Dancing with the Soviets, Putin Style

The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments.
They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.
They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty
.

 

Vladimir Putin’s mission is to destroy NATO and he is about to get real help in doing so. Jens Stoltenberg is the new Secretary-General of NATO effective October 1 and that is going to be a problematic for NATO or will it? The Minsk Agreement defines the Putin mission.

With Jens Stoltenberg in leadership at NATO, there are some very disturbing clues that Putin could be getting closer to his long term goals demonstrated by some historical facts and current approaches.

‘The former Norwegian prime minister — the first NATO secretary general from a country bordering Russia — is known for his good relations with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

During his decade in power, the two countries signed milestone agreements on the delineation of their frontier in the Barents Sea and on visa exemptions for their border populations. An economist by training, the former Labour Party head has never shown any particular fondness for defence or security matters.

But his experience has left him with a strong international network and honed his skills as a cross-border negotiator, both of which could prove essential.’

Here are some facts regarding Stoltenberg that collectively provide some insight to what may be ahead for NATO.

1. Stoltenberg is a manipulator of politics as noted when he chose to be a taxi driver for a day to get a political pulse on the ground, but used paid actors.

2. Stoltenberg has had previous dealings with Russia over border issues regarding the Barents Sea and he compromised.

3. Not only is Stoltenberg an Atheist but he is an Anti-Semite as well.

4. Jens Stoltenberg is inert and is passive when it comes to a drug narcotic policy for Norway, Europe and globally.

5. He is in fact a globalist and did work while at the United Nations as a special envoy promoting ‘climate change missions and financing’, he is a robust supporter of a global tax to solve climate change along with the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Barack Obama. Jens also walks in lock-step with Greenpeace.

6. Stoltenberg also endorses and has worked diligently for global vaccinations in cadence with the Gates Foundation. Vaccinations have not proven to be effective or administered as advertised.

7. Perhaps the most disturbing and factual component of Stoltenberg is that he had his own KGB code name “Steklov” bestowed upon him by a close friend of many years as a KGB operative.

Stoltenberg is a member/leader of the Labour Party which is telegraphed as a social democracy but yet has deep ties to Communists International. Camilla, the sister of Jens was a member of the Red Youth, a group of loyal followers of Marxists/Leninists. Stoltenberg protested against the United States during the Vietnam war and caused damage to the U.S. embassy during a demonstration for which he was jailed.

Then we cannot omit his mentor and friend Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany. Merkel speaks fluent Russian and had a membership card in the Free German Youth movement which was managed by the Socialist Party out of East Germany. As the defacto leader of the European Union, Merkel worked to install a full immigrant acceptance policy in Germany for which other European nations would follow. Today that policy has failed with particular regard to Muslims.

Some time ago, it was determined that Merkels’ communications were being tracked by the NSA. Given her history, associations, education, friendships and objectives, it is no wonder that U.S. intelligence agencies want to know her real actions as part of the overall agendas, collusions, and relationships that must be assessed into U.S. domestic analysis and policy.

Countries within Europe will follow Merkel and now especially so with Stoltenberg at the head of NATO. It was Merkel who supported, nominated and worked to install Jens Stoltenberg at the helm of NATO.

While Putin has used soft aggression on Crimea and then terror aggression on Ukraine in an effort to rebuild his version of the Soviet Empire, Ukraine is but one solution to put real pressure on Europe to dance the Waltz with Putin over nothing more than the threat of shuttering oil and gas resources NATO members and Europe requires. The dance partners are many on the world stage.

For an audio version of the future of NATO and Russia being at the core of terrorism, go here.

Look out world this could be the very end of the joint military cooperative of NATO members, it is predicted that more countries will successfully fall under Russia annexation while sanctions against Russia will likely be lifted page by page by the West. Stay warm my friends.

 

 

Obama and Foreign Policy Detox

Baraq Obama remains a community organizer and cannot bend his thinking to anything in the foreign realm. If a sitting president can apply the nickname of the JV squad to Daesh (Islamic State) and then do the same by applying Khorasan Group to the most battle-hardened factions of Pakistan/Afghanistan based al Qaeda then clearly he is dismissive.

This apathetic policy by the White House when it comes to foreign leaders manifests the threat matrix of terror. Due to Mr. Obama ignoring the matter of Syria three years ago has caused a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions. Lebanon has 1.2 million Syrian refugees, Jordan and Turkey has hosting over 2.0 million each in tent cities and the United Nations is screaming that they are out of funds to continue humanitarian aid to those three countries and even Iraq and Syrian refugees. Those that have died at the hands of Bashir al Assad has exceeded 200,000. This crisis of Daesh, al Nusra, death, chemical weapons, al Qaeda and more sits squarely in the lap of Baraq Obama. Just the recent air-strikes has cost the Pentagon over $700 million.

Today Syria remains the incubation and training locations for jihads interns globally and thousands of militia groups and terror organizations flow in and out of Syria. Yet today, America has become Bashir al Assad’s air force. Twisted conditions.

Now, Turkey a NATO country, has jumped the allied side and is supporting terror factions. In case there is any question, Daesh (Islamic State) has opened their very own consulate in Turkey. Qatar is the resort of choice for yet other top terror leaders such as Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Taliban, who only recently beheaded 15 people in Afghanistan.

So, what about terror and safety in the rest of the world?

US government to its people: Stay away from these countries

The world can be a dangerous place. Depending on where you live, you’re reminded of that every time you turn on the TV or read the news.

If you are citizen of the United States there’s also another consistent reminder: State Department travel warnings.

According to the US Passport and International Travel Office:

 “We issue a Travel Warning when we want you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all. Examples of reasons for issuing a Travel Warning might include unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks. We want you to know the risks of traveling to these places and to strongly consider not going to them at all. Travel Warnings remain in place until the situation changes; some have been in effect for years.”

We catalogued all the travel warnings now in effect and created the graphic below to show all the places where the US government doesn’t want its citizens going:

Let’s also not forget that the United States can be a very dangerous place itself, and that US foreign policy has helped turn some of these countries into the dangerous places they are now.

Click on any of the countries below to see the detailed warning issued by the US State Department:

Security Warning for Some Regions: Colombia and Mexico.

Security Warning for Entire Country: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Russia, HondurasDjibouti, Venezuela, Iran, El Salvador, Burundi, NigerMozambique and Haiti.

Defer Non-Essential Travel to Some Regions: PhilippinesKenyaMaliMauritaniaIsrael, West Bank, and Gaza.

Defer Non-Essential Travel: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Pakistan.

Avoid All Travel to Some Regions: Ukraine, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Chad.

Avoid All Travel to This Country: Afghanistan, Lebanon, IraqSouth SudanSomaliaLesotho, and North Korea.

Citizens Remaining Here Depart Immediately: Central African Republic, Libya, SyriaEritrea, and Yemen.

So much for having a commander in chief that has influence, power and leadership worldwide and keeping America safe and not even a local community like Moore, Oklahoma is safe either. This sitting president and his community service is not working either.

Keep safe my friend…lock and load.

Defcon or Dogleg Left?

It is ISIL, it is Hamas, it is al Nusra, it is the Southern border, it is Ebola, it is the cyber hit, it is the Iranian nuclear negotiations, it is the Taliban, it is the kidnapped Americans, it is the green on blue attacks, it is MH17 shot out of the sky, it is the 17,000 Russia forces invading Ukraine, it is the attack on the Pakistan airbase, it is the Chinese aggression of fighter jets on U.S. aircraft, it is the island disputes in the S. China Sea, it is the attack on the NATO base in Turkey, it is Hamas, it is AQAP, it is, it is, it is.

 

Mr, President Chairman Dempsey is here to see you NOW. Oh, hi there Martin, what’s up? Before you begin, we need a fourth for Saturday, you interested? Ah, thanks just the same Mr. President, but I am here to finally deliver the PBD personally and get immediate strike authorization near Irbil. Can you sign here? Ah yeah sure, but I don’t need Congressional approval, this is gonna be a short gig right? Oh hey there Valerie, what’s up with you? Well sir we have a situation that needs exploitation in Ferguson so Al Sharpton is here to see you. He is our new race Ambassador.

 

 

Ah, Mr. President, this is urgent, I need your signature now, we must be defensive to protect Americans in Irbil. Oh, yeah sure Martin. Now while I have you sir what about Ukraine? Oh, Martin, what is your answer about Saturday’s golf. No thank you sir. Too bad, great weather and I am testing a new Ping driver. Sir we have 18,000 Russian forces in Ukraine now and there is fire exchanging and they murdered the Lithuania general counsel. No worries Martin, Merkel has that handled.

 

 

Ah what a great day for golf huh fellas? Standby, you go first, I have a text message from someone. Oh it is Holder, he is on his way to Ferguson, glad that is handled. Say Ahmad Rashad, where are you and Val going to dinner tonight? Ray Allen, I don’t really want to talk terror on the front nine is that okay with you? I am not interested in Hamas, Gaza or Israel right now or the others that are operating in Gaza. So, Mr. President are you interested in talking about ISIL in Austria then? Nah, but hey this scorecard says it is 477 yards, does that call for a 3 or 4 wood?

 

 

Damn, another text, seems Canada is upping their concept of the threat level of ISIL. Anyone need a beer? Oh, what is this chatter about 1500 Brits fighting for ISIL? With great golf courses in the U.K. I would think they would rather take on two rounds a week, anyone else think so?

You guys in the Secret Service never enjoy yourselves do you? This par 3 is a beauty. We don’t need anything from you guys today, it can hold, I don’t need to be bothered with what other countries are joining the Russians in air exercises much less what ISIS is doing with the incursion in Lebanon. Okay then sir, here is a bit of intel about the attack on the NATO site in Turkey, considered it delivered. Cool thanks, I need to get out of this sand trap in 2 whacks, any bets fellas?

Hey Ahmad, didn’t some of your football buddies graduate from UNC? Seems that campus and a few others are calling for boycotts of Israel, give them a high 5 for me eh?

Oh who is this guy driving that cart so fast? Crap, another Secret Service type over-dressed. Ah, hello Mr. President we have an American journalist, you know the one that has been communicating with the White House for the last several weeks. Well, they did what they said they were going to do, they beheaded the man, there is a video that has gone viral and the video was filmed with the personal message to you. So Cameron has been told it was a Brit in the video that beheaded Foley and he came off of vacation to deal with the matter. Really? No way. So a Brit killed an American? Yes sir it appears to have taken place in and around the south hills of Raqqa, but not too sure just yet. Wow, too bad that op failed in July. Ah yes sir, that brings another matter up for discussion. The media now knows about the op so the White House needs to get ahead of this. Damn, I lost that bet, took 3 to get out of the trap. Cant concentrate with all these interruptions. Look dude, this is screwing up my game and causing me to lose bets, go back to the Secret Service office and get Ben on the phone, have him handle the video. Then get Marie Harf on the phone and tell her to get out a statement that ISIS is not at war with America.

Okay, now for this nasty dogleg left, that rough looks tough…could need a wedge to get out for the approach to the green. Another text…what the heck? We have Secretary Hagel upping the game on the ISIS threat and now even Dempsey is saying that Syria must be on the table and the southern border is a risk?

No, not going to Defcon, this dogleg left has a real handicap. Beer? Watch me do a new birdie dance, I call it Back 9 Biride….

 

 

The Power to Defeat but Lacks Resolve

It was in 1997 that Hamas was declared a terror organization by the United States. Definitions 15 to 20 years ago for ‘terror’ is quite different than today and today the Middle East has become the destination of war, money, indifference and the spilling of blood of the treasure of life.

Presidents come and go, each has a set of priorities and the missions change in the White House due to actions of other states, group leadership and elitists. In 1973, such was the case for 32 terrifying days, the Yom Kippur war.

Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel was hungry for a big and perhaps final solution that she considered readying nuclear weapons to protect and defend against the Soviet coordinated attack by Egypt and Syria on the homeland.

President Nixon had no use for the Jews as they were a thorn in his side when it came to his own political and global objectives. Yet when it was determined that Israel was under attack, without any hesitation, Nixon ordered full immediate and full support for Israel with the full understanding that changing the balance of the Middle East would be a grave condition for the world. Nixon issued an edict, he order it now and the response set forth the real nature of the U.S. military with distinction, performance, coordination and success. Instant precision and results saved Israel as Nixon so ordered. The name of this mission was Operation Nickel Grass.

Has any country since come to the robust aid and support of Israel so ordered by President Nixon? Has the United States since come to stand with Israel in the trenches since Operation Nickel Grass? Of note, this was a very bad time for America coming off the walk away from Vietnam and embarking on the gripping scandal known as Watergate. However the White House understood the implications far and wide that included the Arab nations and the Soviet Union, the order of the globe was about to spin out of control.

There was no real logistical pre-planning, there was no time. There were no locations to refuel, there were no provisions staged to fulfill the requests of Israel and there were no previous interactions with national leaders to assist. Phone calls were made, cables were sent and operations were launched in four days time. This is America’s legacy, do it, be creative, be innovative, be inventive, gather your men, build the army and win.

 

It was justifiably called “the airlift that saved Israel”.

One of the most critical but least celebrated airlifts in history unfolded over a desperate 32 days in the fall of 1973. An armada of Military Airlift Command aircraft carried thousands of tons of materiel over vast distances into the midst of the most ferocious fighting the Middle East had ever witnessed-the 1973 Arab¬Israeli War. MAC airlifters-T-tailed C-141s and C-5As-went in harm’s way, vulnerable to attack from fighters, as they carved a demanding track across the Mediterranean, and to missiles and sabotage, as they were off-loading in Israel.

Though not as famous as the 1948¬-49 Berlin Airlift or as massive as the 1990-¬91 Desert Storm airlift, this 1973 operation was a watershed event. Code-named “Nickel Grass,” it restored a balance of power and helped Israel survive a coordinated, life-threatening Soviet-backed assault from Egypt and Syria. It proved the Air Force concept of global mobility based on jet-powered transport aircraft. The airlift also transformed the image of the C-5 from that of expensive lemon to symbol of US might.

A quarter of a century ago, in summer and fall 1973, the Mideast seethed with tensions. Six years earlier, in June 1967, Israeli forces conquered vast swaths of land controlled by Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Cairo and Damascus failed over the years to persuade or force Israel to relinquish its grip on the land and, by 1973, the stalemate had become intolerable. Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Syria’s Hafez al-Assad meticulously planned their 1973 offensive, one they hoped would reverse Israeli gains of the earlier war and put an end to Arab humiliation. The war was set to begin on the holiest of Jewish religious days, Yom Kippur.

Trapped by Complacency

The Arab states had trained well and Moscow had supplied equipment on a colossal scale, including 600 advanced surface-to-air missiles, 300 MiG-21 fighters, 1,200 tanks, and hundreds of thousands of tons of consumable war materiel. On paper, the Arabs held a huge advantage in troops, tanks, artillery, and aircraft. This was offset, in Israeli minds, by the Jewish state’s superior technology, advanced mobilization capability, and interior lines of communication. Despite unmistakable signs of increasing Arab military capability, Israeli leaders remained unworried, even complacent, confident in Israel’s ability to repel any attack.

The Israeli government became unequivocally convinced of impending war just hours before the Arab nations attacked at 2:05 p.m. local time, Oct. 6. Prime Minister Golda Meir, despite her immense popularity, refused to use those precious hours to carry out a pre-emptive attack; she was concerned that the US might withhold critical aid shipments if Washington perceived Israel to be the aggressor.

On the southern front, the onslaught began with a 2,000-cannon barrage across the Suez Canal, the 1967 cease-fire line. Egyptian assault forces swept across the waterway and plunged deep into Israeli-held territory. At the same time, crack Syrian units launched a potent offensive in the Golan Heights. The Arab forces fought with efficiency and cohesion, rolling over or past shocked Israeli defenders. Arab air forces attacked Israeli airfields, radar installations, and missile sites.

Day 4 of the war found Israel’s once-confident military suffering from the effects of the bloodiest mauling of its short, remarkably successful existence. Egypt had taken the famous Bar Lev line, a series of about 30 sand, steel, and concrete bunkers strung across the Sinai to slow an attack until Israeli armor could be brought into play. Egyptian commandos ranged behind Israeli lines, causing havoc. In the north, things looked equally bad. The Syrian attack had not been halted until Oct. 10.

Grievously heavy on both sides were the losses in armored vehicles and combat aircraft. Israeli airpower was hard hit by a combination of mobile SA-6 and the man-portable SA-7 air-defense missiles expertly wielded by the Arabs. The attacking forces were also plentifully supplied with radar-controlled ZSU-23-4 anti-aircraft guns. Israeli estimates of consumption of ammunition and fuel were seen to be totally inadequate. However, it was the high casualty rate that stunned Israel, shocking not only Meir but also the legendary Gen. Moshe Dayan, minister of defense.

The shock was accompanied by sheer disbelief at America’s failure to comprehend that the situation was critical. Voracious consumption of ammunition and huge losses in tanks and aircraft brought Israel to the brink of defeat, forcing the Israelis to think the formerly unthinkable as they pondered their options.

Half a world away, the United States was in a funk, unable or unwilling to act decisively. Washington was in the throes of not only post-Vietnam moralizing on Capitol Hill but also the agony of Watergate, both of which impaired the leadership of President Richard M. Nixon. Four days into the war, Washington was blindsided again by another political disaster-the forced resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew.

Not surprisingly, the initial US reaction to the invasion was one of confusion and contradiction. Leaders tried to strike a balance of the traditional US support of Israel with the need to maintain a still-tenuous superpower détente with the Soviet Union and a desire to avoid a threatened Arab embargo of oil shipments to the West.

Shifting Scenarios

The many shifts in US military planning to aid Israel are well-documented, notably in Flight to Israel, Kenneth L. Patchin’s official MAC history of Operation Nickel Grass. Nixon, in response to a personal plea from Meir, had made the crucial decision Oct. 9 to re-supply Israel. However, four days would pass before the executive office could make a final decision on how the re-supply would be executed.

Initially, planners proposed that Israel be given the responsibility for carrying out the entire airlift. (Israel did use eight of its El Al commercial airliners to carry 5,500 tons of materiel from the US to Israel.) Israel attempted to elicit interest from US commercial carriers, but they refused to enlist in the effort, concerned as they were about the adverse effects Arab reaction would have upon their businesses. MAC’s inquiries with commercial carriers received the same negative response. Then, it was suggested that MAC assist the Israeli flag carrier by flying the material to Lajes, the base on the Portuguese Azores islands in the Atlantic, where it could be picked up by Israeli transports.

The US dithered in this fashion for four days. Then, on Oct. 12, Nixon personally decided that MAC would handle the entire airlift. Tel Aviv’s Lod/Ben-Gurion air complex would be the off-load point.

“Send everything that can fly,” he ordered.

USAF had been preparing right along to take on the challenge. Gen. George S. Brown, USAF Chief of Staff, telephoned Gen. Paul K. Carlton, MAC commander, to begin loading MAC aircraft with materiel but to hold them within the US pending release of a formal order sending them onward. Carlton put his commanders on alert and contacted the heads of other involved commands, including Gen. Jack J. Catton of Air Force Logistics Command. AFLC accorded the same high priority to Nickel Grass, and the results showed immediately. More than 20 sites in the United States were designated to be cargo pick-up points where the US military would assemble materiel for shipment to Israel. Equipment, some directly from war-reserve stocks, began pouring into these sites.

Less than nine hours after Nixon’s decision, MAC had C-141s and C-5s ready to depart. There would be some initial delays, and they would encounter some difficulties en route, but they would be the first of a flood of aircraft into Israel.

The complex nature of Nickel Grass required a flexible chain of command. Within MAC, 21st Air Force, commanded by Maj. Gen. Lester T. Kearney Jr., was designated as the controlling Air Force. The vice commander of 21st, Brig. Gen. Kelton M. Farris, was named MAC mission commander. The prime airlift director was Col. Edward J. Nash.

We’ll Hold Your Coat

The threat of an oil embargo frightened US allies. With a single exception, they all denied landing and overflight rights to the emergency MAC flights. The exception was Portugal, which, after hard bargaining, essentially agreed to look the other way as traffic mushroomed at Lajes Field. Daily departure flights grew from one to 40 over a few days. This was a crucial agreement for MAC, which could not have conducted the airlift the way it did without staging through Lajes.

When Nixon flashed the decision Oct. 12, top American officials instantly applied pressure for immediate results. MAC’s complex machinery sprang into action, but it took some hours to establish a steady, regulated flow of aircraft and crews. Initial flights were delayed because of high winds at Lajes, generating White House fury that supplies had not magically reached Israel.

Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Carlton about this, saying, “We’ll have to get them moving, or we’ll lose our jobs.”

Carlton knew the airlift business. He knew that he had an adequate number of aircraft, crews, and required equipment. The fleet consisted of 268 C-141s and 77 C-5As, and Carlton knew that he could sustain a steady flow of three C-141s every two hours and four C-5s every four hours-indefinitely. He also knew that MAC could orchestrate the operation, establishing a rational flow of aircraft matching the cargo to be carried with off-loading equipment at the destination. In his plan, MAC would essentially become a conduit through which materiel would flow in a well-adjusted stream.

At first, however, he could not convey either his concept or his confidence to the White House, State Department, or Pentagon.

Carlton had already begun to expedite things, taking extraordinary actions in the interest of saving time. These steps included waiving crew rest requirements, weight limitations, daily utilization restrictions, and routine maintenance demands. He had to fight a continuing change of orders streaming out of the White House and State and Defense departments. There was continuing pressure to enlist the help of commercial airlines, despite their universal reluctance. At one point, late in the game, officials threatened to remove MAC entirely from the operation.

Even so, Carlton was confident he could establish a flow that not only would let MAC handle the initial requirement of 4,000 tons of materiel but also continue to handle all of MAC’s other assignments. He asked for patience, stating that “once this flow starts, it [the materiel] is going to come like a bushel basket of oranges just being dumped.”

The average distance from US departure points to Lajes was 3,297 miles. It was another 3,163 miles from Lajes to Lod/Ben-Gurion. The route varied from eastern departure points (McGuire AFB, N.J.; Dover AFB, Del.; and Charleston AFB, S.C.) to Lajes, but from Lajes onward it was precise. Aircraft flew to Gibraltar at the southern tip of Spain and then followed a narrow path over the Mediterranean to Tel Aviv.

The route was deliberately placed along the center of the Mediterranean Sea on the Flight Information Region boundary line dividing the airspace of the hostile African states to the south and that of the “friendly” European states to the north.

Fighters All the Way

The threat of Arab interception was real, and the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet acted as protector until the transports came within about 200 miles of Israel. There Israeli air force fighters took over. Although threats were made by radio, and several unidentified fighters were seen, no overt hostile action was taken.

Neither Lajes nor Lod possessed adequate aerial port facilities. Carlton called for establishment of Airlift Control Elements at both places, accurately estimating the number of personnel and the equipment that each would require. (More than 1,300 people would work at Lajes, seriously taxing all the facilities.) Other ALCEs were established at points within the US where aerial port facilities were not sufficient to handle the rush.

The initial missions to Israel were delayed as a result of 50-knot crosswinds at Lajes. Scheduled to be the first aircraft at Lod was a C-5 carrying the ALCE team, headed by Col. Donald R. Strobaugh. However, it encountered engine trouble and had to return to Lajes, where Strobaugh and his team transferred to a C-141.

The first C-5 (Tail No. 00461) to land at Lod touched down at 22:01 Zulu. It carried 97 tons of 105 mm howitzer shells, and it arrived at a time when Israeli forces were down to their last supplies of ammunition. Another 829 tons would be delivered in the next 24 hours. Even as Israeli workers unloaded those first cargo airplanes, huge formations of Israeli and Egyptian armor, maneuvering just 100 miles to the southwest, were locked in a desperate tank battle that would prove to be the largest clash of armor since the World War II Battle of Kursk.

Carlton was only too aware of the C-5′s vulnerability to ground attack. Whenever possible, the Air Force would have only a single C-5 on the ground at any one time.

The first C-141 (Tail No. 60177) to arrive at Lod landed at 23:16 Zulu. The aircraft carried more ammunition but, more importantly, it delivered Strobaugh and his ALCE crew. The group ultimately numbered 55, all of whom worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week. They were given three 40K loaders as well as locally improvised unloading gear.

The arriving MAC airplanes were greeted ecstatically by the Israelis. The crews received red-carpet treatment. Israel put in place a system to expedite cargo handling; materiel unloaded from the transports usually were at the front in Syria in about three hours and in the Sinai in less than 10 hours.

The original 4,000-ton airlift requirement grew daily. After the first day, USAF set the daily flow requirement at four C-5s and 12 C-141s. After Oct. 21, it raised the aircraft flow level to six C-5s and 17 C-141s and maintained it there until Oct. 30, when the demand began to drop.

The continuous flow of aircraft on the long flights was tough on the aircrews, but MAC was judicious in its positioning of relief crews for the C-141 and using augmented crews on the C-5. A special pool of navigators was created for the vital but tedious task of navigating the Mediterranean.

To the Offensive

Because it eliminated the need to husband ammunition and other consumable items, the continuous flood of US war materiel enabled Israeli forces to go on the offensive in the latter stages of the war. In the north, Israel’s ground forces recovered all territory that had been lost and began to march on Damascus. In the Sinai, tank forces led by Maj. Gen. Ariel Sharon smashed back across the Suez, encircled the Egyptian Third Army on the western side of the canal, and threatened Ismailia, Suez City, and even Cairo itself.

Egypt and Syria, which had previously rejected the idea of a negotiated settlement, now felt compelled on Oct. 22 to agree to the arrangement hammered out by Washington and Moscow with the goal of preventing the total destruction of the trapped Egyptian army. Israel was reluctant to comply immediately, wishing to gain as much as possible before a cease-fire.

The Soviet Union, faced with Israel’s continuing offensive, raised the stakes. Moscow declared to the United States that, if the US could not bring Israel to heel, it would take unilateral action to dictate a settlement. On Oct. 24, the United States, in order to intensify the image of risk in Soviet minds and keep Soviet forces out of the crisis, responded by taking its armed forces to a worldwide DEFCON III alert, implying readiness for nuclear operations, if necessary.

Fortunately, after several abortive efforts, an effective cease-fire finally took hold Oct. 28. Israel suffered 10,800 killed and wounded-a traumatic loss for a nation of some 3 million persons-plus 100 aircraft and 800 tanks. The Arab nations suffered 17,000 killed or wounded and 8,000 prisoners, and lost 500 aircraft and 1,800 tanks.

The airlift officially ended Nov. 14. By then, the Air Force had delivered 22,395 tons of cargo-145 missions by C-5 Galaxy and 422 missions by C-141 Starlifter. The C-5s delivered about 48 percent of the tonnage but consumed 24 percent less fuel than the C-141s. Included in the gross cargo tonnage was a total of 2,264.5 tons of “outsize” materiel, equipment that could be delivered only by a C-5. Among these items were M-60 tanks, 155 mm howitzers, ground radar systems, mobile tractor units, CH-53 helicopters, and A-4E components.

The airlift had been a key to the victory. It had not only brought about the timely resupply of the flagging Israeli force but also provided a series of deadly new weapons put to good use in the latter part of the war. These included Maverick and TOW anti-tank weapons and extensive new electronic countermeasures equipment that warded off successful attacks on Israeli fighters. Reflecting on the operation’s vital contribution to the war effort, Reader’s Digest would call it “The Airlift That Saved Israel.”

Both US transport types distinguished themselves by performing reliably and economically. The C-5A had an 81 percent reliability while the C-141 registered a 93 percent reliability. No accidents occurred. The abort rate of all planned flights came in under 2 percent.

The airlift taught the Air Force many lessons, large and small. One was that Lajes was a godsend-one that the US best not take for granted in a future emergency. The Air Force established an immediate requirement for aerial refueling to become standard practice in MAC so that its airlifters could operate without forward bases, if necessary. Another lesson was that commercial airlines, on their own, could not be expected to volunteer their services and aircraft. This meant that access to commercial lift in the future would have to be met by activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, as in fact it was during the Gulf War. Nickel Grass also led to the consolidation of all airlift aircraft under Military Airlift Command and its designation as a specified command on Feb. 1, 1977.

Finally, the C-5 proved to be the finest military airlift aircraft in history, not the expensive military mistake as it had been portrayed in the media. Its ability to carry huge amounts of cargo economically, carry outsize pieces of equipment, and refuel in flight fully justified the expense of the program.

“For generations to come,” said Golda Meir not long after the war’s end, “all will be told of the miracle of the immense planes from the United States bringing in the material that meant life for our people.”

America has proven her worth of being a world power, she has proven goodness, she has proven her worth of maintaining the worldwide equilibrium and she must do so well into the future. It requires a full understanding of the globe and it mostly requires resolve.

http://www.travis.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123122053

Today, Israel faces Hamas and Hamas remains an evil terror operation supported still by Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar and Turkey. Rather than just critique Israel’s response of the rockets coming from Gaza, the United States should be in their own respective jets and we need to be making a full statement with Israel, we do this together. Such is not the current condition, the present administration is reticent to approve additional defensive weapons or use of the reserve ordnance stored in Israel. Alas it was approved by the Pentagon however, without the full knowledge of the White House.

To compound matters in the Middle East, the world is facing still al Qaeda factions in various countries in North Africa to Asia. Iraq is on a full blown mission creep due to ISIL and the U.S. forces if ordered so, had in more than a decade received orders  to defeat the enemy and enlist the aid of other nations. Most recently in the last six years, the White House has formally announced the end to war, the cessation of hostilities with the Taliban and America has her last foot out of war theaters.

The world in a few short years has become more wicked and injury to life and culture is all too commonplace now, America has retreated.

Sadly, Israel is alone in defeating the enemy that all Western countries should be engaged in defeating. Token gestures of dispatching drones for surveillance, deployment of small units of intelligence operators and simply being defensive in posture is not the final solution. Negotiating with the enemy who has no desire for peace is a misguided diplomatic quest. Now is the time for the final solution whereas, America and her allies will face conflicts, beheadings, kidnappings or yet another catastrophic attack on the homeland is imminent and probable.

The enemy remains at war and the calculus is no longer understood or addressed. Verbal condemnation is not a response, defeat is the answer, the final answer. It is time for Operation Nickel Grass part two for the sake of peace, confidence, order and life. America needs resolve.

Deus, qui nos in pace iuvare, nisi fortis superesse

 

 

 

JV Team, Baraq Wears the Zero Jersey Himself

Do you really want this man Baraq Obama running a war? Do you want him making decisions on matters of national security anymore?

In January of 2014, Baraq Obama called ISIS/ISIL the JV team. Three weeks ago, he demanded that Susan Rice his Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House draft a letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House to secure a repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force for Iraq. Boehner made a few calls to members of Congress telling them what he had received and how outrageous the request is.

Thousands of Kurds, Christians and Yazidis have died at the hands of Baraq Obama while he chooses golf rather than Commander in Chief leading a force for the good of Iraq and the Peshmerga. long time allies of the West.

Even Peshmerga has an exclusive women’s fighting division. Actually Peshmerga has a woman commander.

 

So, how bad is ISIS/ISIL?

ERBIL, Iraq — On Friday, Assad Haig received a call from his mother’s phone number. On the other end was a militant of the Islamic State. Haig’s family, the man said, were going to be executed.

Haig is 23 years old. He works in the Kurdish capital of Erbil. He comes from Sinjar, a town that was overrun by Islamic State militants on Aug. 3. Almost every relative he has ever known — 63 in total — was in Islamic State custody at the time he got the call. Most of them are, or were, women and small children.

Just a week before, Haig’s dozens of relatives in Sinjar were still free. “My mother called and said IS were coming into the city,” Haig recalled of that morning. He struggled to hold back tears as he clasped his hands together in an attempt to keep them from shaking. “I begged them to leave everything and just run, but it was hard with so many kids. My little sister Rama, she is just three, and Iyhab is only five.”

Haig tried to call his mother back repeatedly. When someone finally answered it was a male voice on the line.

“They will be executed tomorrow, the man told Haig.”

“We took them all. They belong to us now,” the man said before the line went dead.

All but Haig’s father, who escaped to the Sinjar Mountains, and his grandmother, who is 84 and can’t walk. IS left her alone in the family home but threatened to return and shoot her if she didn’t leave Sinjar. She has no way of leaving the home on her own.

Most residents of Sinjar, like Haig, are Yazidi, an Iraqi minority group estimated to number 600,000. The ancient Yazidi religion is shrouded in mystery, and a misunderstanding of Yazidi beliefs has led to many labeling them “devil worshipers,” resulting in centuries of mass persecution.

Details of the Islamic State takeover of Sinjar just over a week ago are still sketchy. Those who escaped said captives were given two options: convert to Islam, or die. Others reported mass executions of men, while women and children were taken prisoner.

On Sunday, Iraq’s human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Reuters he had evidence that at least 500 Yazidis had been executed by IS, among them women and children. Some had been buried alive.

IS media posted photos of some of the executions online. Several images showed around 20 men said to have been killed in Sinjar, with a quote from the Koran saying, “Slay them where you catch them.”

Kamil Amin, the spokesman for Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry, said that many Yazidi women under 35 had been captured and were being held in Mosul.

“We think that the terrorists by now consider them slaves and they have vicious plans for them,” Amin told the Associated Press.

Many fear that IS militants are following ancient battle customs practiced by the Prophet Mohammed and his men.

In stories about conquering villages of people considered “infidels” or “apostates,” both the Koran and the Old Testament of the Bible speak of killing the men and taking the women and children for sale as slaves. The practice of having sex with female slaves is mentioned several times in the Koran.

“Blessed are the believers who restrain their carnal desires except with their wives and slave girls, for these are lawful to them,” reads one verse of the Koran.

“Prophet, we have made lawful to you the wives whom you have granted dowries and the slave girls whom God has given you as booty.”

Accounts from witnesses so far suggest IS tactics against the Yazidi population are mimicking such practices, but the militant group hasn’t yet released official statements about their intentions.

Haig prepared documents listing every one of his missing relatives — their names, ages, and phone numbers — to submit to the Kurdish police and US authorities. His grandmother helped him complete the list by phone from Sinjar. As he read through the papers on Friday, he was overcome with grief when he reached the names of his mother and sisters.

“Some people say they have been raping the women, maybe 6 or 10 men with one woman,” he said, staring vacantly out the window, in tears. “Some say they have even forced FGM [female genital mutilation] on them.”


Assad Haig holds documents that list the names and ages of his missing relatives. (Tracey Shelton/GlobalPost)

On Friday, as Haig was en route to the US Consulate in Erbil to yet again beg for help, he received a call from a man claiming to be an IS member. The man informed him that his family had been collectively sentenced to death for refusing to convert to Islam.

“They will be executed tomorrow,” the man told Haig.

Haig’s father was the only one who escaped IS capture. He fled to the Sinjar Mountains above the city where he remains trapped with thousands of others. An estimated 50,000 people were stranded there for the past week, with no supplies, no food, and no shelter, slowly dying from starvation and thirst. Reports on Sunday said that about 20,000 had managed to escape the mountains after US bombings of IS targets helped cleared the way.

In a report released on Aug. 8, UNICEF said at least 25,000 children were among those trapped in the mountains, and 40 were already confirmed dead from starvation or dehydration. The real number of dead is assumed to be much higher, the report said.

The US has been conducting humanitarian drops of food and water and launching targeted strikes against militants near Sinjar and Erbil since late last week. Iraq and Turkey were also reportly making aid drops beginning Wednesday. But on Friday, Haig said nothing had yet reached the desperate, besieged families he’s in contact with. The mountain range spans 60 miles, and air drops of large containers can only be so precise.

“Every time I see on the television they have air dropped supplies I call my father and he says, no. There are no helicopters, no food, no soldiers,” Haig said. Haig’s father turns on his phone every day to check in, then off to conserve the battery.

Some reports said the first US drops of food and water exploded on impact, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday that 80 percent of US air drops had reached their targets.

Relief supplies continued to be delivered by air throughout the weekend, with the US reporting a total delivery of 36,224 ready–to-eat meals and 6,822 gallons of water. At time of writing, British aircraft were also en route to deliver supplies.

For Haig, the wait and the uncertainty are unbearable. He’s filed reports with both the Kurdish military and the US seeking help to find his family. On Thursday he attempted to drive to Sinjar himself, but was turned back by Kurdish forces.

“It’s all lies! No one is fighting the IS. No one is helping to get my family back,” he said. “Give me a weapon and I will go to fight. Give the weapons to all the Yazidi men. Just give us a chance to fight for our families or die trying. That’s all I ask.”

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iraq/140810/man-lost-63-relatives-the-islamic-state

WASHINGTON—Days before the takeover of the Iraqi city of Mosul by the militant group calling itself the Islamic State, U.S. intelligence analysts were sharply divided over whether the group would seize the city, according to people familiar with the debate.

U.S. officials saw initial indications the group might seek to take Mosul and urged Iraqi action, to no avail. But on the day of the June 10 takeover, U.S. officials played down its significance. “Obviously, this has got our attention in Mosul, but it doesn’t change the calculus,” said Rear. Adm. John Kirby, the chief Pentagon spokesman.

Although U.S. spy agencies have monitored and warned about the Islamic State over the past year, they often have underestimated the group’s ability to make rapid operational gains, U.S. officials said. That was the case a week ago when militants launched a dramatic and successful offensive in Iraq’s Kurdish region.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant poses a threat to the civilized world, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Sydney today.

Click photo for screen-resolution image
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Australian Defense Minister David Johnston hold a news conference in Sydney, Aug. 11, 2014. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt
  

(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

At a joint news conference, Hagel and Australian Defense Minister David Johnston spoke about what their respective countries are doing in Iraq.

The United States will continue to support the Iraqi security forces “in every way that we can,” Hagel said. “We will, again, build partnerships, as we are now, recognizing the threat not just to the United States, but to the civilized world.”

The United States has launched airstrikes against ISIL targets in recent days, and has airdropped relief supplies to tens of thousands of Yezidis who have fled to Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq to seek refuge. American teams in Iraq will continue to assess the ISIL threat and what will best help the Iraqi security forces, Hagel said.

Australia is participating alongside the United States in airdropping supplies to the Yezidis — members of a religious sect in the region.

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Exactly what universe is Baraq Obama from or where is he headed? Surely by now he has his sights exclusively on playing Pebble Beach, the PGA West and perhaps Spanish Bay….FORE America, this will not go well in the coming months.