Tag: Surveillance

U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel + More Updates

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Pentagon announced it would send the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery and its crew as Israel considered retaliatory attacks against Iran.

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The United States sent a THAAD battery along with other air defense systems to the region weeks after the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. It was not immediately clear how quickly the missile defense system and troops would arrive in Israel.

U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel

Related:

How The US Navy, Coast Guard & USAF Work Together In A Theater Like Israel

The USAF provides ongoing ISR [Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] ops to help track rocket launches supporting missile defense. The Air Force also monitors militant activity in Gaza to assist with precision targeting to minimize collateral risk. 

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Another strategic role of the US Navy and Coast Guard is protecting Israel’s offshore energy platforms.

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During conflicts, USAF aircraft often provide aerial refueling, logistical support, or electronic warfare capabilities in support of other US forces and any allied forces that may operating in the theater. Air Force bases are also frequently home to US pre-positioned military supplies or equipment, which other branches can quickly access if needed. USAF bases also provide airfield facilities used by all branches and allied forces. The hospitals on USAF bases are frequently the closest and best place for casualties or evacuees to be taken. This rapid deployment capability ensures that the US can provide timely support during a conflict.

Stock depletion, declining supply prompt ‘Israel’ to restrict arms use

The US is unprepared for the scale of war it is provoking around the globe

Growing “Cyber threats” prompt Philippine Army’s 1st 16th AF visit [Information Operations]

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Growing Cyber threats prompt Philippine Army’s 1st 16th AF visit

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas —  Colonel Edward Rivera, 616th Operations Center, director of operations, welcomed Philippine Army Col. Windell Rebong, Command and Control Communications and Cyber Systems, deputy assistant chief, and five associates, here, July 18, for a subject-matter-expert exchange amid rising cyberattacks.

The exchange centered around maturing information warfare by strengthening interdependencies between several domains: electronic warfare, information operations and warfare, and cyber operations. 

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“This exchange was a warm, engaging and open discussion from both sides and included military, civilian, officer and enlisted of different ranks, all bringing forward their experiences in the form of vibrant discussions,” said Rebong. “It’s an honor and a privilege for a Philippine Army officer to visit a U.S. Air Force facility. [The 16th Air Force] has an expertise that all Philippine branches of service will benefit from.”

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Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, focuses on information warfare in the modern age and ensures that our Air Force and Nation are fast, resilient, and fully integrated in competition, crisis, and conflict by incorporating Information Warfare at operational and tactical levels, capitalizing on the value of information by leading the charge for uniquely-21st century challenges in the highly dynamic, seamless, and global information domain.

Information operations, sometimes referred to as influence operations, entail disseminating false information to persuade people and gathering tactical intelligence on rivals to gain the upper hand. Traditional media and social media platforms are just two examples of the many tools and techniques that can be used to carry out information operations.

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President Maduro Expresses Venezuela’s Solidarity With Palestine and Lebanon Against Zionist Aggression and Nasrallah’s Assassination

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expressed the solidarity of the Venezuelan government and people with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon, victims of military attacks carried out by Israeli occupation forces with the support of the US army. Before thousands of people in the city of La Guaira, President Maduro condemned the Zionist entity for killing more than a thousand people in its attacks on civilian areas of Lebanon this week, including around 500 children, a massacre added to the genocide being perpetrated for almost a year in the Gaza Strip, with nearly 42,000 people killed, around 10,000 missing, and some 100,000 wounded.

President Maduro Expresses Venezuela’s Solidarity With Palestine and Lebanon Against Zionist Aggression and Nasrallah’s Assassination

PH: America, Marcos and AFP can get us nuked

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

IF advocates of the United States’ access to bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US deployment of intermediate-range missiles prove the above headline unduly alarmist, this writer would be most thankful.

America, Marcos and AFP can get us nuked (archived)

Related:

Out-Competing China and Constraining Russia

Forget Hardened Bases, Pacific Conflict Requires Agile Combat Employment, Commander Says

The Plan to Defend Guam from Missile Threats Is Years from Completion: More Investment Is Needed Now

Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles in the Indo-Pacific

The U.S. Alliance with the Philippines

US military, seeking strategic advantages, builds up Australia’s northern bases amid China tensions

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

DARWIN, July 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. military is building infrastructure in northern Australia to help it project power into the South China Sea if a crisis with China erupts, a Reuters review of documents and interviews with U.S. and Australian defence officials show.

US military, seeking strategic advantages, builds up Australia’s northern bases amid China tensions

Related:

US military eyes Australia’s Indian Ocean toehold to deter China

SYDNEY – A remote Australian island close to an Indian Ocean chokepoint for Chinese oil shipments is on a list of possible locations for US military construction aimed at deterring China, with the US saying it “may or may not” support American forces.

Australian-based Marines ready to support Manila in sea-territory skirmish

Australian-based Marines ready to support Manila in sea-territory skirmish

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Australian-based Marines ready to support Manila in sea-territory skirmish

“We were given a warning order to support the Philippines defense forces in resupplying of the Second Thomas Shoal,” Marine Rotational Force — Darwin commander Col. Brian Mulvihill told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday at an Outback training camp in the Northern Territory.

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The Marines have been monitoring events at the shoal over a drone feed, Mulvihill said.

“We were ready to support the Philippine defense forces,” he said, noting that Marines across the Pacific are also ready to back the U.S. ally.

The rotational force can airlift food and water by pushing pallets out of helicopters, he added.

“We can control airspace and aircraft from many nations,” he said. “We provide a range of options if a host nation, through the embassy, requires assistance.”

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Darwin is an excellent platform for launching forces into Southeast Asia, according to Grant Newsham, a retired Marine colonel and senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo. 

“It’s good to see Darwin and Northern Territory being used this way … rather than just as a training area for Marines, Air Force, and Australian and other forces,” he said by email Thursday.

The Marines can offer the Philippines fire support coordination. They can help with logistics and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and guard locations that support Philippine forces operating towards the disputed shoal, he said.

“Of course, Marines can deploy aboard Philippine resupply boats alongside [Philippine] personnel,” he said.

Marine engineers could repair the Sierra Madre at the shoal and Marine helicopters could resupply it, Newsham added.

“A U.S. amphibious ship or two with Marines and their aircraft and other hardware aboard deployed to Second Thomas Shoal would be a serious force — and also sending a clear message,” he said. “Deploying Marines in the Philippines with their aviation, long-range rockets, and other hardware has a political significance in itself.”

Related:

Japan Forum for Strategic Studies

South China Sea: Philippines says to solely run Second Thomas Shoal resupply missions

SeaLight, formerly Project Myoushu

The Man Behind Trump’s VP Pick: It’s Worse Than You Think

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

While J.D. Vance has his own controversies, his close connection to billionaire Peter Thiel, who is poised to have unprecedented influence in a new Trump administration, should deeply unsettle every American who cares about freedom, privacy and reining in the surveillance state.

The Man Behind Trump’s VP Pick: It’s Worse Than You Think

H/T: The Most Revolutionary Act

Related:

Neoreactionaries

Did the FBI Just Get Caught Lying to Congress About the Efficacy of “Backdoor Searches”?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As Congress debated Section 702 – the authority within the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to surveil foreign threats located abroad – the FBI solemnly informed lawmakers that the use of Section 702 is essential to allowing the bureau to catch domestic terror plots. In fact, the FBI claimed Section 702 was used to derail a “potentially imminent terrorist attack” against critical U.S. infrastructure.

Did the FBI Just Get Caught Lying to Congress About the Efficacy of “Backdoor Searches”?

Milwaukee Shipped in 4,500 Cops From Across the US to Suppress Protest at RNC + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Contestations over the Republican National Committee’s efforts to foreclose avenues for lawful protest outside this week’s Republican National Convention (RNC) were already heated months before GOP delegates started booking their flights to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the convention.

Milwaukee Shipped in 4,500 Cops From Across the US to Suppress Protest at RNC

Related:

Fatal shooting of homeless man raises security questions about out-of-state police at RNC

Milwaukee officers will accompany all visiting police units after fatal shooting

Columbus police have killed more than 60 people since 2013

Columbus police shoot and kill more people than most of their peer cities, according to an analysis of police shootings data by the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.

ACLU of Wisconsin: Files open records requests seeking answers about police killing of Samuel Sharpe Jr. 

What they didn’t show you at the CSIS SCS conference, online

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Sources: 

Welcoming Remarks & Morning Keynote | Fourteenth Annual South China Sea Conference

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Who is Rep. Darrell Issa and what does he have to do with war crimes in the Philippines?

Rep. Issa (CA-48) is one of the richest people in congress and some of his investments are in Black Rock and other war profiteers. He also pushed to send $500 million of our tax dollars to fund war crimes and human rights violations in the Philippines. He stands to benefit personally in the US’ war against China.

At the CancelRIMPACCampaign summit and mobilization, we asked attendees to mobilize with us in front of Rep. Issa’s Escondido office to denounce his support for more military funding to the Philippines. Over a hundred people came out to expose the real conditions of human rights in the Philippines and called for the passing of the Philippine Human Rights Act!

Learn more about the Philippine Human Rights Act

Pass the PHRA Coalition Confronts Rep. Darrell Issa at South China Sea Conference

About the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines

2018: Darrell Issa, $283.3 million minimum net worth

CSIS’ donors