The U.S. Military has started bombing alleged ISIL locations in Syria. More here.
Deeper Analysis of America Returning to Iraq
From John Batchelor’s show:
“death before decapitation”.
A minor drama just concluded in the Middle East. A couple of days ago, Syrian rebels identified with the Nusra front, Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, went up to a Fijian United Nations peacekeeping outpost on the Golan Heights and demanded their surrender. […]
The Fijians were taken into Nusra’s custody and the action moved to positions 68 and 69 on the Golan heights ceasefire line, which was manned by a Philippine battalion. The Nusra people made the same demand. ‘Give us your weapons and come with us.’ It was here that the Philippine commander made a crucial decision.
He refused.
The Fijians remain unaccounted for.
Operation Head Explosions
Canada delivers military supplies to Iraq.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster III strategic airlifter has completed its first delivery of military equipment, donated by the Republic of Albania, to security forces in Iraq fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Operation IMPACT is Canada’s contribution to international efforts to deliver military supplies, such as small arms and ammunition, to those fighting ISIL. Staged out of locations in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, the Canadian Air Task Force Iraq (CATFI) is working in concert with our Allies – including the United States and the United Kingdom – and the Government of Iraq to provide this critical aid.
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
Operation Empty Chair
Guess who was missing at funeral of highest ranking officer killed in combat since Vietnam War
Report: US Army Major General Killed By Afghan Soldier
United States Army major general was killed on Tuesday by an Afghan soldier, shot at close range at a military training academy on the outskirts of Kabul, an official of the American-led coalition and Afghan media reported Tuesday. The officer was the highest-ranking member of the American military to die in hostilities in the Afghanistan war.
The coalition official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and would not release the name of the major general, said an unspecified number of other service members of the American-led coalition and Afghan soldiers, including a senior Afghan commander were also shot. Their conditions were not known.
Photo caption?
A NATO soldier opened fire toward journalists near the main gate of Camp Qargha on Tuesday after a shooting at the military training academy outside Kabul.
Global Test
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Howard Dean, 2003: Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor running for president, has told an audience in New Hampshire that the United States “won’t always have the strongest military,” an assertion that drew a strong rebuke today from [Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts].
China, 2003; The People’s Republic of China now believes it can successfully prevent the United States from intervening in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or some other military assault by Beijing.
An Unorthodox Landing
A Permanent U.S. Military Base in Poland?
70th Anniversary of D-Day
Lest we forget, 70 years ago today, around 156,000 Allied soldiers descended upon Northern France as part of Operation Overlord. Undoubtedly, it was one of the most ambitious military operations the world has ever known and the first step in the Western Allies’ march into Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Thankfully their efforts have not been forgotten. 359 Canadians died on Juno Beach that day. Remember them. Remember them proudly.
When The Narrative Fails
…bring on the Alinsky: White House smears vets, claims ‘swift boating’ of Bergdahl
More from Ralph Peters – Why Team Obama Was Blindsided by the Bergdahl Backlash
Trading Private Bergdahl
Ouch.
And there may be more….
“When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal”
Five terrorists in exchange for a deserter?
“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), said in a joint statement.
Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred.
The law requires the defense secretary to notify relevant congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners, to explain the reason and to provide assurances that those released would not be in a position to reengage in activities that could threaten the United States or its interests.
Nope.
Five terrorists in exchange for a shiny thing.
Update: Bergdahl’s father’s deleted tweet a smoking gun?
Commanders In Chief
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose…
“Because for me, to speak is to act. “
“We have been through a long season of war. And I managed to lose them all. I just want you to remember, in case you feel like blaming me, that it’s Bush’s fault.” (h/t Steve)
Reader Tips
An RCAF CF-188 arrester cable landing in Yellowknife, NWT on April 10. (h/t Damian Brooks)
Honey, I Finished The Internet
The Massive Soviet Sub That Inspired ‘Hunt For Red October’
Strangelove Revisited: How I Learned to Stop Studying and Light A Bong
The force of 450 Minuteman 3 missiles is primed to unleash nuclear devastation on a moment’s notice, capable of obliterating people and places halfway around the globe.
And the guys running the joint have been cheating on exams.
The cheating involved unauthorized passing of answers to exams designed to test missile launch officers’ proficiency in handling “emergency war orders,” which are messages involving the targeting and launching of missiles. […]
A total of 100 missile launch crew members at Malmstrom were identified as potentially involved in the cheating, but nine were cleared by investigators. Another nine of the 100 are being handled separately by the Air Force Office of Special Investigation; eight of those nine involve possible criminal charges stemming from the alleged mishandling of classified information.
Of the remaining 82 officers, an estimated 30 to 40 are eligible to be retrained and returned to duty on the missile force; the rest face unspecified disciplinary action that could include dismissal from the Air Force, officials said. Of the 82 facing disciplinary action, 79 are still at Malmstrom; the three others had moved to other bases or left active duty.
Oh, did I say “joint”?
The cheating at Malmstrom was discovered in early January during the course of an unrelated drug investigation that included two launch officers …
From the comments – “Is this what Obama was referring to the other day when he said that his biggest fear was someone nuking New York City?”
Home
And well done – the last Canadian troops return from Afghanistan.
Mr. Harper said May 9 would be designated by Royal Proclamation a day of commemoration of the end of the Afghan mission.
CF-18 Hornets escorting Canadian troops home from #Afghanistan in CC-177 Photo: @SkiesMag #RCAF #aviation #avgeek pic.twitter.com/3iXO6faf5w
— RCAF (@RCAF_ARC) March 18, 2014