The Dignified Rant

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91716092009-11-25T12:29:27.145-05:00The Dignified RantCommentary, analysis, and dignified rants on national security issues. Other posts on home life, annoying things, and a vast 'other' formerly on The Dignified Rant: Home Edition, will be posted here and clearly marked.Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comBlogger5000125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-46811680072818756032009-11-25T00:30:00.002-05:002009-11-25T11:18:34.784-05:00A Futile and Stupid Gesture

From the White House situation room, our leaders debate what to do about Iran's nuclear drive and whether to impose sanctions on Iran.Admit it. You can totally see Vice President Biden rallying the troops by reminding us that we didn't give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. Heck, that could be the president's line.But you can bet that we'll impose sanctions on Iran given time.In theory,

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-14464393092363363062009-11-24T22:00:00.000-05:002009-11-24T22:00:00.243-05:00Zero Plus in Iraq

I earlier wrote that we would never get to zero casualties in Iraq since even without combat casualties, we'll suffer losses in Iraq due to accidents and sickness.This year, 69 of our 144 deaths so far in Iraq have been from non-combat reasons, or about 6 per month from non-combat reasons. This is better than the ten I figured we'd see as we stopped large-scale routine combat missions.At what

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-12639980560494730842009-11-24T21:00:00.000-05:002009-11-24T21:00:00.559-05:00Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

Unfortunately, Ukraine's Orange Revolution could be undone in upcoming elections, destroying the hopes of creating a prosperous democracy in what was once a province of the Soviet Union:Five years ago this month, an orange sea of Ukrainians flooded the streets of Kiev. Protesting the attempt of then-President Leonid Kuchmas' administrative machine to falsify election results, they demanded the

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-3889949505741471182009-11-24T19:43:00.001-05:002009-11-24T22:17:33.564-05:00Bed of Nails

India's Cold Start Doctrine sees organizing the armor of India into eight division-sized forces capable of quickly attacking India:Multiple divisions, operating independently, have the potential to disrupt or incapacitate the Pakistani leadership’s decision-making cycle, as happened to the French high command in the face of the German blitzkrieg of 1940. Indian planners believe that when faced

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-55927996900878385932009-11-24T19:00:00.001-05:002009-11-24T22:07:53.202-05:00To Provide for the Common Defense

Is our Congress this dense?Call it “pay as you fight.”After months of listening to conservatives caterwaul over deficits and health care, senior House Democrats want a graduated surtax on individuals and corporations to pay for another big drain on the treasury: the Afghanistan war.Lord knows I'm no legal scholar wise in the ways of Washington, but isn't providing for the common defense one of

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-72070567636391365972009-11-24T18:30:00.003-05:002009-11-25T12:25:18.208-05:00So Wise in the Ways of Science

Ah, science! That Climate Research Unit data dump doesn't put those climate change scientists in a very good light, now does it?For more than a decade, we've been told that there is a scientific "consensus" that humans are causing global warming, that "the debate is over" and all "legitimate" scientists acknowledge the truth of global warming. Now we know what this "consensus" really means. What

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-58726480817140013062009-11-23T22:30:00.001-05:002009-11-24T12:05:03.988-05:00Reaching Out to the Moslem World

The New York trials of 9/11 plotters, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be just another opportunity for those jihadis to hurt America:The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said.Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-90739231335281397282009-11-23T21:00:00.000-05:002009-11-23T21:00:02.584-05:00Shot Across the Bow

While Iraq is not strong enough to compel Syria to behave, with America still wooing Boy Assad, we won't use our strength to stop Syrian aid to suicide bombers in Iraq.But that doesn't mean that Iraq eventually won't take action. I've long figured that Iraq would eventually take on Syria and recently noted concrete steps in that direction.So consider this a warning to Syria of what Iraq will do

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-56215750521502925382009-11-23T18:30:00.001-05:002009-11-23T22:57:24.262-05:00Building Her Resume'

Lynne Stewart will be going to jail for a while for her over-enthusiastic work for her jihadi clients:Defiant to the end as she embraced emotional supporters outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Lynne F. Stewart, the radical lawyer known for defending unpopular clients, surrendered on Thursday evening to begin serving her 28-month sentence for assisting terrorism.“This is the day

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-52283339025792070432009-11-22T22:32:00.001-05:002009-11-23T12:28:47.103-05:00The Basis of Another Surge

It is COIN 101 to put local allies into the fight against insurgents.So it has boggled my mind that so many have opposed siding with "warlords" in Afghanistan. That's how we overthrew the Taliban in 2001, why not use them now?And how can we get the numbers of troops to police the country, provide security to the people, and provide eyes and ears to see Taliban movement, given the cost of a

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-21503781503340805842009-11-22T09:55:00.001-05:002009-11-22T18:52:27.267-05:00Destroying the Science in Order to Save It

The recent data dump of hacked emails and documents of a leading global warming center appears to be pretty damning (with the caveat, if they are authentic):•First, a real attempt by a small group of scientists to subvert the peer-review process and suppress dissenting voices. (For another look at this, by a respected climate scientist who was one of the targets, see these posts on Roger Pielke

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-16110989557230395322009-11-22T09:42:00.001-05:002009-11-23T12:19:20.092-05:00Don't Enlighten Peking

This editorial of Taipei Times ridicules the notion that Taiwanese are bound, in the long run, to accept reunification with China; and that continued mainland Chinese contact with Taiwanese will finally teach them that the Chinese can't count on Taiwan to join the mainland:China’s top theoreticians have turned out in force in an attempt to use cross-strait academic exchanges to spread their

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-2811193073057182682009-11-21T17:20:00.000-05:002009-11-21T17:20:23.725-05:00The Two-Edged Sword

Moslem-Americans are pretty loyal as a group, and their integration is all the more remarkable when you consider the views of Moslems in Europe and the record of ethnic minorities in America in past conflicts. And the length of time we have been at war with jihadis adds to this good record. It helps that there essentially has been no backlash against Moslems here, despite CAIR's blithering idiocy

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-24796558541051546552009-11-21T10:00:00.000-05:002009-11-21T10:00:01.362-05:00Units Are Not Individuals

It would seem like stating the obvious to note that Army units are made up of people, but when I read statements like this I have to wonder if people understand that distinction:Of the 14 active-duty brigades that will be available for deployment in December, five have already served three tours abroad since 2002 and four have already served two. If either the 3rd brigade of the 101st Airborne

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-43507707620130960502009-11-21T01:30:00.001-05:002009-11-21T01:30:00.587-05:00Yes, Let's Talk Stature of Leaders

Speaker Pelosi clearly wants to run away from the fight in Afghanistan, since she's now claiming that Karzai is an unworthy ally:She told NPR she had asked fellow Democrats to give President Barack Obama room to decide his Afghan strategy, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Once Obama, also a Democrat, announces his decision, lawmakers would "not be shy" about responding, she

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-19579323366492001752009-11-20T23:30:00.001-05:002009-11-20T23:30:00.636-05:00Just How High Does Their Form of Patriotism Go?

Does anybody find it disturbing that legal counsel in our Department of Justice find it a conflict of interest to work for prosecuting jihadis because in their civilian life they worked to defend jihadis in our court system?How can we possibly convict Major Hasan of any crimes? His actions in favor of jihadis are surely orders of magnitude greater than any DOJ lawyer's legal work, but they both

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-37492260822761121062009-11-20T22:00:00.000-05:002009-11-20T22:00:01.092-05:00The Pieces Come Together

So Iran may be far closer than we thought to a workable nuclear warhead design.And of course, we all know they have that Uranium enrichment thing going.And the long-range ballistic missile thing is not insurmountable:Iran plans to launch a communications satellite by late 2011 with no outside help, a top Iranian official said Friday, after Italy and Russia declined to put it into orbit.The move

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-51357308649446384902009-11-20T20:00:00.000-05:002009-11-20T20:00:02.644-05:00CSI: Battlefield

New technology to create a battlefield Internet will do wonders for increasing the capabilities of our combat forces:The latest gear provides Blue Force Tracker (icons showing where all friendly troops are) capability, as well as wireless updates of maps and transmission of video. The latter is important for commanders and intelligence operatives, who can make key decisions, or analyses, more

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-15327742420736443532009-11-20T19:28:00.000-05:002009-11-20T19:28:22.589-05:00The New Pentagon Papers?

This could be very entertaining. I eagerly await the stories that mine this data dump, if they are genuine (as early evidence seems to indicate).But I won't believe this signals the end of the Global Warming religion until I see Al Gore selling pamphlets at airports.

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-74220538974755442032009-11-20T19:00:00.000-05:002009-11-20T19:00:00.892-05:00Fancy That

Well what do you know? After years of talks with Iran, mostly through those professional talkers in Europe, we are no closer to resolving Iran's nuclear ambitions than we were before.And after nearly a year of the Obama administration believing that Lucy wouldn't pull the football away, falling flat on it's back may be confirming what we Neanderthal Americans have argued for years--Iran wants

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-32675919091742548612009-11-20T18:30:00.000-05:002009-11-20T18:30:00.916-05:00Making Halal Sausage

Iraq's January elections are in danger of being delayed:Parliament is to vote Saturday on how to resolve the crisis triggered by Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's veto of the legislation earlier this week. Al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, wants more seats allocated for Iraqis living abroad, many of whom are Sunni.Lawmakers spent weeks wrangling over the long-delayed bill before finally passing it on Nov

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-68458657453179797202009-11-19T16:30:00.000-05:002009-11-19T16:30:00.465-05:00Getting Chummy With Our Enemies

A policy of trying to befriend enemies and stiff-arm friends isn't increasing our security:Add it all up and there is a growing sense that America is in fact hemorrhaging - as both friends and enemies abroad smell blood in the water. The president through conciliation and concession - not to mention constant talk - is trying to superficially restore the influence we once earned by virtue of our

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-66808876269861842442009-11-19T14:00:00.000-05:002009-11-19T14:00:01.302-05:00The Appearance of Ultra Nuance

I was fairly impressed with our nuanced class by their ability to argue with a straight face that only they understand how doomed we are in Afghanistan, so it is wise realism to retreat as soon as possible.These deep thinkers are pikers, however, when you read this nuanced argument that turns the sophistication dial to 11:The U.S. presence is the Afghan government's safety net, protecting it from

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-68364960768945047702009-11-19T11:39:00.003-05:002009-11-20T15:29:13.959-05:00You Just Know This Will be a Clusterfuck

The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow terrorists in a civilian court is going to be an intelligence bonanza for our jihadi enemies.And it will be a propaganda opportunity unmatched since the world watched al Qaeda strike us on 9/11.Sure, defenders of the civilian terrorist trials insist that we just give them an opportunity to spout their gibberish reasons for waging war and expose

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9171609.post-76620231610732208982009-11-19T11:07:00.004-05:002009-11-20T19:31:07.123-05:00Overseas Contingency Opbearation

We all remember the president's speech in the woods last March reaching out to the Ursine community to undo the damage George W. Bush did with his cowboy diplomacy.President Obama reminded us of all the contributions that bears have made to Western civilization and culture, decrying crude stereotypes "before he was president" that portrayed bears as greedy picnic basket stealers:Source: http://

Brian J. Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949518866034572156noreply@blogger.com