The Department of Wars
The quest for the elusive Peace Prize continues.
Following the successful incursion into Venezuela to extradite its sitting president, Pentagon planners have been busy.
NYT (“U.S. Launches Major Strikes on Islamic State Targets in Syria“):
The United States carried out major airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria on Saturday, following up on even larger retaliatory attacks last month to avenge the deaths of two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter killed in a terrorist attack in the country.
About 20 Air Force attack planes, including F-15Es, A-10s and AC-130J gunships, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones and Jordanian F-16 fighter jets fired more than 90 bombs and missiles toward at least 35 targets on Saturday, according to Capt. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the military’s Central Command.
The targets included weapons caches, supply routes and other infrastructure used by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, Captain Hawkins said in an email.
“The strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region,” Central Command said in a statement.
The strikes on Saturday came after American fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery fired more than 100 munitions at more than 70 suspected Islamic State targets across central Syria, including weapons storage areas and other operational-support buildings, on Dec. 19.
NYT (“Trump Is Briefed on Options for Striking Iran as Protests Continue“):
President Trump has been briefed in recent days on new options for military strikes in Iran as he considers following through on his threat to attack the country for cracking down on protesters, according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, but the officials said he was seriously considering authorizing a strike in response to the Iranian regime’s efforts to suppress demonstrations set off by widespread economic grievances. The president has been presented with a range of options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations.
Asked about planning for potential strikes, the White House referred to Mr. Trump’s public comments and social media posts in recent days.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Saturday. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”
[…]
Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use lethal force against the Iranian government for its efforts to suppress demonstrations, and on Friday, he said that Iran “is in big trouble.”
“I’ve made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday, while meeting with oil executives. “We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts. And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts. So we don’t want that to happen.”
[…]
Since Mr. Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Venezuela on Jan. 3 and seize Nicolás Maduro, the country’s leader, and his wife, Cilia Flores, the administration has emphasized in numerous public statements that Mr. Trump is ready to take bold action in other contexts and to make good on his promises to carry out threats.
On Friday, the State Department posted a video with scenes of the nighttime attack on Venezuela on an official social media account, accompanied by the lines: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.”
Daily Mail (“Donald Trump ‘orders army chiefs to draw up plan to invade Greenland’: US President emboldened by success of Maduro capture operation“):
Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greenland – but is being resisted by senior military figures, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Sources say that the policy ‘hawks’ around the US President, led by political adviser Stephen Miller, have been so emboldened by the success of the operation to capture Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro that they want to move quickly to seize the island before Russia or China makes a move.
[…]
According to the sources, the President has asked the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to prepare the invasion plan, but it is being resisted by the joint chiefs of staff on the grounds that it would be illegal – and would not be supported by Congress.
One source said: ‘They have tried to distract Trump by talking about less controversial measures, such as intercepting Russian ‘ghost’ ships – a clandestine network of hundreds of vessels operated by Moscow to evade Western sanctions – or launching a strike on Iran.’
Diplomats have war-gamed what they describe as an ‘escalatory scenario’ under which Trump uses force or ‘political coercion’ to sever Greenland’s links to Denmark.
One diplomatic cable describes the ‘worst-case’ scenario as leading to ‘the destruction of Nato from the inside’.
The President is apparently in kinship with the late former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who famously wondered, “What’s the point of having this superb military if we can’t use it?”
In related news, if he wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he’s apparently going to have to get it directly from Stockholm.
Reuters (“Nobel Institute says Peace Prize cannot be transferred after Machado suggestion“):
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked, following remarks by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado suggesting she might give her 2025 award to U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a statement, the institute said the decision to award a Nobel Prize is final and permanent, citing the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which do not allow appeals. The organization also noted that committees awarding the prizes do not comment on the actions or statements of laureates after receiving awards.
“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said on Friday. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”
On Monday, Machado, speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, said that presenting the prize to Trump would be an act of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president, who was captured last week by the United States.[…]
Trump, who has long expressed interest in winning the prize and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements, said he would be honored to accept the prize if offered by Machado during a planned meeting in Washington next week.
That the Nobel people wouldn’t recognize the transfer is only a minor inconvenience. He’d have the Prize!
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He’s tasted the drug, he’s felt the rush, and his alternate path is Epstein and inflation. Three more years and what’s he going to do to equal this high? He’ll escalate. Fear of impotence and death plus hubris, this doesn’t end well. He needs to be removed, but it won’t happen, and he will take the country and part of the world down with him. This isn’t funny anymore.
In what universe is it a possibility that Russia or China will grab Greenland? How is it that China would find that a better option than trying to grab Taiwan?
And this seems like Miller is way out of his lane.
@Jay L. Gischer:
I don’t see what China could possibly do with Greenland, if Denmark handed it to Xi wrapped in a bow.
Mad Vlad would benefit from having it, but he’d have to fight NATO to get it.
If Trump really thinks Russia or China wants to make an attempt to seize Greenland, all he has to do to prevent it is announce he would honor our NATO obligation to defend Greenland.
The attack on ISIS is something any prez might have done depending on the circumstances. Iran? In what world could the US make a difference? Firing another 25 or so Tomahawks won’t improve the lot of the protesters and snatching Ali Khamenei, if possible won’t improve the situation either. But @Michael Reynolds: is right, he’s touched the ring and it possesses him.
When I visited my Grandad in the rest home in his mid to late 90s, invading Greenland before the Russians get it is the kind of thing he would say. I’m wasn’t sure he knew it was nonsense, but he was just blowing off steam in any case, since what he wanted didn’t matter.
How do we cope with it when the actual president starts acting this way? Which he is.
And Stephen Miller is egging him on. Probably to curry favor. God, I think he’s worse than Trump. And that’s a high bar.
@Jay L. Gischer: Miller isn’t egging him on, he’s manipulating him. Miller dug up a lot of dirt when he worked for Sessions I would guess.
Miller will go down in history as worse than Hitler.
@becca: Trump is incredibly ignorant and not terribly bright, Miller doesn’t have even those excuses.
@becca: Well, “manipulating” is what I had in mind when I said that.
Just say something the boss really likes, and then when I say, “oh don’t you think we should do ?” He’ll say “Yeah, sure, whatever”.
You mean like that?
God that we should be run by a guy who acts like that. I don’t think my Grandad was that bad.
@Jay L. Gischer:
@Kathy:
@gVOR10:
Well, hypothetically control of Greenland by an adversary could be damaging for the US.
But there is absolutely zero chance of Russia, let alone China, carrying out a sucessful invasion of Greenland in the teeth of NATO ACO MARCOM and NATO Joint Force Command Norfolk.
It’s just silly.
If the US desires greater protection for Greenland against a hypothetical attempt at an incursion, then it can simply increse the force based at Pituffik. Currently 200, compared to 6,000 in the 1960’s. And maybe reopen some of the other bases.
It could also have talks with Denmark, and other NATO members, about increasing Danish and other forces deployed, and also increased forces based in Iceland.
And perhaps the USN could actually obtain a serious number of naval icebreakers?
No to mention that the much-touted “rare earth mines” are likely to be uneconomic to operate, given the geography and the weather.
It’s just all so utterly stupid.
But once Trump has got an idea lodged in his head, he just comes back to it, again and again.
Similar applies to his apparent belief that “decapitation strikes” are some sort of “magic bullet”.
But when a opressive government has a regime structure of tens of thousands of “shooters” and thousands of leadership cadres whose peronal power, prosperity, and security are tied to rergime survival, decapitation alone may not suffice.
As seen in Venezuela right now.
In Venezual the ploy seems to be to not care about governance so much as induce nominal submission by ongoing blockade control and threats of a reapeted decapitation.
But whether that can possibly stabilise the country seems open to doubt.
Though probably a bettter option than attempting occupation.
@JohnSF:
Also, my typing and spelling gets ever worse. 🙁
@JohnSF:
Mine, too.
What worries is me is not the decaying typing/spelling skills, but 1) the inability of the built-in spell checker to correct it, or, worse 2) my inability to notice the highlighted errors.
The “retaliatory strikes” against ISIS are puzzling. I was under the impression that finishing off what was left of ISIS was the whole justification for a continuing US military presence in Syria. If the Pentagon knows where ISIS bases are, why haven’t they been taken out already? One wonders if the strikes, like the one in Nigeria last month, were just performative stunts to satisfy Trump, lacking any significant military purpose.
@Ken_L:
Intelligence inputs alter over time.
The UK and France carried out strikes a week ago, with rather less attention paid.
Even absent the US, we have no intention of letting ISIS metastatize again, if we can help it.