by Rupe | Aug 28, 2011 | Military-Political
In her latest post, my colleague, Liz Economy, asks:  What will Vice President Biden find in China? I thought I’d try out my own response to this very direct question:
1. Biden will find a China whose rise depends on economic growth but whose growth model is no longer sustainable.
Bluntly put, China’s leaders know that their capital-intensive, export-oriented approach is delivering diminishing returns and threatens to become a major political vulnerability for the government. The global economic crisis provided clear evidence that China’s export-driven economy is vulnerable to dips in demand in the rest of the world. Meanwhile, its dependence on investment has introduced distortions and imbalances into the Chinese economy.
Click source link to continue…
Source: Council on Foreign Relations author - Evan A. Feigenbaum
My Comments:
I think the Chinese question is very much worthy of critical discussion. Â I think, however, that the interconnectedness of global economics make China very much susceptible to all the effects faced by large economies such as Germany, Japan and the U.S. Â Yes, the Chinese are moving quickly on many fronts, but to think that they will at some future date become the pre-eminent singular world power is somewhat foolish; besides, what does pre-eminence really means in such a connected world anyway. Â
by Rupe | Aug 6, 2011 | Bahrain, Military-Political
MANAMA, BAHRAIN — 147 Bahraini detainees are set to be released within a matter of hours, the head of the kingdom’s independent commission of inquiry told The Washington Times in a phone interview Saturday night.
“I confirm that I have been promised that,†said Cherif Bassiouni, the Egyptian-American head of a recently launched inquiry into alleged human rights abuses that took place during the protests of February and March and their aftermath. The new mass release follows the freeing of 41 prisoners last week.
Click source link below to read full article…
My Comments:
Good move on the part of the Bahrani government. Â A bit more hopeful sign that they are not all idiots; besides, it not like they have much of a choice really.
Source: Washington Times  (By Ben Birnbaum); 5:59 p.m., Saturday, August 6, 2011
by Rupe | Jul 28, 2011 | Military-Political
A sweeping new plan to overhaul the Pentagon’s retirement system would give some benefits to all troops and phase out the 20-year cliff vesting system that has defined military careers for generations.
In a massive change that could affect today’s troops, the plan calls for a corporate-style benefits program that would contribute money to troops’ retirement savings account rather than the promise of a future monthly pension, according to a new proposal from an influential Pentagon advisory board.
All troops would receive the yearly retirement contributions, regardless of whether they stay for 20 years. Those contributions might amount to about 16.5 percent of a member’s annual pay and would be deposited into a mandatory version of the Thrift Savings Plan, the military’s existing 401(k)-style account that now does not include government matching contributions.  Read the full article by clicking the source link below.
My Comments:
Hmmm….the jury is still out for me on this. Â I have lots a questions as to how benefits would be distributed. Â I understand, however, that eventually, it might have to come down to this…I am not looking forward to that day for my fellow brothers in arms.
Source: Air Force Times
by Rupe | Jun 22, 2011 | Military-Political
Washington — Japan and the United States agreed Tuesday that the deadline to move the Futenma military base within Okinawa Prefecture by 2014 is no longer viable and committed to completing the relocation “at the earliest possible date after 2014.”  Click to read...
My Comments:
With the growing Sino influence throughout the far east, and the constant threat from the North Korean, it would be quite foolish for the Japanese to push the U.S out of Japan. Â Yes, they are a proud people, but they are realists as well. Â The ironic things is…the Chinese are as well.
by Rupe | Jun 16, 2011 | Military-Political
The Obama administration has escalated the campaign of targeted killings against suspected terrorists worldwide, increasing the use of
unmanned drone strikes (ForeignPolicy) and so-called kill/capture missions (PBS) on al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership both on and off the traditional battlefield. While some analysts tout successes, like the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan, others say the strategy lacks proper legal boundaries, as in the targeting of an American jihadist, Anwar al-Awlaki (WSJ), in Yemen.
Should targeted killings continue? CFR’s Matthew Waxman cautions against overreliance on them as a counterterrorism tool but says so far U.S. policy is within legal bounds. Constitutional lawyer Pardiss Kebriaei questions the legal basis that U.S. administrations have used to justify killing suspected terrorists off the battlefield, suggesting a violation of constitutional rights of due process. Decapitating terrorist networks is an effective strategy, says Georgetown’s Daniel Byman, capable of robbing a group of charismatic leadership critical to its success. 
But Afghanistan expert Kate Clark argues that targeted killings often produce an organizational chaos that unleashes a more radical generation of
subordinates.
U.S. strikes against senior al-Qaeda or affiliated terrorists in places like Pakistan or Yemen–most recently, the reported (but unverified) killing of al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani militant Ilyas Kashmiri (Reuters)–often give rise to accusations that the United States is engaged in unlawful “extrajudicial killing,” “assassination,” or violations of sovereignty. In part because of the secrecy surrounding these policies, such legal claims often don’t get thoroughly and specifically answered. However, lethal force directed against particular individuals outside a combat zone like Afghanistan is legally and strategically appropriate in limited circumstances.  Continue reading…
My Comments:
Pretty good read from four debaters on the above topic at the Council on Foreign Relation (CFR). Â Not sure why it always workout that these types of topics usually break down along the males-female divide.
by Rupe | Jun 10, 2011 | Military-Political
Gates Questions NATO’s Future by JULIAN E. BARNES
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued a blunt critique of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Friday, arguing the Libya operations demonstrated serious gaps in military capabilities and showed the consequences of America’s allies failing to spend enough on their own defense.
One of the NATO’s most ardent defenders and pointed critics, the outgoing U.S. defense chief scathingly identified Europe as increasingly behaving like a free rider when it came to military spending. He suggested that deep cuts in military spending across Europe showed that alliance members were unwilling to “devote the necessary resources” for their own defense.
America’s European allies, Mr. Gates said, are “apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets.”
Mr. Gates’s tough remarks were greeted with tentative applause from the audience at Brussels’ Security and Defense Agenda, a think tank.
Although the Libya mission has met its initial military objectives of grounding the Libyan air force and eroding Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s ability to mount attacks on his own citizens, the ongoing operations have exposed weaknesses in the alliance, Mr. Gates said.
[Comments: My personal opinion is that NATO sucks. We foot the freaking bills on ….. ]
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In her latest post, my colleague, Liz Economy, asks:  What will Vice President Biden find in China? I thought I’d try out my own response to this very direct question:
