WAR 06-30-2018-to-07-06-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
7m7 minutes ago

I read a Noon in NK thread earlier suggesting Kim doesn’t have full control of his military. I’m growing increasingly concerned of a possible coup attempt within Kim’s own military. Kim’s military is theorized to be ran by different people, who technically overpower Kim —


Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
3m3 minutes ago

In that role. My theory is that (and I saw similar things before, can’t remember the report though it was a while ago) these leaders of the North’s military could attempt to overthrow Kim, citing his attempt at building a relationship with the US. Which obviously probably —


Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
3m3 minutes ago

Doesn’t sit well with NK officials. Y’all have to remember North Korean military officials were brainwashed for years to have an extreme hate for the United States, their leader even promoted the hatred. Now, their leader is all the sudden conversations with the “enemy”


Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
3m3 minutes ago

And these military officials have to see this as a treasonous act, they’ve been told for years that the US is the enemy and now all the sudden their leader is trying to make peace with the enemy? It probably doesn’t sit very well these military officials. And treason —


Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
3m3 minutes ago

Is a very harshly punished crime in North Korea, as we’ve obviously seen before. I know the theory is out there and a little wild but it’s definitely a possibility and something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Just something to think on for a bit.



Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
7m7 minutes ago

Also I just realized I said “Noon in NK” in my first post ����* obviously I meant Noon in Korea.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
23m23 minutes ago

#BREAKING #Russia says to do everything possible to maintain #Iran nuclear deal: Lavrov

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Global: MilitaryInfo
‏ @Global_Mil_Info
5h5 hours ago

#BREAKING: North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities are operating normally and the communist nation also appears to be building a new submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...m=Editorial - Military - Early%2#.Wz6ktdVKjIU

China’s military reforms aimed at offshore expansion, Communist Party document says

KYODO
JUL 4, 2018
ARTICLE HISTORY PRINT SHARE

TAIPEI – China’s military reforms are aimed at expanding its military might from the traditional focus on land territories to maritime influence to protect the nation’s strategic interests in a new era, according to an internal reader of China’s Central Military Commission obtained by Kyodo News.

If the reforms progress, the reader points to intensifying friction with neighboring countries, including Japan, in the East and South China Seas and elsewhere. It also suggests the willingness of China to overtake the United States in military strength.

The text was published internally by the Central Military Commission in February, for the purpose of spreading President Xi Jinping’s “thought on strengthening the armed forces.”

It makes clear at the outset that the People’s Liberation Army is loyal to the “core” leader of Xi and adheres to his thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

Seeking to forge a military that is always “ready for fighting, capable of combat, and sure to win,” Xi in 2015 announced that the 2.3 million strong PLA would be downsized by 300,000.

The reader explains that the military command-and-control system must be reorganized from a four-tiered structure to a three-tiered one, adding that the strategic doctrine must also be adjusted accordingly.

On the strategic front, one chapter said that while the PLA has focused its war preparedness on coastal defense, it must strengthen its capabilities on land, at sea and in the air, in addition to developing beyond the traditional area of operation in a new era.

“As we open up and expand our national interests beyond borders, we desperately need a comprehensive protection of our own security around the globe,” it said.

Through a series of adjustments to the military strategy, it said, the “balance, dimension and expansion of our strategic goal will be strengthened.”

By doing so, it will be conducive to “more effectively create a situation, manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war, defend the expansion of our country’s strategic interests in an all-round fashion and realize the goals set by the party and Chairman Xi.”

Another chapter explained the necessity of its military reforms. It said that the United States, Russia, Japan and seven other countries become strong countries because they have a strong military, and to have a strong military, reforms are necessary.

“The lessons of history teach us that strong military might is important for a country to grow from being big to being strong,” it said. “A strong military is the way to avoid the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and escape the obsession that war is unavoidable between an emerging power and a ruling hegemony.”

A Thucydides Trap is a phrase used to refer to when a rising power causes fear in an established power that escalates toward war.

Military reforms are therefore a significant “turning point” for any given emerging country to “overtake a slower vehicle on a curve,” it said, suggesting that the United States is in its decline.

Citing the examples of the collapse of the Soviet Union and political unrest in some East European countries, one chapter said that it is important to control the military in a bid to ensure the Chinese Communist Party’s long-term ruling status.

History proves that as long as the party keeps a tight grip on the military, it can withstand rigorous challenges both at home and abroad, it said.

It also criticized the “antagonistic blocs of the Western world” for plotting to instigate separatists in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong to pursue independence as well as Falun Gong practitioners to stage protests and individuals to carry out terrorist attacks.

Another chapter endorsed the “CMC chairman responsibility system,” which it said helped quell a political crisis in the spring of 1989, referring to the bloody military crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

The core of the system is the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China who also leads the military and the party Central Military Commission.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
43m43 minutes ago

Kim Il Sung's death anniversary is July 8th, obviously a pretty important time for Kim Jong Un, will be interesting to see if anything is planned.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Steve Herman
‏Verified account @W7VOA
37m37 minutes ago

Besides a letter from @POTUS, Kim Jong Un will also receive from @SecPompeo an @eltonofficial CD -- signed by @realDonaldTrump -- containing the song 'Rocket Man,' according to @Chosun.



Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
25m25 minutes ago

I'm absolutely hysterically laughing right now and kinda nervously laughing, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hand deliver an Elton John CD signed by the President containing the song Rocket Man.

Elton John - Rocket Man (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVBCG6ThDk

Nana note: Rocket man by Elton John......there may or may not be an ad before it plays, once it did, once it didn't

Elton John - Rocket Man (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVBCG6ThDk

 

[northern watch]

Nordics Mobilize To Send Russians Clear Message: We Shall Not Be Cowed

Canada is not with the Nordics

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
9m9 minutes ago

N.Korean media has slammed the United States over the countries harsh criticism of North Korea's past human rights problems, warning against any argument over it's human rights conditions.

N. Korea slams U.S. over human rights report ahead of Pompeo's visit
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/07/06/0200000000AEN20180706003100315.html

posted for fair use and discussion
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/07/06/0200000000AEN20180706003100315.html

N. Korea slams U.S. over human rights report ahead of Pompeo's visit

2018/07/06 10:50

Article View Option

SNS Share

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's media on Friday resumed its criticism of Washington ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's arrival in Pyongyang, warning against any argument over its human rights conditions.

Uriminzokkiri, the North's external propaganda website, said in a commentary that the U.S. government should immediately abandon any attempt to irritate and deride Pyongyang over its human rights issue.

"Following recent summit talks in Singapore between the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S., (the) bilateral relationship has been improving and follow-up talks are scheduled. But the U.S. still remains obsessed with pressing the North over its human rights condition," the commentary said.

It specifically took issue with the U.S. Department of State putting North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 for 16 consecutive years in its annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" released in late June. Tier 3 nations are branded as the worst human traffickers.

"The (Tier 3) designation is an outright challenge to our efforts to end the world's last Cold War and contribute to the regional and global safety. It is also a derision of the international society's consistent wish for the improvement of the DPRK-U.S. relations," the commentary said.

The Pyongyang website argued that it is anachronistic for the United States to attempt to deny the dignity of its counterpart and, at the same time, to seek dialogue over permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"Now is the time for the DPRK and the U.S. to boldly abandon erroneous prejudices and practices, respect and trust each other to remove obstacles ahead, and take goodwill measures for each other," it said.

North Korea had kept silent on the U.S. human rights report issued on June 28 but issued the comment by Uriminzokkiri hours before Pompeo's arrival in Pyongyang in an apparent move to take the initiative in follow-up negotiations on denuclearization, analysts in Seoul said.

(END)

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
8m8 minutes ago

North Korea is apparently eyeing a 2nd summit with the United States in Switzerland - @BuckTurgidson79

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
17m17 minutes ago

#URGENT: US Tarrifs on Chinese imports have gone into effect officially marking the start of the trade war with China. -@AFP



Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
19m19 minutes ago

US tariffs on China have taken effect as of 8 minutes ago.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
40s40 seconds ago

Brad Retweeted سكاي نيوز عربية-الآن

"#China says the United States has started the biggest trade war in history."

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Ynetnews
‏Verified account @ynetnews
11m11 minutes ago

Iran says Europe's offer to save nuclear deal insufficient -



posted for fair use and discussion
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5305040,00.html

Iran says Europe's offer to save nuclear deal insufficient
AFP|Published: 07.06.18 , 07:52

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that a European offer of economic measures to counter the effects of the United States abandoning the nuclear deal does not go far enough, reported state news agency IRNA.


Rouhani told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call that the package "does not meet all our demands," reported the news agency on the eve of ministerial talks in Vienna.



First published: 07.06.18, 07:52






Ynetnews
‏Verified account @ynetnews
12m12 minutes ago

China chides Iran over threat to block oil exports through Strait of Hormuz -


https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5305041,00.html

China chides Iran over threat to block oil exports through Strait of Hormuz
Reuters|Published: 07.06.18 , 07:56

Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbours, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, as Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned they may block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.


Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait are among China's most important oil suppliers, while Qatar supplies liquefied natural gas to China, so any blockage of the strait would have serious consequences for its economy.


But Beijing has had to tread carefully with Arab nations like Saudi Arabia as China also has close ties with Iran.



First published: 07.06.18, 07:56

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
10m10 minutes ago

#BREAKING #France says economic package for nuclear deal unlikely before November, warns #Iran to stop threatening to break its commitments

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
14m14 minutes ago

#ISIS very active in #Iraq in the last days, claims series of attacks from Mosul to Fallujah, Kirkuk and Diyala

 

[Lilbitsnana]

AFP news agency
‏Verified account @AFP
7m7 minutes ago

#BREAKING Nuclear deal powers support continued Iran oil, gas exports

 

[Housecarl]

Something that's regularly forgotten is that Russia has an economy about as big as Italy...per Wikipedia:

Gross domestic product: 1.283 trillion USD (2016) World Bank
GDP per capita: 8,748.36 USD (2016) World Bank
GDP growth rate: -0.2% annual change (2016) World Bank
GNI per capita: 22,540 PPP dollars (2016) World Bank
Gross national income: 3.306 trillion PPP dollars (2016) World Bank

while the EU:

GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate
• Total
$21.7 trillion[9] (2nd)
• Per capita
$42,459[9]
GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate
• Total
$18.4 trillion[9] (2nd)
• Per capita
$35,939[10]

Just something to ponder....HC

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/arti..._term=Editorial - Military - Early Bird Brief

POLITICS & POLICY

NATO Has Two Big Problems: Putin and Trump

The president’s animus for allied leaders will likely derail discussion of Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, cyberattacks and other vital issues.

By James Stavridis
Comments 60
July 5, 2018, 6:00 AM PDT

Still close? Photographer: Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
The NATO alliance is in a state of high tension heading into the Brussels summit next week.

In some ways, of course, we have been here before. When I served as NATO’s supreme allied commander from 2009 to 2013, we had controversy and disagreements aplenty over Afghanistan and Libya, for example, and endless arguments over equitable burden-sharing between the U.S. and the other allies. Indeed, reports on the decline of NATO have been constant over the decades, especially immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

What is different now, however, is the obvious personal antipathy of the U.S. president toward the alliance in general and some of the key leaders in particular. Donald Trump’s open dislike of Germany’s Angela Merkel, the U.K.’s Theresa May and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, for example, feels deeply rooted and intractable. (While there was a flash of affection toward President Emanuel Macron of France during an April visit to Washington, that relationship has cooled considerably since.)

This personal animosity between the alliance’s most important national leaders comes at an especially infelicitous time, with Vladimir Putin’s Russia applying pressure around NATO’s periphery, using “hybrid warfare” techniques to destabilize the Baltic and Black Sea nations, and employing cyber operations to undermine democracy as far away as the U.S.

The fear is that Trump will conduct another slash-and-burn mission at the NATO summit, then follow it up with a warm and chatty engagement with Putin a few days later in Helsinki. This would follow the pattern he established several weeks ago when he trashed the G-7 gathering in Canada and then all but hugged North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

A second round of such behavior will solidify the view in Europe that the president is irredeemable as a reliable partner, leading to one of the deepest crises in the alliance’s 70-year existence.

What makes it particularly hurtful is the evident personal affection and admiration Trump has for Putin. This seems inexplicable given the Russian leader’s support for the war criminal Bashar al-Assad in Syria, his illegal invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, and above all the Russian intrusion into the U.S. political process in 2016 and since — which Trump refuses to recognize.

While it is in no one’s interest to stumble backward into a Cold War, the huge political disconnect between Trump’s dislike of NATO’s democratic leaders and his frequently expressed admiration for the authoritarian Putin is an enormous discontinuity for the alliance.

America’s partners are particularly concerned about a surprise Trump giveaway during his meeting with Putin: announcing a withdrawal of significant Americans troops from Europe, cutting defense funds to U.S. European Command, or stopping exercises with NATO’s easternmost members, which Russia protests as “provocative.” And given the script he is executing with North Korea — including a pause on military exercises with South Korea that apparently blindsided not only Seoul but also Secretary of Defense James Mattis — these fears would appear very justified.

Ironically, all this is happening as the push to increase defense spending on the part of the Europeans and Canada, begun during the Obama administration, is actually working. Most of the non-U.S. NATO members are moving closer to the entirely reasonable goals of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense and 20 percent of that on modern equipment. But it cannot go fast enough to satisfy Donald Trump, and his anger and petulance will probably increase.

What this summit should be about is a handful of difficult strategic and tactical challenges facing the alliance. These include the seemingly endless mission in Afghanistan (about 25,000 NATO troops remain there, 15,000 of them from the U.S.); protecting the alliance members in the Baltics from Russian cyberattacks; a plan for approaching the rapidly opening Arctic Ocean (five NATO allies have significant coastlines threatened by an increasingly activist Moscow); and NATO’s role in the Middle East, especially the continuing fight against terrorists.

Instead, we can look forward to Trump continuing his uninformed commentary about nations failing to “pay their dues” — as if NATO was one of his country clubs — and musing about whether the U.S. should even stay in the alliance. (After being told recently that Sweden not a member, he reportedly commented that perhaps the best thing for the U.S. would be the “deal” that Sweden has of picking and choosing which operations to join.) This would a waste of rare face time between the world leaders, especially with vastly more important issues to address.


One hopes that Mattis — who served as a 4-star NATO commander while on active duty — can drive a sensible level of discourse on the key topics. What the U.S. should be pushing for is straightforward: ongoing commitment of trainers and funding in Afghanistan, where the key will be forcing the Taliban to the negotiating table; increasing cyber resources for both defensive and offensive activities; establishing a greater level of formal NATO participation in the fight against the Islamic State; generating a coherent surveillance and operational plan for the Arctic; and — above all — synchronizing NATO responses to ongoing Russian aggression around the border of the alliance.

Defense spending by our allies is certainly worthy of discussion — as it has been for years. But if that is the end of the conversation, the Brussels summit will be a missed opportunity for the U.S. and the democratic world.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:
James Stavridis at jstavridis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
2m2 minutes ago

#BREAKING Huge blast heard in #Somalia's capital #Mogadishu, smoke seen rising above scene of blast: Reuters witness