Tag: war

Israel’s $1.5bn shopping list for a potential offensive on Iran’s nuclear program

Debkafiles – October 21,2021

Israel is said to have earmarked some 5 billion shekels ($1.5bn) towards the IDF’s price tag for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear program. Military sources report that this sum would be spent on the acquisition of different types of aircraft, intelligence gathering, drones and dedicated armaments for enabling attacks on Iran’s fortified underground facilities.

IN other words, Israel is short at present of a full set of tools for going past a limited operation and conducting a comprehensive offensive for disabling Iran’s nuclear weapons program, say DEBKAfile’s military sources.

This shortfall is prominent in five main areas:

    1. Assuming that a single raid would not finish the job, to conduct multiple waves, the Israeli Air Force would require to supplement its current force with dozens of additional F-35 and F-15 aircraft. This would also call for the recruitment of more flight crews.
    2. Once the Israeli offensive is launched, Tehran may be counted on to activate allies from four fronts closer to Israel’s borders: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. To forestall this potential proxy assault, the IAF has reorganized its assets by moving F-16 short range aircraft to the Ramat David base in the north. However, these aircraft are also in short supply and would have to be substantially augmented.
    3. An urgent request has been put in for the advanced Boeing-built KC-46 tankers (see photo) to refuel aircraft in flight across the 2,000km distance to Iran and back to base. The Re’em Boeing 707 in-flight fuel craft used hitherto are 60 years old and not up to the new task.
      Interim landings in Saudi Arabia or a US Gulf airbase would solve the refueling problem. But this option has to be counted out in light of the contacts the Saudis and Emiratis are developing with Iran. Washington has indeed promised Israel eight advanced in-flight refueling tankers, but it will take years before they are available.
    4. Israel is also asking for American MOAB GBU-43 bunker busters, that were designed specifically for targeting Iran’s fortified underground nuclear sites and tested once in the Afghanistan war. Israel has a small number of bunker busters. According to Western military observers, they were used against the Hamas’ underground “Metro” network last May in a mission dubbed “Lightning Bolt.” This was to have been a rehearsal for raids on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. It turned out, however, that the Hamas bunker system had to be bombed multiple times to be effective and even then, sections of the Metro remained.
    5. In a war situation, Israel’s satellite coverage could not be stretched to cover Iran’s vastness (1.650 sq.km) and the additional areas commanded by its four main allies. American satellites would be called on for backup. Consent would have to be authorized by President Joe Biden as US commander on chief.

https://www.debka.com

Russia and China Hold Joint Naval Drills in Sea of Japan

Newsmax – October 15, 2021

Russia and China held joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Friday and practiced how to operate together and destroy floating enemy mines with artillery fire, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

The war games are part of naval cooperation drills between the two countries which run from Oct. 14-17 and involve warships and support vessels from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, including mine-sweepers and a submarine.

Moscow and Beijing have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.

Two Chinese destroyers, a submarine and two corvettes were among the vessels Beijing had sent to take part in the drills, the Russian defense ministry said, saying they had dropped anchor in the Russian far east the previous day.

The combined force would practice shooting at targets designed to imitate enemy surface ships and hold air-defense drills involving Russian SU-30SM multi-functional fighter jets and helicopters, the ministry said.

https://www.newsmax.com

WAR DRUMS: China outraged over reports of U.S. military presence in Taiwan, Threatens to launch air strike to “Eliminate U.S. invaders”

ETH – October 7. 2021

Leaders in China almost immediately expressed outrage Thursday at a new report indicating the U.S. has secretly stationed forces on Taiwan in an attempt to bolster the island nation’s defenses against the increasing likelihood of an attack from the mainland.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that a small unit of special operations forces have been based in Taiwan for at least a year to train local military forces – a move China has previously said would violate contentious agreements between Washington and Beijing that have maintained a fragile security understanding regarding Taiwan for decades.

Asian outlets first reported last year the possible presence of Marines there. “Why just two dozen members? Why secretly? The US should send 240 servicemen publicly, in US military uniform, and make public where they are stationed,” Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of China’s English language Global Times, considered a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, wrote in a tweet accompanying the Journal’s article. He added of China’s military, “See whether the PLA will launch a targeted airstrike to eliminate those US invaders!” China has previously indicated it would retaliate swiftly and immediately to any indication the U.S. had deployed military forces to Taiwan.

When Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, claimed without explanation in August that the U.S. had roughly 30,000 forces on Taiwan, state news in Beijing fired back that, if true, the Chinese military would “crush them by force.” What has previously been downplayed as idle threats have taken on new potency in recent days, following China’s steady deployment of aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense zone on an unprecedented scale.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

China’s Xi warns of ‘grim’ situation with Taiwan

AFP – September 26, 2021

Beijing — Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were “grim” on Sunday, urging the island’s main opposition party to help seek “unification of the country.”

China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.

Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as “inevitable.”

In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu — the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party — Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a “shared political basis.”

“In the past our two parties insisted on ‘1992 consensus’ and opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ … to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations,” Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.

“At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim,” he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and “the unification of the country.”

Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.

The KMT has sidestepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus — a tacit agreement that there is only “one China” without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.

In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should “seek common ground and respect their differences” to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of “one China.”

Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan’s defense zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.

https://thelibertyloft.com

Taiwan mounts urgent response after 19 Chinese PLA jets, including two nuclear-capable bombers, enter its air defense zone

RT – September 23, 2021

Taiwan’s air force rushed to warn off a fleet of jets belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that entered its air defense identification zone, including two nuclear-capable planes, Taipei has said.

On Thursday, the Ministry of National Defence announced that 19 Chinese aircraft had entered into the southwest of the island’s air defense zone, prompting Taiwan to dispatch patrol troops to respond, as well as to activate anti-aircraft missile tracking and monitoring.

The fleet comprised 12 J-16 fighters, two Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, a pair of H-6 nuclear-capable bombers, two J-11 jets, and one Y-8 EW.

The government reported a smaller incursion last week in the same area comprising 10 PLA aircraft, among them six J-16 and two J-11 fighters. The day before the flyby, Taipei had pledged an extra $8.69 billion to be spent over the next five years to boost its arsenal against threats from China, citing concerns that Beijing’s military strength had recently been significantly beefed up.

Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory under its ‘One China’ policy, has frequently expressed a grievance over US involvement with Taipei – a relationship it describes as ruining the “status quo.”

Last month, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command conducted assault drills in response to “provocations,” citing the heightened US military and political ties with the island, which Beijing deems “collusion.” The exercises were intended to test its troops’ capability and to “further safeguard China’s sovereignty,” according to a senior PLA colonel.

https://www.rt.com

Hamas punctuates Israeli air strike with another rocket – a shift in tactics

Debkafile – September 13, 2021

A fourth rocket punctuated the third round of Israeli air strikes over the Gaza Strip that responded to three nights of single Palestinian rocket fire. This last rocket like the others was aimed on Sunday night, Sept. 12 at Sderot and the Eshkol Council. All four Hamas projectiles were intercepted in time by Iron Dome rockets. The military spokesman reported that the fourth rocket prompted an expansion of the Israeli raid to five major Hamas facilities, including a “terror tunnel” as well as training compounds and arms production sites and depots.

The launching of the fourth rocket in the course of the latest Israeli counterstrike marked a change in Hamas tactics. Until now, the Palestinian terrorists ruling the Gaza Strip were wont to fire a rocket or two, wait for Israeli punishment and hold back for a while before launching their next small-scale rocket or arson balloon offensive against the Israeli population next door to the Gaza Strip. On Sunday night, Hamas changed the rules by initiating its next attack while an Israeli punitive operation was still ongoing.

DEBKAfile’s military sources note that Hamas’s decision to change the rules is worrying in the sense that it copycats Syria’s latest mode of retaliation for Israel’s alleged air strikes on pro-Iranian sites. On Sept.3, Syria aimed two SA-5 rockets at central Israel in direct response to a purported air raid over the outskirts of Damascus. Both were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system. This new government in Jerusalem downplayed that event as well another new feature of Hamas aggression. In the past fortnight, Hamas has been seen to direct heavy machine gun fire at its Israeli neighbors – so far without causing casualties. But there is no doubt that Hamas is diversifying its offensive tactics and very much on the warpath.

https://www.debka.com

Russian & Belarusian troops practice fighting side-by-side in huge war-games, with rockets & tanks deployed across Eastern Europe

RT – September 12, 2021

Close to 100,000 Russian and Belarusian soldiers, sailors and airmen are taking part in massive military exercises spanning half the width of Europe and involving hundreds of aircraft, armored vehicles and even missile systems.

In a statement issued on Friday, Moscow’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Zapad-2021 drills had begun in earnest, across 14 separate training grounds from the Baltic Sea to Central Russian cities like Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod.

Troops from former Soviet republics, including Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as personnel from India and Mongolia are taking part. Delegations of officers from China, Pakistan, Vietnam and Myanmar are also understood to be in attendance.

However, Moscow’s military commanders insist that while the exercises involve large numbers of squadrons and military hardware, the quantity of troops involved in any one set of exercises does not exceed 6,400 people, in line with requirements under international law.

The objective of the drills is to demonstrate and test the level of combat readiness of Russian and Belarusian troops to defend the Union State which binds the two nations.

The wargames come amid escalating tensions between the West and Russia, along with Belarus. A number of naval vessels are involved in drills, with warships, missile cruisers and destroyers, as well as submarines, setting out into the Baltic Sea as part of the dry run for potential conflict.

https://www.rt.com

Two missiles exploding off Israel’s coast marked Syria’s response to alleged IDF air raid

Debkafiles – September 3, 2021

A string of central Israeli coastal towns north and south of Tel Aviv were rocked Thursday night, Aug. 2 ,by a series of explosions around five minutes after one of the IDF’s alleged routine raids from Lebanon targeted another pro-Iranian site near Damascus.

The IDF spokesman said the explosion had come from a Syrian air defense missile over the sea off central Israel and was being investigated. However, multiple blasts were heard in a wide range of towns from Netanyahu in the north, through Herzliya, Rosh Ha’Ayin, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Tel Aviv and Rishon Letzion. No warning sirens were switched on since, it was explained, no populated areas had been threatened. All the same, half a dozen pieces of missile shrapnel were discovered in a back garden of Neve Shalom south of Tel Aviv.

A second communique, this one from the police, said that a Syrian SA-5 anti-air missile (see picture) had exploded opposite the western Sharon region north of Tel Aviv. Falling shrapnel had dropped in the sea and a Tel Aviv back yard. The communique added that the |DF would be questioning why no warning siren was activated. This appeared to be the focus of the inquiry rather than the broad range and multiplicity of the explosions.

In the meantime, DEBKAfile’s military sources report, residents of Rishon Letzion south of Tel Aviv came up with an explanation. They testified to hearing two explosions – not one. It turned out that a second missile had been fired from Syria, this one a surface-to-surface Russian-made Scud. Our sources have learned that this one was intercepted in time by a David’s Sling, the missile system designed for protection against intermediate missile attack as part of Israel’s multi-tier shield.

This has not been confirmed by the military or the police. However, if that is how the purported Israeli raid over Damascus unfolded, it seems to indicate that the Syrians have decided to finally retaliate for each reported Israeli attack. On Aug. 20, a Syria anti-air rocket fired from Damascus exploded in the Dead Sea region of southern Israel. Rather than a stray rocket, as claimed at the time, that may have been the first harbinger of a new Syrian policy to raise the stakes and confront Israel directly over its long campaign to root the Iranian military presence from its borders. The Assad regime would have gained the nod of its supporters, Iran and Russia, before embarking on this course.

https://www.debka.com

Israel is accelerating operational plans to take action against Iran – IDF chief Kohavi

ANNA AHRONHEIM – August 25, 2021

Israel’s military is accelerating its operational plans against Iran due to the progress of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi has warned.

“The progress of the Iranian nuclear program has led the IDF to accelerate its operational plans and the recently approved defense budget is earmarked for that,” he said.

Kohavi commented as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in the United States ahead of a visit with US President Joe Biden and other senior officials. Bennett is expected during his first visit to the White House to push Biden to harden his approach to Iran and drop efforts to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“When we began to plan the visit, a return to the agreement seemed certain,” Bennett said ahead of his departure on Tuesday. “Since then, the time has passed, the president in Iran has changed, and things seem far less certain. In our view, it may be that there is no return to the agreement.”

With no diplomatic options likely to push Tehran to stop its nuclear program, Israel’s military believes that the Islamic Republic needs to be aware that should it continue with its program, it will face harsher sanctions and a true military option to stop it.

https://www.jpost.com

The Collapse Of Afghanistan Has Brought Us A Lot Closer To A Chinese Invasion Of Taiwan

– August 17, 2021

The way that the Biden administration has handled the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is not going to bring peace.  Instead, I believe that it is going to result in more war.  For decades, the overwhelming strength of the United States restrained other major powers from becoming too adventurous.  But now the stunning defeat in Afghanistan has exposed how weak we have become.  At this point, the U.S. is like a rapidly aging boxer that is becoming even more feeble with each passing day.  At one time we may have been able to take on anyone, but now we are in an advanced state of decline and we have utterly incompetent leadership in the White House, in Congress and in the Pentagon.

As I discussed yesterday, the debacle that is currently playing out in Kabul is going to greatly embolden the enemies of the United States.

In particular, Chinese leaders are absolutely loving what they are seeing, and they can’t help but express their delight…

Chinese state media, meanwhile, reported on America’s “humiliation” in Afghanistan with relish, using scenes of the chaotic US evacuation and swift resurgence of the Taliban as proof of the superiority of China’s hands-off approach to other countries’ internal affairs.

“The drastic change in Afghanistan’s situation is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the US. It declared the complete failure of US intent to reshape Afghanistan,” the state-run tabloid Global Times said in an editorial published late on Sunday night. “This defeat of the US is a clearer demonstration of US impotence than the Vietnam War — the US is indeed like a ‘paper tiger.’”

In this instance, the Chinese are 100 percent correct.

The United States really has become a “paper tiger”.

Our “woke military” has become a pathetic shadow of what it once was, and even if we had a competent military the brass in the Pentagon would have no idea how to use it because they are completely and utterly clueless.

And this is a huge problem for our friends in Taiwan, because the U.S. military has been the only thing holding the Chinese back from invading the island.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com