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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 1:21:46 GMT
Lamu - Manda Kenya. Current news item - link U.S. Africa Command has confirmed militants attacked a base used by U.S. forces in Kenya on Sunday. The Sunday attack was led by terrorist organization al-Shabaab at Manda Bay Airfield. The Associated Press news agency reported that two aircraft, two US helicopters and multiple vehicles were destroyed at the airstrip. Al-Shabab said it had killed nine Kenyan soldiers and had inflicted 17 "battle casualties" on US forces. Seven aircraft and five military vehicles had been destroyed, it added. BBC World Service Africa = This was an audacious pre-dawn raid by al-Shabab militants. It is not yet possible to verify al-Shabab's version of events, but there are unconfirmed reports that one of the aircraft destroyed in the attack is a US plane used for spying in the region. The fact that this happened close to the popular tourist destination of Lamu Island is also alarming. Since 2011, when Kenya sent troops to fight al-Shabab in Somalia, the jihadist group has carried out frequent attacks on Kenyan soil. Almost exactly a year ago, 21 people were killed during a raid on the Dusit hotel complex in the capital Nairobi. Radar equipped Dash 8-Q202AFSOC inventory. Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 (202) range 1000nm with 8,000 lb payload. anecdoteFurther mapping Region and 2.000 miles due eastThere are numerous reports of foreign jihadists going to Somalia to help al-Shabab, from neighbouring countries, as well as the US and Europe. It is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters. Al-Shabab advocates the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam. Why have they knocked out US airborn surveillance of Southern Somalia out to the Seychelles? About as odd as it gets.  My interest - Only recently I was interested in the RN Indian Ocean force of radar equipped Fairey Albacores which were operated against the IJN's Indian Ocean Raid of April 1942 and US Sigint pre Coral Sea and Midway. Somerville's Aggressiveness at Ceylon  Thinks... Aggressive... We were roundly spanked and barely avoided destruction of the British Eastern Fleet's carriers rather than just Hermes, Cornwall and Dorsetshire. How very very Deja vu, coincidence or not at all, at all.  Indian Ocean Raid 1942
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Post by quincannon on Jan 6, 2020 2:03:24 GMT
Not concerned with this raid HR, but I am concerned that it got anywhere through the fields of fire of the base defenses. Here I go assuming again. This time I am assuming that the airfield was defended, and that if so the defenders were competent. Al Shabaab is not David Sterling's SAS of 1941, nor the Long Range Desert Group, or even Popski's Private Army. All three could penetrate a knothole with bull elephant.
The lesson here is two fold. The way you fight armed thugs like Al Shabaab is with Special Operations Forces. To do so thought they must have a secure base to operate from, and those bases need protection by good conventional Infantry, supported by a lot of indirect medium (81mm) to heavy (120mm) mortars. and perhaps a platoon or two of tanks and IFV's, (the number dependent upon the overall size of the base). There is not an African nation today whose troops I would trust with base security. Not having US troops to protect US assets and strike capability just invites the kind of thing you report.
Africa Command/Ninth Army is the red headed poor relations step child of the US Army. If they were around in WWII, they would be behind the CBI in US prioritization thinking. When you wage war on the cheap, you're eventually going to lose, no matter who you are fighting. Waging war on the cheap becomes a frame of mind.
Surprised that no one except Ian has mentioned Iran, so I will. Killing that filthy pig was the right moral move. The message it sends is that no matter who you are we can find a way of getting you
US Actions: Unlike the ultra left-left-left, I do not think Iran is going to do a damned thing except bitch and moan. Rightly so, the bitching and moaning. We committed an act of war, one similar to the way that little fracus that you Brits call the Great War started. Trump took a risk I thought him incapable of. If he would shut his mouth and get on with governing, he would well serve his own cause. If on the other hand his speech is so provocative, that Iran is so insulted on the world stage, that they are forced to act, his mouth will come back to haunt him. If the response is anything of similar size to a 911 event, Trump will be blamed by all parties for starting a war, and be run out of DC on a rail.
Iran Actions: Unlike the non state actors like ISIS, and Al Shabaab, Iran is a nation state, and that is a whole different ball game. The nation state has something to lose. The is no question in any of Iran's leader's minds that one on one with the United States is a losing proposition. Attacks big or small engineered by Iran or any nation state, means we can look at a map, point a finger, and say there be bad guys there, go kill them. Iran will think about some version of what I said before they do anything.
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mac
Brigadier General
Posts: 1,790
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Post by mac on Jan 6, 2020 5:26:36 GMT
"If on the other hand his speech is so provocative, that Iran is so insulted on the world stage, that they are forced to act, his mouth will come back to haunt him." And there lies the problem!
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Post by yanmacca on Jan 6, 2020 12:04:50 GMT
I call the whole situation, the filter down of shit. Russian and China don’t need to butt heads with the USA and its allies anymore, they just support backward countries like Syria, North Korea and Iran. These in turn filter their shite down to Islamist militias like Al Shabaab, to attack soft targets, many of the leaders of these groups, send in solo suicide bombers to give their lives whilst they sit back and wait for the reaction, which is very brave of them eh!
I am convinced that Russia and China, just want to cause chaos throughout the western world, but why would they want to do this, why would they fund and back these mass killers, Russia has had its fair share of terror attacks, so they know what it is like to be on the receiving end, so why fund crazy backward killers to do it to innocent civilians around the world.
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 12:59:13 GMT
I looked into the Kenya incident for its coincidental happenstance during more noteworthy events. That in itself is a red flag.
What I grasp of the attack was a car bomb attack on the checkpoint entrance. QC good on base dwfence and African military alertness albeit the back of beyond and middle of nothing ever happens here. By design or accident an airborn radar capability has been neutralised and the entire area of that assets surveillance should be of interest and particularly the east african coastline.
The Political US and Iran situation has deep roots in the regional Islamic conflict that is majority Sunni against minority Shite factions whilst the Iranian population far exceeds that of Saudi Arabia; with Israel sat squarely in th middle as a political hair trigger. There is no military solution to ME religious politics and if there were it would not come to fruition since there will never be democracy. A point of note is comparison of the Sunni/Shite split and differences with the current Republican/Democrat split in US politics which destroys moderate opinion and the center ground. Of course the middle east is all about oil and rights of passage and my own hunch is that Saudi oil infrastructure will be attacked again. Any shipping off the Somali coast at this time might be at increased risk from pirates and taking out the Dash 8's has prevented a quick response and shufti.
It wasn't the reality of the attack which interested me but rather the knock on effect with intelligence gathering in Somalia which is embroiled in the Sunni/Shite Iran/Iraq/Saudia Arabia power plays. It's a mess of biblical proportion out there and yes, it would be helpful if DT could STFU but that ain't going to happen. Interestingly, Pelosi is just as bad. They need to get a room.
Economically, Africa is China's playground with immense (incredible) funding of investment loans in infrastructure and supply of Chinese tech , knowhow, goods and influence. If China had its way then the US would be enticed out of the Continent. Russian influence is actually minimal and focused onto the ME flashpoints, Black Sea ports and oil and gas. They learnt a salutary lesson in Afghanistan as did the Brits in 19th Century and one the US should not forget. Military funding is not a bottomless pit and is always - best can do! It leads to the odd disaster like erm.... Little Bighorn, Philipines, Malaya, Singapore.... and on, and on.
Regards gents.
My own bg is, as given, for a myriad of reasons, Saudi oil refining gets whacked again. Big time, this time. That's good for markets, oddly. God forbid there's a war - stock will go ballistic. Funny old World.
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 13:30:13 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 13:39:38 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 14:07:04 GMT
www.africom.mil/media-room/article/29816/amisom-intel-gathering-capabilities-strengthened-through-us-uk-assistancewww.the-star.co.ke/counties/coast/2019-09-05-lions-on-the-loose-force-learners-in-manda-schools-to-stay-indoors/Wampum acpol2.army.mil/fasclass/search_fs/search_fs_output.asp?fcp=zutpk3eFRtaToL2jqcRGuam0buidbY%2Bss6NSgHB4iddtaISYmadYKelley was here - link
$100m - MQ-9 Agadez Premier outpost for launching intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions against Plethora threats. Flying the RPA mission Coffee break - Pass bullets  The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Friday it has lost contact with a drone - did someone STFU? MiL-OSI. link Assets on mainland China......  Jan. 3, 2020 | Congress approved relatively modest funding for the Air Force’s main drone programs in fiscal 2020 while continuing to endorse investments in new kinds of unmanned aircraft. The MQ-9 Reaper, the remotely piloted workhorse that has defined Middle East combat over the past two decades, received about $850 million for the majority of its procurement, development, and modification efforts. The Air Force had asked for three Reapers under the base budget and nine through the Overseas Contingency Operations account, but lawmakers provided $215 million to buy all 12 aircraft under the war expenses fund. It’s the smallest MQ-9 request in at least five years. Lawmakers...... hmmmm... Lawbringers??? How! I bring law! MQ-9 ReaperAirforce Magazine In the face of ongoing threats from Iran, Pompeo said the US is “prepared for everything” and still working to convince the Iranian regime to “behave......." Airpower and the Expeditionary Trinity: Emerging Threats, Emerging Locations, and Emerging Capabilities. In light of the role that airpower continues to play in the international security system, it is necessary to articulate a clear strategy for the future of the domain and how best to employ airpower in the associated international security paradigm. Garowe online. KDF secures US Naval base. 5 killed. Fin.
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 15:27:52 GMT
Global vessel tracking shiptracker.live/vesselfinder/ Notice anything? A hole in the bucket? Anysways... for interest locate the Indian ocean and then the Maldives and zoom in. Keep going. How many yachts. Astra is heading north at this time - Yacht Astra Keep zooming in and find more yachts a sailing the seas. |
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 15:45:23 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 15:54:04 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 16:05:57 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 6, 2020 16:26:03 GMT
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Post by herosrest on Jan 8, 2020 18:35:38 GMT
The Royal Bhutan Army's new aircraft carrier, the twin hull RB Dong CN-001, stops over at Port Kismayo during her Pacific Ocean shakedown cruise. The 137,000 tonne vessel suffered minor engine faults requiring a short halt in port and the Captain visited a local dentist for a replacement crown. CN-1 RB Dong |
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Post by yanmacca on Jan 8, 2020 20:56:32 GMT
Where is it heading for? For a naval exercise with the navies of Switzerland and Luxemburg?
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Thinks... Aggressive... We were roundly spanked and barely avoided destruction of the British Eastern Fleet's carriers rather than just Hermes, Cornwall and Dorsetshire. 
