“War is always a struggle in which each contender tries to annihilate the other. Besides using force, they will have recourse to all possible tricks and stratagems to achieve the goal.”
– Ernesto “Che” Guevara, “General Principles of Guerrilla Warfare”, Chapter One
“The wars of the People are more terrible than the wars of the Princes.”
- Frederick the Great
“Some analysts are claiming that Mexico is now the second most deadly conflict in the world, behind Syria. That is open to debate. The analysts focus on casualty figures in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2016 17,000 people were killed in Afghanistan and 16,000 in Iraq. Mexico’s Cartel War had 23,000 fatalities during 2016. Adjusting for population size the Mexican fatalities are less than half those suffered in Afghanistan or Iraq.”
Recent theft from oil pipelines in Mexico appears to be as bad as it was in Iraq during the height of the insurgency there, if not worse.
Mexico: Nearly As Bad As Afghanistan And Iraq - Strategy Page
“He who becomes a Prince through the favour of the people should always keep on good terms with them; which it is easy for him to do, since all they ask is not to be oppressed.”
- Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
“And yet we cannot define as skillful killing one's fellow citizens, betraying one's friends, and showing no loyalty, mercy, or moral obligation. These means can lead to power, but not glory.”
- Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
The author has a good point. These globalist plutocrats who are building bunkers because they fear the peasants with the pitchforks could save themselves lot of worry as well as tons of money if they would simply quit doing things that piss people off.
Billionaires Are Buying Bunkers In New Zealand Because They Fear You May Kill Them
“Russian officials revealed the United States told them recently that they were in Syria mainly to remove the Assads from power and destroying ISIL was a means to that end not the main reason they were. The Americans also told the Russians that the U.S. would operate in Syria as it believed necessary to accomplish its mission and that American military commanders now had a lot more freedom to do what they through best without first waiting to have their decisions scrutinized, and sometimes modified or blocked officials and advisors back home. The U.S. Department of Defense (now led by a retired marine general) can set troop levels in Iraq and Syria. Officially there are currently 5,800 (nine percent in Syria) inside Syria and Iraq but the real number may be about 40 percent higher if you count contractors and allies. The Russians and Syrians are in Syria to keep the Assads in power and destroying ISIL is part of that. Fighting with the Americans is apparently not something Russia or Iran want do in Syria.”
“Since 2014 the American led coalition has carried out 22,000 airstrikes in Syria (41 percent) and Iraq (59 percent). Only .24 percent of those airstrikes resulted in evidence that there were civilian deaths. Most of the civilian deaths continue to be caused by the Syrian government and ISIL.”
Syria: A Country Disastrously Divided – Strategy Page
Space: The Chinese Space Stations – Strategy Page
World War Update.
Tanks in some form will be around for the foreseeable future, so long as the attributes of mobility, firepower and armor protection are necessary for winning land battles. The heavy main battle tank (MBT) has proved it’s continued usefulness even in the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now Germany is planning a major upgrade to their current MBT, to be dubbed the Leopard 3.
Strategy Page makes the remark that the Leopard is regarded by some as superior to the American M1 Abrams. I do not see how or why that would be so. The fact is that all the NATO tanks (Abrams, Leopard, Challenger and Le Clerc) have the identical 120mmm Rheinmetall cannon, as well as a great many other features in common (sharing technology and standardization of equipment and operating procedures among member nations is part of what NATO is about). They are all pretty much equal. The one who won a fight between them would likely be the one who “saw the enemy first and fired first”. The M1A2 Abrams has superior armor protection with its depleted uranium armor, as well as superior armor penetration due to its depleted uranium sabot main gun rounds. The Abrams also has a highly successful combat record in actual tank versus tank combat, whereas the Leopard has no such track record in battle. Therefore, I must regard the Leopard’s supposed ‘superior’ reputation as based as much on snobbery and chauvinism as anything else. The one area where the Leopard has an advantage, especially in foreign sales, is that the diesel engine of the Leopard uses less fuel and, being more conventional in design, would be simpler for the client military to maintain themselves without tech support from the factory than the advanced turbine engine of the Abrams would be. The Abrams 1500 HP turbine engine is a gas guzzler for sure (although it is also multi-fuel), but it makes the Abrams extraordinarily fast and at the same time extraordinarily quiet. Just a quiet whirring sound and the clank and squeak of the tracks. You have to see it in action to believe it. The M60 tank, with a roaring 800 HP diesel engine, you could hear coming a mile off, whereas you won’t hear the Abrams coming at you until it rounds the corner. The Abrams is indeed the fastest MBT on the battlefield with a top road speed of 45 MPH (60 MPH with the governor off). The Abrams is also designed with crew survival in mind. For example, the cannon ammo, the biggest onboard fire hazard, is stored in a separate fireproof compartment with blowout panels to protect the crew if the ammo stargaze suffers a hit in battle. Only the IsrŠ°eli Merkava tank is better optimized for crew survival, by dint of its unique features such as having its engine upfront and having a passenger compartment aft for rescuing the crews of disabled tanks under fire.
“Since 2015 Germany has been responding to the growing Russian threat by expanding and upgrading it tank force. The latest move involves taking 104 retired (in the 1990s) Leopard 2A4 tanks and putting them back into service. This process involves refurbishing the older tanks and upgrading them to the A7V standard. Currently the German army has only 225 Leopard 2s in service. The 104 reactivated Leopard 2A7Vs won’t begin arriving until 2019 and it will take until 2023 to complete the process. There may be further additions to the active tank force depending on how much of a threat Russia continues to pose.’
“…In 2003 both Germany and the United States believed the usefulness of heavy tanks like the M-1 and Leopard 2 were over. Then came Iraq and Afghanistan where it was found that these traditional designs were still very useful, especially with the most modern accessories (like thermal sights, vidcams for all-round visibility from inside the tank and modern air-conditioning systems that can withstand tropical heat). Thus upgrading the Leopard 2s remains a big business.”
Armor: Leopard Revival - Strategy Page
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
– Winston Churchill
“Prepare to survive”. Latvia plans for a Russian invasion by instituting a total mobilization and national resistance policy.
Paramilitary: Total Mobilization On The Baltic – Strategy Page
World War Update.
“Artillery lends dignity to what might otherwise be a vulgar brawl.”
– Frederick the Great
Russia delivers 21 more WWII era M30 122mm towed howitzers to Syria. Old, but still reliable and effective field pieces.
Artillery: Slaughter On The Cheap – Strategy Page
Trumpapocalypse Now: The Advent of an American Usurper at the fall of Western Civilization
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