Just Because The Dragon Is Into Mini Subs Doesn't Mean It's Downsizing Its Navy

CHINA HAS COMPLETED TESTS OF AN UNMANNED LONG RANGE MINI SUBMARINE

 Australian DOD Image of BLUEFIN 21 a very comparable submersible currently in use in the search for the missing Malaysian air liner.

We've received word via our private interpretative sources that China has completed testing an unmanned autonomous mini submarine, apparently little larger than a modern torpedo. Chinese language sources (Qingdao News) report that Tiajin University has created and tested a mini submarine called HAIYAN. During tests the sub has worked continuously for 21 days and reached a depth of 1,094 meters (3,589+ feet). The sub is believed to have an endurance of 30 days and a speed of about six kilometers per hour ( 3 miles per hour or 72 miles per day). The sub is about 1.8 meters in length ( -6 ft) and presents a very small sonar profile. It has been configured for scientific missions and search and rescue missions but according to our analyst could be easily configured for naval missions like mine sweeping, submarine detection, or even offensive missions like sacrificial surface or subsurface attack. Its operating depth of 3,598 feet is about half what would be necessary for ocean trench or mid ocean seafloor exploration but far more than what manned submarines operate at. Combined with the unit's slow speed and ability to hug deep bottoms it may be almost invisible to conventional anti submarine detection techniques. As a small rugged unmanned target it has a high survival and escape potential from conventional antisubmarine warfare tactics and weapons. Weighing only 70 kilograms (154+ pounds) the vessel may be easily handled by most any surface ship without much in the way of special equipment. A Chinese merchant ship operating off the U.S. Coast beyond our EEZ could launch one of these into out territorial waters and it would reach our beach line in a little over three days and have at least two weeks of operating capability before having to return to the mother ship.  If on a sacrificial mission, the sub could loiter in our waters for nearly 27 days and the mother ship could leave. Progress in deep diving autonomous subs has been slow of late due to lack of research funds. We would love to be able to greet China's new unit as a welcome addition to oceanographic scientific tools. But it has too much weapon potential and the Dragon proves itself untrustworthy in the naval sphere every day.

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THE DRAGON THREATENS VIETNAM AGAIN, THIS TIME THE CABBAGE PATCH FLOTILLA IS SERIOUSLY ARMED

THE DRAGON CALLS IT STRATEGY FOR WRESTING CONTROL OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEAS FROM THE RIGHTFUL SOVEREIGNS "THE CABBAGE PATCH STRATEGY"

   

 The Chinese like to target an island,shoal,reef,or drilling site within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a neighbor, send in a lightly armed Coast Guard flotilla running unarmed commercial vessels of the targeted state off with threats of arrest for fishing, or exploring for minerals in "Chinese National Waters". In the 1980s China went after a reef owned by Vietnam and simply murdered sixty some odd Vietnamese sailors attempting to mark the reef and sank the naval auxiliary that transported them to the reef. China has never shown any remorse or embarrassment for this mass murder but apparently has figured out that the world frowns on such overt strong arm tactics. So the Dragon created the largest "coast guard" in the world and sends its cutters out to "enforce Chinese maritime law", which apparently knows no bounds. As soon as the rightful commercial interests have been evicted, China sends in dozens to hundreds of its own commercial fishing vessels and surrounds the targeted area. If the adjacent coastal state sends out its own coast guard to investigate it is confronted by a big civilian unarmed fleet of commercial vessels, that a civilized coast guard is not going to sink. The vessels are civilly disobedient to the rightful coast guard's instructions to cease whatever they are doing in the adjacent coastal state's EEZ. At the point where the rightful coast guard is preparing to start boarding the intruder commercial craft the Chinese Coast Guard arrives on scene and claims the rightful coast guard is invading Dragon turf. Its not yet come to a shoot out but there have been coast guard on coast guard water cannon exchanges , and deliberate glancing collisions. China has now gained control of several  neighbor's important offshore geophysical features with this practice of wrapping the area "as tight as a cabbage" with Chinese commercial vessels. A few weeks ago we reported that China invaded Vietnamese waters with a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit. It appears this unit is now surrounded by its own "cabbage patch" Chinese flotilla.. But now its oil at stake so the cabbage patch is unusually muscular containing not only the usual assortment of coast guard and commercial craft but also Chinese war ships.

 According to reports in Tuoitrenews approximately 114 Chinese vessels including 42 Chinese Coast Guard ships, 13-14 commercial offshore supply craft, 15-17 tugboats, 34 fishing vessels, and six naval craft are arranged in arcs around the offending oil rig. This "cabbage patch has approaches local Vietnamese vessels , has attempted to ram some, and has fired water cannon to keep them out of the immediate area of the rig. There was a confrontation between Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel CSB 4302, a small patrol boat which was surrounded and threatened by Chinese vessels and withdrew. A Chinese military Y8 aircraft has been seen orbiting the cabbage patch at about 3,000 feet at times.These planes are capable of loiter type surveillance but also have attack capabilities.

 Recently the Dragon has beefed up its aerial presence sending in periodic over flights of fighter jets. The Chinese have shown no sign of intending to withdraw the rig which has been in Vietnamese waters since early May.  Recently about 40 steel Chinese fishing boats have been harassing more lightly constructed Vietnamese fishing craft as far away as 42 miles from the rig. These boats have been accompanied by Chines coast Guard craft #46102 46106.  China clearly intends to not only maintain its invasive oil rig in place symbolically claiming the exclusive right to explore for oil and to extract minerals in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, but to take over commercial fishing acvross a wide area of the zone. China's navy and coast guard are involved in this one. approximately 8 cutters and war ships are not enough to enforce the Chinese will, between their navy and coast guard they have about 1800 armed ships to call on. This is why there is no counter attack from Vietnam. What is scary is that China also claims an EEZ that extends right up to the beaches of the Philippine main islands. The Philippines have a competent navy and coast guard and they have shown the will to resist. They also have a defense treaty with the United States. The Dragon is getting more reckless. Both off the Philippines and Japan. It is betting the United States will not support its long time allies Japan and the Philippines. They are making a fatal error based on their assessment of the Obama administration. Japan and the Philippines are more than America's allies, they are friends with many families with members with  citizenship in either Japan, or the Philippines, having relatives who are citizens of the United States.   While the Philippines suffered a brutal invasion and occupation from Japan in the mid 20th century, there seems to be little ill will today. The Philippines recently made a statement of no objection to Japan beefing up its armed forces. The Dragon is high on ambition and low on decency, integrity, and common sense...a typical thug state.

CHINA

                                           

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NEWS FLASH Dr. Ibrahim and Family in U.S. Embassy in Sudan

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/sudanese-woman-meriam-ibrahim-safe-well-us-embassy?CMP=twt_gu

Sudanese Dr. Meriam Ibrahim 'Safe And Well' In US Embassy.

Husband of Christian woman whose apostasy death sentence was overturned says she and children doing well. Our Question is when will the U.S. State Department get this American's family to America? She is still facing bogus criminal charges in Sudan. Read Full Story in the Guardian.

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SPACE AS AN OCEAN, ANOTHER PARALLEL DEVELOPMENT

US Fears 'Pearl Harbor' In Space 

a link to a story in the  by TOSHIKI YAZAWA, Nikkei staff writer

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/US-fears-Pearl-Harbor-in-space

  We have been concerned with  this for years. Toshiki Yazawa hits the nail on the head as he explains China's growing space prowess and general lack of concern with adherence to space law. You can read his original story by clicking here: Space Pearl Harbor

 We have also proposed from time to time the need for a Space Capabilities Restoration And Replacement Force as a deterrent to Chinese further development of aggressive space weapons. We feel there is no doubt that China works constantly on the capability to shoot down or disrupt the operation of our space based military surveillance, navigation, and communications capabilities. We have advocated for a long time a mix of high and low technologies, and work around procedures to be readily available in the event of an attack that begins in Space. We are signatory to a treaty that prohibits weapons in space but fellow signatories China and Russia could care less. We do not loft weapons into earth orbit but we do enjoy a tactical advantage in terms of intelligence , navigation including precision weapons guidance, and communication in space. We should fully expect that an enemy would attack these space based advantages first, in an attempt to blind us, confuse us, cut off our communications and thus any advantage we might have had in the command and control of our defensive resources. We don't want to start an arms race in space by trying to loft weapons, the fact is we've proven our ability to shoot down objects in low earth orbit from the earth's surface , including from ships on the ocean. Our enemies count on us not having enough arrows in our quiver to hit their space based capabilities an equal blow.

 We propose that we make it so difficult to be sure that they have actually taken out any specific capability that they are deterred from trying. This where the Space Based Capabilities Restoration and Replacement Force comes in that we propose. 

We were communicating around the world at the speed of light before we had communications satellites. We need a low tech encrypted standby system capable of global communications on immediate stand by so that we are able to communicate instantly with  our forces in a secure manner the moment we lose space based capabilities. Some technologies within this system may be quite old such as HAM radio. The key is to have it up and ready 24 /7 with codes for mobilization day that have never been used in drills. We should also have some extra satellites for each military space capability in high orbit and able to move into position to restore service on command. Additional spares should be stored near a ready launch pad. Of course the enemy may be able to shoot down the replacements but each time they do they expose their launch site to detection and retaliation. Making sure our sailors and aviators can perform celestial navigation gives us a back up for satellite navigation that no one can take away. We should also consider some Loran Stations in particular venues and or building the once planned earth based eight station global electronic navigation system once known as OMAGA. We don't mean to outline the entire system here or to suggest that it can ever stop evolving. But if we build a basic system fast, keep expanding it, drilling with it, proving it we create a deterrent to not only using such space based weapons as our enemies already have, but a deterrent to spending the money on aggressive systems that can't really knock out our core capabilities.  All aspects of it need not be expensive or high tech. As long as we comprehensively address how we would continue to communicate with our scattered forces, target and guide weapons, with our space based defensive capabilities are wiped out, it is doubtful that the "Space Based Pearl Harbor" will ever happen. Japan didn't catch our carriers in port, all they did in their own words was "awaken a sleeping Tiger". By having , testing, improving and exercising a system of systems that anticipates that we may have to fight "space blind" for a while, we assure would be enemies that we are a fully awake Tiger, more than able to take a licking and keep on ticking.

 Time for some out of the box thinking. 






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THE DRAGON AND THE SCHOOL HOUSE

China Builds Island School As Philippines Proposes Ban On Construction In South China Sea

 Photo: USMC: "Pay us no mind we're just here to build the school house"

 Fox News / Associated Press
  "BEIJING –  China rejected a suggestion by the Philippines on Monday for a region wide ban on construction in the South China Sea after Beijing began building a school on a rugged outpost it created to strengthen its claims to disputed waters.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he will propose that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations call for such a moratorium. "I think we would use the international community to step up and to say that we need to manage the tensions in the South China Sea before it gets out of hand," del Rosario said.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters that the Philippines was making "irresponsible remarks." She said China was committed to resolving issues with countries on a bilateral basis, and that island disputes between China and the Philippines were not an issue for ASEAN." Read Full Story

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/16/china-builds-island-school-as-philippines-proposes-ban-on-construction-in-south/

                                           

CHINESE NAVY IN HAWAII FOR JOINT EXERCISES

GET TO KNOW THE CHINESE SHIPS VISITING HAWAII RIGHT NOW

Chinese sailors at Pearl Harbor, the place their government has publicly announced that they would drive us back to. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)

 We know it sounds bizarre with all of the news we carry about the Dragon bullying its neighbors to secure illicit and illegal territorial gain. We know we carry warnings from the Great Namazu and others to beware of the swimming dragon, but keep in mind that after the slaughter of Vietnam's seamen in the 1980s the Dragon has been doing most of its harassment with Coast Guard vice naval vessels, and the shots exchanged so far have been water cannon. Everyone is trying to show resistance to Chinese naval aggression yet maintain some semblance of normal relations. Hence the U.S. is hosting a Chinese task force in Hawaii for scheduled naval exercises, RIMPAC 2014. 

 The Chinese naval units arrived recently and POPULAR SCIENCE was on hand to photograph the participating Chinese naval units. Have a look at : Popular Science

http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/eastern-arsenal

 

THE COMMERCIAL MARITIME SECTOR IS VULNERABLE TO CYBER ATTACK

PORT , TERMINAL, TANKER, AGENCY , VESSEL TRAFFIC CONTROL, AND OFF SHORE OIL OPERATIONS ARE ALL VULNERABLE AND A FEW OPERATIONS HAVE ALREADY FELT THE STING.

 Photo: USCG

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The commercial maritime world like the rest of business globally is highly cyber dependent and increasingly more so. The maritime industries are also critical to the economic survival of most nations, particularly the Western nations. For example the United States requires 77 strategic bulk materials to support its economy, 66 of those come by sea. Moreover both the United States and the EU have extensive inland river and canal, as well as coast-wise shipping for internal domestic distribution of many commodities. The U.S. built the Intracoastal  Waterways to provide tank barge transport of critical military fuels on a route too shallow  for submarines. Canals and coastal water ways are a very difficult system to destroy with traditional attacks. Individual terminals and vessels can be destroyed, but unlike a rail line it is difficult to destroy the system transport right of way. But with shipping reliant on computers and communications between computers hacking becomes a potential "weapon of mass disruption"  by terrorist bent on damaging a nation's economy to the point of imperiling defense budgets. There may be no physical damage to the marine transportation and off shore oil infrastructure in such an attack, but the attack renders the systems inoperative for a while and the losses and costs to government can be in the billions, hence mass disruption vice destruction. The Chinese, the Russians share this vulnerability with the U.S. and the EU but prepare to make such attacks on the West , drill, train, and test annually. The Islamic terrorist have capability and intent as well. Defense is complicated for the West because our maritime industries, while vital to the national economy, defense and security are in law and reality collections of highly competitive private companies with little uniformity or cross communication in dispatch and traffic management. Out on the U.S. public right of way constituted by our coastal and inland waterways there is coordination of traffic by the U.S.Coast Guard for collision avoidance, congestion reduction and movement safety of hazardous materials cargoes. That public system is vulnerable to cyber attack as well. The offshore oil industry has actually experienced some hacking recently.

 In 2009 a hacker was charged in federal district court in California with sabotaging computer systems on offshore producing platforms off of Santa Barbara , California. He hacked into the rig to shore communications net work and disabled leak detection systems for the "gathering platforms" that consolidate production from a field of producing wells and send it ashore via pipeline. Production offshore is particularly vulnerable to attack due to the number of unmanned  remotely managed platforms  involved and the heavy reliance on cybernetic systems. Drilling and exploration now use computers in positioning, station keeping, well logging , and a dozens of other applications. Part of "station keeping" for semi submersible mobile offshore drilling units is stability, keeping the floating rig level as wind and wave conditions change, drilling fluids are taken on and expended, etc. According to news stories reported by Reuters off of Somalia floating rigs have had lists induced remotely. Also off Somalia one rig's general computer system was so compromised by malware that operations were halted 19 days for repair. In naval terminology we'd call that a "mission kill". Nineteen days of down time represents millions of dollars in economic loss, so we can say that an element of the offshore oil industry has already experienced its first "mission kill". 

 One source of economic damage in the event of cyber attacks is the uninsured nature of much of the damages. If a terrorist hacker succeeded in disabling a semi submersible's stability system and it resulted in capsize, the owner would probably be covered to the face value of his policy under his "all risk" hull policy (depending on how it is written). But if all the hacker accomplished was a "mission kill" few companies at the moment would have insurance coverage for the expenses of system repairs and replacements, and may not have full coverage for non electronic related damages, or business disruption caused by computer malfunctions from any cause including deliberate attack. The industry is quietly seeking security against this threat. The maritime insurance industry needs to be fully aboard. Providing coverage against cyber attacks and computer induced damages and standards for assessing risk for reasonable premiums is a task for the insurance industry and an opportunity. The maritime insurance industry could be a major deterrent to "mission kill" type attacks if it can be demonstrated that through a combination of industry wide protective measures the attacks are more difficult than they are now , and through intelligent and affordable insurance programs much of the economic damage from a terrorist induced "mission kill" could be mitigated. If they can't cause real economic damage, such attacks for the terrorist could prove a waste of time and resources.

 In the case of the United States, the Congress could create a big disincentive for such attacks. Eliminate defense spending from the sequestration equation. Defense spending is only 17% of the federal budget right now. Yet under the sequestration rules 50% of the budget cuts required by sequestration must come out of defense. This is national suicide. Our enemies know that economic disruption attacks can multiply the effects of sequestration, reducing profitability to companies and thus taxes to the U.S. treasury. The resulting adjustments are sprung disproportionately on an ever shrinking defense budget. What an opportunity to reduce U.S. armed forces to something that the terrorist actually believe they could defeat or at least render ineffective.   Since the Congress has proven that it periodically can't avoid sequestration the national defense should be pulled from the sequestration sources. There are lots of other places to cut . 

 How much foreign aid do we give to Somalia which is so fond of hanging Christians? How many useless research grants of no immediate concern to the federal government do we hand out every year? Why do federal jobs that rate GS-11 pay in regional offices pay GS 14 in Washington ? The list of waste, fraud, and abuse is endless and the Inspector Generals who are supposed to be the agency watch dogs are employees of the agencies they supposedly watch. Why not abolish the agency inspectors generals and send half their staffs to the independent GAO  and leave the hunt for waste, fraud, and abuse with a beefed up independent agency with an excellent reputation and eliminate the bloated and ineffective agency Inspector Generals? We are still paying big corporate farmers not to grow things. We doubt the land is laying fallow in order to receive these subsidies. Lets revamp these programs to support real national food security and not agribusiness corporate wealth. We can do with a lot less government generally, more efficient government where possible, but not less defense. We have real enemies as well as rising peer state competition. All at a time when Washington is totally lacking in adult supervision. Go to the polls eliminate entirely the Democrats, replace Tea Party Republicans with independent and pragmatic candidates, oust doctrinaire Republicans and do these things consistently. Within five years common sense and pragmatism would return to Washington and the U.S. might have a chance. Stop government by serial BOZOs..

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Latest on Dr. Meriam Ibrahim's "Re-Arrest" in Sudan UPDATE 9:30 PM EST 6/25/2014

Sudan Summons US, South Sudan Ambassadors After Re-Arrest of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, Previously Condemned To Death For Being Christian.

UPDATE: 9:30 PM EST 6/25/2014: The family lawyer and U.S. State Department confirm the family has been released from police custody. State Department asserts it is working on bringing the family back to America ASAP. 

 Dr. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag is a 27 year old medical doctor born in Sudan and married to an American citizen born in Sudan and now a resident of New Hampshire. Meriam and her husband have two children, a new born and a son 20 months old. She was arrested when she was eight months pregnant for being a Christian. The Sudanese government can put any legal twist they want on it but being a Christian was the "crime" she was arrested for. The court declared her duly licensed and recorded marriage null because her husband is a Christian, as she is and has been raised since as far back as she can remember. By declaring her marriage null the court then cited her two children as "proof of adultery" (one definition among these utter barbarians is a Muslim woman marrying a non Muslim). The court then sentenced her to one hundred lashes but delayed the execution of the sentence because she was eight months pregnant. They had other matters to attend to relative to the good doctor. It seems a male relative who she had little contact with filed charges with the court that Meriam was a Muslim. That fact under their barbarian law allowed the court to sentence her to death for abandoning the Islamic religion, and so they immediately sentenced her to hang some time after they get around to beating her to near death. Off she went to prison with both of her baby sharing her cell. She was placed in leg irons inside her cell and gave birth to her second child while in leg irons.

  Her husband, an American citizen, and a biochemist confined to a wheel chair was released. He immediately sought legal counsel and the assistance of the American embassy. Allegedly the initial response of the American embassy was that they didn't "have time for this". Eventually Great Britain's diplomatic corps and an association of British Muslims condemned the Sudanese action. There was some global media coverage , eventually the U.S. State Department went to work and shortly it was announced that Meriam had was about to be released. That turned out to be false, the Sudanese Imams were determined to mete out their peculiar form of "justice". Sudan's constitution supposedly   assures all citizens freedom of religion, but the Imam judges don't really care for the constitution. But there being a constitutional issue she did rate an appeal. Meanwhile World, but official U.S. pressure was mounting on the appeals court to buck the Imam's. About two days ago it was announced that the flogging and death sentence was rescinded and mother and babies were released from prison. After being in hiding the family appeared at the airport ready to depart for the U.S. Meriam had an "emergency exit" document from South Sudan, a Christian enclave that broke off from Sudan when the Imams made life impossible and a U.S Visa. The family by all accounts except that of the U.S. State Department was arrested on criminal charges of pass port and visa fraud. The penalty is five years of imprisonment. Men and women are imprisoned separately ,small  children apparently are jailed with the mother.

 The Sudanese Foreign Ministry acting like an offended party has called in the American and South Sudanese ambassadors. The lawyer for the family characterized the action as an arrest but estimated that the family would be released from police custody within 24 hours, we are nearing that point now, no word as of this writing. The U.S. embassy paints a quite different story. U.S. authorities claim that the family was detained by police for several hours then released and were not arrested. The claim doesn't seem very credible given that the family lawyer still hasn't confirmed their release and the past history of news coming from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, or the U.S. State Department.  IN any event the family whether in a safe house somewhere or in jail is at this writing still in Sudan, in fear for their lives not only from the barbarian judiciary but from much of the intolerant and apparently blood thirsty population. Again we wish we could just get back to maritime coverage but this saga should be known by our professional mariner readers. It speaks volumes about the ineptitude of the U.S. State Department upon whom we depend for protection in foreign ports some of which are vehemently hostile to Christians and particularly hostile to Americans of any persuasion.

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http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/sudan-summons-us-south-sudan-ambassadors-in-row-over-christian-convert-547475

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NOTICE:  The Week did not start out well with the ISIS on the march. We have a post by Vic Scotra today on the Chief of the ISIS. The Sudan remains on our list of places that should never be visited , especially by U.S. Merchant Mariners with aid cargoes. First the Sudanese High Court released one Christian mother of two from her sentence of one hundred lashes and death by hanging for basically being a Christian. Unfortunately the Sudanese arrested the entire family (father , mother, two babies) again yesterday morning before they could leave the country (the Father is American). Based on a letter from a Christian Bishop in Sudan that we published earlier we believe there is still a young man facing death by hanging for being a Christian in Sudan. Unlike the woman who was released he is not married to an American, so there is little pressure on the government. Really its time for us to wake up, if one person is threatened with execution over religious differences with the state we all are threatened. The problem is as old as Rome and on the rise again. We offered a parting opinion on that Monday as we prepared to refocus on our main concern, maritime information. We also have some order of battle type information for you on the ISIS vs Iraqi army and a link to what we think is a remarkable source for those of you following events over there. While we anticipated an air cover support campaign with major contributions from U.S. Aircraft carriers nothing so far appears to be happening. So we have a parting post on that as we prepare for a return of focus from current events back to the maritime world. As you will note in today's posts however a return to maritime events has to include more aggression by that old Dragon China in the seas that bear her name. 

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(Noted Islamist Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in a screen capture from ya Libnan.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: In several of our posts we have mentioned that the Chief of the ISIS is a former U.S. Captive who told his guards before being discharged from prison "see you in New York". Namazu's pal Vic Socotra was the source of much of our information about the ISIS chief we think may be pictured above Abu Bakr al Baghdadi that being a bit of a mouthful for an English speaker we simply refer to him around the water cooler as "BOZO" every one seems to know exactly who we are talking about. Don't confuse him with "OBOZO" a term associated with the present POTUS .This is the original photo posted with Vic's original post, but just today he posted this: " the photo that accompanied the recent story about the collapse of the Iraqi Army against the insurgent Loony Sunni forces of ISIS. As it turns out, it was not the dirtbag terrorist I was talking about. It was some other dirtbag terrorist."   We did a little research and found this photo in several places identified as the dirt bag we know as "BOZO".   Below is Vic's take on the guy. You can find this kind of stuff daily if you read your "DAILY SOCOTRA" www.vicsocotra.com

Other images of BOZO: http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/147962-startling-report-isis-leader-details-release-u-s-custody-brutal-reign-terror/

               http://www.islamicinvitationturkey.com/2013/04/09/western-backed-al-qaeda-al-nusra-front-our-syria-branch/

   https://www.google.com/search?q=Images+of+Abu+Bakr+al+Baghdadi&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=LtKqU6_mDtO0yAT48YGQDA&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1186&bih=643#imgdii=_

This is about as bad as it gets. A pal with a nose for how things are going- he was a senior intelligence officer in the Emirates a while back and understands the regional alignment- is conceding what we knew as Iraq to the dustbin of colonial history. I remember sitting with him in the humid heat one evening, listening to the call to prayers and sipping a fine Scotch and puffing on a real Cuban cigar. He is a realist. This is very bad, and we are apparently not going to do a damned thing about it. There are going to be implications for the global commons, and I am going to start thinking about what that means right here. It seems like that we will do nothing about all this- no one has the will to again commit troops to the fray, and I am not going to argue for that. There will be consequences from this abandonment, though, and we may as well start getting ready for it. Since we cannot seem to acknowledge who we are at war with- or better and more accurately said, who is at war with us- I doubt seriously that we will be able to mount any effective challenge to the new Caliphate. 

 I watched one of the execution videos yesterday- everyone knows what is about to happen- why doesn't anyone do something? If you are to die anyway, why don't you do something? Of course we are doing the same thing here. I find the domestic efforts of CAIR to be quite effective at playing to the media- I look on with some admiration for how they are pulling the strings. Taken with the apparent sympathy for the Muslim Brotherhood on the part of Foggy Bottom, and the bizarre support to these murderous thugs provided by our CIA via the Libyan arms trove, I just have no way to believe that this is going to get better any time soon. 

I also think I am going to get out of this high profile target area. Remember what the ISIS war commander Abu Bakr al Baghdadi said when we released him from detention three years ago? “See you in New York.”
Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra.com

Twitter: @jayare303

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