Mike Gallagher says that the Pentagon Has Two Years to Prevent World War III

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Pentagon Has Two Years to Prevent World War III

By China Hawk Mike Gallagher, Palantir

Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to seize Taiwan by 2027. Whether he launches an invasion may depend on President Trump’s defense secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump’s nominee, will have to confront the collapse of deterrence in Europe and the Middle East, resource constraints on Capitol Hill, recruitment challenges, and a deteriorating balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. The only way to promote peace is to go to war on day one—not with China, Russia or Iran but with the Pentagon bureaucracy.

Gallagher wants a wartime economy while leaving the financing to the private sector. It won’t work. 👇👇👇

Related:

US Seeks “Super Weapons” to Reign as Sole Superpower

In reality, Russia and China’s industrial bases are larger than America’s because of a number of factors, including factors no amount of American political will, can overcome. China in particular has a population four times greater than the US. China graduates millions more each year in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics than the US, and the physical size of its industrial base – military or otherwise – reflects this demographic disparity.

Even if the US had the political will to reform its military industrial base, stripping away profit-driven private industry and replacing it with purpose-driven state-owned enterprises, even if the US likewise transformed its education system to produce a skilled workforce rather than squeeze every penny from American students, and even if the US invested in its national infrastructure – a fundamental prerequisite for expanding its industrial base – it still faces a reality where China has already done all of this, and done so with a population larger than it and its G7 partners combined.

FYI, Gallagher is with Palantir, as well as the Hudson Institute.

Hudson Institute’s funding

Philippine Sailor Severely Injured, Vessels Damaged as Chinese Block South China Sea Mission + Notes

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It was the Philippines that rammed the CCG!* US-funded Rappler** doesn’t mention the other soldiers who were injured.

Philippine Sailor Severely Injured, Vessels Damaged as Chinese Block South China Sea Mission

Meanwhile, a Philippine government release from the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea stated that ships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia performed “dangerous maneuvers.” However, there is no mention of injury to Philippine personnel in the release. The statement also claimed that Chinese forces rammed and towed Philippine vessels, although it’s unclear to what extent the latter occurred during the incident. This is the first reported instance of China towing – defined as pulling, pushing or hauling – Philippine vessels in their South China Sea disputes.

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$824 Billion Pentagon Budget: Why So Many Classified Programs with Movie Names?

The Pentagon budget request for fiscal year 2024 comes in at a staggering $824 billion, the highest any country has ever spent on its military. A lot of this is going to classified Research, Development, Test & Evaluation programs, which are largely classified or only present brief, vague descriptions. While flicking through one of the lengthy supporting documents I noticed how some of these classified money pits take their names from movies.

$824 Billion Pentagon Budget: Why So Many Classified Programs with Movie Names?

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF

A small, globe-trotting balloon declared “missing in action” by an Illinois-based hobbyist club on Feb. 15 has emerged as a candidate to explain one of the three mystery objects shot down by four heat-seeking missiles launched by U.S. Air Force fighters since Feb. 10.

The club—the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB)—is not pointing fingers yet.

Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF

Army launches coup in Burkina Faso amid mass protests against France

Army launches coup in Burkina Faso amid mass protests against France

The ousted junta leader, [Paul-Henri Sandaogo] Damiba, was widely seen as too closely linked to France. Late Saturday, there were protests outside the French embassy in Ouagadougou and the French Institute in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Video on social media showed residents with lit torches outside the French embassy, and other images showed part of the compound ablaze. The crowds also vandalised the French Institute.

Related:

Burkina Faso: Another Coup Led By U.S-Trained Soldier

[Paul-Henri Sandaogo] Damiba is a highly trained soldier, thanks in no small part to the U.S. military, which has a long record of training soldiers in Africa who go on to stage coups. Damiba, it turns out, participated in at least a half-dozen U.S. training exercises, according to U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM.

Ousted coup leader leaves Burkina Faso for Togo