Category Archives: Security

History, Poetry, Security

18 JUNE 1961

Leave a comment

by Dag Hammarskjold (1905-61) tr. by Leif Sjoberg

He will come out
Between two warders,
Lean and sunburnt,
A little bent,
As if apologising
For his strength,
His features tense,
But looking quite calm.

He will take off his jacket
And, with shirt torn open.
Stand up against the wall
To be executed.

He has not betrayed us.
He will meet his end.
Without weakness.
When I feel anxious,
It is not for him.
Do I fear a compulsion in me
To be so destroyed?
Or is there someone
In the depths of my being,
Waiting for permission
To pull the trigger.

History, Security

Army blogs and security

Leave a comment

Interesing article by Felberbaum about the risks of blogging as a soldier:

In one incident, a blogger was describing his duties as a guard, providing pictures of his post and discussing how to exploit its vulnerabilities. Other soldiers posted photos of an Army weapons system that was damaged by enemy attack, and another showed personal information that could have endangered his family.

“We are a nation at war,” Warnock said by e-mail. “The less the enemy knows, the better it is for our soldiers.”

It’s not a good sign when a guard thinks it is ok to post details about vulnerabilities of his position on a blog. Hmmm….

On the other hand it is important to remember that information also can be used to fake out the enemy. Perhaps the most interesting recent example was when rubber aircraft and tanks were deployed before D-Day. Could there be blogs setup to fool the enemy?

Knowing that German intelligence would be trying to find out more, double agents planted stories and documents with known German spies. US General Patton was supposedly commander of the non-existent force. Pretend radio transmissions were broadcast, just as if a large army were busy being organised.

Also, hopefully not all blogs are restricted when the foolish ones are being shut-down. It would be nice if bloggers from the conflict could share information about soldiers learning to live in peace with the Iraqis (since there is no timeline for their withdrawl). I remember a blog some time ago (lost the link, unfortunately) that had images of a children’s playground in Iraq made by Americans from used Hummer parts including wheels and springs. Although it was sad to see the results of an overwhelmingly dire situation (destroyed Hummers, destroyed playgrounds), the ray of humanity was nice.

Energy, History, Security

China sweetens relations with developing states

Leave a comment

I have written about this trend before, but the latest news clearly shows how China is moving into natural resource markets in a way the US used to pride itself. In other words, while the US is bogged down in a rediculously self-created quagmire for control of Iraq, China is extending its reach and relations around the world:

China, with nearly $1 trillion in reserves and a voracious appetite for natural resources, has decided to spend some of its billions of dollars in savings to secure access to the oil, gas, copper, coal and other mineral riches that lie beneath the soil of many African countries.

On the anniversary of the 1956 Suez Crisis the leaders of the US would be wise to think long and hard about the mistakes made by the US, Britain and France as they worked against each other while trying to impose their will abroad.

Security

US tells Russia to leave Georgia, sends own troops

Leave a comment

At the same time that the US is telling the world it will keep a military presence indefinately in Iraq, it has backed demands for the withdrawl of Russian forces from Georgia. In 2005, after three years of US military presence in the region, Bush gave an optimistic prediction:

Mr Bush said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Georgia’s demand for the closure of two Russian bases on its territory, expressing confidence that the two sides could agree a timetable.

Things have not quite worked out that way, of course (has anything that Bush has been confident about ever come true?) and sabres are starting to rattle just as the US has scaled up its military training and armament of Georgia under the pretense of preparing them for joining American forces in Iraq:

Russia cut transport and postal links with Georgia and expelled hundreds of Georgians after the authorities in Tbilisi briefly detained four Russian officers last month, accusing them of spying.

[…]

Mr Putin on Wednesday accused the Georgian leadership of preparing to retake the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili says his country has been punished by Moscow for its efforts to forge closer ties with the West and Nato.

So while the US is trying to embrace Georgia and provide essential military “assistance” (to help with the “international” presence in Iraq, to hunt for al Qaeda rebels in/around Chechnya, and perhaps even to secure access to Causcasus oilfields), the Russians are showing signs of wanting to maintain their influence over the region as well. Why did Bush think a timetable would be so agreeable to the Russians when he and his administration have expressed their opposition to the very concept of timetables?

Leading the charge for a timetable is Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, who complained Sunday that Rumsfeld “indicated that they really didn’t have a plan to win the peace after winning the war.”

Kennedy told reporters he believes the Bush administration should be in a position to set a timetable after last Sunday’s elections.

But Cheney reiterated the administration’s position against setting deadlines.

Actually, that should read “against setting deadlines for themselves”. In other words the Bush administration holds strong a position against being accountable, although they are pro-accountability for everyone else, especially people they disagree with. Makes sense, no?

Oh, and when will the US troops be allowed to leave Georgia? The policy of indefinite presence of US troops was explained back in 2003:

Of even more importance to GTEP’s long-term success, the Georgian Ministry of Defense has yet to develop a blueprint to govern military training following the departure of US military advisers. Thus, a schedule of training exercises, the maintenance of existing facilities, and ensuring timely pay for GTEP troops remain uncertain. At the same time, senior Defense Ministry officials continue to request additional equipment. US military officials in Tbilisi stated that, although discussions on these issues are ongoing, they are reluctant to fulfill these requests until Tbilisi develops plans for sustaining the equipment and training it already has.

Sounds all too familiar…