Picture Of The Day

WING WORKERS
U.S. Marines perform maintenance on two CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima under way in the Atlantic Ocean, April 4, 2012. The Marines are assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261. The Iwo Jima is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis J. Kuykendall

Will Iran Compromise On Their Nuclear Program

Will Khamenei Compromise? -- Reza Marashi, Ali Reza Eshraghi, The National Interest

“Iran’s supreme leader does not want political accommodation with the United States. His rule is predicated on sustained enmity with America and flagrant disregard of popular will. A strategic shift in this paradigm will destabilize his regime.” This is the argument proffered by those skeptical of or opposed to sustained U.S.-Iran diplomacy. To be sure, Ayatollah Khamenei’s repression against his own people is well documented, but history contradicts the skeptics of his willingness to bargain. Khamenei is a cunning authoritarian, but he is not opposed to the right deal.

Read more ....

My Comment: They never have compromised on issues that they deemed were important to them ... their nuclear program has been on the top of their "we do not compromise" list.

Riots Breakout In China With The Purge Of Politburo Member Bo Xilai

Crowds faced police in a photo posted to a Chinese microblog and republished on an activist site. It was said to have been taken during protests in Chongqing on Wednesday. The Lede

Thousands Clash With Chinese Police In Chongqing District Of Wansheng -- The Guardian

Officials claim order restored after violence followed news of Bo Xilai's expulsion, though economic problems blamed.

Order was being restored after thousands of people clashed with police in a district of Chongqing that is struggling economically, a local official said.

The incident began at the same time late on Tuesday that state media announced the expulsion of Bo Xilai, former party chief of the city, from the party's ruling circle, and the arrest of his wife, Gu Kailai, who is suspected of involvement in the alleged murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Read more ....

More News On the Unrest In Chongqing District Of Wansheng, China

Protests and Clashes Are Seen in Chongqing -- New York Times
After Bo Xilai's Wife Was Arrested Yesterday, Thousands Of People Rioted In Chongqing -- Business Insider
Chongqing Tense After Clashes, Protest -- Radio Free Asia
Order restored after protest in Chongqing -- China.org.cn

My Comment: These riots are a big surprise .... and one that the Chinese authorities will go all out to suppress very quickly.

No North Korean Missile Launch Today, But Expectations Are For A Launch Within 2-3 Days

Regional Forces on Standby as N. Korean Launch Window Opens -- Voice of America

Military forces in South Korea and Japan are standing by Thursday on the first day of a five-day window for a North Korean rocket launch that Pyongyang says will carry a weather satellite into space.

The likelihood that the launch will come Thursday dimmed as midday arrived with no sign of new activity at the launch pad outside a cloud-covered Pyongyang. North Korean officials had said the launch will come between Thursday and Monday, and between the hours of 2200 and 0300 UTC.

Read more ....

More News On North Korea Preparing For It's Missile Launch

No launch from N. Korea; no backing down, either -- AP
Boost for Kim Jong-un as North Korean missile delayed -- The Australian
North Korea insists rocket launch does not flout deal with U.S. -- Washington Post
UN Chief Repeats Warning to North Korea on Rocket Launch -- Voice of America
North Korea rocket cost impoverished country £533 million -- The Telegraph
What to watch for in North Korea rocket launch -- AP

Is Japan Preparing To Go To War?

Japanese Self-Defence Force soldier stands guard near PAC-3 land-to-air missiles at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo (Reuters)

Scent Of War Envelopes Japan -- Real Clear World

Anyone watching the morning news in Tokyo might be forgiven in believing Japan is preparing to go to war. News clips show Aegis missile destroyers steaming out of port, and trucks pulling boxy-looking PAC3 missiles covered with tarpaulin. Some are deployed in Tokyo in order, we’re told, “to defend the capital.”

For the fourth time in 14 years Japan is girding for a major North Korean ballistic missile test. For several weeks Pyongyang has proclaimed its intention of launching a missile and putting a satellite into orbit on or about the 100th birthday on April 15 of North Korea’s founding president Kim Il-sung.

Read more ....

My Comment: I follow Japanese news reports closely .... and yup .... they are giving the impression that Japan is about to get involved in a military confrontation.

But .... is Japan realistically going to war .... hmmm .... of course not. But this non-stop news coverage is serving a purpose (and probably someone's agenda) .... and that is .... in view of the fact that Japan is surrounded by dangerous neighbors, they should maybe expand and grow their military forces.

So Much For The U.S. War Strategy In Afghanistan

U.S. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ray Chandler and International Security Assistance Force U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Capel depart from Combat Outpost Bari Alai on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 3, 2012. Chandler presented combat infantryman and action badges to soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, for their successful suppression of an insurgent attack on their outpost. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Harper

Broke Afghans Will Cut Their Military — And Obama’s War Plan -- The Danger Room

First the U.S. and its allies super-sized Afghanistan’s Army and police to fight the Taliban. Then they decided that those Afghan troops were their exit strategy. Now they’ve got sticker shock for how much the huge Afghan security sector will cost after they turn over combat duties in 2014 — so the Afghans announced that they’ll cut their own forces, even while they’ll be the only ones fighting the insurgency.

This is nothing short of removing a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s entire Afghanistan strategy. It’s an unforced error, costing over $10 billion, and completely foreseeable. In fact, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld foresaw it.

Read more ....

My Comment: The reality of not having the money to fight a war is now settling in for both Kabul and Washington. And the Taliban .... who rely on little funding and material support .... are now positioned to win the war

The U.S. Army Is Unbroken After 10 Years Of War

U.S. Army soldiers navigate narrow causeways along a river bank in the village of Marzak in Afghanistan's Paktika province, April 4, 2012. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment. Marzak has historically been a stronghold for the insurgency over the past decade until the Afghan and U.S Forces took advantage of the winter months to establish a local police force and secure the village. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Charles Crail

After a Decade of War, U.S. Army Emerges Unbroken -- WPR

A few months ago, I penned an essay for a WPR feature issue on counterinsurgency arguing that the U.S. Army was adrift as it transitioned out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In terms of the Army’s direction, that remains the case: While the U.S. Navy and Air Force have already crafted a narrative for how they can help the United States meet the security challenges of the 21st century, the Army is still pining for the days when the Soviet Union and its armies, poised to storm across the Fulda Gap, presented an intellectually simpler problem to solve.

Read more ....

My Comment: An optimistic look at the U.S. military .... and one that I am (somewhat) in agreement with.