Category: Japan

From Jordan to Japan: US invites 14 non-NATO nations to Ukraine defense summit

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

From Jordan to Japan: US invites 14 non-NATO nations to Ukraine defense summit

Interestingly, the inclusion of Kenya, Liberia, Morocco and Tunisia may be less about Russia and more about combating China’s growing influence on the continent, said Elizabeth Shackelford, a former State Department official who served in several East African countries.

“China has been a strategic partner to both Kenya and Liberia, but the US still holds greater sway in each. Kenya is an influential country on the continent, so getting it on board with the west is important,” said Shackelford, now with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

“Inviting these countries to this meeting signals that their position on [Ukraine] matters, to the US and to the broader coalition,” including host Germany, a major economic power, she added. “This is a level of engagement that China’s transactional relationship doesn’t offer. Don’t forget, it’s an election year in Kenya. International engagement on major global issues at the invitation of the US is a good look.”

All of the African countries are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Japan intensifies hard-line stance on islands “illegally occupied” by Russia

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Japan intensifies hard-line stance on islands “illegally occupied” by Russia

On relations with the United States, it said the Japan-U.S. alliance has become “stronger than ever before in history,” as the two nations held eight summit and 15 foreign ministerial talks by the end of February after the launch of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021.

Canada failed when it trained Ukrainian troops linked to the far right, says Nazi hunter

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Canada failed when it trained Ukrainian troops linked to the far right, says Nazi hunter

A top Nazi hunter and Holocaust scholar says Canada failed when it allowed Ukrainian military personnel connected to far-right groups to receive training as recently as 17 months ago.

…

Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Israel said in an interview with this newspaper that Canada failed to properly monitor its own military training program. “The Canadian government didn’t do its due diligence,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of the Canadian defence ministry to know exactly who they are training.”

“There is no question that there are neo-Nazis in different forms in Ukraine, whether they are in the Azov regiment or other organizations,” he added.

Ukraine war is depleting America’s arsenal of democracy

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Ukraine war is depleting America’s arsenal of democracy

They’re being destroyed as they come in!

America is following an “arsenal of democracy” strategy in Ukraine: It has avoided direct intervention against the Russian invaders, while working with allies and partners to provide the Kyiv government with money and guns. That strategy, reminiscent of U.S. support for Britain in 1940-41, has worked wonders. Yet as the war reaches a critical stage, with the Russians preparing to consolidate their grip on eastern Ukraine, the arsenal of democracy is being depleted.

That could cause a fatal shortfall for Ukrainian forces in this conflict, and it is revealing American weaknesses that could be laid bare in the next great-power fight.

…

Pentagon officials say that Kyiv is blowing through a week’s worth of deliveries of antitank munitions every day. It is also running short of usable aircraft as Russian airstrikes and combat losses take their toll. Ammunition has become scarce in Mariupol and other areas.

…

Germany has declined to transfer tanks to Ukraine on grounds that it simply cannot spare them. Canada quickly ran short on rocket launchers and other equipment that the Ukrainians desperately need. The U.S. has provided one-third of its overall stockpile of Javelin anti-tank missiles. It cannot easily deliver more without leaving its own armories badly depleted — and it may take months or years to significantly ramp up production.

…

For the same reason, the war in Ukraine is a sobering preview of the problems the U.S. itself would face in a conflict against Russia or China. If forced to go to war in Eastern Europe or the Western Pacific, Washington would spend down its stockpiles of missiles, precision-guided munitions and other critical capabilities in days or weeks. It would probably suffer severe losses of tanks, planes, ships and other assets that are sophisticated, costly and hard to replace.

…

American economic leadership is no longer based primarily on manufacturing. Shortages of machine tools, skilled labor and spare production capacity could slow a wartime rearmament effort. The U.S. can’t quickly scale up production of Stinger missiles for Ukraine, for example, because the workforce needed to do so no longer exists.

Pakistan’s US-Backed Coup Regime Stirs Up Pashtun Hornet’s Nest

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Pakistan’s US-Backed Coup Regime Stirs Up Pashtun Hornet’s Nest

Related:

Taliban’s Military Opposition and Civil War or Peace in Afghanistan

On the other hand, for several months, the opposition has been trying to lobby for military and economic equipment, people’s aid from the West and the United States, military and strategic support, and recognition of their legitimacy.

…

In addition, the trend of former forces joining the opposition increases the risk of civil war in Afghanistan’s complex and mountainous geography. In the meantime, some foreign actors may strengthen their position on helping the opposition.

China’s Embrace of the Taliban Complicates US Afghanistan Strategy

Beijing is pursuing two main objectives through its outreach to the Taliban. The first is assurance from the Taliban that they will mitigate threats posed by extremist groups that operate close to China’s borders. In particular, Beijing wants the Taliban to stop the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which supports Uyghur separatism, from expanding and potentially carrying out attack targeting Chinese interests [AKA BRI] in the region.

Second, Beijing wants to protect the investments it has already made in Afghanistan and plans to make through programs like the BRI. Proposals by Chinese companies to extract and develop Afghanistan’s copper and oil deposits have been on hold for more than a decade due to political instability. With the United States gone, China hopes the Taliban can stabilize the country enough to resume these projects.

China’s willingness to partner with the Taliban undermines American efforts to influence the extremist group’s behavior through pressure campaigns and sanctions. Beijing has directly lobbied on Kabul’s behalf, demanding that Washington return Afghanistan’s frozen assets, a step that would only weaken U.S. leverage. At the aforementioned foreign ministers meeting, Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s statement called for more aid for Afghanistan and made no mention of the Taliban’s human rights record.

Although Washington cannot stop China from working with the group, the United States and likeminded partners can take steps to mitigate China’s growing influence in Afghanistan.

…

To be sure, India has historically been reluctant to serve as the balancing power to China that Washington seeks in South Asia. Yet the Biden administration should understand India’s national interest in preventing regional dominance by Pakistan and China. A hostile Afghanistan supported by Pakistan and China would diminish India’s positive regional influence and further place New Delhi at the mercy of its rivals. China’s outreach to the Taliban also reaffirms the necessity for future conversations about mitigating Chinese influence in the broader Indo-Pacific as part of continuing dialogue among Australia, India, Japan, and America, also known as the Quad.

…

Recent meetings between representatives from Beijing and Kabul threaten to subvert American [corporate] interests for peace [😂] and stability [😂] in Asia. China’s actions undermine U.S. leverage and further legitimize the Taliban’s control of Afghanistan.

No chance for peace, and stability, with the US and their vassal states [Pakistan, etc] involved!

[2021] 1st Area Medical Laboratory Soldiers train with Ukrainian military doctors

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

1st Area Medical Laboratory Soldiers train with Ukrainian military doctors (Archived)

KYIV, Ukraine – Soldiers from the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland-based 1st Area Medical Laboratory and Fort Detrick, Maryland-based U.S. Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases trained with Ukrainian military medical professionals.

Six 1st AML Soldiers and a USAMRIID Soldier deployed to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from June 3 – 18.

Maj. Jang-woo Lee, the 1st AML chief of Endemic Disease and Biological Warfare Assessment, said the American Soldiers supported the establishment of a Ukraine Ministry of Defense Biological Mobile Diagnostics Unit.

The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency training initiative focused on polymerase chain reaction diagnostic testing and field identification of biological agents. Lee said the U.S. troops delivered training lectures, hands-on training and field training exercises with Ukrainian troops in laboratory and field environments, using commercially available materials.

“U.S. subject matter experts trained their Ukrainian counterparts who will provide the training to their Soldiers to increase the readiness of the deployable mobile laboratories,” said Lee, an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran who is originally from South Korea. “I believe that the impact and influence of this effort will be greater than the two-week training.”

…

The 1st Area Medical Laboratory is part of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. Department of Defense’s only multifunctional all hazards headquarters.

From 19 military installations in 16 states, 20th CBRNE Command units deploy globally to take on the world’s most dangerous weapons and hazards.

…

The one-of-a-kind U.S. Army laboratory has deployed often to support military operations, including the 2014-2015 effort to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Soldiers from 1st AML also served in seven different overseas locations to support the COVID-19 response, including U.S. military hospitals in Germany, South Korea and Japan.