A few years ago we had a president who seemed to get along with the leaders of Russia and China. At least we weren't talking about shooting wars. Whatever happened to that guy? Can we get him back?
It looks to me like the Russians are behaving as though a larger war would give them a free hand to restore their Imperial status. This will not end well, unless a captain gets reprimanded.
Hmm...it would be interesting to see what the correlation of forces would be with Turkey. Although nobody has EVER accused the Turks of a lack of fighting spirit.
The comments Captain Mongo has made about the Turkish Navy, and my dad's comment on who got sent over to see the FFG tell me how they once were. Do they retain that spirit today?
If you read the histories of the Korean Conflict, you will find that the Turks were tremendous allies to the US, and formidable opponents to the N. Koreans.
This has the potential to have been a manufactured incident. Small, old, Turkish owned bulk carrier registered in Palau, intercepted soon after leaving Turkish waters in the busy Bosporus sea lanes on the way from a Greek port to a destination it keeps changing.
The Russians inspect the ship for contraband and let it proceed on its way, thus establishing.a precedent and obtaining a useful sound bite. "See, Russian Navy not bad people. We not here to starve people. Not here to burn food, sink ships. We here to defend innocent lives".
We will see if the ship is able to get to its destination, load up, and what happens then.
okay, CDR, I'll bite.........re: Palau. (and vast reach of Pacific islands in general). Most readers here know my own horse that I plug; fine. A bit about that..... years ago, the Federated States of Micronesia expressed interest in developing airships as an addition or alternative to using marine vessels for inter-island transport. They recognized then, that there could be immense advantages in doing so.
Those advantages have only increased with time; the time that is running out on peace in the Pacific.
A simple suggestion then......that the Navy begin to seriously consider using modern, amphibious, rigid-hulled AIRSHIPS. With all the concerns over getting more ships into the fleet vis a vis the "west of Wake" hazards we are looking at...........getting more "ships", that have hulls OUT OF THE WATER would seem to be a fine fit.
Perhaps a kerfluffle out of Palau would be a nice foot-in-the-door politically to do the above.
Multi-tiered justice systems are common in corrupt systems, and certainly not unknown to the colonies since well before the American Revolution. If only rabble rousers would be content with their glorious elites.
"Officials were accused of accepting bribes, misappropriating public funds, and abusing their authority for personal gain. Moreover, the administration of justice was perceived as biased and unfair, favoring the wealthy and well-connected. Religious influences, particularly evangelical Christianity, played a role in shaping the opposition to colonial rule."
"Government officials and absentee landowners perceived the Regulators as threatening the social order, and sensationalized news stories portrayed them as outlaws and traitors. This narrative led to a willingness among many North Carolinians to support military violence to suppress the Regulators."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ahh, Palau. Truly a tropical garden spot. Years ago we used to fly the EOD teams and the Seabees to Palau. The EOD guys were still cleaning up Japanese ordnance from WWII since it had been a major re-supply point, and the week before a Palau fisherman was blown to bits hauling in a Japanese mine. The Seabees would build roads, post office, schools, clinics and the people LOVED to see them getting off the plane. We had a cocktail party one afternoon at a government official's residence and one of the EOD guys was walking the grounds and came back for a conversation with his LT that went something like "Hey LT, no alarm but we gotta UXO over in the garden by the trellis, looks like a couple of Type 00's HE. No alarm?? So we aviators grabbed our drinks and headed for the door.
I'm betting that not 5% of the elitist idiots in the WH could find Palau on a globe. We need to get our foot firmly wedged in that door.
They still pull UXO in Guam! They used to have the CAT and the SeaBees would be all over those islands, building relations, building roads, maybe even building families. Sailors gonna sailor, even dirt Sailors. :-)
You heard the old saying, "I'd rather have a daughter in a whorehouse than married to a SeaBee." My youngest daughter married one, an EO. Nice guy. After I retired I went to work for the County Engineering Department. No surprise, the boss was a retired O-5 Army Corps of Engineers guy. Project managers included a Seabee O-5 LDO, O-4 SeaBee Regular, a W-4 SeaBee. Inspectors included an O-4 SeaBee LDO, O-3 Surface LDO, E-8 Seabee, E-7 SeaBee, E-7 Surface type (EWC), E-9 FLNG, E-8(IMCS). All but 2 of those were hired as contract workers, no benefits but twice the pay and starting at the top pay scale for their job description. SeaBees, sailors...Can Do. Morning coffee was a hoot.
"Afghanistan withdrawal coordinator". C'mon now. That was a total fly by night zoo-ex coordinated no better than a Special Olympics 440 hurdles event on an icy track, which leads me to believe that there was no coordination. A QMSA could have done it better. Tsk, Jet.
I don't recall who that was, LT B. Maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt for perhaps de-debacling the debacle and making it less worse than it could have been. So... A fellow LDO LT 2 years ahead of me promoted to LCDR after getting fired as the SORTS and CASREP guy and it getting dumped on me, already a busy guy as CICO. I did an ERO tour like that Elex LDO and know how unbusy that job can be. Retired before I was in zone. Just as well, was burnt out. 11 promotions were enough to sweat out. Next to last promotion made me a 40 year old LTjg. Bah to promotions unless they relate to guns, ammo or food.
Based on the interview of Tyler Vargas-Andrews, and his discussion of the tactical movements around KIA, I have to say Donahue, and his inability to give the go ahead to shoot the dude w/ an S-Vest tells me we do not need Generals, and from his discussions, we don't need O5s. They were all asked for permission to shoot the bomber, and they did not know if they could. Bureaucratic Cowards.
Provides some insight into the command environment and how tight the administration was holding DoD's leash. We know POTUS and his handlers was all about turning the page, the guys on teh ground all knew that you just can't get-out ASAP and no issues will come about, the breakdown was the uniformed authority both on the ground and in the five-sided building. Nobody resigned, nobody has been called to the carpet and had their retirement busted or, promotion halted. The stars attempted to make-up for not taking out the bomber by using a drone-strike, in the middle of a dense urban environment with faulty intelligence, resulting in a the death of a US contractor and 9 others.
After the 1st Gulf War in 1991 our ship got assigned with two French ships to the Red Sea to interdict, board and inspect every ship bound for Jordan up through the Gulf of Aqaba. We were looking for possible contraband bound for Iraq, which might have made them more troublesome to our occupying force. Did every merchant ship captain squeal like a stuck pig about it? Yes they did. Our Captain was a relative of The General Patton, a stern, no-nonsense guy. He was the one on the Bridge-to-Bridge VHF telling the merchant captains how it was going to be. He was as polite as he needed to be until it was time for the gloves to come off. In my estimation, he was more polite than the French. Were we ready to fire a shot across their bow to bend them to our will? Yes, we were. Were we ready to fire a 5" BL&P through their rudder post? Yes we were. Did we have the right to do that? Do the Russians or Ukrainians (co-belligerents) have that right in the Black Sea. "International law, mumble-mumble, force majeure, mumble-mumble..." I don't know. Not my forte. But if you think some third party is supplying your foe, I'd say, "If we and the French did it, they should be able to do it too." Our XO, a good man, picked the tallest & beefiest men, trained them into making the scariest scowls, dressed them in all black, body armor, helmets, armed them with shotguns, M-14's & side arms and told them to take no guff off anyone in their way. We bullied our way through the whole process and at the time I was proud of our men and myself for my part in it as CICO. No. I am not taking sides.
The history of navies claiming stop-and-search rights over neutral merchantmen warrants a book unto itself. The Royal Navy started it during the Napoleonic Wars, and the USN has used that precedent over the last 30 years. And the neutrals were always complaining.
I read everything I can get my hands on about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. One of my fondest memories of the RN was being randomly selected to attend a banquet in Portsmouth after a 1967 NATO Naval Review earlier that day. Good eats, singing, camaraderie and way too much beer. There was a contest...20 USN and 20 RN sailors opposite each other chugging a pint of ale in a sort of relay race. The RN won it while our 12th guy was choking down his pint. Awe-inspiring for an 18 year old. And no hard feelings about the pressing, the Revolution and the tossed tea. Huzzah, RN.
a. OCCASIONS FOR EXERCISE. The belligerent right of visit and search may be exercised anywhere outside of neutral jurisdiction upon all merchant vessels and aircraft in order to determine their character (enemy or neutral), the nature of their cargo, the manner of their employment, or other facts which bear on their relation to the war. Historically, visit and search was considered the only legally acceptable method for determining whether or not a merchant vessel was subject to capture.'
"Under the law of armed conflict, belligerent warships or aircraft may visit and search a merchant vessel for the purpose of determining its true character, i.e., enemy or neutral, nature of cargo, manner of employment, and other facts bearing on its relation to the conflict. Such visits occur outside neutral territorial seas. "
The most frightening part is that if I were running a foreign nation, I'm not sure I would want the United States as an ally. American foreign policy is bipolar, suffering massive swings depending on the party in power...and in the case of at least one party, the amount of bribe money paid.
I'm old enough to remember a time when the corruption, at least, stopped at the water's edge.
Sadly, the trajectory seems to augur for an end for those massive swings in favor of a uni-polarity of policy. I need to start work on my double-handed Rosary.
"Sounds like Palau needs some strong friends. Right now, they are still leaning our way. If I were the PRC, I would see this as an opportunity - absent any actions or even words by the USA - to show Palau who is perhaps a better friend to have on the world stage."
I don't think the current administration is capable of seeing that far in advance or in strategic terms, within any dimension. After all, seeing how they handled closing the shop in Afghanistan and the bumbling meetings Blinkin has had with the CCP, the betting man will wager they sit on their hands and not recognize the issues.
Blinkin and the other magicians all are doing sleight-of-hand tricks, so I'm betting that there won't be any real hand sitting. But I know what you meant, Corsair.
A few years ago we had a president who seemed to get along with the leaders of Russia and China. At least we weren't talking about shooting wars. Whatever happened to that guy? Can we get him back?
It's easy to get along with Putin if you do his bidding. He very rarely causes trouble for his puppets.
It looks to me like the Russians are behaving as though a larger war would give them a free hand to restore their Imperial status. This will not end well, unless a captain gets reprimanded.
Hmm...it would be interesting to see what the correlation of forces would be with Turkey. Although nobody has EVER accused the Turks of a lack of fighting spirit.
The comments Captain Mongo has made about the Turkish Navy, and my dad's comment on who got sent over to see the FFG tell me how they once were. Do they retain that spirit today?
If you read the histories of the Korean Conflict, you will find that the Turks were tremendous allies to the US, and formidable opponents to the N. Koreans.
This has the potential to have been a manufactured incident. Small, old, Turkish owned bulk carrier registered in Palau, intercepted soon after leaving Turkish waters in the busy Bosporus sea lanes on the way from a Greek port to a destination it keeps changing.
The Russians inspect the ship for contraband and let it proceed on its way, thus establishing.a precedent and obtaining a useful sound bite. "See, Russian Navy not bad people. We not here to starve people. Not here to burn food, sink ships. We here to defend innocent lives".
We will see if the ship is able to get to its destination, load up, and what happens then.
another reason to hate the Russians...as for the appeaser of dictators? Hey, Pete, it is a free country, vote for that guy again if you want. Not me.
"....appeaser of dictators" is every US president; they just appease different ones.
true, dat
I don't hate either the Kogut or the Goat beards.
I could care less if they did their killing on their own dime.
Screwing with Turkish ships in the Black Sea, regardless of their flag, might backfire on Putin.
more specifically, dictators of the other two would-be superpowers.
Also one that can build its own
LSTs and assault ships now.
Everyone, including the US, is a would be superpower. Welcome to a multi-polar world.
okay, CDR, I'll bite.........re: Palau. (and vast reach of Pacific islands in general). Most readers here know my own horse that I plug; fine. A bit about that..... years ago, the Federated States of Micronesia expressed interest in developing airships as an addition or alternative to using marine vessels for inter-island transport. They recognized then, that there could be immense advantages in doing so.
Those advantages have only increased with time; the time that is running out on peace in the Pacific.
A simple suggestion then......that the Navy begin to seriously consider using modern, amphibious, rigid-hulled AIRSHIPS. With all the concerns over getting more ships into the fleet vis a vis the "west of Wake" hazards we are looking at...........getting more "ships", that have hulls OUT OF THE WATER would seem to be a fine fit.
Perhaps a kerfluffle out of Palau would be a nice foot-in-the-door politically to do the above.
Oh the humanity! ;-)
(sigh) (knowing smile)
"Archer, it's Helium. It's not hydrogen; it won't blow up. What is it you don't understand?"
"Well, obviously the core concept, Lana. I didn't go to space camp!"
First season of that show was hysterical
Give and take, back and forth, all that happens is the pile of dead grows in the battle arena.
Escalation and escalation.
What's next? Armed Merchant ships fighting their way into ports, NATO warships somehow getting there and escorting ships in Ala Persian gulf?
Unrestricted Submarine warfare and convoys.
Perhaps.
One thing is clear, this keeps getting larger and crazier as time goes on.
Call a cease fire, take this to a world court somewhere non biased and do it without death.
But if you two clowns want to fight, do it on your dime.
China and Russia will abide by any "world court" only if it meets their needs.
As we see in the US, courts are TOTES non-biased. LOL
Multi-tiered justice systems are common in corrupt systems, and certainly not unknown to the colonies since well before the American Revolution. If only rabble rousers would be content with their glorious elites.
https://www.itakehistory.com/post/the-regulators
"Officials were accused of accepting bribes, misappropriating public funds, and abusing their authority for personal gain. Moreover, the administration of justice was perceived as biased and unfair, favoring the wealthy and well-connected. Religious influences, particularly evangelical Christianity, played a role in shaping the opposition to colonial rule."
"Government officials and absentee landowners perceived the Regulators as threatening the social order, and sensationalized news stories portrayed them as outlaws and traitors. This narrative led to a willingness among many North Carolinians to support military violence to suppress the Regulators."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ahh, Palau. Truly a tropical garden spot. Years ago we used to fly the EOD teams and the Seabees to Palau. The EOD guys were still cleaning up Japanese ordnance from WWII since it had been a major re-supply point, and the week before a Palau fisherman was blown to bits hauling in a Japanese mine. The Seabees would build roads, post office, schools, clinics and the people LOVED to see them getting off the plane. We had a cocktail party one afternoon at a government official's residence and one of the EOD guys was walking the grounds and came back for a conversation with his LT that went something like "Hey LT, no alarm but we gotta UXO over in the garden by the trellis, looks like a couple of Type 00's HE. No alarm?? So we aviators grabbed our drinks and headed for the door.
I'm betting that not 5% of the elitist idiots in the WH could find Palau on a globe. We need to get our foot firmly wedged in that door.
They still pull UXO in Guam! They used to have the CAT and the SeaBees would be all over those islands, building relations, building roads, maybe even building families. Sailors gonna sailor, even dirt Sailors. :-)
Hell, they still pull WWI UXO in Europe...
You heard the old saying, "I'd rather have a daughter in a whorehouse than married to a SeaBee." My youngest daughter married one, an EO. Nice guy. After I retired I went to work for the County Engineering Department. No surprise, the boss was a retired O-5 Army Corps of Engineers guy. Project managers included a Seabee O-5 LDO, O-4 SeaBee Regular, a W-4 SeaBee. Inspectors included an O-4 SeaBee LDO, O-3 Surface LDO, E-8 Seabee, E-7 SeaBee, E-7 Surface type (EWC), E-9 FLNG, E-8(IMCS). All but 2 of those were hired as contract workers, no benefits but twice the pay and starting at the top pay scale for their job description. SeaBees, sailors...Can Do. Morning coffee was a hoot.
No sweat! Jake Sullivan is on the job, with the able assistance of SecDef Austin and the Afghanistan withdrawal coordinator.
"Afghanistan withdrawal coordinator". C'mon now. That was a total fly by night zoo-ex coordinated no better than a Special Olympics 440 hurdles event on an icy track, which leads me to believe that there was no coordination. A QMSA could have done it better. Tsk, Jet.
Ground commander got a promotion out of it, so...
I don't recall who that was, LT B. Maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt for perhaps de-debacling the debacle and making it less worse than it could have been. So... A fellow LDO LT 2 years ahead of me promoted to LCDR after getting fired as the SORTS and CASREP guy and it getting dumped on me, already a busy guy as CICO. I did an ERO tour like that Elex LDO and know how unbusy that job can be. Retired before I was in zone. Just as well, was burnt out. 11 promotions were enough to sweat out. Next to last promotion made me a 40 year old LTjg. Bah to promotions unless they relate to guns, ammo or food.
You're thinking of Donahue.
Miller was CENTCOM, then McKenzie succeeded him in the midst of the drawdown. Both should've resigned in protest given the conditions of the orders.
Based on the interview of Tyler Vargas-Andrews, and his discussion of the tactical movements around KIA, I have to say Donahue, and his inability to give the go ahead to shoot the dude w/ an S-Vest tells me we do not need Generals, and from his discussions, we don't need O5s. They were all asked for permission to shoot the bomber, and they did not know if they could. Bureaucratic Cowards.
Provides some insight into the command environment and how tight the administration was holding DoD's leash. We know POTUS and his handlers was all about turning the page, the guys on teh ground all knew that you just can't get-out ASAP and no issues will come about, the breakdown was the uniformed authority both on the ground and in the five-sided building. Nobody resigned, nobody has been called to the carpet and had their retirement busted or, promotion halted. The stars attempted to make-up for not taking out the bomber by using a drone-strike, in the middle of a dense urban environment with faulty intelligence, resulting in a the death of a US contractor and 9 others.
After the 1st Gulf War in 1991 our ship got assigned with two French ships to the Red Sea to interdict, board and inspect every ship bound for Jordan up through the Gulf of Aqaba. We were looking for possible contraband bound for Iraq, which might have made them more troublesome to our occupying force. Did every merchant ship captain squeal like a stuck pig about it? Yes they did. Our Captain was a relative of The General Patton, a stern, no-nonsense guy. He was the one on the Bridge-to-Bridge VHF telling the merchant captains how it was going to be. He was as polite as he needed to be until it was time for the gloves to come off. In my estimation, he was more polite than the French. Were we ready to fire a shot across their bow to bend them to our will? Yes, we were. Were we ready to fire a 5" BL&P through their rudder post? Yes we were. Did we have the right to do that? Do the Russians or Ukrainians (co-belligerents) have that right in the Black Sea. "International law, mumble-mumble, force majeure, mumble-mumble..." I don't know. Not my forte. But if you think some third party is supplying your foe, I'd say, "If we and the French did it, they should be able to do it too." Our XO, a good man, picked the tallest & beefiest men, trained them into making the scariest scowls, dressed them in all black, body armor, helmets, armed them with shotguns, M-14's & side arms and told them to take no guff off anyone in their way. We bullied our way through the whole process and at the time I was proud of our men and myself for my part in it as CICO. No. I am not taking sides.
The history of navies claiming stop-and-search rights over neutral merchantmen warrants a book unto itself. The Royal Navy started it during the Napoleonic Wars, and the USN has used that precedent over the last 30 years. And the neutrals were always complaining.
At least the USN isn't pressing their crews.
I read everything I can get my hands on about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. One of my fondest memories of the RN was being randomly selected to attend a banquet in Portsmouth after a 1967 NATO Naval Review earlier that day. Good eats, singing, camaraderie and way too much beer. There was a contest...20 USN and 20 RN sailors opposite each other chugging a pint of ale in a sort of relay race. The RN won it while our 12th guy was choking down his pint. Awe-inspiring for an 18 year old. And no hard feelings about the pressing, the Revolution and the tossed tea. Huzzah, RN.
I'd imagine the Phoenicians and Greeks did it as well.
"502 Visit and Search
a. OCCASIONS FOR EXERCISE. The belligerent right of visit and search may be exercised anywhere outside of neutral jurisdiction upon all merchant vessels and aircraft in order to determine their character (enemy or neutral), the nature of their cargo, the manner of their employment, or other facts which bear on their relation to the war. Historically, visit and search was considered the only legally acceptable method for determining whether or not a merchant vessel was subject to capture.'
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/l/law-naval-warfare-nwip-10-2-1955/law-naval-warfare-chapters-1-6.html
"According to the U.S. Navy,
"Under the law of armed conflict, belligerent warships or aircraft may visit and search a merchant vessel for the purpose of determining its true character, i.e., enemy or neutral, nature of cargo, manner of employment, and other facts bearing on its relation to the conflict. Such visits occur outside neutral territorial seas. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visit_and_Search
The most frightening part is that if I were running a foreign nation, I'm not sure I would want the United States as an ally. American foreign policy is bipolar, suffering massive swings depending on the party in power...and in the case of at least one party, the amount of bribe money paid.
I'm old enough to remember a time when the corruption, at least, stopped at the water's edge.
Sadly, the trajectory seems to augur for an end for those massive swings in favor of a uni-polarity of policy. I need to start work on my double-handed Rosary.
"Sounds like Palau needs some strong friends. Right now, they are still leaning our way. If I were the PRC, I would see this as an opportunity - absent any actions or even words by the USA - to show Palau who is perhaps a better friend to have on the world stage."
I don't think the current administration is capable of seeing that far in advance or in strategic terms, within any dimension. After all, seeing how they handled closing the shop in Afghanistan and the bumbling meetings Blinkin has had with the CCP, the betting man will wager they sit on their hands and not recognize the issues.
Blinkin and the other magicians all are doing sleight-of-hand tricks, so I'm betting that there won't be any real hand sitting. But I know what you meant, Corsair.
Blinkin & Sullivan were brought on by this admin for one solitary reason, to get the JCPOA, their legacy baby when they worked for 44, back into play.
Thanks. Had to google JCPOA. There goes that sleight-of-hand. It's the Iran Nuclear Deal.
I do not care, did you read the last part?
Let me refresh,
"If These two Clowns still want to fight do it on their own dime."
In other words, Kill each other till you both are sated on blood shed, dead bodies rotting, wounded wailing and crying and debris and ruins.
Just don't bum our money and ammo to do it.
If only we had a NCA with three functioning neurons between them
https://i.imgflip.com/7vvsk4.jpg
Palau? Palau doesn’t even have its own military. We defend them.
Just thought of some second-order effects if things got heated and shots were fired over a Palau-flagged vessel...