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British army creates team of Facebook warriors
Soldiers familiar with social media sought for 77th Brigade, which will be responsible for ‘non-lethal warfare’
The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age.
The 77th Brigade, to be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, in Berkshire, will be about 1,500-strong and formed of units drawn from across the army. It will formally come into being in April.
The brigade will be responsible for what is described as non-lethal warfare. Both the Israeli and US army already engage heavily in psychological operations.
Against a background of 24-hour news, smartphones and social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, the force will attempt to control the narrative.
The 77th will include regulars and reservists and recruitment will begin in the spring. Soldiers with journalism skills and familiarity with social media are among those being sought.
An army spokesman said: “77th Brigade is being created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare. It recognises that the actions of others in a modern battlefield can be affected in ways that are not necessarily violent.”
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The US’ Dark Empire Has Secret Operations in Over 100 Countries
In the dead of night, they swept in aboard V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Landing in a remote region of one of the most volatile countries on the planet, they raided a village and soon found themselves in a life-or-death firefight. It was the second time in two weeks that elite U.S. Navy SEALs had attempted to rescue American photojournalist Luke Somers. And it was the second time they failed.
On December 6, 2014, approximately 36 of America’s top commandos, heavily armed, operating with intelligence from satellites, drones, and high-tech eavesdropping, outfitted with night vision goggles, and backed up by elite Yemeni troops, went toe-to-toe with about six militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. When it was over, Somers was dead, along with Pierre Korkie, a South African teacher due to be set free the next day. Eight civilians were also killed by the commandos, according to local reports. Most of the militants escaped.
That blood-soaked episode was, depending on your vantage point, an ignominious end to a year that saw U.S. Special Operations forces deployed at near record levels, or an inauspicious beginning to a new year already on track to reach similar heights, if not exceed them.
During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countries — roughly 70% of the nations on the planet — according to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt, a public affairs officer with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This capped a three-year span in which the country’s most elite forces were active in more than 150 different countries around the world, conducting missions ranging from kill/capture night raids to training exercises. And this year could be a record-breaker. Only a day before the failed raid that ended Luke Somers life — just 66 days into fiscal 2015 — America’s most elite troops had already set foot in 105 nations, approximately 80% of 2014’s total.
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Peculiarities of Russian National Character
Peculiarities of Russian National Character
Recent events, such as the overthrow of the government in Ukraine, the secession of Crimea and its decision to join the Russian Federation, the subsequent military campaign against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, western sanctions against Russia, and, most recently, the attack on the ruble, have caused a certain phase transition to occur within Russian society, which, I believe, is very poorly, if at all, understood in the west. This lack of understanding puts Europe at a significant disadvantage in being able to negotiate an end to this crisis.
Whereas prior to these events the Russians were rather content to consider themselves “just another European country,” they have now remembered that they are a distinct civilization, with different civilizational roots (Byzantium rather than Rome)—one that has been subject to concerted western efforts to destroy it once or twice a century, be it by Sweden, Poland, France, Germany, or some combination of the above. This has conditioned the Russian character in a specific set of ways which, if not adequately understood, is likely to lead to disaster for Europe and the world.
Lest you think that Byzantium is some minor cultural influence on Russia, it is, in fact, rather key. Byzantine cultural influences, which came along with Orthodox Christianity, first through Crimea (the birthplace of Christianity in Russia), then through the Russian capital Kiev (the same Kiev that is now the capital of Ukraine), allowed Russia to leapfrog across a millennium or so of cultural development. Such influences include the opaque and ponderously bureaucratic nature of Russian governance, which the westerners, who love transparency (if only in others) find so unnerving, along with many other things. Russians sometimes like to call Moscow the Third Rome—third after Rome itself and Constantinople—and this is not an entirely empty claim. But this is not to say that Russian civilization is derivative; yes, it has managed to absorb the entire classical heritage, viewed through a distinctly eastern lens, but its vast northern environment has transformed that heritage into something radically different.
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Russia To Increase ‘Combat Capabilities’ In Crimea, Sees Ukraine Conflict Worsening
Russia To Increase ‘Combat Capabilities’ In Crimea, Sees Ukraine Conflict Worsening
Following the adoption of its new military doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin in December which identifies NATO expansion as an external risk, it is perhaps hardly surprising that, as Reuters reports, Russia’s top general, Valery Garesimov stated that the “Defence Ministry will focus its efforts on increasing the combat capabilities of its units and increasing combat strength.. with special attention will be given to the groups in Crimea.” Amid renewed heavy shelling in Donetsk,NATO’s top military commander noted they will be stepping up exercises in the Baltic Sea region as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin warns, “the situation in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating.”
Russia’s top general said on Tuesday he would beef up combat capabilities this year in Crimea, the Arctic and the country’s westernmost Kaliningrad region that borders two NATO states.The remarks by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, are likely to deepen concern in the West over what it sees as Russia increasingly flexing its muscles since the start of the crisis in Ukraine.
“In 2015, the Defence Ministry will focus its efforts on increasing the combat capabilities of its units and increasing combat strength in accordance with the military development plans,” Gerasimov told Russian journalists.
“Special attention will be given to the groups in Crimea, the Kaliningrad region and the Arctic,” he was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies but gave no further details.
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India-Pakistan border clashes turn deadly – Central & South Asia – Al Jazeera English
India-Pakistan border clashes turn deadly – Central & South Asia – Al Jazeera English.
Indian and Pakistani troops have traded fire along their tense border, killing four people including a teenage girl and forcing hundreds to flee their homes in the latest round of deadly clashes.
The violence on Saturday came a day after India said a Pakistani fishing crew suspected of involvement in “illicit” activities blew up their boat while trying to evade capture at the hands of the Indian navy.
Tension between the two neighbours escalated on Wednesday when an Indian border guard and two Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed during another exchange of fire.
The shelling intensified on Saturday, necessitating “evacuation of hundreds of people” living in the border areas of Samba and Hiranagar, said Rajesh Kumar, a senior police official in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
An Indian woman was killed and 10 others were wounded, Kumar said.
Gambia leader blames dissidents for coup bid – Africa – Al Jazeera English
Gambia leader blames dissidents for coup bid – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
Gambia’s president has blamed unidentified foreign dissidents and “terrorists” for an assault on his presidential palace and insists the army remains loyal.
Yahya Jammeh’s remarks came two days after an apparent coup attempt by a group of soldiers while he was abroad was foiled.
“It is an attack by dissidents based in the US, Germany and UK,” Jammeh said in a televised address on Thursday.
“This was not a coup. This was an attack by a terrorist group backed by some powers that I would not name.”
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ClubOrlov: The Imperial Collapse Playbook
ClubOrlov: The Imperial Collapse Playbook.
Some people enjoy having the Big Picture laid out in front of them—the biggest possible—on what is happening in the world at large, and I am happy to oblige. The largest development of 2014 is, very broadly, this: the Anglo-imperialists are finally being forced out of Eurasia. How can we tell? Well, here is the Big Picture—the biggest I could find. I found it thanks to Nikolai Starikov and a recent article of his.
Now, let’s first define our terms. By Anglo-imperialists I mean the combination of Britain and the United States. The latter took over for the former as it failed, turning it into a protectorate. Now the latter is failing too, and there are no new up-and-coming Anglo-imperialists to take over for it. But throughout this process their common playbook had remained the same: pseudoliberal pseudocapitalism for the insiders and military domination and economic exploitation for everyone else. Much more specifically, their playbook always called for a certain strategem to be executed whenever their plans to dominate and exploit any given country finally fail. On their way out, they do what they can to compromise and weaken the entity they leave behind, by inflicting a permanently oozing and festering political wound. “Poison all the wells” is the last thing on their pre-departure checklist.
• When the British got tossed out of their American Colonies, they did all they could, using a combination of import preferences and British “soft power,” to bolster the plantation economy of the American South, helping set it up as a sort of anti-United States, and the eventual result was the American Civil War.
Target Liberty: Who’s A Threat To Whom?
Target Liberty: Who’s A Threat To Whom?.
Apparently, Russia’s new military doctrine lists NATO, US as major foreign threats. Are those crazy Ruskies out of their mind.
NATO and the U.S. (sorry for repeating myself) are just minding their own business.
Just look at the map:
You know who else is a threat? Those crazy mullahs in Iran.
The U.S. government is sitting peacefully in the Northern Hemisphere overseeing the freest and most awesomest land on the planet. Meanwhile those mullahs are going to wreck the world with non-existent nuclear weapons.
The government that laid waste to Hiroshima and Nagasaki must prevent the mullahs from threatening the world.
Once again, just look at the map:
Japan May Enact Law to Speed Approval of Troop Deployment – Bloomberg
Japan May Enact Law to Speed Approval of Troop Deployment – Bloomberg.
Japan may enact permanent legislation to accelerate the approval process for overseas troop deployments as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to expand the role of the nation’s military.
The government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party plan to submit such a bill to parliament next year, the Nikkei newspaper reported today without attribution. Currently, specific law must be enacted each time members of the Self-Defense Forces are dispatched overseas, Nikkei said.
Abe’s cabinet in July reinterpreted the pacifist constitution in place for nearly 70 years to let Japan take part in mutual defense with allies. Abe this month named Gen Nakatani, a National Defense Academy graduate who served five years of military service, as defense minister as he prepares to pass supporting legislation for that policy change.
Iran stages massive military display to ‘send message of peace’ to neighbors — RT News
Iran stages massive military display to ‘send message of peace’ to neighbors — RT News.
Iran has launched a six-day exercise involving all branches of its military. The large-scale, armed forces display is meant as a demonstration of defense capabilities and a test of new weapons, Iranian officials said.
Codenamed Mohammad Rasoulallah (Mohammad, the Messenger of God), the drills launched on Thursday encompass a territory of some 2.2 million square kilometers, Iranian news television Press TV reported.
It stretches from the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, where the Iranian Navy will be testing its warships and submarines, to the southeastern part of the country, where units of the army will be participating in maneuvers.
Right on the eve of the drills – the largest in the region – the Iranian military said they planned to bring state-of-the-art missile defense systems into its integrated air defense shield. And in September, Iran promised to unveil and launch several new hi-tech radar systems capable of tracing and identifying smaller flying objects like spy drones.
As U.S. troops return to Iraq, more private contractors follow | Reuters
As U.S. troops return to Iraq, more private contractors follow | Reuters.
(Reuters) – The U.S. government is preparing to boost the number of private contractors in Iraq as part of President Barack Obama’s growing effort to beat back Islamic State militants threatening the Baghdad government, a senior U.S. official said.
How many contractors will deploy to Iraq – beyond the roughly 1,800 now working there for the U.S. State Department – will depend in part, the official said, on how widely dispersed U.S. troops advising Iraqi security forces are, and how far they are from U.S. diplomatic facilities.
Still, the preparations to increase the number of contractors – who can be responsible for everything from security to vehicle repair and food service – underscores Obama’s growing commitment in Iraq. When U.S. troops and diplomats venture into war zones, contractors tend to follow, doing jobs once handled by the military itself.
“It is certain that there will have to be some number of contractors brought in for additional support,” said the senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Massive Explosions Reported Following Israeli Aistrikes Near Syrian Capital | Zero Hedge
Massive Explosions Reported Following Israeli Aistrikes Near Syrian Capital | Zero Hedge.
The last time Israel ignored Syrian sovereignty and attacked Bashar al Assad’s nation without fear of reprisals was in the spring of 2013, when the US was eager to launch an all out war, and tear apart the last country that stood in the path of the Qatari natural gas pipeline to Europe (and was thus desperate for a provocative pretext). As a result of last minute Russian intervention, the war was avoided following the now traditional John Kerry snafu, but not before Syria had declared Israel’s attack An “Act Of War.’ Moments ago, following a year and a half hiatus, Israel, which had not made many headlines on the geopolitical arena in recent months, launched another bomb raid on Syria, and as AP reports, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes Sunday near Damascus, one near the city’s international airport and a second outside a town close to the Lebanese border, Syria’s state news agency said.
According to Syria’s SANA press agency, the attack was “an aggression against Syria” and said there were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it does not comment on “foreign reports.”
Syria’s state news agency did not provide any details on what was hit near the Damascus airport or in the town of Dimas, which is located along the main highway from the Syrian capital to the Lebanese frontier crossing.
Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria since the revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011. Most of the strikes have targeted sophisticated weapons systems, including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles, believed to be destined for Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group. Israel has never confirmed the airstrikes.
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Tomgram: Engelhardt, War to the Horizon | TomDispatch
Tomgram: Engelhardt, War to the Horizon | TomDispatch.
It was the end of the road for Chuck Hagel last week and the Washington press corps couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about writing his obituary. In terms of pure coverage, it may not have been Ferguson or the seven-foot deluge of snow that hit Buffalo, New York, but the avalanche of news reports was nothing to be sniffed at. There had been a changing of the guard in wartime Washington. Barack Obama’s third secretary of defense had gone down for the count. In the phrase of the moment, he had “resigned under pressure.” Sayonara, Chuck!
With a unanimity that crossed political lines, the accounts read as if written by a single reporter. The story went something like this: two years earlier, President Obama had brought in Hagel, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Republican senator with a reputation for being leery about the overuse of American military power, to wind down the war in Afghanistan, rein in military critics, and put the Pentagon budget on something closer to a peacetime footing. After a bruising Senate confirmation hearing from which he never recovered, he proved poor at “messaging” the president’s policies, had a “crappy relationship” with National Security Adviser (and Obama buddy) Susan Rice, proved a weak manager at the Department of Defense as well as a “weak link” in the Obama national security team, and could never break into the president’s tight-knit circle of insiders who — everyone agreed — had a nasty habit of “micromanaging” America’s wars (rather than, it seemed, letting the military do what needed to be done). In the end, the president “lost confidence” in him. It was a “mutual” firing or at least Hagel had advanced somewhat voluntarily toward the edge of the cliff before being pushed off.
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Breakfast with a Lord of War | Casey Research
Breakfast with a Lord of War | Casey Research.
For reasons that will become apparent as you read the following article, I was quite reluctant to write it.
Yet, in the end, I decided to do so for a couple of reasons.
The first is that it ties into Marin Katusa’s best-selling new book, The Colder War, which I read cover to cover over two days and can recommend warmly and without hesitation. I know that Casey Research has been promoting the book aggressively (in my view, a bit too aggressively), but I exaggerate not at all when I tell you that the book sucked me in from the very beginning and kept me reading right to the end.
The second reason, however, is that I have a story to tell. It’s a true story and one, I believe, which needs to be told. It has to do with a breakfast I had four years ago with a Lord of War.
With that introduction, we begin.
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Tomgram: David Vine, A Permanent Infrastructure for Permanent War | TomDispatch
Tomgram: David Vine, A Permanent Infrastructure for Permanent War | TomDispatch.
In a September address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obamaspoke forcefully about the “cycle of conflict” in the Middle East, about “violence within Muslim communities that has become the source of so much human misery.” The president was adamant: “It is time to acknowledge the destruction wrought by proxy wars and terror campaigns between Sunni and Shia across the Middle East.” Then with hardly a pause, he went on to promote his own proxy wars (including the backing of Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces against the Islamic State), as though Washington’s military escapades in the region hadn’t stoked sectarian tensions and been high-performance engines for “human misery.”
Not surprisingly, the president left a lot out of his regional wrap-up. On the subject of proxies, Iraqi troops and small numbers of Syrian rebels have hardly been alone in receiving American military support. Yet few in our world have paid much attention to everything Washington has done to keep the region awash in weaponry.
Since mid-year, for example, the State Department and the Pentagon have helped pave the way for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers and associated equipment and to spend billions more on Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles; for Lebanon to purchase nearly $200 million in Huey helicopters and supporting gear; for Turkey to buy hundreds of millions of dollars of AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM (Air-to-Air) missiles; and for Israel to stock up on half a billion dollars worth of AIM-9X Sidewinder (air-to-air) missiles; not to mention other deals to aid the militaries of Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
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