War Crimes Trial of Ex-Kosovo President Kicks Off in The Hague by Molly Quell
April 3, 2023
Introduction:
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Courthouse News) — Joining a small club of former heads of state to face international justice, Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaçi reiterated his innocence as his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity started on Monday.
The 54-year-old and three co-defendants are facing 10 counts of torture, murder and illegal detention before a special court in The Hague for their alleged roles in atrocities committed during Kosovo’s war for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s.
Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi were founding members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which took up arms against Serbian forces following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. All four men went on to political careers in Kosovo after the conflict ended.
“Nobody is above the law,” prosecutor Alex Whiting told the packed courtroom at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers during his opening statements Monday.
Thaçi, wearing a grey suit and blue tie, took notes during the presentation. He and his co-defendants have been in pretrial detention for more than two years, since their arrest in November 2020.
Defense Argues Ex-president of Kosovo Had No Control Over Militia Fighters April 4 , 2023
Introduction:
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Courthouse News) — Kosovo’s former president denied the war crimes charges against him on Tuesday, telling a special tribunal that he expects to be “vindicated” at the end of the proceedings.
Defense counsel for Hashim Thaçi and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders charged with multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity argued the men lacked the authority to have stopped murder and torture during Kosovo’s yearlong struggle for independence, blaming the atrocities on local militia leaders.
“He simply did not have effective command of the KLA,” Thaçi’s lawyer, Gregory Kehoe, told the packed courtroom at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, Netherlands.
Thaçi's co-defendants – Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi – are founding members of the KLA, which took up arms against Serbian forces following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. All four men went on to political careers in Kosovo after the conflict ended. They are now facing 10 counts of torture, murder and illegal detention.
“Nobody is above the law,” prosecutor Alex Whiting said in his opening statements on Monday.
US, Philippines launch war drills across disputed South China Sea
Source: AP
By JIM GOMEZ an hour ago
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino forces on Tuesday launched their largest combat exercises in decades in the Philippines and its waters across the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions.
The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan — Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder” — will run up to April 28 and involve more than 17,600 military personnel. It will be the latest display of American firepower in Asia, as the Biden administration strengthens an arc of alliances to better counter China, including in a possible confrontation over Taiwan, an island democracy that Beijing claims as its own.
That dovetails with efforts by the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety, by boosting joint military exercises with the U.S. and allowing rotating batches of American forces to stay in additional Philippine military camps under a 2014 defense pact.
“The relationships that we have, that we build into these exercises, will make us faster to respond to conflict, crisis, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Eric Austin said.
Science Fiction Is Influencing How We Conduct War and We Might Not Like The Results by Mike Ryder
April 12, 2023
Introduction:
(Science Alert) From high-tech fighting machines to supercomputers and killer robots, science fiction has a lot to say about war. You might be surprised to learn that some governments (including the UK and France) are now turning their attention to these fantastical stories as a way to think about possible futures and try and ward off any potential threats.
For many years now, science fiction writers have made prophesies about futuristic technologies that have later become a reality. In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke famously predicted the internet. And in 1983, Isaac Asimov predicted that modern life would become impossible without computers.
This has made governments take note. Not only can science fiction help us imagine a future shaped by new technologies, but it can also help us learn lessons about potential threats.
There are many issues that science fiction engages with, which will no doubt be feeding into defense research around warfare and ways to mitigate risk. While we can never predict the future completely, we can only hope that our leaders and decision-makers learn lessons alluded to in science fiction, so that we may avoid the dystopia that some science fiction suggests.
Here are four issues from science fiction that governments may be considering (see linked article for a discussion of each of these listed issue areas).
1. Super soldiers…
2. Drones…
3. Bio-engineering…
4. Behavioural modification…
caltrek wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 2:49 pm Science Fiction Is Influencing How We Conduct War and We Might Not Like The Results by Mike Ryder
April 12, 2023
Introduction:
(Science Alert) From high-tech fighting machines to supercomputers and killer robots, science fiction has a lot to say about war. You might be surprised to learn that some governments (including the UK and France) are now turning their attention to these fantastical stories as a way to think about possible futures and try and ward off any potential threats.
For many years now, science fiction writers have made prophesies about futuristic technologies that have later become a reality. In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke famously predicted the internet. And in 1983, Isaac Asimov predicted that modern life would become impossible without computers.
This has made governments take note. Not only can science fiction help us imagine a future shaped by new technologies, but it can also help us learn lessons about potential threats.
There are many issues that science fiction engages with, which will no doubt be feeding into defense research around warfare and ways to mitigate risk. While we can never predict the future completely, we can only hope that our leaders and decision-makers learn lessons alluded to in science fiction, so that we may avoid the dystopia that some science fiction suggests.
Here are four issues from science fiction that governments may be considering (see linked article for a discussion of each of these listed issue areas).
1. Super soldiers…
2. Drones…
3. Bio-engineering…
4. Behavioural modification…
Breaking Down Your Tax Bill by Lindsay Koshgarian
April 19, 2023
Introduction:
(Other Words) Many of us rushed to file our taxes before this year’s April 18 deadline. While we all hope for a refund to help pay the rent or cover a vacation, we also want our taxes themselves to pay for worthwhile things.
Every year, my project at the Institute for Policy Studies creates a tax receipt to help people see what their taxes paid for. Here’s what we learned this year.
On the one hand, our federal income taxes fund a lot of good, popular things. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has saved lives. Food stamps (also known as SNAP) feed millions of hungry children and families. And Medicare will be there for all of us as we age.
On the other hand, there’s a lot that we might want to do differently.
You probably expect that some of your federal income taxes go to the military. But did you know that the average taxpayer spent $1,087 on private military contractors alone? That’s more than double the $474 that went towards paying the troops.
Global Military Spending Hits All-Time High of $2.24 Trillion by Brett Wilkins
April 24, 2023
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) An annual analysis published Monday revealed that global military spending rose to an all-time high of over $2.2 trillion last year, driven largely by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Western response, as well as the steadily increasing Pentagon budget in the United States.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) annual report showed a 3.7% overall increase in worldwide military expenditures to $2.24 trillion in 2022, including a 13% rise in Europe—the continent's sharpest increase in three decades—amid Russia's war on Ukraine.
Ukrainian defense spending skyrocketed 640% last year to $44 billion, the biggest single-year increase ever recorded by SIPRI. Meanwhile, Russian military spending surged 9.2% to $86.4 billion.
Conclusion:
"The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world," said (Nan) Tian (SIPRI senior researcher). "States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future."
Russia’s Other Empire in the Making
Bloodier than Ukraine
26 April 2023
Russia plans to create a ‘confederation’ of sympathetic states across the Sahel and West Africa, according to intelligence leaks from the U.S. It’s also targeted countries further south, notably Madagascar and Mozambique, while it pours misinformation and disinformation into the presses of, mainly, West African newspapers.
The intelligence leaks reveal that Russia’s autocratic leader, Vladimir Putin, works through his ally, Yevgeny Prigozhin (and Prigozhin’s Wagner Group), to gain control and influence in Africa.
Best known for its bloodthirsty mercenary activity, Wagner also engages in cyberwarfare and election rigging in Africa, the leaks show. Wagner can deploy about 50,000 men, the intelligence estimates, though it’s unclear how losses in Ukraine affect that number.
Outside of Ukraine and Russia, Prigozhin has men in Sudan, Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso. They’ve been accused of human rights abuses ranging from rape to massacre in Mali and the CAR, and while Wagner fighters were forced to flee Mozambique by a small team of former Zimbabwe special forces, they retain a small cyberwarfare unit in the capital, Maputo, the leaks show.
It’s unclear if Wagner has forces in Burkina Faso yet, though the group is negotiating a contract with the Burkinabe government in Ouagadougou. The landlocked nation is waging war against a confusing blend of Jihadists and narco warriors. An April 20 massacre of 60 people in the northern village of Karma confuses the issue further because the killers wore the government’s military uniforms.
Northrop Grumman's IBCS C&C defense system takes command
By David Szondy
May 02, 2023
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), which combines multiple current air and missile defense command and control systems into one, has been granted initial operational capability. This means it can begin active deployment.
Modern armies depend heavily on command and control systems to coordinate operations and minimize the fog of war that often results in defeat and needless casualties. It's a concept that has grown increasingly sophisticated in recent decades, but it's also run into the law of diminishing returns as the number of different C&C systems has ballooned, forcing them to handle a wide variety of technologies from different generations.
To alleviate this, Northrop Grumman has come up with IBCS for the US Army, which takes over the duties of multiple previous C&C systems. It integrates feeds to and from sensor networks, weapon systems and land, sea, air, and space platforms to achieve Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) capabilities.
Biden to Name Air Force Chief to Top Military Post, Officials Say
Source: New York Times
The appointment of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. would mean that the top two Pentagon leadership positions would be inhabited by Black men for the first time in American history.
President Biden is expected to announce soon that he has chosen Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Air Force chief of staff, to become the country’s most senior military officer, according to two U.S. officials.
If he is formally nominated and approved by the Senate, General Brown will succeed Gen. Mark A. Milley, whose term as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff expires at the end of September.
General Brown would be only the second Black man to become chairman, following Colin L. Powell, who served in that position during the presidencies of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
General Brown’s appointment and confirmation would also mean that along with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, the top two Pentagon leadership positions would be inhabited by African American men for the first time in American history. It would be a singular step for minorities in a military whose leadership has long been dominated by white men.
The Dogs of War Will Eat Your Future by Jeff Faux
April 26, 2023
Introduction:
(Jeff Faux) Two years ago, Joe Biden’s agenda signaled that the Democratic party wing of our governing class was finally ready to deal with the long accumulating crises facing the country – rising economic insecurity and inequality, crumbling competitiveness, armed insurrection, and a relentlessly hotter plant.
It was never going to be easy. The costs of transition to a secure and prosperous future are enormous – and it is a task of decades.
Still, in his first year Biden took important steps– investment in infrastructure, technology, clean energy, social programs, and work force diversity. He spent what was needed to stop a Covid depression. And he withdrew us from the 20-year quagmire in Afghanistan, forswearing “regime change” and promising a foreign policy for the middle class.
A year later, we Americans can kiss tomorrow goodbye.
With the support of our politicians, plutocrats and pundits, Biden has now committed us to a 4-front global crusade against Russia, China, Iran and a confused, contradictory “terrorist” hit-list of mostly African nations and people. Even if we are lucky enough to avoid a nuclear catastrophe, the wars will drain away resources required for domestic renewal.
RAF Fairford's 'Dragon Lady' U-2 spy plane will disappear by 2026
06:00, 7 MAY 2023
For the past few months in Gloucestershire, if you have stood at the right spot at the right time and looked up, you might have spotted the distinctive shape of the historic U-2 spy plane. Some people have seen it on their way to work, and some more serious fans of the iconic recon plane have parked up at RAF Fairford to watch a US Air Force (USAF) pilot land one of the most difficult planes in the world.
The plane that has flown reconnaissance missions all over the world from 70,000 feet in more or less the same configuration, with a few high-tech upgrades over the years, is to be withdrawn from service by 2026, USAF's Congressional budget proposals have revealed. By the year of its retirement the U-2, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, will have flown spy missions for 70 years.
U-2s operating out of USAF's Gloucestershire airbase have left the county on countless unknown and almost daily missions since basing here, around the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, quickly climbing out of radar range to 70,000 feet and switching off their transponders. Because of the altitude, hardy U-2 pilots have to wear partially pressurised space suits with oxygen masks.
This shake-up in how the US surveils the globe is unlikely to see a new generation recon plane gracing Fairford's tarmac any time soon, with the RQ-4 surveillance drone also getting the axe a year later. A move that will likely see the US place greater reliance on space-based sensors and drones to collect images from high altitudes, per budget documents.
The Drive reports that USAF has been looking to replace its fleet of legacy aircraft, which it views as vulnerable in a high-tech future conflict. There are rumours that an unnamed prototype drone could be in development to replace the U-2, which remains the highest altitude flyer that the US military has in its arsenal, including all of its current drones.
U.S. Sold Weapons to Roughly 60% of World's Authoritarian Nations in 2022 by Kenny Stancil
May 13, 2023
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) President Joe Biden claims that the United States is leading "democracies" in a fight against "autocracies" to establish a peaceful international order, but his administration approved weapons sales to nearly three-fifths of the world's authoritarian countries in 2022.
That's according to a new analysis conducted by Security Policy Reform Institute co-founder Stephen Semler and published Thursday in The Intercept.
The U.S. has been the world's largest arms dealer since the end of the Cold War. Data released in March showed that the U.S. accounted for 40% of global weapons exports from 2018 to 2022.
As Semler explained:
In general, these exports are funded through grants or sales. There are two pathways for the latter category: foreign military sales and direct commercial sales.
The U.S. government acts as an intermediary for FMS acquisitions: It buys the materiel from a company first and then delivers the goods to the foreign recipient. DCS acquisitions are more
caltrek’s comment: Nothing undermines the argument (which I have embraced) that we should support Ukraine because of its small “d” democratic leanings than headlines like above. We seem to be more interested in being an arsenal than we are in being an arsenal for democracy.
Estonia, Latvia plan joint purchase of German medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems
Source: ABC News
Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire German air defense systems for the protection of the two NATO nations' airspace in what would be the biggest defense cooperation deal between the Baltic neighbors that border Russia, the Estonian and Latvian defense ministries said Sunday.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur described the deal as “a joint project of historical proportions for our defense cooperation, the largest one to date” between Tallinn and Riga.
“Our jointly selected medium-range air defense system will further secure the skies of Latvia and Estonia and will provide the maximum possible protection for our people, as well as civil and military infrastructure,“ Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece said in a statement.
Germany has delivered IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine where, according to media reports, they have been successfully used against Russian targets since late last year during Moscow's war on Kyiv.
Warring factions in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire, say US-Saudi mediators
Source: AP
By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sudan’s warring factions have agreed to a new short-term ceasefire, U.S. and Saudi mediators announced on Saturday, after several previous attempts to broker a truce that holds have failed.
Meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces signed off on a seven-day ceasefire that is due to take effect on Monday 9:45 p.m. local time in Sudan, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement. The ceasefire could be extended if both sides agree.
“Both parties have conveyed to the Saudi and U.S. facilitators their commitment not to seek military advantage during the 48-hour notification period after signing the agreement and prior to the start of the ceasefire,” it said.
The talks in Jeddah had previously produced an agreement between the two sides on protecting civilians and easing the flow of humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict. But, earlier ceasefire deals have foundered amid accusations by both of violations.
Biden Taps Geneneral Charles "C.Q." Brown as Joint Chiefs Chairman by Kathryn Watson
May 25, 2023
Introduction:
(CBS) Washington — President Biden announced he is nominating Gen. Charles "C.Q." Brown Jr. to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, unveiling his selection in a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday.
The president said he can think of no one more qualified to help lead in protecting the nation than Brown, currently the Air Force chief of staff. The Joint Chiefs chairman is the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and serves as the primary military adviser to the president, defense secretary and National Security Council.
"General Brown is a warrior, descended from a proud line of warriors," Mr. Biden said Thursday. "He knows what it means to be in the thick of battle and how to keep your cool when things get hard, like when your F-16 was on fire and you returned to the base in Florida in 1991. C.Q. had to eject at more than 300 miles an hour, landing in the Everglades. That's a lot of fun, huh? Well, I tell you what, he was back in the cockpit the next week, with a new call sign — Swamp Thing."
Brown would replace Gen. Mark Milley, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019. The chairman serves at the pleasure of the president for a four-year term. Milley held the job during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Senators urge Pentagon to investigate price gouging by military contractors after 60 Minutes report
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 26, 2023 / 6:27 PM / CBS News
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators asked the Department of Defense to launch an investigation into longstanding price gouging by defense contractors Wednesday.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Braun (R-IN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) said they were prompted by a six-month investigation by 60 Minutes that uncovered extensive price gouging. Experts told 60 Minutes that military contractors overcharge the Pentagon on almost everything the DOD buys each year.
"Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and TransDigm are among the offenders, dramatically overcharging the Department and U.S. taxpayers while reaping enormous profits, seeing their stock prices soar, and handing out massive executive compensation packages," the senators wrote. "These companies have abused the trust government has placed in them, exploiting their position as sole suppliers for certain items to increase prices far above inflation or any reasonable profit margin."
In March, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the largest Pentagon budget ever: $842 billion. Almost half will go to defense contractors. "Dollars that are wasted on overpriced weapons or spare parts cannot be spent to counter adversaries or support service members," the senators wrote.
