It’d be nice to recognize the ultimate immorality of conventional combat in which we send our young men to kill and die (but not to win), when we can reduce the enemy totally with no losses to American forces, while both defeating the opponent and announcing to the world we are done playing around, with the added bonus of a much-decreased defense budget. Ike was right, and MR is not only the most productive battlefield solution, killing none of our own while effecting the desired defeat of the adversary, but far more moral to both sides and to future generations.
Well sir, that didn't work in Baghdad or Kabul, and it won't work here. Sorry to say that the west needs to kill them all (jahadis) and then re-program their next generation. See Japan and Germany, defeat yes, and occupy and re-program.
Lol... well, IF there's gonna be a next generation, we should ensure that they aren't inspired by the deaths of their forefathers. Instead, they should grow up terrified of the United States. They might grow up angry, (fine, whatever) but at the same time, they should grow up knowing in their bones that there's at least one nation that shouldn't be trifled with.
Occupy a nation, and risk our children for what'd be another failure?? Our track record makes me vote a solid "no". We need to relearn how to actually win a fight- destroy, kill, flatten, pulverize- whatever term you want to use that best expresses a ruthless, nearly scorched earth campaign without diplomat-created ROEs. One that focuses on getting in quickly, destroying everything and killing everyone necessary to eliminate the problem, and then just as quickly- come home...
If you want to depopulate a desert, wipe out the water supplies. There are parts of Iran that still haven't recovered from what Tamerlane did to the irrigation network.
If Iran can no longer supply, equipment, or train all the regional troublemakers, can't produce its own military equipment, no longer has any sizeable military forces, and has virtually no government...
To me that's a win. And I think we're still capable of doing it. Without troops on the ground. Then, let their population sort out the mess and sweep up. Maybe they'll create a new govt that will join the ranks of the respectable nations. If not, we go back another time. We can give them that warning before we sail home...
He did say that he stays in his lane. But it is going to take a lot more energy at the zero echelon. I’m certain that he has voiced his ideas to his three bosses as Ike SG and to big navy. Perhaps he will be heard.
I thought we just read that he will now have a new job walking the halls of Congress. I can not fathom what that means. Whether he is in line to be CNO or for a tee time. Query, Cap, what is the main mission of the Navy's Uniformed Congressional Liaison ? And didn't you once have that job, btw ?
He's now moved on to be Chief of Legislative Affairs, not sure what that all entails...perhaps being the main Navy contact for the chairs of the SASC and HASC. Considering he just commanded a CVBG in a combat deployment, he now gets to make friends with all the check-signers and promotion-approvers. He's got several more stars in his future.
Every port from Mukalla west should get the Operation Pocket Money treatment followed by a naval blockade. Break the resupply cycle from Iran. Of course, I'm sure that we no longer have hundreds of air-droppable Mk-52s because "transformation". We certainly don't have the political will.
Eye of the beholder. He's attempting to straddle a fence, dance on razorblades, and offer what is blatantly obvious advice / criticism to his higher without getting passed over and retired. At the most reductionist level, trading multi-million dollar missiles to protect against much cheaper and much more numerous incoming vampires is a calculus equation that eventually ends up losing. Getting to the source tactically is the Houthis, at the strategic level, Iran...and / or whatever global cabal of nefarious evil doers is behind the Red Sea shipping stoppage. We could stop it, but don't, for reasons not understood. Which means there is a very important part of the calculus equation we don't understand or know about. But, the adults are back in charge, so we need not be burdened by what has been...or something. \sarcasm off
I did catch the Admiral’s comment on cost benefit analysis of ship launched Standard Missiles vs UAV’s. Still AIM-9’s vs UAVs is going to add up. The entire SG was Winchester. We need to integrate counter UAV into our navy fighter weapons school curriculum, our Fallon CAG training, and JTFX. In fact we need counter UAV training at every level of fleet operational training from pier sentry and SSDF to SERE school.
Safe to say, counter-UAV TTP's have been written and implemented for NAVAIR. Remains to be seen how far along COMNAVSURFOR understands the threat. The port they had to reload their VLS' from, Yanbu, has in the past had to deal with unmanned one-way waterborne threats from the Yemeni insurgents.
Admiral Miguez is spot on in his behavior. Uniformed personnel don't make policy, they execute / enforce it.
But beyond that he did what so many senior officers don't: he made his recommendation to higher and when they weren't taken he continued mission; and now he's making his point of view clear (not being a "yes man") while also being respectful of the chain of command.
Now for my cynical take as to why we're not doing anything of import to stop the Houthis long term: the Houthis actions are making people money. Shipping companies aren't paying the additional costs, consumers are, with the commensurate increase in paydays to not just the shipping companies but all the other associated industries from banks to insurance companies to fuel providers.
The only people that seem to be losing out are the Egyptians, and who knows what's actually going on behind the scenes there.
That's pretty strong incentive to have the administration slow roll a response.
The route in question is to Europe. The US does not get its oil from the Persian Gulf and come to think of it, anything of value. In fact, it's a drag on our GNP, cause you see, we are a big oil and gas exporting nation. It's importance to us is primarily as a naval LOC. But still, the Red Sea trade route is most important to Europe and its Far East suppliers. I would suppose that if the EU felt strongly enough about the problem to do something about it, it could and would. But it seems to much to expect that a French Frigate would defend a Greek Super Tanker bound for a Greek refinery, and prevent it from falling in to the wrong hands. I would guess so since apparently the Hellenic Navy is no where in the area to be found
The proper and responsible way to put a lid on the Houthi shenanigans is to deliver the heat--hot, heavy and fast. Iran also needs a serious bloody nose, such as the obliteration of one of its important oil facilities.
Taking out their Navy is still "strictly business" IMO. It seriously degrades Iran's local offensive capability. The oil facility is financial, reducing their ability to finance their proxies.
If you want to threaten regime survival, take out the container cranes. 2 year lead time to replace, and people get cranky when they don't get their mid to high end goods.
Does anybody think we actually have a functioning "National Command Authority" in the traditional sense? On a good day, Biden is on vacation choosing his ice cream flavor. On a bad one he's ranting at MAGA demons.
All policy decisions at the WH are currently being made to win Michigan and to stay employed. Jake Sullivan, IMHO is in the running for the worst NSA evah. (along with Donilon).
The pressure point is Iran. We seem unwilling to push them at all, till they declare they have nukes, at which point, we will exit the area.
Seriously, our strategy seems designed to drag Iran across the finish line.
Also on a bad day, continuity of the chain of command is broken becuase the DOD comms resources doesn't know that the SECDEF is under for surgery. Congressional investigation? Crickets.....
Congressional investigation? What's the point? The Admin stonewalls legitimate requests for documents, refuses to come testify, Congress can't fire them. Not enough Dems to impeach them. The MSM covers for them. They have insufficient honor to resign.
There seems to be no check on deep state incompetence/malfeasance
"The average age of members serving in the national legislature is 61, according to the Biographical Data Directory of the U.S. Congress. The median age is 58 in the House of Representatives and 65 in the Senate, according to data analyzed by Pew Research Center last year."
Well, Obama is pro-Iran, ValJar is pro-Iran, pretty much the entire D party and MSM is pro-Iran, so actions against the primary active global opponent won’t be happening any time soon…
Especially with the latest "news" on Iran, that they want to sit down and discuss their nuclear options/progress/curtailment of weapons development, blah, blah.....
So, as with Zuckerburg and his recent mea culpa on Meta, we have an admiral hinting that the administration should have been more aggressive with the Houthis. Sounds to me as if he'd like to keep his job in a Trump administration, nothing more.
We all know Ike’s MR strategy is the correct answer to the Houthi problem. It removes that threat with minimal collateral damage, while announcing to Iran that we are done playing around regarding their - obvious and continued - threat to the entire civilized world.
More aggressive? I agree.
Where are the Marines? There is a limit to what bombs, missiles and drones can do.
At some point you need boots on the ground.
Sometimes, hitting the activation runes on the portable suns is the best answer.
I appreciate the time you took to take a classier approach than "turn it into glass." And it respects the capability.
would be nice to have that Arty, tanks and helos we just divested of to field island stay behind teams.
It does seem that the desert and tanks still go well together. Where would one come ashore?
Vertical envelopment.
It’d be nice to recognize the ultimate immorality of conventional combat in which we send our young men to kill and die (but not to win), when we can reduce the enemy totally with no losses to American forces, while both defeating the opponent and announcing to the world we are done playing around, with the added bonus of a much-decreased defense budget. Ike was right, and MR is not only the most productive battlefield solution, killing none of our own while effecting the desired defeat of the adversary, but far more moral to both sides and to future generations.
You don’t win until your infantry raises your flag over their capital.
Well sir, that didn't work in Baghdad or Kabul, and it won't work here. Sorry to say that the west needs to kill them all (jahadis) and then re-program their next generation. See Japan and Germany, defeat yes, and occupy and re-program.
"next generation"😂.
Why leave a next generation?
Lol... well, IF there's gonna be a next generation, we should ensure that they aren't inspired by the deaths of their forefathers. Instead, they should grow up terrified of the United States. They might grow up angry, (fine, whatever) but at the same time, they should grow up knowing in their bones that there's at least one nation that shouldn't be trifled with.
Occupy a nation, and risk our children for what'd be another failure?? Our track record makes me vote a solid "no". We need to relearn how to actually win a fight- destroy, kill, flatten, pulverize- whatever term you want to use that best expresses a ruthless, nearly scorched earth campaign without diplomat-created ROEs. One that focuses on getting in quickly, destroying everything and killing everyone necessary to eliminate the problem, and then just as quickly- come home...
If you want to depopulate a desert, wipe out the water supplies. There are parts of Iran that still haven't recovered from what Tamerlane did to the irrigation network.
I don't want to repopulate it...just demilitarize it. And turn the helm over to the crew. After that, float or sink,it's their problem.
If Iran can no longer supply, equipment, or train all the regional troublemakers, can't produce its own military equipment, no longer has any sizeable military forces, and has virtually no government...
To me that's a win. And I think we're still capable of doing it. Without troops on the ground. Then, let their population sort out the mess and sweep up. Maybe they'll create a new govt that will join the ranks of the respectable nations. If not, we go back another time. We can give them that warning before we sail home...
Nope. You win by annihilating the enemy. Occupying his land comes later. As in Japan.
Maybe, but not initially. Cut power & water, mine the ports. Let Houthi factions fight for the resources. Deal with what's left.
True but the agenda would require an event the size of Desert Storm and if it was not handled well it might turn into Koh Tang Island.
He did say that he stays in his lane. But it is going to take a lot more energy at the zero echelon. I’m certain that he has voiced his ideas to his three bosses as Ike SG and to big navy. Perhaps he will be heard.
With the current NCA bunch, if he is heard, he will probably be passed over and retired.
But, maybe the next NCA bunch will be listening. The snake may grow a new tail but if you kill the head it had a more permanent result.
I thought we just read that he will now have a new job walking the halls of Congress. I can not fathom what that means. Whether he is in line to be CNO or for a tee time. Query, Cap, what is the main mission of the Navy's Uniformed Congressional Liaison ? And didn't you once have that job, btw ?
He's now moved on to be Chief of Legislative Affairs, not sure what that all entails...perhaps being the main Navy contact for the chairs of the SASC and HASC. Considering he just commanded a CVBG in a combat deployment, he now gets to make friends with all the check-signers and promotion-approvers. He's got several more stars in his future.
Little pin-pricks followed by the count of what we destroyed.....yet limited in scope to allow negotiations? McNamara smiles.
The Israelis' got it right. They didn't ignore the facilities in Haiphong Harbor for fear of hitting the wrong ship. They just took out the port.
Jan 1965 in the Gulf of Tonkin...
The carriers had mines aboard, and were ready to deploy them in the approaches to Haiphong.
It didn't happen until 1972.
This is how you squander your National prestige and combat power...
And cynically sacrifice some of your Finest.
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000494274.pdf
Every port from Mukalla west should get the Operation Pocket Money treatment followed by a naval blockade. Break the resupply cycle from Iran. Of course, I'm sure that we no longer have hundreds of air-droppable Mk-52s because "transformation". We certainly don't have the political will.
Eye of the beholder. He's attempting to straddle a fence, dance on razorblades, and offer what is blatantly obvious advice / criticism to his higher without getting passed over and retired. At the most reductionist level, trading multi-million dollar missiles to protect against much cheaper and much more numerous incoming vampires is a calculus equation that eventually ends up losing. Getting to the source tactically is the Houthis, at the strategic level, Iran...and / or whatever global cabal of nefarious evil doers is behind the Red Sea shipping stoppage. We could stop it, but don't, for reasons not understood. Which means there is a very important part of the calculus equation we don't understand or know about. But, the adults are back in charge, so we need not be burdened by what has been...or something. \sarcasm off
Why we don’t stop it:
Nobody buys bullets for won wars.
I did catch the Admiral’s comment on cost benefit analysis of ship launched Standard Missiles vs UAV’s. Still AIM-9’s vs UAVs is going to add up. The entire SG was Winchester. We need to integrate counter UAV into our navy fighter weapons school curriculum, our Fallon CAG training, and JTFX. In fact we need counter UAV training at every level of fleet operational training from pier sentry and SSDF to SERE school.
Safe to say, counter-UAV TTP's have been written and implemented for NAVAIR. Remains to be seen how far along COMNAVSURFOR understands the threat. The port they had to reload their VLS' from, Yanbu, has in the past had to deal with unmanned one-way waterborne threats from the Yemeni insurgents.
We can either be more aggressive with regard to the Houthis (and PRC in the China Sea), or we can concede the battleground. Pick one.
Put a 50% on Chinese tariffs. That will get their attention.
Resistance is looking to tie US down all over the world. Stress the magazines! Stress the lines of communication.
The answer to Iran is contain Netanyahu.
No, the answer to Iran is to uncuff Netanyahu and give Israel the tools it needs. Kill the archer and stop fooling around with the arrows.
I am Air Force retired, a lot of time in SAC, some time in NORAD. A smaller time in Tactical AF. Logistics and program management (later on).
Given the beating we paid Saddam to give Iran under Reagan, I presume we are talking nukes?
I have never wanted them to be used in anyway......
No one is talking nukes that I know of. If Iran uses a nuke then all bets are off.
Admiral Miguez is spot on in his behavior. Uniformed personnel don't make policy, they execute / enforce it.
But beyond that he did what so many senior officers don't: he made his recommendation to higher and when they weren't taken he continued mission; and now he's making his point of view clear (not being a "yes man") while also being respectful of the chain of command.
Now for my cynical take as to why we're not doing anything of import to stop the Houthis long term: the Houthis actions are making people money. Shipping companies aren't paying the additional costs, consumers are, with the commensurate increase in paydays to not just the shipping companies but all the other associated industries from banks to insurance companies to fuel providers.
The only people that seem to be losing out are the Egyptians, and who knows what's actually going on behind the scenes there.
That's pretty strong incentive to have the administration slow roll a response.
the Egyptians are losing canal revenues, but we are both depleting our magazines and demonstrating to our enemies that the Superpower is toothless.
If we think our enemies are aggressive now, wait till Iran demos a nuke
The route in question is to Europe. The US does not get its oil from the Persian Gulf and come to think of it, anything of value. In fact, it's a drag on our GNP, cause you see, we are a big oil and gas exporting nation. It's importance to us is primarily as a naval LOC. But still, the Red Sea trade route is most important to Europe and its Far East suppliers. I would suppose that if the EU felt strongly enough about the problem to do something about it, it could and would. But it seems to much to expect that a French Frigate would defend a Greek Super Tanker bound for a Greek refinery, and prevent it from falling in to the wrong hands. I would guess so since apparently the Hellenic Navy is no where in the area to be found
The proper and responsible way to put a lid on the Houthi shenanigans is to deliver the heat--hot, heavy and fast. Iran also needs a serious bloody nose, such as the obliteration of one of its important oil facilities.
And their Navy.
Ron: I was thinking of the Iranian Navy, too, although hitting an oil facility would keep things on the level of "strictly business."
Taking out their Navy is still "strictly business" IMO. It seriously degrades Iran's local offensive capability. The oil facility is financial, reducing their ability to finance their proxies.
If you want to threaten regime survival, take out the container cranes. 2 year lead time to replace, and people get cranky when they don't get their mid to high end goods.
We did it before. Operation Preying Mantis.
I remember. So does Iran. :)
The WH will never do that. It would impact prices at the pump in time to lose votes.
Oh, the SPR? nevermind...
Does anybody think we actually have a functioning "National Command Authority" in the traditional sense? On a good day, Biden is on vacation choosing his ice cream flavor. On a bad one he's ranting at MAGA demons.
All policy decisions at the WH are currently being made to win Michigan and to stay employed. Jake Sullivan, IMHO is in the running for the worst NSA evah. (along with Donilon).
The pressure point is Iran. We seem unwilling to push them at all, till they declare they have nukes, at which point, we will exit the area.
Seriously, our strategy seems designed to drag Iran across the finish line.
And this Admiral is on his terminal assignment
Also on a bad day, continuity of the chain of command is broken becuase the DOD comms resources doesn't know that the SECDEF is under for surgery. Congressional investigation? Crickets.....
Congressional investigation? What's the point? The Admin stonewalls legitimate requests for documents, refuses to come testify, Congress can't fire them. Not enough Dems to impeach them. The MSM covers for them. They have insufficient honor to resign.
There seems to be no check on deep state incompetence/malfeasance
The majority of congress are octogenarians.
I don't see how that could be if:
"The average age of members serving in the national legislature is 61, according to the Biographical Data Directory of the U.S. Congress. The median age is 58 in the House of Representatives and 65 in the Senate, according to data analyzed by Pew Research Center last year."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/01/average-age-us-congress/74268869007/
It was tongue in cheek but you keep fact checking.
I thought Sullivan got the Middle East under control.
Well, Obama is pro-Iran, ValJar is pro-Iran, pretty much the entire D party and MSM is pro-Iran, so actions against the primary active global opponent won’t be happening any time soon…
Until Iran is made to hurt.........crickets.
Will that happen anytime soon? Huh. right.
Especially with the latest "news" on Iran, that they want to sit down and discuss their nuclear options/progress/curtailment of weapons development, blah, blah.....
Iran is playing North Korea's game;
and the U.S. is lapping it up.
Don't blame the puppet, blame the puppeteer.
"solid words from a solid leader" Reported by a solid source. Thanks...
So, as with Zuckerburg and his recent mea culpa on Meta, we have an admiral hinting that the administration should have been more aggressive with the Houthis. Sounds to me as if he'd like to keep his job in a Trump administration, nothing more.
We all know Ike’s MR strategy is the correct answer to the Houthi problem. It removes that threat with minimal collateral damage, while announcing to Iran that we are done playing around regarding their - obvious and continued - threat to the entire civilized world.
Tweaking???????????
Policy in dealing with these terrorists needs a 180° turn. The US made no change in Houthis mind set.
Israel did more in one strike than the Eisenhower Strike Group did with a billion dollars in weapons expenditure.
Like the Roman's policy, Make it a desert and call it peace.