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HOMELAND SECURITY

The Greatness Agenda The Pentagon, Prudence, and Missile Defense Rachel Bovard

https://amgreatness.com/2019/11/06/the-pentagon-prudence-and-missile-defense/

While the allure of new technology to keep the country safe is understandable, it cannot and should not be pursued in a way that leaves the homeland open to direct threats.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military acknowledged that North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles can now hit targets anywhere in the continental United States. Bizarrely, the Pentagon has responded by cutting the one program that could stop them.

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, which has existed since the early 2000s, is designed to protect the homeland from an intercontinental missile (ICBM) attack. Or, in other words, to act as the last line of defense in the event of nuclear war.

It does this by shooting ICBMs out of the sky. The GMD, which is made up of 64 ground-based launchers, sends out “kill vehicles” which use sensors, lasers, and rocket thrusters to track and catch ICBMs, destroying them before they hit the earth.

To most people it sounds like the stuff of “Star Wars” novels, but, increasingly, it is a necessary tool in a constantly changing, missile-heavy world. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran either possess nuclear missiles, or are working hard to acquire them—to say nothing of other rogue nations and failed states doing the same.

This makes the Pentagon’s recent decision to terminate the program all the more confusing.

That the GMD has long been in need of an update is without question. Just one percent of the Pentagon’s mammoth budget goes toward missile defense—and of that one percent, a significant portion is spent overseas, defending U.S. forces and allies. Our “kill vehicles”—the central component of the GMD system, which take out incoming missiles—have been in need of a reboot for quite some time.

The Pentagon was working steadily toward a re-design of the program, before pausing it in May, and then outright canceling it in August.

Ten Years After Fort Hood Massacre For Obama, it was “workplace violence.” Lloyd Billingsley

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/ten-years-after-115-lloyd-billingsley/

On November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, Texas, Major Nidal Hasan, a self-proclaimed “soldier of Allah,” gunned down 13 unarmed American soldiers, including Pvt. Francheska Velez, who was pregnant. Yelling the familiar “Allahu akbar,” Hasan chased down the wounded and shot them in the back. The major would have killed many more if police officer Kim Munley had not fired on the shooter. For the more than 30 the Muslim major wounded, the troubles were only beginning.

The 11/5 Fort Hood massacre was the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11.

For the president of the United States formerly known as Barry Soetoro, it was only “workplace violence,” not even “gun violence.” That prevented the survivors from getting the medals and medical treatment they deserved. For his part, Major Hasan never should have been in a position to attack them.

As Robert Spencer notes, Maj. Hasan told colleagues infidels should have their throats cut, heads chopped off, and boiling oil poured down their throat. He told students Islamic law trumped the U.S. Constitution and suicide bombings were justified. Hasan’s jihadist tilt was well known but his Army superiors “kept promoting him” even as the FBI tracked his terrorist contacts.

As a 2012 congressional hearing revealed, Hasan openly communicated with Muslim cleric and terrorist mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki. In one email, Hasan told al-Awlaki, “Please keep me in your Rolodex in case you find me useful, and please feel free to call me collect.” Even so, under FBI boss Robert Mueller “the case was dropped until November 5, when the media began circulating reports of the massacre” and at that time the FBI agents “knew exactly who the perpetrator was.”

Schumer Complains About ISIS Terrorists A proven master of hypocrisy. Michael Cutler

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/schumer-complains-about-isis-terrorists-michael-cutler/

President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria was borne of his desire to keep his campaign promises of not continuing to spill American blood by having American troops serve as the “police force for the world.”

It should come as no surprise that Senator Chuck Schumer was among the most vociferous opponents of the President’s decision.  Virtually any statement or decision that President Trump might make immediately becomes the subject of a Chuck Schumer tirade.

On October 17, 2019 the Washington Times reported, Chuck Schumer’s bid to rebuke Trump over Syria fails in Senate. That news report began with this excerpt that show how there is no easy or clear path as to how to deal with this international diplomatic and military quagmire that preceded Trump’s election:

Senators fought Thursday over how to try to patch up the mess in Syria, but it quickly became clear that beyond being frustrated with President Trump, there’s little unity on what, exactly, the U.S. should do.

Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, tried to force a symbolic rebuke of Mr. Trump, saying it would send a signal that might make the president reverse his decisions and send U.S. troops back in, but that was blocked by Sen. Rand Paul.

The Kentucky Republican said not only has Congress never authorized going to war in Syria, but sending troops back would mean putting them in between Turkey and the Kurds, both U.S. allies but who are now battling each other.

On October 13, 2019 MSN (MicroSoft News) republished a news report posted by the local NYC radio station, CBS News Radio 880, that announced, Schumer: Trump’s Syria Troop Withdrawal Threatens Security Of NYC.

Here is an excerpt from that report:

Schumer says New Yorkers know the impact of terrorism more than anyone else.

U.S. Military Will Stop Using Floppy Disks to Operate Its Nuclear Weapons System Jennings Brown

HTTPS://GIZMODO.COM/U-S-MILITARY-WILL-STOP-USING-FLOPPY-DISCS-TO-OPERATE-I-18391

The systems used to control the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons rely on outdated computers. But the Department of Defense is updating at least one part of the archaic technology—the floppy disk storage systems.

A 60 Minutes segment in 2014 presented a tour of a nuclear control center, revealing to the public that the computers that would take a nuclear launch order from the President rely on 8-inch disks invented nearly half a century ago.

Defense tech news site C4isrnet reports that the Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS)—the communication infrastructure that transmits emergency action messages for nuclear command centers—is ditching the floppy disks. Lieutenant Colonel Jason Rossi, 595th Strategic Communications Squadron commander, told C4isrnet the SACCS is upgrading to a “highly-secure solid state digital storage solution.”

U.S Strategic Communications did not immediately respond to a Gizmodo request for comment on the report.

As C4isrnet points out, the Government Accountability Office wrote in 2016 that the SACCS operates on an IBM Series/1 computer from the 1970s, and the Pentagon planned “to update its data storage solutions, port expansion processors, portable terminals, and desktop terminals by the end of fiscal year 2017.”

China’s Maritime Strategic Challenge By Douglas J. Feith & Admiral Gary Roughead

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/china-maritime-threat-us-allies-must-work-together-to-meet-challenge/

America and its allies must cooperate to counter the military-commercial threat.

C hina is working to end U.S. military predominance in Asia, and likely beyond. This forces U.S. officials to rethink how military security relates to trade and investment. U.S. officials are urging friends around the world to join the reexamination.

How to regulate its business and other relations with China is the greatest strategic challenge facing the United States. The answer is not to stop all trade with China; that is neither necessary nor practical. But obliviousness is not the answer, either. It would be reckless to ignore the role of commercial transactions in China’s national-security strategy.

The challenge has become reasonably clear only in the past half-dozen years or so. U.S. officials are just beginning to develop the necessary new laws and policies and to discuss — and sometimes quarrel — with allies about how to counter Chinese ambitions regarding 5G Internet infrastructure, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing technology, cyber operations, influence over critical facilities (e.g. seaports), and other militarily sensitive matters.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has moved China into a new era. He declares that China stands “tall and firm” and should now “take centre stage in the world.” China is asserting itself, claiming, for example, sovereignty over vast areas in the South China Sea long widely recognized as international waters. It presses those claims against the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, and other neighbors. It threatens them, punishing some by attacking their fishermen and sinking their boats. The way Chinese leaders abuse their neighbors is of a piece with the anti-democratic brutality of their rule in China.

China aspires to become a maritime great power and is well on its way. Having created a formidable regional navy, President Xi is building the capability for what Chinese doctrine calls “open seas protection.” Through prolific naval shipbuilding; deployment of a fleet of aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, surface vessels, and submarines; development of missiles; conduct of long-range missions; and establishment of numerous facilities abroad that can facilitate blue-water naval operations, China shows its determination to operate a global maritime force. In August 2017, it inaugurated its first overseas military base in Djibouti, at the chokepoint between, on the one side, the Indian Ocean, and on the other, the Red Sea, Suez Canal, and Mediterranean.

President Xi’s maritime strategy extends beyond strictly military vessels. China operates one of the world’s largest commercial shipping fleets and the largest distant-waters fishing fleet. It is a world leader in commercial shipbuilding. If the U.S. naval presence in strategic locations wanes further and China maintains its trajectory, China will in time enjoy a sea-control advantage.

The Senate Voted to End Emergency on the Border But Hezbollah, ISIS, gangs and drug cartels didn’t get the memo. Michael Cutler

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/senate-voted-end-emergency-border-michael-cutler/

On September 25, 2019 the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch posted a disturbing report, “Senate votes to end border emergency under which Trump redirected military funds to wall construction” that began with the following paragraph:

The Senate again approved a resolution to end President Trump’s national emergency at the southern border, with Republicans joining Democrats in a bid to prevent the president from redirecting military funds toward a border wall, though Trump was expected to veto it again.

The report went on to note that the Republicans control the Senate and ended with this sentence:

The vote was an unusual display of Republican rebellion against the president’s quest for his signature policy initiative, which led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history that ended earlier this year.

The Democrats refused to accept that there was a crisis on the southern border in the first place, and now the Republican-controlled Senate has voted, yet again, to “end the crisis”!

What has not been determined, or reported upon, is how our politicians from either political party have come to the insane conclusion that the emergency on the treacherous southern border has ended.

Certainly the “all clear” has not sounded.

While President Trump has been successful in reducing the number of illegal aliens who are being apprehended by the Border Patrol along the southern border–though a number of tactics including getting Mexico to deploy their forces along the border and with other diplomatic initiatives–tens of thousands of illegal aliens continue to be apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol each month and narcotics continue to be seized along that troubled border.

New National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien Makes Promising Progress By Jim Talent

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/new-national-security-adviser-robert-obrien-makes-promising-progress/

The Trump administration’s national security policy has, on the whole and especially at a strategic level, been quite good, and now Robert O’Brien, the new national security adviser, is implementing a promising reorganization of the NSC staff.

In its first two and a half years, the administration has:

Made great power competition, and especially the competition with China, the top priority of American foreign policy. The process of shifting attention to Asia began in the Obama administration, but President Trump catalyzed it in the National Security Strategy, which was completed within a year after he took office;
Energized the various agencies of the Executive Branch to inventory, adapt, and vigorously use the tools at their command to prosecute the administration’s policy towards China and build a national security architecture structured for that purpose. In particular Trump has recognized and realized the potential of American economic power to put adversaries off balance and on the defensive.
Refocused our Middle East policy on the greatest threat — Iran — and reassembled the formal and informal partnerships with Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and the Gulf States that for forty years had been the foundation of American policy in the Middle East.
Succeeded in lifting the defense sequester and injecting more money into the defense budget. That hasn’t accomplished as much, in practical terms, as the White House claims, but it’s a step in the right direction.

I also like the administration’s top national security personnel going forward. Mike Pompeo has been a consistent force and effective messenger for good policy and Gina Haspel is a top professional at the CIA, where professionalism is essential. It took too long for the Administration to settle on Mark Esper as Defense Secretary to replace Jim Mattis, but it was an outstanding choice that will continue to pay dividends as the DOD realigns its priorities to deal with China.

Real-Life Immigrant ‘Joker’ Kills 4 in New York Bloody times in the social justice jungle. Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/real-life-immigrant-joker-kills-4-new-york-daniel-greenfield/

While New Yorkers packed movie theaters to watch Joker, a homeless immigrant stalked the streets of the city bludgeoning four homeless men to death with a three-foot long metal pipe while they slept.

Rodriguez “Randy” Santos had come to the United States from the Dominican Republic four years ago.

In those four years, he racked up 14 arrests for everything from biting a man on the chest to groping a woman. He punched his mother and broke his grandfather’s nose. In just the last year he was arrested four times. And still the authorities remained comfortable with letting Santos walk the streets.

At least, until he was caught with a metal pipe covered in the blood and matted hair of four dead men.

And some marijuana.

This should have come as no surprise because he had busted back in May attacking a man with a metal weapon in his old homeless shelter. Instead of locking him up, he was given yet another chance.

And he took it.

Warriors Wanted (Not the Social Justice Variety) James Allan

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2019/

Take a look at the photo above.  I managed to overcome my usual ineptitude with technology the other day to snap that picture as I was walking into a barbershop in the Californian city of Coronado.  Actually, although Coronado is classified as its own city (of barely 25,000) it is in reality part of San Diego. Across a large curving bridge that was opened by Ronald Reagan back in the late 1960s sits the home of US naval aviation, the huge airbase of Coronado, on a peninsula that forms the magnificent San Diego harbor.

This harbor is the home of the third- or fourth-biggest US naval base in the world (depending on how and what you count), the biggest being in Norfolk, Virginia.  And even though this peninsula – which is so long you can’t help thinking it’s an island – is dominated by the naval airbase, by a separate Navy Seals base, and by other parts of the US Navy, there is also a chunk of the peninsula that constitutes the civilian town of Coronado.  Given how many people either live in, commute to or work for the US Navy, you won’t be surprised to hear that it is the safest city in the United States.  Any police officers who want only to investigate bicycle thefts should immediately put in their applications to the Coronado Police Department. There are basically no parking fines handed out because the metres in Coronado charge 25 cents per hour – yes, a quarter is all it takes to park for an hour – so you’d have to be brain dead not to pay up.

My wife and I stumbled on Coronado purely by chance back in 2013 when we were here for an earlier sabbatical of mine.  Purely by luck we ended up renting a house on the beach in this amazing place, and we loved it.  So when the offer came to return to the University of San Diego School of Law – the most conservative law school in the US, let me note, which means maybe one-third of the law professors would be right of centre, and why I can find a spot here – both my wife and I knew we’d be renting again in Coronado.  It is magnificent, and quite a contrast to London, where we spent the first half year of my sabbatical.

Don’t get me wrong.  For both us, London is our favourite city on earth.  But Coronado is right up there.  Furthermore, if you ever find yourself in San Diego let me strongly recommend that the first touristy thing you must do is to take the two-hour boat tour of the harbour.  You’ll see a stunning array of top-of-the-line US Navy vessels – destroyers, battleships, weird looking stealth ships, helicopter carriers, two or three of the big Nimitz class aircraft carriers, and at the far outlet end of the harbour the docking zone for  nuclear submarines.  San Diego is home to the killer attack subs, but once in a while you will see the “big banger” missile-launching Tridents come in for a visit.  They are magnificent.

Alleged Hezbollah “Sleeper” Arrested In NYC By Joint Terrorism Task Force He’s a naturalized U.S. citizen admitted lawfully nearly 20 years ago. Michael Cutler

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/09/alleged-hezbollah-sleeper-arrested-nyc-joint-michael-cutler/

A “sleeper” is an alien who, in one way or another, manages to enter the United States, either legally or illegally, and then maintains a low profile, hiding in plain sight until he/she is called into action to carry out terror attacks or support terror attacks in the United States.

Often sleeper agents may also conduct surveillance, amass supplies or otherwise engage in preparatory functions for future deadly terror attacks.

On September 19, 2019 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York issued a press release that announced, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Indictment Of New Jersey Man For Terrorist Activities On Behalf Of Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad Organization. The subtitle of that press release provides more disturbing information, Alexei Saab Allegedly Was Trained by Hizballah’s External Terrorist Operations Component in Bomb-Making and Conducted Intelligence-Gathering in New York City and Washington, D.C., and Elsewhere in Support of Hizballah’s Attack-Planning Efforts.

The Department of Justice also issued a press release on September 19, 2019 about this case.

It is note-worthy that Saab’s nine-count indictment includes felonies under the Immigration and Nationality Act, for engaging in immigration fraud, including naturalization fraud in that he is alleged to have lied about his involvement with Hezbollah when he applied for naturalization and subsequently became a United States citizen.  Saab is also alleged to have entered into a fraud marriage for the purpose of providing another alien terrorist co-conspirator with U.S. citizenship in furtherance of their terrorist goals.  U.S. citizenship provides the “keys to the kingdom.”