This Is the Future of U.S. Foreign Aid Under Trump
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US military, seeking strategic advantages, builds up Australia’s northern bases amid China tensions
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
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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
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
For NYT, Cluster Munitions Are Completely Wrong—When Russians Use Them
For the New York Times news department, cluster munitions fall into two categories—clearly wrong or complexly controversial—depending on who uses them.
For NYT, Cluster Munitions Are Completely Wrong—When Russians Use Them
White House Close To Providing Kiev With Cluster-Armed ATACMS
This comes amid Kyiv’s failing counteroffensive and poses a major risk of escalation, President Volodymyr Zelensky has desired to use the long-range weapons to attack the Russian mainland.
White House Close To Providing Kiev With Cluster-Armed ATACMS
Biden Gives Ukraine More Cluster Bombs And Ukraine Operations Will Be Exempt From Potential Government Shutdown
President Biden on Thursday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced a new tranche of US military aid for Ukraine that includes more cluster bombs, which are notorious for killing and maiming civilians.
Biden Gives Ukraine More Cluster Bombs During Zelensky Visit
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Pentagon Exempts Ukraine Operations from Potential Government Shutdown
Report: Cluster bomb deaths in Ukraine pass Syria casualties
For the first time in a decade, Ukraine has surpassed Syria as the country with the highest number of casualties from cluster bombs. That’s according to a report from the Cluster Munition Coalition weapons watchdog. Nathan Southern from the University of St. Andrews has more on this report.
Report: Cluster bomb deaths in Ukraine pass Syria casualties
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Ukraine surpasses Syria for highest casualties from cluster munitions
Cluster munitions killed at least 37 Yemenis in August: Watchdog
Timeline: Use of controversial cluster bombs in past conflicts
Al Jazeera falsely claims that Russia used cluster munitions in Crimea! Nowhere, in the linked report, does HRW mention Crimea!
[2016] The 7 absolute funniest headlines we’ve read today
By giving Ukraine cluster bombs, the US is admitting that it’s OK to kill civilians
By giving Ukraine cluster bombs, the US is admitting that it’s OK to kill civilians
The estimated dud rate is disputable. According to the Congressional Research Service, “There appear to be significant discrepancies among failure rate estimates. Some manufacturers claim a submunition failure rate of 2% to 5%, whereas mine clearance specialists have frequently reported failure rates of 10% to 30%. A number of factors influence submunition reliability. These include delivery technique, age of the submunition, air temperature, landing in soft or muddy ground, getting caught in trees and vegetation, and submunitions being damaged after dispersal, or landing in such a manner that their impact fuzes fail to initiate.”
The United States has a huge stockpile of cluster munitions — 4.7 million containing hundreds of millions of bomblets — that it is dusting off to deliver to Ukraine after a “difficult decision” by President Joe Biden.
The U.S. last used these munitions in its military excursion in Afghanistan. Trouble was that the little bombs resembled in color and shape the humanitarian aid packets that the U.S. dropped from planes. This confusion, which obviously left many civilians maimed or dead, led to the curtailment of cluster bombs for our next military adventure.
This did not stop Israel from using cluster bombs in its 2006 campaign against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. According to a March 2022 Congressional Research Service report, Israel used them in the “last 3 days of the 34-day war after a U.N. cease-fire deal had been agreed to — resulting in almost 1 million unexploded cluster bomblets to which the U.N. attributed 14 deaths during the conflict.” Israel’s use of the bombs “supposedly affected 26% of southern Lebanon’s arable land and contaminated about 13 square miles with unexploded submunitions. One report states that there was a failure rate of upward of 70% of Israel’s cluster weapons,” the agency said.
Related:
Stop Biden From Sending Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
President Biden may have crossed a new red line for the Democratic Party when he announced he would send banned cluster munitions to shore up Ukraine’s slow counter-offensive against Russian troops.
Stop Biden From Sending Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
Related:
Rep. Gaetz Says He Will Co-Sponsor Amendment to Block Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
Gaetz said that the NDAA will be voted on this week in the House. “We have an opportunity with bipartisanship to stand against the war-mongering Bidens,” he said.
Here’s why supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions would be a terrible mistake
Democrats Denounce Biden’s Decision to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine
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