Everything for war: resources, sanctions and historical references (original)
Read More »Tag: military casualties
Russia: Diplomacy of Force
“The image posted by Yermak, a retro-style drawing of Donald Trump grabbing a defeated Vladimir Putin by the feet, about to throw him to the mat WWE-style, reflects the current state of the Western world, as it waits for Donald Trump to destroy Russia. The childishness of the drawing may also be representative of that way of thinking.”
Diplomacy of force (Original: Diplomacia de fuerza)
Read More »Ukraine: The Dystopia of War
The dystopia of war (La distopía de la guerra)
On Monday, Le Monde reported on one of Ukraine’s flagship construction projects, very much in line with the limited possibilities for reconstruction under wartime conditions and the needs of the moment: a large military cemetery. According to the French outlet, the site will have a bunker to protect against possible bombing—although the dead have not been a specific target of Russian troops, as they have been of Israeli troops in Gaza—places to pay tribute to fallen warriors, and more space to bury soldiers now that existing cemeteries are overflowing. Without even minimally realistic data on casualties in either army, the warnings from sympathetic journalists are indicative when they state, as one Ukrainian blogger recently did, that “currently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lack infantry. Completely. The infantry has fled, is in the hospital, or in the cemetery.” The growth of cemeteries is undoubtedly another important indicator. According to Le Monde , the new facilities will initially house graves, although the number could reach 130,000 or 160,000 in the future, indicating the current very high level of casualties and the possibility that such losses will continue in the future.
Read More »
Through the Doorway: Remembering A Father’s Battle Amid Potential Conflict
I read an article today about a woman reflecting on her father’s PTSD. Her family had the same rule as mine—if you needed to wake Dad, you did so from the doorway to prevent the risk of an accidental reaction triggered by a flashback. I wonder how many children of military veterans have lived with this unspoken understanding, shaped by their parents’ trauma.
Read More »Andriy Biletsky’s Third Corps
Note: The 3rd Assault Brigade is widely regarded as the successor to the Azov Battalion, a unit originally founded by Neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky. The battalion, later expanded and reorganized into the Azov Regiment, underwent rebranding amid evolving military and political dynamics, eventually forming the core of the current brigade.
El Tercer Cuerpo de Andriy Biletsky (Andriy Biletsky’s Third Corps)
On March 14, Colonel Andriy Biletsky, commander of the Third Assault Brigade, announced its conversion into the Third Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a formation that will remain under his command. In a video sharing the news on Instagram, Biletsky stated:
Read More »
Military medical system unprepared for future conflict, experts say + More
When it comes to combat casualty care, “without urgent intervention, the Military Health System will continue to slide into medical obsolescence,” a retired Air Force trauma surgeon told senators Tuesday.
Military medical system unprepared for future conflict, experts say
Related:
Pentagon’s Top Doc Defends Military Health System Budget, Lays Out Plans for Improvements
Trump’s Pick for Top Pentagon Health Care Job Was Fired by CIA
At least 6 killed, scores injured in Pakistan suicide bombing +
AFP reprint: At least 6 killed, scores injured in Pakistan suicide bombing
At least six people including Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed and scores injured on Saturday, in a bombing claimed by separatists in volatile southwestern Balochistan province, officials said.
…
The BLA is also behind a surge in attacks in the region targeting Chinese workers.
Much of the violence is directed against Chinese infrastructure projects in Pakistan to connect China’s Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea to reach markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond.
Of course, AP makes no mention of Chinese workers being targeted.
Related:
AP reprint: Blast in southwestern Pakistan kills 1 person and wounds 35 (archived)
Read More »US Troops in Vietnam Hated the M16 So Much They Picked Up the Enemy’s AK-47s
The M16 rifle was initially adopted for use in jungle warfare operations in Vietnam. However, it wound up being such an unreliable weapon that American troops began purchasing, via the underground market, AK-47s used by the enemy.
US Troops in Vietnam Hated the M16 So Much They Picked Up the Enemy’s AK-47s
China says US ‘playing with fire’ by giving Taiwan more military aid
China says US ‘playing with fire’ by giving Taiwan more military aid
Related:
Why Should We Care About America’s Indo-Pacific Allies?, May 10, 2024:
Read More »We’re not obligated to defend Taiwan. What we are obligated to do is governed by the law and the law is the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
…
But defending Taiwan is not one of those things, but it means that we sell them equipment that they need to defend themselves and the like. And it makes it clear intent that we want a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan PRC issue, a peaceful resolution across the Taiwan Strait. And that we are opposed to a forceful reunification against the Taiwanese people’s will.
…
Is the United States going to defend Taiwan? If the answer to that question is yes, they’re going to lose hundreds of thousands of troops in that fight and they ought to know that. And then they can then make the calculus whether it’s worth it or not.
— Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., former commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
A friendly fire death, a platoon’s 20 years of trauma
Bryan O’Neal has spent two decades grinding his way up the U.S. Army ranks, from lowly private to command sergeant major — the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. He could write a textbook on modern warfare history — and his own unique place in it — but much of what he’s seen and done could be hard for anyone to hear. Significant numbers of the men and women under his command weren’t even born until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that inspired him to enlist.
…
In the spring of 2004, perhaps the last thing President George W. Bush’s administration needed was another war-related PR problem. No one could find Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, which the administration had used to build a case for war. Less than a month before Tillman’s death, four contractors for the Blackwater private security firm in Iraq were ambushed and dragged through the streets, and their corpses were hung from a bridge. In April came shocking images of torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Related:
Read More »
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.