Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D. –
The Navy oiler – a tanker designed to refuel other ships while at sea – shuddered from the hit. Almost immediately, water began to flood into the engine room and at least one of the ship’s rudders was out of service. The damage and flow of water proved challenging for the crew. As the only US Navy fuel ship in the area capable of supporting a carrier strike group came to a stop, the vulnerability of the thin lifeline of American afloat logistics became apparent. How would an entire carrier strike group remain operational without fuel for its planes and escorts? With one stroke, the hitting power of a substantial portion of the U.S. Navy was reduced.
For Want of an Oiler: The Fragile State of America’s Afloat Logistics Fleet
Tag: Second presidency of Donald Trump
Ukraine: MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has welcomed the nomination of Keith Kellogg for the position of Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia and expressed its readiness to cooperate.
MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Related:
America First, Russia, & Ukraine by Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg & Fred Fleitz
Read More »Financier John Phelan Tapped to be Next Navy Secretary
Financier John Phelan Tapped to be Next Navy Secretary
[John] Phelan is the founder of private equity firm Rugger Management LLC and previously served as the chairman and chief investment officer of the firm that oversaw the fortune of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. He is also on the board of the Spirit of America [front group] non-profit, a non-partisan group with a mission to support American troops abroad that has also supported troops in Ukraine.
Related:
Read More »US Foreign Policy vs. China Continues Under Trump
Miami Financier Stephen P. Lynch Is Quietly Trying to Buy Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline + More History
An American investor with a history of dealmaking in Russia has asked the U.S. government to allow him to bid on the sabotaged Nord Stream Pipeline 2 if it comes up for auction in a Swiss bankruptcy proceeding.
Miami Financier Stephen P. Lynch Is Quietly Trying to Buy Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline
Related:
[2016] US INVESTORS IN RAID AGAINST DMITRY FIRTASH – STEPHEN LYNCH ATTEMPTS TAKEOVER OF UKRAINIAN GAS PRODUCER, MISEN ENERGY (archived)
Read More »Netanyahu Brought the ICC Ruling on Himself and Now He’s Whining About Antisemitism
As always, the Israeli prime minister does not work to shape reality, but to shape the perception of reality ■ The attorney general knows that leaving her post would lead to the collapse of the State Attorney’s Office – and that Yariv Levin is hovering above like a voracious vulture
Netanyahu Brought the ICC Ruling on Himself and Now He’s Whining About Antisemitism
Trump 2.0: Project 2025 Could Impact the Economy and Your Finances
The Trump team lied. Project 2025 is influential with his transition team and his second cabinet.
Project 2025 Could Impact the Economy and Your Finances
What economic proposals are in Project 2025?
Most of Project 2025 would have economic implications if implemented and many proposals would affect Americans on a personal finance level. While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some key proposals:
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Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war
Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war (original)
“Two years ago, General Mark A. Milley, then President Biden’s chief military adviser, suggested that neither Russia nor Ukraine could win the war. A negotiated solution, he argued, was the only path to peace. His comments caused a furor among senior officials. But President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory is making General Milley’s prediction come true,” wrote The New York Times in an article published last week, part of a growing line of arguments by those who fear that the arrival of the new Republican administration will mean leaving Ukraine to its own devices. These articles, present in all major American and European media, take literally Trump’s desire to end the war and his lack of interest in the situation in Ukraine. This has also been helped by the words of JD Vance, who, from his ignorance of the conflict, has proposed a plan that can only satisfy Russia, or the exalted response of Donald Trump Jr. after the confirmation of the American permission to use Western missiles against targets on the territory of mainland Russia. Sometimes, think-tankers and experts also add Trump’s disdain for NATO or his desire not to rescue member countries that do not meet the minimum investment required by the Alliance in the event of a Russian attack.
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South China Sea: US troop aid may reassure Philippines but will prod China, analysts say
Has anyone realized that by disclosing the existence of “US Task Force Ayungin,” Biden admin implicitly recognized Philippines’ sovereignty over a disputed SCS feature?
Washington has never taken a position on SCS territories(but it has in ECS). This is a clear signal to China.*
South China Sea: US troop aid may reassure Philippines but will prod China, analysts say (archived)
The Philippines has said the US task force only offered support – in the form of intelligence and surveillance – and did not directly take part in its resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre, the retired warship, but analysts suggested that China’s leadership could see it in a different light.
…
Zheng said the revelation about the American task force meant the US was likely to be more engaged in the drawn-out maritime conflicts in the region, even suggesting that Washington would “be the first to take part in the command and planning of Philippine maritime activities”.
…
Ding Duo, deputy director of the Centre for Oceans Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan, said the presence of a special task force showed that Washington and Manila had long cooperated on resupply operations to Second Thomas Shoal.
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“Such support emboldens the Philippines and is not conducive to China and the Philippines managing their differences,” Ding said. “The US involvement has also squeezed the political space for internal coordination and decision-making within the Philippines.”
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He said it was also possible that American troops could be on Philippine ships and involved in front-line action “using a covert or concealed identity to participate in Philippine maritime operations” in future.
He said the US could “only intervene [in South China Sea disputes] in a covert manner and so it took the form of a task force”.
Related:
Read More »US Foreign Policy vs. China Continues Under Trump
The incoming Trump administration is poised to pick up where the Biden administration has left off on the decades-spanning centerpiece of US foreign policy ‒ the encirclement and containment of China.
US Foreign Policy vs. China Continues Under Trump (archived)
Related:
AFPI: America First Policy Institute
The Walton Family Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and a coalition of fishermen’s associations and environmental institutions join forces to promote responsible fishing practices.
China’s A2/AD (ACE Concept/Joint All-Domain Operations)
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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