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Never Miss the Opportunity
Author: TriSec
Date: 10/17/2023 12:35:43
Good Morning.
I looked at a map of "1984" this morning. In this case, we appear to be at war with BOTH Eurasia and Eastasia, and there is no sign of any relief.
But why do we treat Israel like the 51st state? That nation was born in war; Israel's independence in 1948 proved that they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves on the battlefield. There is a rather lengthy list of wars Israel has been involved in. Despite some surprises, Israel seems to have won every single one of them.
Is Israel screaming for help? They are not - but that isn't stopping the United States from posturing. Two Navy Carrier groups are either in the Mediterranean or on the way, and now the Marines are on the way, too.
Most of this presence has nothing to do with Israel or Hamas. The United States continues to look askance at Iran, as we have done so since the late 1970s. Our presence there is more a message to them than any show of support to Israel.
It is curious though, that perhaps Iran has little influence over Hamas right now. Despite being their main supporter and supplier over the years, reports from the early days of the attacks indicate Iran was as surprised as anyone else by this. I suppose all we need is a Russian or Chinese ship or two in the area, and the stage will be set for catastrophe.
This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.
But all of this overshadows a story from one of my main news sources here - Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth is reporting that soldiers are getting burned out from the heavy burden of constant training and a high state of alert. We are probably ready to fight if need be - but the resources are thin and the soldiers are tired.
So indeed, 1984 remains apropo - We are at war with Eurasia; we have always been at war with Eurasia.
It remains unclear what we can do as a fading world power. A few days ago, I mused on facebook that the Government of the United States has actually fallen already - we just don't realize it yet. The GOP has succeeded in shutting down a branch of government with their ineptitude, and as such, everything else has ground to a halt.
There is no defence of the Constitution against domestic enemies, is there?
I looked at a map of "1984" this morning. In this case, we appear to be at war with BOTH Eurasia and Eastasia, and there is no sign of any relief.
But why do we treat Israel like the 51st state? That nation was born in war; Israel's independence in 1948 proved that they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves on the battlefield. There is a rather lengthy list of wars Israel has been involved in. Despite some surprises, Israel seems to have won every single one of them.
Is Israel screaming for help? They are not - but that isn't stopping the United States from posturing. Two Navy Carrier groups are either in the Mediterranean or on the way, and now the Marines are on the way, too.
Most of this presence has nothing to do with Israel or Hamas. The United States continues to look askance at Iran, as we have done so since the late 1970s. Our presence there is more a message to them than any show of support to Israel.
It is curious though, that perhaps Iran has little influence over Hamas right now. Despite being their main supporter and supplier over the years, reports from the early days of the attacks indicate Iran was as surprised as anyone else by this. I suppose all we need is a Russian or Chinese ship or two in the area, and the stage will be set for catastrophe.
This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.
But all of this overshadows a story from one of my main news sources here - Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth is reporting that soldiers are getting burned out from the heavy burden of constant training and a high state of alert. We are probably ready to fight if need be - but the resources are thin and the soldiers are tired.
After the end of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, troops might have had reason to be optimistic their operational tempo would become more manageable and that they would get to spend more time with their family and on themselves.
But that never happened. In many cases, soldiers are spending more time away from home now than during the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The issue isn't just deployments abroad, it's near-constant training exercises at home, and commanders insisting on filling in empty days on their training calendars, typically referred to as white space.
Many of the soldiers currently in leadership positions came of age during that era of frantic schedules, a fact that has normalized an unrelenting pace of responsibilities bundled under the term operational tempo, or op tempo.
Planners have a delicate balance to achieve. The service has taken on a workload spreading the Army thin around the globe to deter two contemporary threats, Russia and China, while also continuing legacy missions from the Global War on Terrorism era.
Recent years have seen dedicated missions in Djibouti, Syria, Somalia and Kosovo, to name a few, with 20,000 National Guard soldiers serving overseas. Meanwhile, another 13,000 troops are in Poland and Romania as part of NATO's commitment to bolster its front lines amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
So indeed, 1984 remains apropo - We are at war with Eurasia; we have always been at war with Eurasia.
It remains unclear what we can do as a fading world power. A few days ago, I mused on facebook that the Government of the United States has actually fallen already - we just don't realize it yet. The GOP has succeeded in shutting down a branch of government with their ineptitude, and as such, everything else has ground to a halt.
There is no defence of the Constitution against domestic enemies, is there?
