The New World
Foreign Policy's article the Six Most Important U.S. Military Bases lists:
- Andersen Air Force Base & Apra Harbor, Guam;
- Balad Air Base/Camp Anaconda, Iraq;
- Bezmer Air Base, Bulgaria;
- Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory;
- Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba;
- Manas Air Base, Kirgizstan
as the most vital installations in the world. There may be disagreements about whether or not these should be the Top Six US bases worldwide, but the list serves to illustrate the geopolitical transformation that has taken place since 2000. Or more accurately, it reflects the current administration's perception of what the geopolitical map the early 21st century looks like. Not only does the list appear very different from one that could have been compiled in the late Clinton Administration era, it also provides an alternative explanation for the weakening of links to Western European allies that the Bush administration has often been blamed for. The newly important areas to the US are China, Southwest Asia and Central Asia. Western Europe, while still important, may no longer have the central position it once had.
This assessment of relative importance is debatable. It can be argued that Western Europe is in fact the most important theater in the War on Terror. Once the press stops talking about the Bush strategy in such simplistic and misleading terms as the mere outcome of ignorance, stupidity and neoconservative optimism or the result of such cartoonish notions as a search for markets for Halliburton it will be possible to focus on whether or not these new deployments, together with the strategy that it represents, is rational or not. This constant "talking down to the stupid" has really sabotaged intelligent debate, in part because one party is presumed to be without any intelligence whatsoever.
Commentary
I've really been struck, nearly five years after September 11, by the nondebate over strategy and geopolitics, as exemplified by the Democratic Party's Real Security platform. Whether one agrees with them or not, it is a fact that there are many intelligent people in the Democratic Party, and it is hardly possible to believe the Real Security platform is anything but the political equivalent of a bye, written for the express purpose of saying absolutely nothing, at least as far as official positions goes. In the meantime people are left to speculate how it may take the form of views expressed by those "associated" with Democratic political figures. Let's put it this way: what would the Six Most Important US Bases be under a Democratic administration? Maybe exactly the same ones. If so, that's too risky to admit.
posted by wretchardthecat at 5/19/2006 04:38:00 PM
118 Comments:
It not the "other" Party the Administration has been speaking down to, it's been the Public.
The Public, now, is rejecting the "message". Mr Snow says it is because the Public "does not understand". My own perspective it the Public is understanding all to well.
Deception, half truths, winks, nods & "everyone knows" have all left the President and his Party afoot, far from the Oasis.
Religion of Peace. Says it all.
Balad Air Base/Camp Anaconda, Iraq 'til '08, according to the Iraqis who are "large and in charge".
It is after all, only "temporary".
Can fool all the people some of the time
Can fool some of the people all of the time
Can't fool all the people all the time.
a post critical of press communication draws an immediate rebuke of ... the administration's communications.
My, my. The press's dissembling sure has been thorough.
Desert Rat,
Is the ONLY solution the '2nd Conjecture'?
Is there not opportunity for another - the '3rd Conjecture'?
My personal belief is that the '2nd Conjecture' will always be there!!!
It's not clear how forces and materiel located in these bases differ from forces located elsewhere. Is it the logistics chain? (not by any recent evidence). Is it commander-in-the-field close to the troubled-area? (Not really, we command the hot-part of war ("major military action") from half-a-world away.
Technology and modern (commercial) logistics have made location unimportant for many companies. The cost of shipping an incremental ton over water is approaching 0. And it seems the latency from action to response is shrinking by factors of 10 every decade. How many troubled areas are more than an hour away from the littoral launch point of a cruise missile?
Perhaps the physical bases are just "for show" as other nations don't quite realize how radically we've changed the world (just by doing business around the world).
Desert Rat,
I'm pretty sure Wretchard was speaking of the Dem/MSM attitude that Bush is dumb, Republicans are "racist" for voting for English as our national language, etc.
Ari Tai, you are simplifying things a bit too much, I think. Having a major air base in the center of the hottest theater right now is a tremendous asset in terms of fast, massive potential, far greater than the limited potential of (conventional) Cruise missiles.
Hmmm, so it looks like we weren't kidding about having bases comparable to Okinawa and Rheinmain as a very significant outcome of OIF.
I guess the moonbats will have to switch their chant to "No War for Airbases, man!"
Those on the left should really fear the books GWB is likely to write when he is no longer President, because he will reveal that he had their number all along.
He understood from the outset that the left and the press had become totally addicted over the years to their sense that they were 'players', with whom one had to compromise to get anything done. He knew that if they could be denied that source of self-esteem then their uncontrollable lust for attention would force them to take ever more shrill and less effective positions until, their howling became a dull roar alongside which he could pursue his own goals quite happily.
As a result he has yielded them nothing, and has suffered no more effective opposition than every other Republican President since WWII, all of whom the press and the left declared 'stupid' the moment they decided it was fashionable to do so, regardless of whatever concessions had been given to them. This is their reward for behaving over the decades like a cage full of howling monkeys; that's exactly how Bush decided to treat them, and as a result that's exactly how they look today.
Good blog but again DR's initial comments are off-mark and beyond left field.
Good go on the new "top six". Very illuminating.
Changes! Upsetting to the llll, because they are three years behind the times. Encouraging to those of us who've lost patience with GWB over his domestic goofs.
Interesting that Guam should be number 1. Close to both North Korea and China...
Why is it that not one of the top six US bases is located in the US itself? Is this an oversight? Should it really read 'the top six FOREIGN US bases'? or is this a stark example of how much of an imperial force the US has become? How many other nations in the world can boast of even a single military base outside of their nation much less the top 6 most important ones?
Ash,
You didn't bother to follow the link?
"The U.S. military is cleaning house. Existing bases are being retooled or eliminated, and new ones are popping up in some unexpected places. >>>FP looks at the overseas bases<<< that are now vital to the U.S. military—and the new ones that will change its global footprint for years to come."
Actually one of the bases is located in the US. Guam. Where America's Day Begins. That's actually the visit Guam slogan, I think.
wretchard, hehe, actually that was hanging in the back of my mind. Guam is US.
Tony,
I did actually follow the link and quickly read it speicifically looking to see if it was foreign only being considered and I guess I skimmed that first line and missed the 'overseas'. I guess Guam technically qualifies as it is 'overseas' and US. Still, awfully imperial of US, all those foreign bases and all, dontcha think?
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A very interesting post. I cannot think of any military base in England or Western Europe that makes any sense today. They are expensive and of dubious political and minimal military value. The same would apply to Turkey. Who knows what bases a Kerry administration would maintain. Certainly We should have a major naval and air base on both ends of the Panama Canal. Cam Ranh Bay and DaNang in Viet Nam would be handy and Wheelus AFB in Lybia could be useful.
Ash is from the Maddie Albright School?
Should we try to achieve parity with the rest of the world in order to have "stability?"
Rush mentioned a minor commodity possessed by Libya that makes it rather worth cultivating also, although obviously we have more than enough, since we stopped drilling for it offshore some time ago, as the House reminded us yet again.
"fast, massive potential,"
---
Reach out and REALLY touch!
Trish,
There always seems to be a woman controlling my spending habits.
Ash, Guam has been a US protectorate since the Spanish-American War. Some of the more hair-raising stories out of the Pacific in WWII came from the Japanese Empire's wresting the island away from US Marines in 1941. The Marines re-took it in 1944 in another conflagration of no-holds-barred combat. Point is, USA has sacrificed to hold it, and the Guamese are as far as I can tell (a neighbor used to fly Guam for Continental Airlines), very happy being part of the USA.
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When our Host derides the Democrats and their
"talking about the Bush strategy in such simplistic and misleading terms as the mere outcome of ignorance, stupidity and neoconservative optimism ... ... it will be possible to focus on whether or not these new deployments, together with the strategy that it represents, is rational or not."
Seems to me that he is saying that the Dems while making the "simplistic" case is really acting in an ignorant way. Unintelligently.
He then says " This constant "talking down to the stupid" has really sabotaged intelligent debate, in part because one party is presumed to be without any intelligence whatsoever. ".
From this whom does he consider "talked down to", perhaps not Mr Bush, but the people they are speaking to, the Public?
Who really frames the debate, if not the Executive?
Where does the Press go to "ambush" the President, the Briefing Room at the White House.
If the President cannot comtrol his "Home Turf" it is not the fault of the Reporters who visit.
I've read they are not really intelligent, or is the White House staff?
Whom is with out intelligence, those that slander or those that do not set the record straight?
It is part and parcel of the Info War that Mr Rumsfeld speaks of.
Perhaps with Mr Snow the "message" delivery will improve.
But just 'cause the Dems are framimg the debate, it does not excuse how poorly the Administration has done communicating the positive message.
As to the '08 departure date, until the PM of Iraq, Mr Maliki, or his soon to be announced Defense Minister says different.
It is their call, after all.
That Anaconda base is not yet leased, long term.
When it is, I'll change my tune.
At this point only performance, not projections count.
US facility faces eviction from Kyrgyzstan - Financial Times
Political stability appears to be elusive, however, as various groups and factions allegedly linked to organized crime are jockeying for power.
Three of the 75 members of Parliament elected in March 2005 have been assassinated since then, and another member was assassinated on 10 May 2006 shortly after winning his murdered brother's seat in a by-election.
All four are reputed to have been directly involved in major illegal business ventures.
---
Next month Mr Bakiyev will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a regional security grouping including Russia and China which last year asked the US to set a date for the closure of its central Asian bases.
Manas has become a source of tension between Kyrgyzstan and the US since the revolution. Revelations that Mr Akayev’s family siphoned off part of US jet fuel payments at the base were an embarrassment to Washington.
Afghanistan Rocked As 105 Die in Violence
Toll Is Among Worst Since 2001 Invasion
ASADABAD,
Afghanistan, May 18 --
Afghanistan has been rocked over the past two days by some of the deadliest violence since the Taliban was driven from power in late 2001.
As many as 105 people were reported killed in four provinces as insurgents torched a district government compound, set off suicide bombs and clashed fiercely with Afghan and foreign troops.
Did you see this story in the Washington Post today, this headline:
"Afghanistan Rocked as 105 Die in Violence"?
What does that headline imply to you?
Oh, yeah: "Afghanistan Rocked as 105 Die in Violence!
Why, I read that headline and I think, 'Oh, no! We have been dealt a stinging and tragic blow! Oh, noooo! Iraq is bad enough but now Afghanistan is falling apart?
Oh, no! (gasp!)"
Well, here are the details:
"Between 80 and 90 Taliban fighters [terrorists] were killed in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, according to Afghan, U.S. and NATO officials.
Two sites in Kandahar were struck by U.S. warplanes, including a long-range B-1 bomber, which U.S. military officials said destroyed a compound that Taliban guerrillas [terrorists] were using to stage an attack.
Among the dead were an American police trainer killed by a car bomb in Herat province, a female Canadian army captain and at least 12 Afghan national" cops.
So the bad guys took a huge hit: 80 to 90 Taliban "fighters" -- that's Al-Qaeda terrorists, essentially? -- gone.
How in the world...?
I mean, you talk about Drive-By Media?
This is a classic illusion here:
"Afghanistan Rocked as 105 Die in Violence."
- Limbaugh
WORLD'S PREMIER DELIBERATIVE BODY
The media ``talking down to the stupid'' isn't quite right.
What it's doing is talking to women, and it's not stupidity so much as soap opera. It engages another facility entirely, one that leads to News Audience big enough to support the News Business.
A business is what the news is, first and foremost.
I suppose this either rings true or not to you : I threw out the TV long ago because I was tired of being addressed as a woman.
Most women are probably tired of being addressed as women, too.
But enough women to support the news business (40%) are not.
Let's face it. We are in the middle of an election season.
Where is RWE when you need him ;)
The base issue is a complex, air, land and sea issue as (J. Samford has points out). It's centers on the re-supply issue. How much through put can one get from a forward base compared to a US bound base? How many B-52s, B-1s, B-2s, AC-130 Spectre gunships can one launch from aircraft carriers? Very few that I know of.
Further, the naval aspect of bases are very important. The heavy stuff will always be needed (remember the effective use of heavy airships during both the Afghanistan and the Iraq operations).
On the political side, I would guess that the more that is 'said' about this issue (particularly in the political field) - the less that will actually be 'done.' No one wants to loose a base.
Now, bases do come with significant costs. Locations where bases are setup can become addicted to the radiant cash flow (there is a large amount of cash flow spun-off to the local population). And, those who are snubbed can become highly hostile to said base. Further, security can become an huge issue over time.
That said I would guess some people could point to the huge benefits of bases. Others could point to failures. But, overall the utility of a base cannot be understated.
Logically, one would like to see less bases in wealthy European counties (Germany) and more bases close to the hot spots (the ME). Who needs to subsidize the Germans forever?
I believe that smart base locations can be a huge benefit to American and world stability. The key is were to down size and were to up-size.
Ever since Jimmy Carter, every Democratic Party president of the US carries the official Articles of Surrender of the United States of America--instead of the nuclear football. The name of the conquering nation is conveniently left blank, for the president to fill in when the time comes.
There is no sign that this tradition will soon be broken with by any of the current crop of DP candidates. It is most likely that a sizeable proportion of the american public understands this intuitively.
A sizable portion of the Public...
Is that why, al fin, the Democratic minority in the Senate recieved, in total, 3 million more popular votes than the Republican majority?
The Democrats have more supporters, in fewer States. If they all support Surrender, we're doomed.
If those Democratic voters have just been "spoken down" to for so long that they are deaf and blind to your reality, whose mission is it to enlighten them?
Never said I was not in "media"
The Cairo Conference, last November, was where the "out in '08" policy was first announced. The same time/ place that "Resistence to Occupation" was "legitimized".
Until the Anaconda lease is signed, we are guests, staying under the authority of a UN Resolution that espires in Jan '07, not tenants or owners.
Get Mr Maliki's signature, then the US may have a long term facility, not like our Garrisons in Somolia and the KSA, or the 4th ID's transit rights through Turkey.
Those were all "bought and paid for" as well.
The President of the US can not answer a reporters questions, is "run over" by them.
Have not seen it, wxcept in the debate where Mr Bush could not remember a "single" mistake he'd made, while President.
Not a great moment as I recall.
Ari Fliesher held his own, that family friend from Texas, Scott, he was out of his depth, a punching bag.
Whose fault was that?
If unarmed Marines were sent to attack Fallujah, who'd be to blame, the Insurgents or the Marine's Commanders?
It the President sends knife fighters to a gun fight, well, that not the "Chicago Way", is it?
The cascade continues, it is still "unacceptable".
Regarding those "unacceptable" NorK nuclear weapons. Ash thinks the US's new NorK Policy is a "good thing". What does that tell you, fellas, about the thrust of the Administration's "new" Course?
Civil war?
You are kidding, right?
The Jayhawkers were mobilizing?
The Texas Brigades, forming up in Houston?
I recall a handful of Cubans shouting at chad counters.
Timmy McVeigh and his ilk believe the Civil War is 'bout to start, just needs a spark. I guess you do to.
Burn your farm, john, my produce comes from Mexico, through Nogales. Viva la Raza, amigo.
Off-topic, we need a break, as another thread threatens to descend into bicker blog.
Do we make strong planes, or what?
"A USAF B-1B was damaged Aviation Week & Space Technology 05/15/2006, page 18
A USAF B-1B was damaged heavily during a forced landing at its forward operating base in Oman. The aircraft, with its crew of four still on board, slid 7,500 ft. before coming to a rest, still on the runway. The bomber had been forced to land with its landing gear retracted. Everyone escaped uninjured. The B-1 was deployed from Dyess AFB, Tex."
Death to Tyrants?
Let's name the tryant, who is it?
Who is in charge
Who would be deposed
Who has ignored enforcing the Law
Dan Rather, just doesn't fill the bill.
Just remember to vote in November.
Let's take a peek at the Democrats' stance on immigration. I find it fascinating that long-standing problems, like hurricanes, climate change, addiction to oil, and yep, immigration, are suddenly Bush-caused crises.
MISTAKES WE ARE PAYING FOR
A scandalous operation that was carried out under Gore's supervision that has not been adequately covered in the establishment media was the 1996 Citizenship USA project of the Clinton-Gore administration. Its goal was to naturalize over a million aliens by September 1996 in order to get them registered to vote in the 1996 presidential election. This was a blatant effort to increase the number of Democratic voters by circumventing the normal procedures designed to insure that the new citizens meet certain requirements. One of the bars to naturalization is a criminal record.
David Schippers, the Chicago Democrat who served as special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President Clinton, says in his book, SellOut, that the Citizenship USA program was "under the direction of Vice President Al Gore" and that he was making sure a million aliens were naturalized in time to register for the 1996 presidential election. Schippers found that more than 75,000 aliens naturalized under this program had criminal records when they applied for citizenship. The fingerprints of another 176,000 were not checked by the FBI because of the pressure applied by Gore to get them qualified to vote in 1996.
Here are some findings of a Congressional investigation of this scandal:
• Hillary Clinton was involved in discussions on how liberal groups could facilitate the process of making aliens into citizens.
• Al Gore and his staff were involved in discussions on how to "produce a million new citizens before election day," and President Clinton was reported to have said he "wants action."
• One option for President Clinton was to order lower standards for U.S. citizenship.
• Doris Meissner, director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, warned that Citizenship USA could be viewed as "a pro-Democrat voter mill."
This was an excellent example of the cynical use of power by Clinton and Gore to insure their reelection even if it meant naturalizing felons.
Edward Nelson, president of U.S. Border Control (USBC), a private organization that wants tighter controls on immigration, estimates that nationally 2 to 4 percent of all votes this year were cast by aliens and that in some Florida counties it may have been 10 to 15 percent. Figures from the Florida Department of State show that from 1994 to 1998, the number of "other race" registered voters - primarily Hispanic - went from just under 100,000 to 655,000. That's an increase well over 500 percent. Registration of blacks increased by 40 percent and of whites only 12 percent.
Nelson points out that no one knows how many of the 550,000 "other race" voter registrations were of citizens naturalized under the Citizenship USA program. But we do know that Miami was one of the cities targeted. "On the other hand," Nelson says, "no one knows how many of these same voters are not citizens at all, but non-citizens and even illegal aliens who were nevertheless invited to register to vote by Florida motor-vehicle and welfare-state employees doing what they were required to do under the federal Motor Voter law."
Oh, jeez, Motor Voter--the monster scandal never told. I had forgotten about how it had affected Florida. No wonder Gore went berserk--it was his, he'd stole it fair & square!
It fits the template of reality, smacko.
It is the UIA position.
True, that position could change.
Until it does, though, it has not.
The US is on Course to handing Iraq over to it's elceted Government. The Government controlled by what the Iraqi Sunni call "Iranians".
Granted the Sunni are prejudiced, but there is a kernnal of truth in their position.
We will learn today the names of the major Ministers.
In any case, unless the Iraqi invite US to stay, we'll be leaving, just like we left Saudi Arabia and Somolia.
Tony--as a carrier builder--watching the USS Oriskany go under must've brought tear to eye, huh? Still can't believe we H-bombed the Saratoga at Bikini. Guess it's just too expensive to make museums out those old warships.
Buddy,
Probably too much of that evil asbestos in 'em?
Here in South Philly, the oldheads used to say all those warships moored at the Navy Yard were just waiting to get sent to Korea and turned into razor blades.
Of course, that'll never happen to the USS New Jersey, now a museum across the river from Philly, on the Camden side. Damn, she is a beautiful avenger.
(Btw, I remember that guy who used to post here, who worked in military ship-building, I think the USS Reagan. I thought of him the other day when I read about the Oriskany getting turned into a "diving attraction.")
Meanwhile the Islamic Republic of Iran recently Declared War on the US because ....
'... the United States is a liberal democracy, the most powerful in the world and the leader of all the others. Liberal democracy, the letter says, is an affront to God, and as such its days are numbered. It would be best if President Bush and others realized this and abandoned it. But at all events, Iran will help where possible to hasten its end. (The full text of the letter, translated into English from the original Persian, can be found at www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/Ahmadinejad%20letter.pdf.)
Neither the Bush administration nor its many critics appear to appreciate the significance, ideological and practical, of the letter. Nor do they appear to appreciate the remarkable boldness of Ahmadinejad personally. For the formal characteristics of the letter as well as its substance have ancient and modern analogs--letters of Muhammad to the Byzantine, Persian, and Ethiopian emperors of his day warning them to accept Islam and his rule or suffer the consequences, and a letter from Khomeini to Mikhail Gorbachev along similar lines.
Thus, Ahmadinejad presents himself as the true heir of Muhammad and Khomeini and may even be suggesting that he is a founder himself. At the least, he presents himself as the spokesman and leader of Islam and the Muslim world in its entirety, transcending the Shiite/Sunni divide ...
From the Weekly Standard
That leftist rag. The story continues and is well worth reading.
It calls on Mr Bush to
"...inform Ahmadinejad and his radical allies that they are in for a real fight. This may not suffice to lead them to question their fundamental assumption and inspiration that we are on the run. But it may give pause to the many Muslims and non-Muslims standing on the sidelines, who see radical success and do not see American or Western resolve.
Of course the best person to make the first such declaration is President Bush--not as a Christian but as the world's leading liberal democrat. And not to Ahmadinejad, for whom a direct reply would be a victory, but to the Iranian people, the Muslim world, and the non-Muslim world. ..."
I tend to agree, but we hear the sound of silence. For now, at least.
Tony--sorry, that shipwright was also named Tony--I thought he wuz you--I guess i thought both of yez were also the new press secretary, an old Hollywood movie star, and the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Nice post, Trish. What we've been saying all along, the only way we're going to "lose" the GWoT is by turning it into "Another Vietnam" aka domestic surrender because it's annoying.
Big Difference – The Actual “Vietnam War” as opposed to “Another Vietnam”
It's interesting to see the parallels, a demonized Republican president (tho this one is actually not a crook) could lead to a raging Democrat backlash, and we could walk away from our allies and our new bases, the way we surrendered Danang and Cam Ranh Bay.
(Buddy, the carrier builder was NOT named Tony. Otherwise, I would have been his anti-matter and couldn't have read his posts without attacking him at the atomic level of his handle!)
Ps. Reading "The Singularity is Near" and it's great, even if you only read pages 330-335 "... on Warfare: The Remote, Robotic, Size-Reduced, Virtual-Reality Paradigm" which discuss Smart Dust, Nanoweapons, Smart Weapons, and VR. And "a drone army of unmanned, autonomous robots in the water, on the ground, and in the air. The swarms will have human commanders" ... in an "impregnable Internet in the sky." This is scheduled for the 2020's.
DG, Gitmo, and Guam probably were on the list in the '90s. Heck, Gitmo's been on the list since it's inception, if only because it keeps an American boot on the ground of the Monroe Doctrine. (Which appears to be falling apart, unfortunately, with all the socialist revolts in South America).
But the other three, Bulgaria, Balad, and Kyrghyzstan pretty much say it all, in three very different ways. Bulgaria, as wretchard mentioned, is evidence that the old US alliances in Western Europe are sliding easterly. Combined with Kyr., it's two points of power projection in Russia's old neighborhood, and a way to keep an increasingly-authoritarian Putin somewhat in check. Kyr. additionally is the other claw on the strategic encirclement of the Chinese theater (with Guam) and on the Persian theater (with Balad). Balad, well, that's pretty obvious - it's a strategic replacement for the bases we removed from Saudi (thus removing one of Osama's old-time complaints against America in the process). Also, Balad and DG strategically encircle the Arabian Peninsula as well as the HOA.
Finally, it's interesting that in the strategic sense, half are strictly airbases, and the other half have ocean access to support naval power projection, as well. It's good to see that US strategy is stepping, if ever-so-slightly, away from the strictly airpower power projection of the 90s, which I think will build up both the naval strength, as well as airpower, in the long run.
Maps are cool, and it's amazing how quickly they can change, yet how much they can stay the same as the situations change.
Hey, the Monroe Doctrine was the first American Grand Strategy, and still remains applicable today, in that the fate of and threat from Central and South America is of greater strategic concern to the United States than anything from EurAsiAfrica.
Trish, the permanent bases in Iraq may or may not include Balad, but you can bet we'll have a couple somewhere. I have my opinions as to which ones they'll be, but they don't amount to a whole lot. But, despite what people will say about being out in X number of years, I don't see that happening. We've still got bases in Germany, England, and Japan, after all. Heck, ol' Gitmo on the list is from a war a *long* time before even those opened up. I don't think that's going to change about American policy as the world becomes *smaller* and more globalized.
Saddam sure was a nice fellow, though, what with building a bunch of nice long runways and nice big airbases out in the middle of nowhere.
I dunno, AAFES can be pretty tough to close down, once they get their claws into someplace. Some would call them more evil than even *gasp* Halliburton. :)
trish -
I'm not going to say bases were the *whole* point, but it was certainly one of the factors weighing in on the strategic importance of the country. Until he started using talking points from Michael Moore, one of Osama bin Laden's chief grievances with the US was the infidel bases defiling (Saudi) Holy Land. Those bases are gone now, in no small part due to the new bases building up in Iraq.
The reason "conservatives" may have a problem with the assertion that Iraqi bases will go away has less to do with giving up The hidden reason for going into Iraq, and more to do with voluntarily giving up strategic locations in a *very* strategically important region. You know, a big picture, long term sort of thing.
Dan, AAFES isn't on DG? WTF? I know of a few more mortar-ridden places than even Balad that have AAFES joints. Is there some sort of grand diplomatic agreement that the Brits won't allow AAFES onto DG or something?
Habu, the Monroe Doctrine may not be explicitly followed today, but you can't deny that maybe following a more modern incarnation might be a good idea.
It might keep that loon in Venezuela a little more in check, in the very least.
"... In a show of hands, the 275-member parliament approved each of the 39 Cabinet ministers proposed by incoming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The new Shiite Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish ministers then took their oaths of office during the nationally televised session in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. ...
...In his first address, al-Maliki told parliament he would make restoring stability and security the top priority of his new administration. He said he would "work fast" to improve and coordinate Iraqi security forces so they can reduce attacks by insurgent groups and militias.
Al-Maliki also said he would set "an objective timetable to transfer the full security mission to Iraqi forces, ending the mission of the multinational forces." ..."
From ABC News so read it at your own risk.
I don't doubt the Iraqi intent is to stand up its own security forces independent of US ground support. But, just like in Germany, Japan, and Korea, there are a lot of advantages a US base (and US air support) has to offer.
It's going to be an interesting decade.
Well Desert,
We don't do the "security mission" in Germany, Japan or Korea, so maybe there's another mission remaining for us after they get their act together, just like there has been in those other strategic places.
"... Gen. Alberto Muller, a Chavez adviser, ... ... told The Associated Press on Friday that the military was considering buying about 24 Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to replace the F-16s. He said Venezuelan pilots have already traveled to Russia to test out Russian warplanes. ...
... after the Russian Interfax news service quoted Venezuelan Ambassador ... ... saying Venezuela is awaiting talks on buying new jet fighters and that Chavez is seeking to visit Russia in the coming months. ..."
Before the Havana Summit with Iran in October?
From Mr Murdock's TV team. But even he has made a "deal" with Ms Clinton, or so it's been reported.
Perhaps so, tony and red ranger, I hope so, but it will not be so until the deal is signed.
The UIA's position is more exacting than PM Maliki's first "Offical" word on the subject. If you google his statements, made as the "spokesman", he was a bit more vibrant in his eminations.
Guess some else could be in the market for Mr Chavez's planes.
Or Mr Putin's, then.
Perhaps even our own aircraft manufacturers could be in the mix.
Wihout the US CAS, entire blocks will be razed, instead of individual buildings, old school would still work.
The ISF, if it holds together after integration with the militias, would still be unbeatable on the ground, within Iraq. By anyone in the Region, but US or Turkey.
Yeah, Ali Wee Wee, loosen up that turban, you have strapped it on too tight again. It happens to me with my john deere cap, i have to let it out a notch in the Spring.
"Crusty Buildup"
Pretty wild (for civilian work) video on the front page of the WaPo:
"Ambushed in Iraq"
Tony said:
"It's interesting to see the parallels, a demonized Republican president (tho this one is actually not a crook)"
---
Ok:
How about "Outlaw," or better yet "LAWLESS?"
---
By reading hypocrite Reid's 1993 immigration spiel and proposed legislation one can see what 13 short years of Two Presidents NOT ENFORCING THE LAW (Clinton did a much better job, however) has brought to this once much more United States:
From something eminently managageable to what those that want to make it WORSE like GWB, say is beyond our ability to deal with without giving away the farm.
Truly a Scandal of quite some magnitude.
---
Reid's
1993 Bill
Reid's bill also cracks down on illegal immigration. The 1990 census reported 3.3 million illegal aliens in America.
Recent estimates indicate about 2.5 million immigrants illegally entered the United States last year.
Our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants placing tremendous burdens on our criminal justice system, schools and social programs,"
Reid said.
"The Immigration and aturalization Service needs the ability to step up enforcement.
Our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits often without paying any taxes.
---
See 'Rat 5:35 PM
"The 1990 census reported 3.3 million illegal aliens in America."
The subject of the "new" book by the de Vinci Code author
Freemasons and America
From George Washington to ...
... that secret society that permeates the highest corridors of power, on both sides of the asile, in US Government, today. ...
... lest I repeat myself.
Popular Culture
ain't it great.
"Still can't believe we H-bombed the Saratoga at Bikini."
---
Show me the evidence!
To double twice in 15 years, doug, that is some kind of compound growth, what about 12%.
The economy certainly did not grow that fast.
No wonder wages are depressed where the impact has been even greater than the "Average".
Those are just (now) low-class citizens, 'Rat:
White Trash, N.....s, and Beaners.
We gotta be COMPASSIONATE to the Whole World!
Think Globally!
Multi-Million Dollar rebuild goin on next door:
In the old days, folks could afford to hire carpenters and Hippies, neither of which took to much out of the welfare kitty.
Today, however, the poor folks that bought the place have to scrape by w/"Latinos," since they can't AFFORD tp pay anymore than the Hippies got 30 years ago.
Luckily, the Welfare lady from Venezueala is now here to take care of their families.
Ain't SOCIALISM GRAND???
These two pieces should be read by anyone interested in the Border and Immigrations isssues.
The Ensign Amendment Fiasco and then this oneBase Doesn't Trust Bush on Illegal Immigration by Tom Bevan. Those familar with Mr Bevan know he is not anti Republican or Mr Bush.
Both are at RealClearPolitics
And the almost always clear-headed Krauthammer:
Why Is Border Security 'Conservative'?
---
A lot of what 'Rat and I've been trying to say for months, except he leaves out that Simpson-Mazzoli amnesty also called for WORKPLACE ENFORCEMENT as well, but Clinton Gore abandoned enforcement before the 2004 election, and GWB just plain abandoned Workplace Enforcement.
And here we are.
Could ask: "What was he thinking,"
but then 'Rat would just paste in some of that evil conspiracy boilerplate that we are all too educated to buy into.
65 million copies of that de Vinci Code have been sold.
Perhaps 100 million readers.
Those are impressive numbers, by any standard, for a novel.
Now he ventures into the realm of Freemasons and their influence in the US Government.
How many readers. weeks on the NYTimes bestseller list. People read it, and then believe it. Explains "so" much.
No one will believe that the "men of ideas & action" just faded away, that they did not just go "underground" at Universities and such.
Whether they really did, or not.
It will not be long, there will be a Freemason begetting the Skull & Bones conspiracy theory.
Beyond my comic conjecture and serious prediction.
Like this border issue was just a few months ago, a storm on the horizon, Secret Societies are going to be all the rage.
Hollywood has already tried with that Nick Cage film, "National Treasure" about the Declaration being a coded map.
It is going to become a storyline theme for an entire cycle.
Freemasons and their descendents.
Commenters mostly found this
Iraq the Model post somewhat depressing.
Who am I to judge?
I'm honored, Bobal.
And I haven't had REAL Salmon since my last trip to BC.
That Orange Stuff tastes like Orange Stuff. (ing)
There are reports of a Civil War breaking out...
In Palistine.
Bombs bombs everywhere but not one with Hamas's name on it?
He just does not see the "big picture", doug.
He is living there, in Baghdad.
A living contradiction to the overall "good news" described in "Face of Defeat".
Which is the "true" perspective?
What mixture of geography has to be added to the mix?
Bet each description is accurate.
Where is that dot, exactly?
Yo Doug, when you say Ok:
How about "Outlaw," or better yet "LAWLESS?" are you advocating we re-live the entire Vietnam / Fall of America flashback and elect Another Jimmy Carter, as long as the new Jimmy promises to do something about illegal immigrants?
I can see it now, by 2009, we're losing one country / continent / year in the GWoT, so the Ol' Jimmy had us doing in the Cold Year by his third year in office. Jimmy the Twoth will be walking around the White House in Mr. Rogers sweaters and telling us to insulate our houses. Maybe we'll finally have a use for all that duct tape and plastic sheeting we stored up.
The mad mullahs won't be able to take over our embassy in Tehran, 'cause we don't got no embassy there. So, they'll just have to take our new embassy in Baghdad.
Sorry, us super-hawk types are notorious for being single-issue focused. And the issue ain't Immigration, especially during wartime.
Imagine where all this Bush-bashing can lead. I already lived this particular flashback - I went crazy and voted for Perot. And you know what that got us - a Clinton in the White House. Aiiiyyeeee.
I've thought along C-4's line wrt to Russia for sometime:
Back when W saw Putin's Soul through his eye-holes, I just saw somebody co-operatin with us in our time of need wrt to basing in the backyard. (clothed, of course)
Then somebody got uppity about treating baby-killing terrorists too mean-like to be labeled soulful and compassionate anymore, then somebody got kind of pushy and unmindful about back yards, and Voila!
Pootie Poot took a scoot to China by way of Tehran.
But who's to say from down here looking up at those Olympian Heights?
Certainly not me: Maybe C-4?
Tony,
Bush is UNABLE to carry on while enforcing the laws up to Clinton-Era standards?
All that time saved signing NEW LEGISLATION could be put into enforcement if he gave a Rat's Ass.
Only 'Rat knows about that, tho.
Bush I and II both stopped short in Iraq, imo.
But like I say, who's to say?
(other than Iraqi Shia, of course:
been there, saw that.)
Course the rest of the world's been observing also.
Doug, if you could please define "Clinton-era standards" ... I find that whole phrase fascinating.
Also, do the Wee Wee's sound like ol' Mathusela and Pork Rinds, or is that my imagination?
Maybe if we yell loud enough Bush will admit for the first time in some time that he is not only full of it, but neglecting to carry out his oath of office?
Tony,
I will not.
I've been through that 3 times with Buddy here at the Club:
Look up "Workplace Enforcement" or some such.
...I've worn out those keys and q's.
...but only if he bones up for that
"Workplace Enforcement"
(recent) History Quiz!
Course it's not MY trip,
except another one of those Head-One's.
From Head-Trip to Head-On by Doug the dope driver in the sky.
A war against whom, tony, and where?
Who can mobilize 500,000 people in LA?
What sea are the potential prepositioned Homeland terrorists swimming in?
Border Security is part and parcel of the WoT, believe it, or not.
Bobalharb - thx!
Doug - I'm all for the fence approach, do we put the Claymores on ring 2 or 3?
There was a great letter in AWST, said for the cost of 1 $7M Predator we could buy 70 Piper Cubs and each pilot would only have to patrol 30 miles of border. So a few hundred volunteer pilots with night-vision goggles could monitor the border 24-7. Shucks, even I could fly that mission. Then, what do we do when we see movement? Shoot marker rockets for the fast movers to lay in the napalm?
As for trucks and trains - none of them cross our borders. They stop a quarter mile back from the gate and carry each piece and human to clean trucks on our side of the border. How's that?
See, I'm on your side, sorta, just remember the dangers of Bush-bashing - it leads to Clintons in the White House - aiiiiyeeeeee!!!!
I Believe!
Lord, I BELIEVE!
(Plus I kinda liked having an America to grow up in:
Why not the grandkids too?)
I think White Guilt plus your book stuff precludes that option.
Tony, speaking of flying:
How hard do you think it was to pilot that 767 at deck level, at speed, into the Pentagon?
I know no amount of MS Flight Sim could do it for most mere (christian) Mortals.
RoP pbuIt
"it"
Sure woulda been nice to have a joint Oil-Economic Development deal with Oil Rich Russia.
But Ping-Pong Diplomacy still rules.
Stay the course.
Doug,
I think that was a landing approach, you could almost jigger a regular ILS approach to Reagan National to get there, I would guess. The pilot got extremely lucky with the touchdown point.
Desert Rat, right now we have troops in hot zones in two countries, on either side of a country that is counter-threatening our Axis of Evil characterization of them. That's enough war for me to qualify as at war. As Wretchard puts it, we're fighting with one hand tied behind our back, I'll grant you that.
I agree on border security, but it's a matter of priorities. The platform-less Democrats offer NO alternatives, so why the hell should we be beating up Bush? What's our alternative?
Yo Bobalharb!
My beautiful 24 year old daughter is here and you have just inspired me to crank up some Elvis, Live from Vegas. The daughter and I adore Elvis, and the wife lets us. Thanks for the great idea!
Ahhh, Life is Good!
Beat the Bush until it listens!
Or at least sings:
Aren't you and 'Rat and I the three Amigo's?
(bobal's our trusty host)
Or DJ at present.
How fast was that '67 going?
I know the second tower guy just about pulled the wings off of that one.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
My crazy 22 year old son is out hosting rich BMW drivers:
Racing on their course.
Boys are still boys.
trish,
Your 11:49 AM - no ground, no air
When last were you on an American AFB base in Germany? For that matter, how about a USA base there?
Don't misunderstand, it would be the height of folly to leave base security in Iraq to outsiders, but you must admit that "folly" has been abundant of late.
Imagine how the Iran-Iraq War might have gone had the US had facilities in Iraq. All things being equal, contemporary Iraqis might find comfort in an American presence given the immediate neighborhood.
PS: If the US is exiting Europe, someone had better tell the contractors at a very large AFB. When last I heard, close to $2 billion has been spent on expansion during fiscal 2002-2005, and the beat goes on. I just missed out on the opening of a giant, multi-story AAFES "MALL" complex. Shucks!
Oh, AAFES, the produce still sucks!
bobalharb,
Your 1:16 PM - tic off 'Hollywood'
Were Mr. Bush to run himself through a meat grinder, Hollywood would complain of the fat content. Unfortunately for us all, Mr. Bush has never taken the point, i.e. Hollywood's unquenchable hatred.
Allen,
Best 'Hall food I had was when stationed near Olathe Naval Air Station.
Navy Food Ruled!
---
---
**Spring Fling - Maui**
For the record: American Airlines #77 Hits Pentagon, 9/11/01
“From the moment American Airlines Flight #77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon at 09:38 a.m., and for the subsequent 10 days, this was a major fire and rescue incident, the responsibility of the Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD).
The destruction caused by the attack was immediate and catastrophic. The 270,000 pounds of metal and jet fuel hurling into the solid mass of the Pentagon is the equivalent in weight of as diesel train locomotive, except it is traveling at more than 400 miles per hour. More than 600,000 airframe bolts and rivets and 60 miles of wire were instantly transformed into white-hot shrapnel. The resulting impact, penetration, and burning fuel had catastrophic effects to the five floors and three rings in and around Pentagon Corridors 4 and 5.
This act of evil cost the lives of 189 persons in the Pentagon attack, 184 innocent victims, and the 5 terrorist perpetrators of the criminal attack.”
- From the 9/11 Commission Report
"91 ILLEGALS FOUND IN TRUCK"
Sun Expected to Set in West
"400 miles per hour"
---
Is that (deck level speed) covered in the Boeing Driver's Manual?
Click the "Results" Button on the Maui News Immigration Poll
---
Pretty close to the rest of the nation, I'd bet.
I chose "other:"
Prosecute Employers, plus da Fence.
"been there, saw that"
---
The one's that missed out on the
Plastic Shredder Amusement Rides.
trish,
Your 6:21 PM
Agreed! Or at least I agree with thee. Will GWB agree with thee and me?
Trish, Allan, we do see evidence of big air power supporting small combat ops recently. That was the formula that rolled up fearsome Afghanistan inside a month, when we kicked off our dynamic operations in the long war after 9/11.
We're using B-1's lately, that's an example that maybe our hands are not trembling and tied by artificial bounds.
It's a weird way to fight a war, to not be able to let us all back home share a common understanding of what is happening. And in the absence of accurate info, the MSM tells us our 'noble-sounding efforts' are all for naught.
A. Is there a war going on, a war that was declared and waged openly against us for years before 9/11?
B. or is America optionally waging war as Darth Vader, carrying out a doomed-to-fail galactic conspiracy?
That's a critical disconnect.
Tony,
B-1's, not 2's?
Where are the 1's based, and where are they used?
B-1 Bubbles
The B-1 is a monster. Earlier I posted that note that a damaged one landed wheels up in the last couple of weeks, in Oman. It slid about a mile and a half on its belly, and nobody was hurt. The pilot kept the supersonic monster on the runway, even.
The B-2 is much more expensive, too precious to risk since we only got 20 of them, and the Spirit can't tear around in the sky like the B-1 Lancer. It's one of our workhorses, it's a Beast of Burden.
tony,
Your 8:26 PM - "That's a critical disconnect."
On this one occasion only, I will presume to speak for Trish, expecting her to instantly clean my clock. But that's OK.
She and I are military, up close and personal. If there is a "disconnect" it is the fault of the adminsitration. Our guys are kicking ass and taking names. When the administration stops the rope-a-dope, we will all be better off.
trish,
We peaches had an air show last weekend. You should see the F-22.
"kicking ass and taking names" is a fine old military saying, not to be taken as a personal observation. I would not want to blemish my heretofore spotless record of non-profanity.
So where do they launch the B-1's for Afghanistan?
Just Oman?
---
I remember seeing a '15 for the first time at an Airshow in the Sierras:
Amazed me with it's low-speed high power turns.
Does the 22 have that ability also?
I guess we all agree the B-1 is the most beautiful bomber ever built.
My ex-Navy neighbor used to fly the Connie or Super Connie:
Those were nice and unique and pretty.
(course the Radomes detracted a bit: especially the big flying saucer model)
I saw the B-2, one on static display, one flying, at a small air show at Willow Grove NAS a few years ago. The most amazing thing I ever saw in the sky. Alomst completely silent until it's past you, even at low altitude. At medium distance, it appears to be a flying ball, or dare I say, a flying saucer. It's surprisingly agile (like the F-117, which is also agile, sort of like an A-6 yankin' and bankin' in the F-117's case). Seeing the the B-2 doing a knife-edge pass down the flight line was incredible. Not the stunning kind of incredible like an F-15, and I imagine the F-22, more like a spectacular stunning.
Allan - what do you mean by the Administration playing rope-a-dope? I thought Bush ran on the war in 2004, against a mushy anti-war (anti-everything) Democrat campaign - and Bush won a significant majority. What do you want them to do?
I'd like to see Rummy on TV four or five days a week, but I doubt he will convince the weak at heart among us.
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