In the wake of the special congressional hearings on the jihadist terror attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, the American people have become inundated with a bevy of brain-dizzying acronyms such as FEST (Foreign Emergency Support Team), SEAL (Sea, Air, Land), SOF (Special Operation Forces), and FAST (Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Team).
Military
Soros-funded Media Matters blogger furious over Benghazi attack hype; says more died under Reagan
According to Media Matters blogger Eric Boehlert, the furor over the Benghazi terror attack that killed four Americans is meaningless hype from conservatives who simply want to hurt the president, since more people died in embassy attacks under President Reagan than Obama, Twitchy reported Thursday.
Boehlert issued his proclamations in three separate tweets, linking to his own blog post at Media Matters.
Families of SEAL Team 6 killed in Afghanistan in 2011 blame Obama, demand probe
Funeral of Navy SEAL who died
At a time when the White House finds itself having to do some fancy footwork over its doctoring of official talking points in the wake of the Benghazi terrorist attack last Sept. 11, a new scandal has emerged that threatens further political damage to the administration.
Latest reports: Israel has now attacked a facility in Syria
IAF F-16I in professional pose
Wars and rumors of wars… OK, let’s sort this out, at least until the next update. (This is how intelligence works, incidentally. You work with what you’ve got until the next update.)
The IAF attack on Friday (apparently, early on Friday morning) was targeting an arms shipment. This was indicated by the profile of the attack, and there has been no reason to revise that assessment. News and blog sites reference reports that the attack targeted an arms shipment that came from Iran. Continue reading
Interdicting arms to Hezbollah? New report of Israeli air strikes in Syria
IAF F-16I in professional pose
The latest report that the Israeli Air Force has conducted an attack in Syria comes not from the Syrian rebels but from U.S. officials. Why our officials might be talking to the media about this is a separate topic. More on it in a moment.
The attack
The information disclosed to the media is sketchy; it’s not even clear that the target was actually in Syria, as opposed to Lebanon. Continue reading
Bush, 9/11, Obama, Boston and the Axis of Evil
[Update of Miss water-boarding-obtained intel and Bush yet? published Sunday]
It’s easy to forget the fear that gripped America in the aftermath of al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil. It’s even easier to take for granted the homeland peace that followed until the Islamist-inspired Tsarnaev Brothers & Co. bombings in Boston on the Ides of April, 2013.
Syria: Israel, at least, is militarily ready
IAF F-16I in professional pose
Several websites have picked up on a UPI report that the Israeli Air Force attacked a chemical weapons site in the Damascus area on Saturday. The report is unconfirmed by any official source, but it is credible. There are caveats, however.
The site in question, if it was struck, was probably the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), long known to be a key facility in Assad’s chemical and biological weapons program. (See here as well.) Continue reading
Just a reminder: Military readiness affects the viability of Syria operations too
They won’t be doing much for now (three carriers pierside at NAS Coronado in San Diego, April 2013. US Navy photo)
After U.S. officials agreed last week that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on its people, politicians and pundits resumed making the case for a U.S. intervention in Syria. And they speak as if the budget cuts affecting the Air Force and Navy won’t affect our ability to launch operations overseas. Their heads apparently aren’t around that reality yet. Continue reading
Miss water-boarding-obtained intel and Bush yet?
Bush, 9/11, Obama, Boston and the Axis of Evil
It’s easy to forget the fear that gripped America in the aftermath of al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil. It’s even easier to take for granted the homeland peace that followed until the Islamist-inspired Tsarnaev Brothers & Co. bombings in Boston on the Ides of April, 2013.
State of unreadiness
Not shooting blanks yet, but…
My colleague Timothy Whiteman highlighted last Thursday the number of Air Force squadrons that will have to cease training later this year because the Air Force doesn’t have funds for the flying hours. This is real, and it is astounding. It will mean that, at a certain point in the near future – as early as this fall, if no additional funds become available – the cost of mounting an operation big enough to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons-related installations is likely to be too high. Continue reading