Japan on Alert, Combat Ready

Fox News: Reports that Japan is on Alert should the North Korean Missile become a threat to Japan. The Navy of Japan is in position and Japan has moved its land missiles to intercept any threat to Japan. The West has to keep a very careful eye on this launch by North Korea, the West should not over react but it should forces on hand to take out the missile if it becomes a threat to Japan or the USA. The Obama Administration has warned North Korea, but this seems to have been ignored, thus President Obama should be ready to order that the USA take down the missile. If North Korea is allowed to have a successful launch they will blackmail the West, lets recall they have nuclear ambitions. North Korea could sell its technology to Iran, thus conflict between Iran and Israel would drag in the USA. These are tense times folks.

Taliban/Terrorists from Pakistan and Afghanistan to combine to figh the West!

The New York Times: Reports that Taliban from Afghanistan and Pakistan will come together to fight the West in Afghanistan. This is excellent reporting by the Liberal NYT . If this story is true, the War in Afghanistan just go worse, a lot worse. The Government of Pakistan will be happy, they should get less attacks but the West in the shape of the USA and the UK just got a lesson in how bad this War could get this year. As reported today in the London Times the UK Army is thinking of sending another two thousand troops to Afghanistan, this could be needed, the Taliban/Terrorists want to show that Obama is weak. Thus President Obama will face a tough year, we have North Korea and its missile launch, Afghanistan could get a lot more bloody, it will become Obama's War. In Iraq we have seen some raise in attacks but it looks like the Bush Surge has worked. If Obama is seen as weak in North Korea this could be seen as a green light for Iran to go nuclear. Israel will never allow that, thus expect action by Israel. On the economic front the Obama Administration wants the West to spend money to get the economic system out of this recession/depression, those countries in the EU want to regulate but not spend. Thus the G2o conference should be a failure. Read of the Day.

UK Surge in Afghanistan - 2,000 Troops

The Times: Has an exclusive report, Army Chiefs are ready to send another two thousand troops to Afghanistan. The UK would then have ten thousand troops in country. Our brave soldiers always do their best, but this is not the time for a heavy footprint, this is a massive mistake. Obama is following the path of another President, LBJ, as with Vietnam Obama is allowing himself to be tied to the success of the War in Afghanistan. The Obama plan has leaked, cant Washington D.C keep any secrets, is two fold, the USA will build up the military, police and civilian structure of Afghanistan, thus they can take over the fighting. This is rubbish, the West, USA, UK will be in country for god knows how long, we cant walk away with the terrorist threat, no President or PM will walk away with a cloud of a terrorists attack on the horizon. The second part of the plan as stated many times in this blog is also rubbish, it is based on the notion that Pakistan can take control of the badlands on his border with Afghanistan. As stated many times, to the end degree, even the British at the time of the Empire had very lose control of these areas. The Government of Pakistan is weak, it can be rolled as was shown by recent demonstrations. Thus what is the answer you might ask, a lot of critical comment but so far no answers on this blog.


The answer is for a light footprint, the use of special forces, bribe the Tribal leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight the terrorists, buy the drugs so the farmers know they have a buyer. Thus would have two benefits, the farmers of Afghanistan would know they have reliable buyer for their crop, also they might start to grow food for the people of Afghanistan. The Terrorists would lose out the drug money, thus they could not buy new guns, food and equipment that makes them a threat to the West. It is important to get the tribal leaders in Afghanistan to run the country, flatter, bribe put the fear of God in to them, but as Kennedy said about Vietnam it their country and they have to win this war. One day the west will get tired, 9/11 will become a tragic memory, its already starting, the election of Obama shows that the USA wants to move forward and not look back but also get out from under the cloud of terrorism. Thus talk to the moderate Taliban, if a deal can be made great, a few brown envelopes with some dollars is great way to end a war. The idea that the USA can even get a structure in place in Afghanistan is a mistake, Afghanistan has been bombed and invaded back to the stone age. What the West needs is for the Tribal leaders to run Afghanistan, keep the terrorists at bay and keep a lid on the place. This is harsh but the truth folks, if the Tribal leaders go to war with each other for ever just to get some money from the West that is fine with me as long as they keep the terrorists at bay and keep the USA and UK from losing any more troops.

Obama - 4,000 Soldiers to Afghanistan

BBC News: Reports that the Obama Administration will sent another four thousand troops to Afghanistan to help train the police and other internal security forces. This is a mistake, does any one recall that's how the Vietnam War started to get real under Kennedy, Kennedy sent in thousand of trainers, then came the troops, the USA has done it backwards, but its the same point. Thus the War in Afghanistan becomes the Obama War. The sending of the first 17,000 troops now followed by this extra 4, 000 makes Obama more tied to the War. The Obama Plan for an Exit route is rubbish, the Afghan Army and Police will never be ready to take over the fighting. The idea that Pakistan can somehow take on the Taliban/Terrorists in the tribal badlands on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a non starter, the government is on very thin ground at the moment; the USA use of drones to kill the terrorists in Pakistan has not gone down well; the political elite is split in Pakistan, thus the recent decision by the Government to fold to the demands of the political opposition for the ex Chief Justice of Pakistan to get his job back. Thus it can be argued that Obama is the new LBJ. Thus Obama will no win re-election in 2012.

North Korea - WE WILL GO NUCLEAR

Fox News: Reports that Stalinist North Korea has threatened to restart its nuclear ambitions if the International Community takes action over the Missile launch that is expected in April. The USA should take a tough line, any missile launched from North Korea should be shot down, the USA should also warn, that any military action taken by North Korea will be seen as an attack on the USA. Thus Obama should follow the Kennedy line as in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world is looking at Obama, if he is seen as weak over this issue, Iran will see it as a green light to go nuclear. Thus North Korea is connected to Iran. If Obama allows North Korea to launch its missile without any real reaction, the UN is not a real reaction, rogue states and terrorists will see that Obama does not have a backbone. This issue in a odd way could define the Obama Presidency as much as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Economy. It only takes two of these to wrong for Obama to be a one term President.

Pakistan's ISI supports the Taliban/Terrorists in Afghanistan

The New York Times: Reports that the Taliban/Terrorists in Afghanistan is getting support from Pakistan's secret service the ISI. The Obama Administration has to get tough with the Government of Pakistan, the USA and the UK cant fight the terrorists if these terrorists are getting assistance from intelligence to military support from the secret service of Pakistan. Its bad enough that the Army of Pakistan has no control over the badlands of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and that the Government of Pakistan has appeased the Taliban/Terrorists in the Swat Valley. The West almost cant win if the ISI is playing a game for after a win by the West in Afghanistan, one can understand why, after the Soviet Union was forced out of Afghanistan the West lost interest, thus it is the backyard of Pakistan. But the West does not have the time for the ISA to play their games, its time for the Ugly American to show his face, get tough with Pakistan, tell the Government to clean house in the ISI, send the Army in to the Swat Valley, and take the fight to the Taliban/Terrorists in the badlands. Its time to show that the West can play tough and mean it and win. Read of the Day.

UK Gilts = Premium Bongs

Telegraph: Reports that the UK Government could not sell all its UK Gilts, Gilts are like Premium Bonds, investors buy them and get an interest, the Government gets the money to spend. This development is not surprising, as the Governor of Bank of England has stated that the UK Government can not afford to spend more money to get the economy out of the present recession. Thus we are seeing a conflict between the USA under President Obama who wants to spend money and the EU who want to regulate the system without the spending. In this case the EU is right, if you think about it Obama has made sure that the USA will be in debt for generations. The EU sees this policy as a mistake, thus don't expect much agreement at the G20 conference.