INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Before three Dutch soldiers were shot, one fatally, in downtown Indianapolis, they were training in a southern Indiana military camp where international soldiers enter highly specialized urban combat simulations they might not be able to get in their own country.
EXPLAINER: Why Dutch soldiers were at Indiana military camp
Related:
Indianapolis police quiet on fatal shooting of Dutch soldier
M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
Reading and rereading the US President Joe Biden’s statement last Monday on Ukraine Independence Day, one is reminded of English poet John Keats’ immortal line, ‘Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter.’ Three things are striking.
Ukraine: The Ground Beneath Zelensky’s Feet is Shifting
Video via Alex Christoforou
The United States may secretly transfer a number of weapons to Ukraine
The US authorities may not publicly announce the transfer of certain types of weapons to Ukraine as part of military assistance. About it writes Politico.
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The new military aid package for Kyiv, announced last week, includes Excalibur guided artillery shells, according to two Politico sources. At the same time, they are not mentioned in the Pentagon’s official statement on weapons supplied to Ukraine.
Politico also read the official notice to Congress in connection with the allocation of another aid package to Ukraine, which, according to the newspaper, notes that the weapons supplied by Washington to Kyiv “are not limited” to those listed.
By Yeghia Tashjian | The Cradle | August 19 2022
The US is leveraging Egypt’s gas supply to pressure Beirut over US-brokered maritime border talks with Israel
How the US controls Lebanon’s energy supply
By Brian Berletic
What many in the West at first dismissed as a tantrum thrown by Beijing over the unauthorized visit of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan appears instead to be a carefully thought-out strategy designed to incrementally reassert Chinese sovereignty over the island territory. Beijing’s ability to do this is underwritten by the nation’s growing military might.
China’s Growing Military Might
Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine
The new aid was authorized by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons and ammunition directly from US military stockpiles. The funds were pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that Biden signed back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.
Related:
Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?
So in essence, at a pace suggested by Hertling, Ukraine’s GMLRS monthly burn rate would equal about 29% of the entire planned U.S. procurement for the next five years, not withstanding production rates of the ER GMLRS which have yet to be set.
Given those numbers, what does Ukraine’s use of HIMARS portend for that nation, and the U.S., which might find itself needing these systems in case of a future fight with China, Russia or some other adversary?
…
“If each of 16 HIMARS fires three rockets per day, that’s 48 a day or 1,440 per month. 10,000 rockets would last well into 2023 at that rate. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians get the 100 HIMARS they are requesting and each one fires three rockets per day, that’s 300 per day or 9,000 per month.”
Jun 30, 2022 The US has announced yet another anti-China alliance. This one is called, “Partners in Blue Pacific,” and either includes or soon will include both the UK and France as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
This is about countering China – but if China is attempting to trade, develop, and raise the entire region with its own rise upon the global stage – it means the US and its allies are attempting to counter development and progress for these Pacific island nations.
Many of these nations are approaching China in the first place specifically because of the impoverished, destabilized state they’ve been left in by the US and its allies.
“Partnership in Blue Pacific” to Turn Pacific Islands into Anti-China War Zone (Odysee) via The New Atlas
References:
US and allies launch initiative to help Pacific Island nations
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Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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