Looking at most of GWOT, I probably would have agreed pre 2020. but I think things may be starting to swing the opposite way. I think some of our friends have gotten just as tired as many of us.Originally Posted by Glenn E. Meyer
Looking at most of GWOT, I probably would have agreed pre 2020. but I think things may be starting to swing the opposite way. I think some of our friends have gotten just as tired as many of us.
Moved to new Blockade thread.
Last edited by Borderland; 12-18-2023 at 08:59 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
Possibly forcing the economically affected Arab locals to take a position against Yemen Houthi BS might be a good thing in the grand scheme?
?
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
There's a thread going in the Politics section, and I post the following in that sub-forum. It's not political so I'm sharing here as well.
Cdr. Salamander once again has a good take on what's going down. He also provides links to some good intel sites.
https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p...k-force-builds
Excerpts:
..." US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will announce a new maritime protection force during his visit to the Middle East, according to British newspaper the Guardian, after repeated attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial ships traversing the Red Sea.
The report says the naval task force will initially be called Operation Prosperity Guardian and work to ensure the Red Sea is safe for shipping..."
..."I’m looking forward to some details on the - let’s talk like adults here - horribly named “Prosperity Guardian,” but this is already looking to suffer, I’m afraid, with some of the challenges we faced with building and then operating the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, unironically call on occasion, “I Saw Americans Fight.”
There will be an attempt to build an international coalition, which is right, but everyone needs to be clear-headed about it..."
..."So much ISAF’n going on here.
Let’s do some quick math. Being that we’re being so “international” here, I’ll use kilometers.
Roughly using great circle routes (some from the USA go over the North Pole) what exactly is the benchmark of concern Marles (Australian who is waffling) has here? Is “Distance from Darwin” the reference? OK, what is the distance from Darwin to the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea?
Darwin to Bab al-Mandab: 10,000 kilometers.
Hmmm, how does that look from the USA?
San Diego to Bab al-Mandab: 14,600 km.
Norfolk to Bab al-Mandab: 11,700 km.
Does that mean the USA should shrug?
How about our European allies? How are they looking?
Toulon to Bab al-Mandab: 5,000 km.
Portsmouth to Bab al-Mandab: 5,80 km.
Taranto to Bab al-Mandab: 4,020 km.
What about those nations besides Europe that are most impacted by piracy? (NB: the People’s Republic of China is not on this list for a reason):
Bombay (Mumbai for your touchy types) to Bab al-Mandab: 3,000 km.
Tokyo to Bab al-Mandab: 9,780 km.
Seoul to Bab al-Mandab: 8,590 km.
Again, who is coming to our party and what are their national caveats?"...
From Politico's National Security Daily:
Nineteen nations have signed on to a new international maritime task force focused on countering Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea — but most of them don’t want to put their names to the move, a senior administration official told Lara.
Only nine nations have announced that they will participate with the U.S. in the task force, which was announced by Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN on Monday following a fresh wave of attacks. A number of European partners are on the list, including the United Kingdom and Norway, but only one Gulf nation: Bahrain. Other Arab nations have signed on, according to the administration official, but they did not want to go public.
The situation is complicated because of the perception that the task force is designed to protect Israeli-linked commercial vessels, explained one DOD official. Another sticking point for the Saudis, in particular, is the potential to derail ongoing talks with the Houthis for a permanent cease-fire in Yemen.
"Sapiens dicit: 'Ignoscere divinum est, sed noli pretium plenum pro pizza sero allata solvere.'" - Michelangelo
It’s kind of ridiculous to think that Houthi drone operators can divine the potential percentage of anyone’s ownership of a particular vessel when first world lawyers struggle to do so. I suppose it’s effective PR to pretend that they can see behind mazes of shell corporations and flags of convenience to strike at them zionists or whatever, but I bet not.
Iranian intelligence probably has a pretty long list of Israeli ship owners and their shell companies. Also, they hit a couple of ships that were destined for Israeli ports (which takes like 2 minutes to find on a ship tracking app) and one or two with no relation.
im strong, i can run faster than train
Sal Mercogliano is worth a follow if you’re on x and interested in commercial shipping
https://twitter.com/@twitter/status/1737527176277164513
im strong, i can run faster than train
Seems like an unbiased international assessment of the credibility of the United States’ senior leadership and foreign policy.
Operation Praying Mantis 2024 would fix that really fast. Open warfare against Iranian vessels, IRGC and proxies in the area until they leave US and Allied vessels alone.
