[Feral Jundi] I really liked this presentation, because it brings in all of the elements that I have been talking about on this blog into a nice format that Dr. Sean McFate has put together. It is definitely worth your time to watch and absorb.
The thing that stood out to me was the discussion of the strategic uses of private forces or PMSC’s. He presents the case that A. the industry is not going away B. we are reverting back to a pre-westphalian era C. that the west might not want to use PMSC’s for waging war, but other countries like China or Russia have no issue.
It is that dynamic that is interesting to me. That countries are slowly going towards the use of PMSC’s to wage war, and they are doing it as a part of their national interest. Russia for example used their little green men hybrid warfare strategy in the Ukraine. Iran uses mercenaries in Syria. China and their use of maritime militias. And even with the west, contractors have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan as a way to supplement manpower shortages. The common theme here is that private forces are used as a part of a larger ’strategy’, and this presentation challenges those who are closed minded or unaware, to think on how to use PMSC’s strategically.
In the past, I have discussed all sorts of interesting ways that private forces have been used for the sake of national interest. The very first overseas land operation of the US was the Battle of Derna (Shores of Tripoli from the Marine Hymn) in Libya, where a small contingent of Marines/Army commanded several hundred Christian and Islamic mercenaries to fight in the First Barbary War. The early privateers that the US used in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 were another example of the use of PMSC’s as a part of a larger strategy to support a national interest. The Flying Tigers was another example of modern PMSC’s, or Watchguard International Lmtd. in Yemen, or even recently with STTEP in Nigeria. Private forces can be used to great effect, and there is historical cases that make this point.
Sean covers a broad scope of ideas, and they are provocative to the say the least. What I wanted to post was the ten ideas of this future war he describes. Bear in mind, he is mostly referencing what is going on right now, and trying to envision where this goes with each point.
1. There will never be ’symmetry’.
2. Technology won’t save us.
3. States matter less.
4. Warriors are masked and may not fight for states.
5. Laws of war and international law don’t apply.
6. There will be a market for force with mercenaries.
7. Others will wage war and new kinds of superpowers will emerge.
8. Plausible deniability is power.
9. Hearts and minds matter very little.
10. There will be more war.
I won't ruin the whole thing for the reader, but I did want to comment on one deal he brought up that is not discussed a lot out there. He mentioned "hack back" companies, or basically cyber companies contracted to attack hackers or countries that used hackers to hack that attacked first. To me, this is pure cyber privateering, and we are getting close to the concept of state sanctioned hacking as this becomes more of a problem.
Cont'd.
#4
Speaking of red, who is that lady with the red dress, white gloves, gold shimmering earrings and cleavage behind Donald and to his right? Forget Donald. Forget Hillary. Who is that lady in red? She's the show.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/22/2016 12:17 Comments ||
Top||
November 1 marks the start of Safar in the Islamic moon calendar.
It's month 2 of the year 1438 for them.
This is significant for terrorism because while jihadi attacks can occur all year round, we are just coming out of 3 "holy" months where warfare is frowned upon.
Safar by contrast is a month of retribution where warfare is actively encouraged.
SO the ultra devout Islamic State jihadis, hidden among the Muslim migrants like so many exploding currants in nasty bun, may take this opportunity to come out and play.
It will likely be a Red November and probably a Red December too. Our intelligence agencies cannot be prepared for this because they are not allowed to think terrorism has anything to do with Islam. It's just countering "violent extremism" and what have neo-nazis or environmental activists got to do with the innocent Islamic moon calendar?
What will this mean for the US election? It's on November 8.
There might not be an explosion of pent-up Jihadi aggression on November 1 it might not be till November 15 or 20
or it could be November 7 or November 2
Whatever, it's coming in November sure as the moon rises.
Will the media be able to lie to the public now that social media is censored? and google is also censored?
this helps them the way a butterfly's random flight helps it evade predators (apologies to butterflies)
if you are just "on" all the time it's easy to mobilise will and force against you
if you are sometimes "on" and sometimes "off" on a seemingly random timetable, people get lulled into a false sense of security in the "off" times, think it has all gone away
that's when the PR team are useful to harp on Islamophobia and "it's all your fault"
it starts to work, it lays the ground
and then bam, along comes the concentrated violence again
You can browse the the public broadcasting website for their version of the story, but another story lies beneath the one the government tells.
On Facebook, watching video reports by John Lamb, two matters jump out. (You'll have to scroll down to watch the videos. He doesn't allow external links to his presentations.)
As far as I can tell, and from memory, at no time did the number of occupiers exceed 50 total, yet what came out in the trial was that the federal government had 15 paid informants occupying the park along with the 24 who were arrested and charged with felony conspiracy.
Think about that for a moment. 15 people were reporting directly to federal security agents, for a ratio of 3 occupiers for every paid informant, if my WAG numbers are correct.
According to Lamb, of the 15 that the government admitted to being in the park, three were named and used by the government. One of the three actually wound up testifying for the defense. One of the main contentions of the defense during the trial was that all illegal activities were done by paid informants, not by the defendants. Additionally, of all the firearms federal agents seized when the occupation was shut down, not one of them belonged to those charged.
The 15 informants are just the federal informants. They do not include state, county or local snitches. Just the federal ones.
The second matter is how the trial was conducted. According to Lamb, no mention of the Constitution was allowed in any part of the trial, not even in closing arguments. That is stunning. That means that the individuals who claimed the government mantle of justice in no way want justice to be carried out, because the basic law of the land interferes with what they are trying to accomplish.
So in federal jurisprudence, paid informants have a stake in helping the government arrest people by committing crimes and claiming others committed crimes with them, and no -- as in zero -- mention of the Constitution, the law of the land, is allowed in a federal courtroom. The Constitution has no place in federal jurisprudence.
The photo in the link shows a weapon that was put together in slapdash fashion with the butt stock taped together and a stovepiped cartridge casing still in the ejection port. Apparently the bad guy, identified as Adam Powell, fired the rifle, only to have a second round jam. As he left, the cops followed him and shot him to death.
Powell did not know enough about his rifle to clear the jam, apparently panicked and ran away. According to Owens, the jam was easily clearable.
Prices for pistol ammunition were mostly steady. Prices for rifle ammunition were mixed.
Prices for used pistols were mostly higher. Prices for used rifles were mostly lower.
New Lows:
None.
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: +.02 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammo Mart, Own Brand, Brass Casing, Reloads, .23 per round (From Last week: -.02 Each)
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2Q, 2016)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammo Mart, Buffalo Cartridge, FSFP, Brass Casing, Reloads, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Ammounition Depot, Own Brand, TMJ, Brass Casing, Reloads, .20 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .15 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Surplus Ammo, Maxxtech, FMJ, Brass Casing, .15 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2Q, 2016)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: Wideners, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2Q, 2016))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Hotshot, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: +.05 Each (!)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Natchez Shooters Supplies, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .39 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Target Sports USA, Tulammo, Steel Casing, FMJ, .39 per round (From Last Week: +.05 Each After Unchanged (8 Weeks))
7.62x39mm AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Wolf WPA, Steel Case, FMJ, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: TrueCaliber.com, Wolf WPA, Steel Case, FMJ, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds (10 Box Limit): Ammomen, Federal, RNL, .06 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds (10 Box Limit): Browning Ammo and More, Armscor, RNL, .06 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks))
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $546 Last Week Avg: $551(-) ($616 (2Q, 2015), $476 (3Q, 2015))
California (279, 263): Mixed Build: $480 ($650 (1Q, 2015), $400 (2Q, 2016))
Texas (250, 264): Rock River Arms LAR-15: $500 ($700 (1Q, 2015), $350 (2Q, 2015))
Pennsylvania (145, 150): Ruger AR 556: $550 ($700 (2Q, 2015), $300 (3Q, 2015))
Virginia (164, 165): Mixed Build: $600 ($750 (1Q, 2015), $475 (24 Weeks))
Florida (371, 384): Smith & Wesson: $600 ($650 (2Q, 2015), $380 (1Q, 2015))
[DAWN] A FEW hours before I was to board a train from Rawalpindi to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. last Thursday, I received a message warning me that activists of religious organizations were waiting to lay siege to the twin cities in the event of a decision in favour of Asia Bibi, the tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy whose final appeal is pending in the Supreme Court. The case was supposed to be heard that day. It wasn’t, and the mobs supposedly waiting to be unleashed were stood down.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
I've been planning to write something longer about Putin, but the Jewish holidays have intervened. So, a quick answer to the question: What does Putin want? Russia has grand ambitions and a failed economy, but it always has had grand ambitions and a failed economy (World War I came about in part because Russia required taxes from its Western provinces to finance its Eastern adventures). Through most of its history Russia was behind the West in technology, especially cutting-edge military technology, and this inspired caution--with two exceptions. The first exception was 1957 through the early 1960s, after Sputnik put Russia ahead in the space race; Russia's achievement contributed to the euphoria that produced the Berlin and Cuba crises. The second exception is the present, when Russia's air defense effectively shuts us out of Syria. As some wag wrote, there is a no-fly zone, except it's operated by the Russians. Putin's interest lies in humiliating the US and proving his importance to his Chinese partners, who still need Russian technology in air defense, jet engines, and other military applications.
In addition, Putin as before wants to preempt the creation of a Sunni Islamist government in Syria which would support jihadis inside Russia. Where Turkey is concerned, Putin keeps his friends close and his enemies closer. His deal with Turkey in Syria is a masterstroke, and a gauge of American impotence and incompetence. As for the Europeans: the Italians (!) vetoed a resolution warning of sanctions against Russia at last night's European summit, and the Germans and French bit their tongues. As Il Foglio observes, the Italian public thinks that the mess in the Eastern Mediterranean is the fault of US (and French and UK) policy--which in large part it is.
Up til a few months ago there still was a change to stabilize the situation in the Levant and Mesopotamia. No more: Putin is now playing Richelieu, keeping the war going with the object of exterminating enough of the population to remove the long-term threat. It is just what I would do in his position, if I could get away with it -- and he can.
I do not think Russia can be contained until the US re-establishes a technological edge in air defense, and that would take years under the pest possible assumptions (meanwhile the Russians are learning how to shoot down our stealth aircraft). The result inevitably will be disgusting.
To those who say we should get tough with Putin, I ask, "How?" The mainstream of both parties got us into this mess and gave Putin room to cause havoc.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/22/2016 12:24 Comments ||
Top||
#5
A Bear waved his willie. How cheeky!
But Putin's poor Peter was weak. He
Popped down to the Dragon
(his spirits were flaggin')
For shots and a hot cock-a-leekie.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
