Ever hear of the ol' "surround and drown" method of dealing with a gang of town bullies? It's so simple...it's ingenious! Just let the gang of bullies work over a small group of your friends, while a crowd gathers to watch the action and goad the bullies on. Soon the watching crowd is conceivably, much larger than the bullying gang and the watchers then wade in and annihilate the bullies easily.
Now, with that in Mind, remember our military strength in the Viet Nam era?
Speaking more recently, remember when the United States, using its armada of aircraft carriers, cruise missile-launching submarines, fast cargo ships, long-range bombers, airlifters, and air refueling fighters, could eject the Iraqis from Kuwait (1991), bomb Serbia (1999), kick over the Taliban regime in Afghanistan (2001), and knock off Saddam and his cronies (2003). The USA accomplished this with ease, while everybody else had to meekly follow along (or sit on the sidelines).
Well guess what? That may not ever happen again!!!!! There are places that we may never be able to go again...unlike the previous ability we enjoyed, enabling us to enter any areas of the world at will... and may soon vanish and we will not be able to do that any longer. Right now there is a mounting strategy by Iran and China, called "area denial/anti access".
The most worrisome of the "area denial/anti-access" strategies being deployed against the United States (and others) is by China, which groups its defenses under the term "shashoujian", or "assassin's mace." The term refers to an ancient weapon, easily concealed by Chinese warriors and used to cripple a more powerful attacker. In its modern incarnation, shashoujian is a powerful combination of traditional but sophisticated air defenses, ballistic and anti-ship missiles, and similar weapons to put at risk nearby U.S. forces and regional bases, together with anti-satellite and cyberwar weapons to disable U.S. reconnaissance and command-and-control networks, thus allowing them to strike us, as we attempt to use our failing systems, as their computer programs disable our communications and our guidance systems. Iran's area-denial arsenal includes coastal and inland missile batteries, ballistic missiles to threaten U.S. bases and Arabian oil facilities, mines and shallow-draft missile boats that can quickly swarm around heavy, slow-moving U.S. warships. Iran's ability to threaten any would-be invaders, or simply to shut off access to the Gulf, would be enhanced if it acquires a nuclear weapons capability, which some analysts believe could happen within President Obama's current term in office.
Dennis Blair, the top U.S. intelligence official, described these developments in detail in a report to Congress last month, adding that taken together, they "improve China's ability to execute an anti-access and area-denial strategy in the western Pacific."
Our military hardware under every presidential administration has diminished, and it doesn't look like it's gonna get any better under Obama either. Air Force inventory of fighter-attack planes and bombers has sagged 20 percent during the past 15 years from 2,073 to 1,649.
During the Vietnam War the Navy boasted 932 warships. By 1985 the Navy could barely maintain 571 ships (despite the Reagan administration's rallying cry of a "600-ship Navy!"). Today's Navy has dwindled to 283 expensive warships.
What's gonna save America's butt? A little notion they are calling "Air-Sea Battle concept"...The problem is....that it is not invented yet!
Now, with that in Mind, remember our military strength in the Viet Nam era?
Speaking more recently, remember when the United States, using its armada of aircraft carriers, cruise missile-launching submarines, fast cargo ships, long-range bombers, airlifters, and air refueling fighters, could eject the Iraqis from Kuwait (1991), bomb Serbia (1999), kick over the Taliban regime in Afghanistan (2001), and knock off Saddam and his cronies (2003). The USA accomplished this with ease, while everybody else had to meekly follow along (or sit on the sidelines).
Well guess what? That may not ever happen again!!!!! There are places that we may never be able to go again...unlike the previous ability we enjoyed, enabling us to enter any areas of the world at will... and may soon vanish and we will not be able to do that any longer. Right now there is a mounting strategy by Iran and China, called "area denial/anti access".
The most worrisome of the "area denial/anti-access" strategies being deployed against the United States (and others) is by China, which groups its defenses under the term "shashoujian", or "assassin's mace." The term refers to an ancient weapon, easily concealed by Chinese warriors and used to cripple a more powerful attacker. In its modern incarnation, shashoujian is a powerful combination of traditional but sophisticated air defenses, ballistic and anti-ship missiles, and similar weapons to put at risk nearby U.S. forces and regional bases, together with anti-satellite and cyberwar weapons to disable U.S. reconnaissance and command-and-control networks, thus allowing them to strike us, as we attempt to use our failing systems, as their computer programs disable our communications and our guidance systems. Iran's area-denial arsenal includes coastal and inland missile batteries, ballistic missiles to threaten U.S. bases and Arabian oil facilities, mines and shallow-draft missile boats that can quickly swarm around heavy, slow-moving U.S. warships. Iran's ability to threaten any would-be invaders, or simply to shut off access to the Gulf, would be enhanced if it acquires a nuclear weapons capability, which some analysts believe could happen within President Obama's current term in office.
Dennis Blair, the top U.S. intelligence official, described these developments in detail in a report to Congress last month, adding that taken together, they "improve China's ability to execute an anti-access and area-denial strategy in the western Pacific."
Our military hardware under every presidential administration has diminished, and it doesn't look like it's gonna get any better under Obama either. Air Force inventory of fighter-attack planes and bombers has sagged 20 percent during the past 15 years from 2,073 to 1,649.
During the Vietnam War the Navy boasted 932 warships. By 1985 the Navy could barely maintain 571 ships (despite the Reagan administration's rallying cry of a "600-ship Navy!"). Today's Navy has dwindled to 283 expensive warships.
What's gonna save America's butt? A little notion they are calling "Air-Sea Battle concept"...The problem is....that it is not invented yet!
There are several thoughts about what it should be like and I agree with one aspect of it. It should strike deeply into the country we are at war with, hitting them from the air and or sea with a devastating initial attack. With this initial attack concentrating on destroying the same communications and computer systems guidance capabilities and crippling them before they come out to fight. The similarities are much like our attack during "Desert Storm", destroying as much as we can during the initial blow.
The Air Force and Navy, two services not known for cozy relations, signed an agreement to share work on this concept. To begin with, they performed a brilliant plan to start by creating a listening tour, to hear the views of senior U.S. commanders on what Air-Sea Battle should look like. Once the information is gathered, they can then proceed to create a system encompassing every one's ideas.
Iran's extremist Revolutionary Guards are slowly taking over control of the government, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting that Iran's keep-out defenses will continue to be hardened. And China's work on cyberwar continues.
Now with all this data to think about...it's almost appearing like another "cold war" is brewing within an already offensive war. (perhaps still...who knows who all is involved)
©The Pissed Off PatriotThe Air Force and Navy, two services not known for cozy relations, signed an agreement to share work on this concept. To begin with, they performed a brilliant plan to start by creating a listening tour, to hear the views of senior U.S. commanders on what Air-Sea Battle should look like. Once the information is gathered, they can then proceed to create a system encompassing every one's ideas.
Iran's extremist Revolutionary Guards are slowly taking over control of the government, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting that Iran's keep-out defenses will continue to be hardened. And China's work on cyberwar continues.
Now with all this data to think about...it's almost appearing like another "cold war" is brewing within an already offensive war. (perhaps still...who knows who all is involved)
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