Mil News Current Iran/Iraq/US Tensions and Actions Unfolding

[Musashi]

I’m not entirely sure where you are going with all this, not to mention having an idea about what you are talking about.

Myth: Israel Is the Largest Beneficiary of US Military Aid

Many American detractors of Israel begin by citing that Israel receives the lion’s share of US military aid. The very suggestion conjures the demon of an all-powerful Israel lobby that has turned th

besacenter.org

Some of the theories in this article are exotic and überridiculous.

American boots on the ground. In reality, Israel receives only a small fraction of American military aid, and most of that was spent in the US to the benefit of the American economy.

lol
Are you saying that if I produce a piece of a military hardware and give it to my neighbour for free, it benefits my economy? It appears the author of this article is not an Oxford graduate. It's a no-brainer: I spend a lot of money, while my neighbour spends zero money. I use my resources, pay my workers' salaries, share my technology, and, most importantly, stop the factory from producing the hardware for my own needs for a period of time in order to deliver the product to my neighbour. How can it benefit my economy? By selling spare parts to my neighbour in the future when the hardware gets a bit old or outdated? Yes, it's the only possiblity which cost nothing comparing to the hardware itself.

Once the real costs are calculated, the largest aid recipient is revealed to be Japan, where 48,828 US military personnel are stationed. This translates into a US military aid package of over US$27 billion (calculated according to Vine’s lower estimation). Germany, with 37,704 US troops on its soil, receives aid equivalent to around US$21 billion; South Korea, with 27,553 US troops, receives over US$15 billion; and Italy receives at least US$6 billion.

This paragraph is a proof that the author of this article is out of touch with reality. Either he must be living on a different planet or has been hibernated for the last 30 years.
Who do the American troops defend Germany from? Russia? lol Russia would love to be Germany's best friends and has no intention of attacking it. Russia is a threat to her closest neigbours. Either the ones who used to be part of the Soviet Union or the Warsaw Pact. We need American troops in Poland, that's true, but Germany? lol Ask Germans if they need them. Putin is not an idiot and remembers Germany having saved Russia from bankrupcy. He is an evil person, but he still has his brain and is clever.

The same applies to the French. No problem with Russia at all and no threat from Russia.

Italy??? It's the bit that made me spitting my tea on the desk. Italy is the major Russia's ally in Europe. All recent Italian governements, regardless of their affiliation and a party allegiance, trolled everybody and their dog to lift the sanctions against Russia.
Who do the American troops defend Italy from nowadays?
It would have been great if the Americans had been able to sort out their batshit crazy pilots who played a chicken game, trying to scare the passangers of an Italian cable car, ending up cutting the wire and killing 20 civilians, including a baby, under that process. They deleted the video recording and what was the verdict? Not guilty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998)

No 'lol" comment from me for a change. The baby and his mother were Polish BTW.

Why not to go to Italy and ask people if they need any American troops? They could give you totally different answers than people in Central/Eastern Europe.

Japan? Yes, maybe now. The American forces have been projecting their power from Japan for almost 75 years with little benefit to Japan. The Chinese were no threat to Japan until the recent times due to using a Ching-era military equipment in the past. If your former enemy takes a big portion of land from you, building his military base there and evicts local people, how can it benefit you? It may have started a couple of years ago due to the Chinese having acquired some advanced military equipment.

 

[Mordoror]

Could you update me on the final findings, as I'm too busy to read the press?
The first information was that it was a drone attack, then somebody concluded it was a missile attack due to the inability of suicidal drones to carry out such long-range and precise attacks. Even some corpses of missiles have been found and finally we got another theory about drones. It's pretty confusing.

Seemgly cruise missiles copied/derived/reverse engineered from kh500 sold by ukraine in early 2000s. That's what say the wreckages.
Some say it was possibly a missile/drone mix (some impacts look small for kh warhead size and some guards have supposedly fired HMGs on small flying objects).

 

[Mordoror]

Apart from the command, officers and kit (which is not a small factor of the equation).

Israel is a world apart from arab armies in "grunt" performance under fire, because the different culture, education, way of thinking and seeing life of average soldier. They can handle better the stress, be ready to take leadership/follower roles , to take initiative, and to be creative and innovative. They are a product of a society. Certain things come to them as a second nature, they dont need to learn how to do it because they have been living that way since the day they were born. Freedom, Liberty of choice, balancing pros and cons, decission making, Teamwork, Team sports, etc...

Israel military reserve didnt do so well in several instances notably against the hezbollah in 2006.
What you describe as IDF force multiplier back in previous wars was lost for the lure of "airpower wins all war".
There were a lot of criticism from reservists about land forces preparations around 2006 and 2008. Things were probably refurbished and retinkered and it is probably better.
But as a matter of proof,even the vaunted IDF has shown that it is easy to lose a culture of war for ground forces and it is time, money and energy consuming to recover it. So it is not so much a matter of culture rather than a matter of doctrine.
There is one army that is well rated, yet the soldiers and officers are arabs (I am speaking about Jordan). The difference with KSA idiots is that officers are not or less selected by nepotism, regular soldiers are not regarded as 3d tier citizens and the elite force of the kingdom is not a client tribe ala KSA National Guard.

 

[Musashi]

There is one army that is well rated, yet the soldiers and officers are arabs (I am speaking about Jordan). The difference with KSA idiots is that officers are not or less selected by nepotism, regular soldiers are not regarded as 3d tier citizens and the elite force of the kingdom is not a client tribe ala KSA National Guard.

They don't drag their servants to dig out their ditches and they don't hire mercenaries from poorer Arab states to do their job either.

 

[Musashi]

This article made me giggle, so I'm going to share it. I needed some laugh before falling asleep:

Yemen: UN welcomes Houthi vow to cease missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia

The promise came a week after the rebels said they were behind a major missile and drone attack on Saudi oil facilities.

news.sky.com

 

[Chazman]

"In recent days, the people familiar with the matter said, Iran let Houthi fighters know that they wanted their support in carrying out more attacks across the region. The Houthis responded unexpectedly, by offering a unilateral cease-fire on Friday to Saudi Arabia."

Yemeni Rebels Warn Iran Plans Another Strike Soon

Houthi militants in Yemen have warned foreign diplomats that Iran is preparing a follow-up strike to the missile and drone attack that crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil industry a week ago, people familiar with the matter said.

www.wsj.com

Seems at least some Houthi are breaking away from Iranian influence. The plot thickens.......

 

[BCNTM]

"In recent days, the people familiar with the matter said, Iran let Houthi fighters know that they wanted their support in carrying out more attacks across the region. The Houthis responded unexpectedly, by offering a unilateral cease-fire on Friday to Saudi Arabia."

Seems at least some Houthi are breaking away from Iranian influence. The plot thickens.......

Probably concerned that someone is going to turn up with a very large stick

 

[Dercius]

Probably concerned that someone is going to turn up with a very large stick

Cant blame them, nobody wants to be at the wrong end of Uncle Sugar´s Boomstick when the trigger is pulled.
But I suppose it will create a conflict of interests with their Slogan "Death to America! Death to Israel! Curse the Jews, and victory for Islam" ?
Hope they didnt burn all their stock of american flags, they might come in handy ?

 

[Junglejim]

Or maybe, just maybe the "ties" to Iran with the Houthis are thread thin, just being exaggerated by the KSA. meaning yes the Houthis got equipment from Iran, but that doesnt necessarily mean the Houthis are a product or extension of Iran... then I guess that would be better sounding than a bunch of hicks given some weapons is kicking an entire kingdoms ass.

 

[ao_sepia]

where was them from?

 

[Jake84]

where was them from?

95% of them were Saudi nationals.

 

[Musashi]

95% of them were Saudi nationals.

"Just" 79%
Still bad enough.

 

[ao_sepia]

taliban & al qaeda groups

 

[Jake84]

"Just" 79%
Still bad enough.

More accurately yes.

Also the supposed « ringleader » was Egyptian (Mohammad Atta)

 

[Fluff]

....so we should look out for people buying unwanted airliners? 737 Max anyone??

 

[Chazman]

Or maybe, just maybe the "ties" to Iran with the Houthis are thread thin, just being exaggerated by the KSA. meaning yes the Houthis got equipment from Iran, but that doesnt necessarily mean the Houthis are a product or extension of Iran... then I guess that would be better sounding than a bunch of hicks given some weapons is kicking an entire kingdoms ass.

Sounds like the Houthis are saying to Iran, "hey man thanks for your weapons, cash and training, but really - keep us out of your broader bullshit". The Iranian Mullahs appear to have overplayed their hand again. If I were the Saudis, I grab the Houthi olive branch.

 

[BCNTM]

reports are that Iran is set to release the British tanker - no new feeds yet

 

[Fluff]

reports are that Iran is set to release the British tanker - no new feeds yet

I'd be searching that ship carefully.....

 

[bfc1001]

Saudi Aramco's record $2 trillion float under threat after drone attacks send oil price soaring

The world’s biggest float - the $2 trillion listing of state-owned oil titan Saudi Aramco - is under threat in the wake of attacks on the desert kingdom that triggered the biggest spike in oil prices for almost three decades.

www.telegraph.co.uk

I don't know if this is pertinent to the debate , but Saudi oil was on the brink of the biggest private flotation in history until a few weeks ago . It seems those assets are somewhat vulnerable .

 

[Mordoror]

Or maybe, just maybe the "ties" to Iran with the Houthis are thread thin, just being exaggerated by the KSA. meaning yes the Houthis got equipment from Iran, but that doesnt necessarily mean the Houthis are a product or extension of Iran... then I guess that would be better sounding than a bunch of hicks given some weapons is kicking an entire kingdoms ass.

This.
It is also possible that by standard Iranian modus operandi, after a rise in tension, there is a time to defuse things. IRI has always proceeded this way.
The message being passed over ie we can hurt you, so now,let s discuss seriously