Tag: Department Of Defense

Review of Benjamin Abelow’s “How the West Brought War to Ukraine”

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

By Natylie Baldwin

I first came across Benjamin Abelow’s analysis of the Ukraine war as a lengthy article published on Medium in May. I found the depth and thoroughness of his article impressive and complimented him on it. When he told me that he’d expanded it into a short book, I was intrigued and offered to review it. I was not disappointed.

Review of Benjamin Abelow’s “How the West Brought War to Ukraine”

Defense Department Latest To Be Caught Hoovering Up Internet Data Via Private Contractors

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Everyone’s got a hunger for data. Constitutional rights sometimes prevent those with a hunger from serving themselves. But when they’ve got third parties on top of third parties, all Fourth Amendment bets are off. Data brokers are getting rich selling government agencies the data they want at low, low prices, repackaging information gathered from other third parties into tasty packages that give US government agencies the data they want with the plausible deniability they need.

Defense Department Latest To Be Caught Hoovering Up Internet Data Via Private Contractors

Wisconsin Army National Guard headed to Horn of Africa for 10 months

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin Army National Guard headed to Horn of Africa for 10 months

Related:

Virginia National Guard soldiers return home from Africa

[11-2021] 1,000 National Guard Soldiers to Deploy to Africa as Mid East Wars Wind Down

It is unclear if the 1,000 Guardsmen is an increase in the Pentagon’s force in Africa, or if those troops are replacing others currently deployed. The U.S. has been increasingly operating in countries like Somalia and Niger as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drawn down.

There are some 6,000 American troops, Defense Department civilians and contractors across Africa, an Army spokesperson told Military.com. About 3,400 of those people operate from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which serves as the major hub for the U.S. military on the continent.

New $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine Includes 18 HIMARS Launchers, as The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

New $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine Includes 18 HIMARS Launchers

The HIMARS that the US has been sending to Ukraine are equipped with missiles that have a range of about 50 miles. But that can change, and Kyiv is requesting Army Tactical Missile Systems, which have a range of 190 miles, but Washington has been hesitant to send the longer-range missiles. Russia has warned that providing such arms would cross a “red line.”

Related:

The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine

In the U.S. weapons industry, the normal production level for artillery rounds for the 155 millimeter howitzer — a long-range heavy artillery weapon currently used on the battlefields of Ukraine — is about 30,000 rounds per year in peacetime.

The Ukrainian soldiers fighting invading Russian forces go through that amount in roughly two weeks.

…

Is the U.S. ability to defend itself at risk?

The short answer: no.

…

The U.S. has essentially run out of the 155 mm howitzers [M777?] to give to Ukraine; to send any more, it would have to dip into its own stocks reserved for U.S. military units that use them for training and readiness. But that’s a no-go for the Pentagon, military analysts say, meaning the supplies reserved for U.S. operations are highly unlikely to be affected.

Source: CSIS.

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

They are wrong in Kremlin if anyone thinks that Italy will become the EU’s weak link vis-à-vis Russia. The center-right coalition won in the elections on 25 September. A success far beyond the expectations of Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing passionate who grew up in the myth of “good” fascism and Tolkien as a natural leader. The center-right that is about to govern Italy is made up of three different political groups. The real winner of the dispute is the “Fratelli d’Italia”, the party founded a little over ten years ago by Giorgia Meloni, Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto. Heirs of the post-fascist tradition, the women and men led by Meloni have always been on the margins of society. They are the heirs of the tradition of the Italian Social Movement, the party that was liquidated in the mid-nineties after Mussolini’s rejection of nostalgia.

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

Slava Slush Fund: despite economic crisis, Congress readies $12 billion more for Ukraine + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

U.S. has now allocated over $80 billion to Kiev.

Sure, financial markets and national currencies are imploding worldwide, but the military industrial regime needs to keep churning, and that means pumping more money into the Slava Slush Fund.

Slava Slush Fund: despite economic crisis, Congress readies $12 billion more for Ukraine

Related:

There’s no debating it: Biden will get billions in new Ukraine aid

“Oversight of Ukraine aid is sorely needed,” Julia Gledhill, a defense analyst for the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), tells Responsible Statecraft. “The State and Defense departments are handling billions of dollars in Ukraine funding, but neither have permanent inspectors general in place to investigate and prevent abuse of funds.”

Senate advances spending bill for Ukraine with $12 Billion

After the Senate invoked cloture for the legislative vehicle to carry out the CR, it will now be up for a full vote by the Senate. The House will next vote on it, likely on Friday.

Report: US Preparing $1.1 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine

The weapons package will likely include HIMARS rocket systems, HIMARS ammunition, counter-drone systems, radar systems, training, and technical support.

The arms package is expected to be provided to Kyiv using the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) as opposed to sending the arms directly from US military stockpiles. The USAI allows the Biden administration to purchase military equipment for Ukraine from the US arms industry.