Tanker Attacks in the Straits of Hormuz: Iranian Brinksmanship
This morning, two oil Tankers, one Norwegian-owned Front Altair and other one the Japanese-owned Kokura Courageous were attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The Front Altair is burning, adrift, and evacuated and the other Kokura Courageous damaged, adrift, and evacuated. They appear to have been mined or hit with some other explosive device and in at least one case, several times. This follows attacks with mines on four Tankers a month ago, three Saudi Arabian and one Norwegian in M
Kelly Induced Asia Strategic Update
My friends have been asking for a Pacific-oriented strategic update and so here goes. Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has been given a second term by the Chinese Communist Party and continues to strengthen his grip on the party, state and military establishment of China. In real terms President Xi is likely to remain Chinese leader for life. Xi is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong and his personal goal is to leave a legacy of reunification, forced if necessary, wit
Trudeau Ideology, Mali and Peacekeeping
The Trudeau government has finally decided to embark on its long-promised peacekeeping mission to Mali to buttress its hopes of gaining a non-veto wielding UN security Council seat. A seat which holds little prestige, and no real power. The Trudeau government has already invested billions in this exercise so that it can trumpet “Canada is back” to anyone who cares to listen to its ideologically driven worldview ‘battle cry!’ The very same “Canada that is back” that tried to s
‘Barking Dogs’ and Trump’s Visit to Asia in the Face of Likely North Korean Provocation
US President, Donald Trump, is set to depart today for a five-nation tour of Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines and while a host of issues will be discussed North Korea tops the agenda. With little doubt, this is China’s last chance to step on its ally the Hermit Kingdom once and for all. President Trump and his advisers have made it clear that they will not allow North Korea to threaten its neighbors or the American homeland. The Trump admi
North Korean Tensions Increase Ahead of Trump Visit to China and South Korea
Three US aircraft carrier strike groups have now converged in the waters off the Korean peninsula including the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan. This comes after the US replenishment and increase in munitions being held in Guam, reported concerns that Secretary of State Tillerson’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution had hit an impasse, and reports that the US was in the process of increasing the readiness and alert status of its strategic,
US Prepared to Increase Readiness of Nuclear Triad in the Face of Threats from the Axis of Evil.
The US Air Force is reportedly preparing its fleet of B-52 nuclear-capable bombers for 24-hour alert at Barksdale Air Force Base. The alert would see the strategic bombers equipped with nuclear weapons stationed out on nine concrete pads at the end of the runway called the ‘Christmas Tree,’ and ready for immediate take-off. Nearby barracks are being restored and readied for crews. If the alert is given It seems very likely that the US will follow-up with forward deployment of
North Korea Starts Moving to a War Footing in Last 24 Hours
North Korea has warned the US of an “unimaginable strike at an unimaginable time” in response to on-going joint US-South Korean naval exercises. The Maritime Counter Special Operations Forces Exercise (MCSOFEX), involve fighter aircraft, helicopters and 40 surface combatants and submarines from both countries, centered around the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. There are reports that North Korea has been distributing live ammunition to forward units and moved to a war-foo
'Barking Dogs Don't Bite:' Cognitive Dissonance and the North Korean Crisis
North Korean rhetoric is legendary and likely to heat up this week as North Korea prepares for its next provocations on or about October 10th. On Monday, North Korea threatened to bring “nuclear clouds” to Japan and mocked Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, for acting like a “headless chicken.” North Korea's UN Ambassador has accused the US of imposing “an economic blockade” on his country and “clinging to unprecedented nuclear threats and blackmail, economic sanctions and
October 10th and North Korea’s Next Provocation Missile Test, Nuclear Test, EMP Event?
Japanese Defense Minister, Itsunori Onodera, has warned that more North Korean provocations were possible from Pyongyang on or about October 10th. The 10th coincides with the start of the Japanese lower house election campaigns and with the founding of the North Korean Communist Party. North Korea has a habit of marking noteworthy events on its calendar by conducting weapons tests, such as its fifth nuclear test last year on September 9th the founding anniversary. It is very
Parsons Green Terror Attack and North Korean Summary
Parsons Green Terror Attack and North Korean Summary On Friday morning, a teenage Iraqi refugee planted a bomb on a British subway train that exploded at Parsons Green train station. Some thirty people were injured in the attack likely inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS). Fortunately, the bomb, likely TATP, only partially exploded and in so doing avoided a massacre at rush hour. The 18-year-old Iraqi refugee who planted the bomb on the tube train and another 21-year-old Syri
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