by Oui
Wed Mar 16th, 2022 at 02:03:15 PM EST
Not satisfied with destroying the Russian Federation and its people ...
EU-China Strike Investment Deal | Dec 31st, 2020
After long years of Brexit negotiations, four years of American intransigence under Donald Trump, sanctions imposed on NATO allies, ambassadors with a political agenda w/o experience in diplomacy from the School of Pompeo, flaunting International Law, choice for MAGA and ending policy of multilateralism ... even the election of Democrat Joe Biden will be insufficient to believe American ways will change bound by a destructive U.S. Congress.
After the recent trade deal with Japan, the EU again sets a priority in Asia with this EU-China deal. The lame duck president is AWOL spending most of his time on the Mar-a-lago golfcourse. His Twitter feed is filled with election fraud garbage.
Watch, Read: China 'Executing Some Nefarious Activities' in Indo-Pacific | Air Force Mag - March 15, 2022 |
Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce "Orville" Wright, president of the Air Force Association, hosts a discussion with Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces and Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy Chief of Space Operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear titled "China: The Pacing Challenge" during the AFA Warfare Symposium on March 3, 2022. Watch the video or read the transcript below.
Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce "Orville" Wright, president of the Air Force Association: Well, good morning, and let's just keep it rolling here. It's an honor for me this morning, first of all, to thank all of you for being with us, to being in the fight. As we all know, there's a ton of concern right now about the Ukraine. And that's understandable. But it's certainly also important to remember that Russia stretches from Europe to the Pacific, and its border with China is the sixth-largest in the entire world. In the Pacific, of course, China is the pacing challenge to U.S. and allied interests, and also a complex economic partner, and now a major peer military threat.
China really is the giant panda in the room. It has advanced its nuclear, air, space, sea and land-based capabilities. In fact, China has built its modern force to directly disrupt our American way of war. And as we all know, its ambitions are immense. China is on a path to surpass the United States in stealth, hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence and information dominance and more. So who better to talk about the warfighting challenges in the Pacific today than our panelists. Gen. Ken "Cruiser" Wilsbach, U.S. Air Force, Commander, Pacific Air Forces, and Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force. He's our deputy chief of operations; that includes also cyber and nuclear. So gentlemen, if you'll please join me on the stage we'll get this rolling.
Well, let's start with Gen. Wilsbach. And we'll stay at the unclassified level, which may be a challenge. I think the world should know, and there's certainly plenty of open source information, how do you currently view the state of the strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific between the U.S. and China?
I would like to just address, you know, why is it that we're, we're having this competition? Well, it's because China, the pacing threat, is executing some nefarious activities. And they've been doing this for years, you know, from predatory lending practices, to promising democratic principles to be allowed in Hong Kong, and then taking it back and making it illegal to have those activities, to take over territory illegally in the South China Sea and in building new territory outside of their territorial waters. And then saying, that's China, it's always been China, a revisionist history, to incurring on other people's property.
And then most recently, supporting, you know, an unprovoked invasion, or at least, at least the beginning of that, and supporting Russia, in manufacturing, the rationale for that unprovoked. And so they seem to be on the wrong, the wrong side of just about every issue with respect to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is our objective. And so as you look at, you know, the nature of your question of, you know, how, how's it going? And what are we doing? That's the reason why we're there.
I suppose you need dumba$$ people especially in the military, but they should always be subject to civilian policy and not the other way around. Similar state of affairs with NATO Command in Europe under Gen. Breedlove. His big mouth rhetoric undermined every bit of diplomacy ... running the show in Europe and the EU. Throwing Europe to the economic wolves of Wall Street and pure capitalism as the US ends globalization of economies and follow Trump's path of MAGA. Not our values and too much violence in American society with too little knowledge of global affairs, history and acceptance of other cultures.
Pacific Air Forces Welcomes New Commander
No matter the aircraft, all eyes are on the stage--and with a simple, simulated "pass" of the guidon, a final salute, a first salute and the words, "Sir, I relinquish command," and, "Sir, I assume command," Wilsbach is now the commander of Pacific Air Forces.
Those words and the authority and responsibility conveyed in them have been said many times throughout history. Dating back to the Continental Army of the United States, the change of command ceremony has survived as an integral part of the Air Force heritage to this day.
As the 36th COMPACAF, Wilsbach now oversees approximately 46,000 Airmen, serving principally in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam. PACAF's area of responsibility is home to 60% of the world's population in 36 nations spread across 53% of the Earth's surface and 16 time zones, with more than 1,000 spoken languages. The command oversees nine Air Force installations and three Numbered Air Forces.
In his speech, Wilsbach previewed a few of his priorities for PACAF, including readiness and resilience of the force, working with allies and partners, supporting Airmen and their families, and coordinating with other components in the theater.
Posted in diary - Blinken Sounding Out EU Appetite for War | Jan. 24, 2022 |
War is imminent ... all signs are on RED alert. War rhetoric got a boost over the weekend and the Sunday Talk Shows. Hear all arguments from historic non-value which have been debunked. Getting the people ready for extended hostilities in New Europe ... the Bucharest Nine in the lead with anti-Russia propaganda. Most Western EU nations will swallow the war bullshit. A decade of intensifying pressure on Russia ... we'll make Russia a pariah state. Signed the NATO states of warmongers who got a second wind after the attacks on America by the Saudi jihadists of Osama Bin Laden ... grown in the shadow of Pakistan in the 1980s in Afghanistan. The nations responsible staying in the dark: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Success to get the former Soviet Union out of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, soon to be replaced by a young, idealistic Taliban regime. We are living in a dark chapter of a declining democracy as authoritarian and totalitarian regimes win space.
Western Media and Blatant Disinformation
US fails to trap China over Ukraine at Yang-Sullivan meeting | Global Times |
On the same day as a seven-hour meeting between senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Rome on Monday which was described by some media outlets as "intense," US Air Force General Kenneth Wilsbach blatantly threatened to teach China a lesson from the Ukraine situation, which could be applied to the Taiwan question. Such conceit was defied by the first direct high-level engagement between Chinese and US officials over the situation in Ukraine on which Washington had tried to misguide Beijing to serve its own interests, although failing to do so as the Chinese side stressed its consistent stance on the issue and urged the US side to correct its wrong words and deeds.
Ahead of the meeting, the US has been constantly spreading disinformation about China's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and some US officials tried to mix the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, trying to hijack China over the issues and portraying a false image of the "China-Russia alliance." All these ill-intentioned tactics, in the eyes of Chinese experts, reflect little goodwill from the US for constructive talks while its contradiction between its words and deeds dampens the prospects of a healthy and stable China-US relationship.
Hours after the meeting between Yang and Sullivan finished, China released an 850-word readout reiterating its stance on core issues such as the Taiwan question and the current situation in Ukraine. In rejecting Washington's continuous pressure on misleading Beijing over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Yang called for taking a long-term view, actively advocating a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, encouraging relevant parties to conduct equal-footed dialogue, and set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework based on the principle of indivisible security in a bid to preserve peace in Europe and around the world.
"The Chinese side resolutely opposes any words and deeds that spread false information, or distort and discredit China's position," he said.
Harry S. Truman discusses his experience having to relieve General Douglas MacArthur from duty in Korea and MacArthur's service in Japan. He also discusses how some generals of the past (and likely in the future) have thought they were bigger than the President.
The dismissal of Gen. MacArthur
President Truman relieves General MacArthur of duties in Korea
In perhaps the most famous civilian-military confrontation in the history of the United States, President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a "limited war."
Problems with the flamboyant and egotistical General MacArthur had been brewing for months. In the early days of the war in Korea (which began in June 1950), the general had devised some brilliant strategies and military maneuvers that helped save South Korea from falling to the invading forces of communist North Korea. As U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman went along with this plan, but worried that the communist government of the People's Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict. In October 1950, MacArthur met with Truman and assured him that the chances of a Chinese intervention were slim.
The military brass should be made clear that in an unstable world, words do matter. Insubordination to civilian leadership whether in the White House or in Paris or in Berlin cannot be tolerated. Unfortunately, the EU-27 does not have a voice, at least I do not recognize a European identity. I was taught alliances based on blind trust will be doomed to worst case scenario and war in the end. Make peace ☮️ is so much simpler than to return to a ceasefire after hostilities have caused havoc.
The crisis in Europe should have been resolved by willingness to talk and diplomacy. We miss a leader like Angela Merkel ...
Trumpism: a disfigured Americanism
This land is your land, this land is my land From the California to the New York island From the Redwood Forest, to the gulf stream waters This land was made for you and me As I went walking that ribbon of highway I saw above me that endless skyway And saw below me that golden valley This land was made for you and me
When the American "Troubadour" Woody Guthrie composed the lyrics of "This Land Is Your Land" in 1940, he had just completed one of his major migrations, the trans-continental journey from California to New York, in search of job and shelter. He protested the Dust Bowl experiences in his adulthood, imagined an idyllic America where everyone has a place, and sought social justice in an environment characteristic of inequality, discrimination, and exclusion. Guthrie sang from his soul a land that flattens social hierarchies and erases divides between us and them. It is an ideal and dream land for a horizontal America.
In an unimpeded and sweeping horizontality, "from California to New York island," everywhere is replete with bright colors and fresh air, celebrating this land and singing the symphony of American voices. Guthrie's song sings of an equalizing Americanism. Clearly, he envisions a paradisiacal land where the most impossible dream can come true. That is the American Dream, meant for all of us, regardless of race, creed, color or gender. The horizontal perspective is also a precursor of Martin Luther King's dream that one day we all cross racial barriers and level cultural hierarchies and be judged by the content of our character not the color of our skin, and that a racially harmonious and interconnected society define America.
However, between dream and reality there is always a distance. It has been the vertical America building walls and blocking the views. In a divisive and combative time like the Trump era that we are presently living, bigotry, hate, and intolerance distance Guthrie's American Dream even further from Trump's American reality. In fact, we find ourselves catapulted into an abyss that separates the two Americas: one envisioned by Guthrie and one enacted by Trump. While both claiming American values and interests, the question becomes: which one is the true and undistorted Americanism?
President Dwight Eisenhower spoke to the nation in a farewell address on January 17, 1961. The address, sometimes referred to as the "Military-Industrial Complex Speech", is considered by some to be one of the most significant speeches of the Eisenhower presidency.
Handling the Suez crisis ...
Eisenhower and the Suez Canal Crisis
In response, the Egyptians negotiated an even larger arms purchase from Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia. Shaped by a Cold War mentality, American policy makers in the 1950s mistrusted any neutral nation that did business with a communist regime.
Nasser further strained his relationship with the United States in March 1956 when he extended diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China. In reality, Nasser trusted the Soviet Union no more than he trusted the Western powers, and the Eisenhower administration consistently overestimated the appeal of communism in the Arab world.
U.S. Joe Biden Will Defend Taiwan
Earlier diary ...
Quad In Past Tense
