democracy Now!: Bottled Water Supplies in Port-au-Prince Airport Being Distributed…to US Embassy
Filed under: Latin America, Russia / Caucacus, War | Tags: chavez, cia, correa, military, morales, obama, putin, russia, southcom, us
Looks like the increased U.S presence in Colombia is causing South American nations, especially those involved in the ALBA contingency, to continue preparations for a potential U.S proxy-conflict. With Colombia, the U.S now has a visible military presence on every continent, a precedent which is not lost on Morales, Chavez, Correa and others, especially with the recent increase of violence of the northwest border of Venezuela.
Russian F.M Sergei Lavrov and Ecuador President Rafael Correa
Vedomosti: Ecuador Seeks Russian Aid Against U.S. Military Buildup In Colombia
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa will come to Moscow to discuss weapons supplies, but the Kremlin also expects him to speak about the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“We need to restore the might of our army,” Correa said about the goal of his visit to Moscow, which he will make together with Defense Minister Javier Ponce.
Ecuador has been alarmed by the decision of Colombia, with which it severed diplomatic relations in March 2008, to allow U.S. troops to use its bases.
The Ecuadorian officials plan to sign the contract, which was initialed last week, for the delivery of two Mi-17 Hip multirole helicopters for its Defense Ministry’s civilian purposes, said a representative of the Russian state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
However, Moscow also expects Ecuador to sign other contracts. A source at Russian Technology said Russia could supply six Su-30MK2 Flanker multirole fighters, several helicopters, and air defense systems to Ecuador, which would increase the value of their military cooperation to over $200 million.
In response, Russia expects Ecuador to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A source at the Russian Foreign Ministry said Ecuador had unofficially promised to announce its intention during the president’s visit…
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Reuters: Venezuela arrests eight Colombian ‘paramilitaries’
Xinhua News: Venezuela Strengthens Military Presence On Colombian Border
Filed under: Central Asia, Russia / Caucacus, Technology, War | Tags: czech, military, missiles, obama, poland, russia, shield, space
Updated missile shields plans have nothing to do with a decrease of tensions with Russia nor a desire by the Obama administration to repudiate any of the confrontational military policies of the Bush adminsitration. These recent actions with regards to Obama’s missile shield are simply an attempt to goad the Russians into supporting anti-Iranian policies while continuing to maintain a crucial strategic presence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In fact, these systems are decisively more aggressive as they offer the opportunity for movement of the once static shields and a more varied pattern of deployment possibilities to meet international challenges.
Rick Rozoff: Dangerous Missile Battle in Space
On September 28 a feature called “BMD fleet plans Europe defense mission” appeared in the Navy Times which reported that “Ballistic-missile defense warships have become the keystone in a new national strategy….Rather than field sensors and missiles on the ground in Poland and the Czech Republic, the U.S. will first maintain a presence of at least two or three Aegis BMD ships in the waters around Europe, starting in 2011.”
This development is in keeping with U.S Pentagon chief Robert Gates’ presentation of September 17 in which, confirming President Obama’s announcement to replace and supplement his predecessor’s project of placing ten ground-based interceptor missiles in Poland and a complementary radar installation in the Czech Republic, he laid out a three-step strategy to enhance (his word) U.S. missile shield plans in Europe.
“These capabilities offer a variety of options to detect, track and shoot down enemy missiles. This allows us to deploy a distributive sensor network rather than a single fixed site, like the kind slated for the Czech Republic, enabling greater survivability and adaptability.”
That is, as Russian officials have over the past two years openly stated that the stationary missile radar facility intended for the Czech Republic and silo-based missiles planned for Poland would be targeted by their own missiles if the U.S. went ahead with the deployments, mobile and rapidly deployable alternatives would have, in Gates’ terms, “greater survivability and adaptability.”
Land-based facilities are easy to monitor and, if the suspicion arose that they would be part of an imminent first strike attack, neutralize.
Sea-based, air-based and spaced-based surveillance and missile deployments would be harder – if not impossible – to track and to take out…
Full story here
Duty Now For The Future 