A Dangerous New World

As 2018 looms closer to a close, the chaos of global threats to peace and security have multiplied in the wake of the failed leadership of the Trump Regime. Since the end of the Second World War, the world has looked to America to be the proponent of freedom and democracy around the world. That shining beacon on the hill as President Ronald Reagan once called it. But as it stands, this experiment with a reality TV host as president has destabilized the world order while Moscow and Beijing take full advantage of the situation. This week alone has seen such extraordinary unprecedented moves on the part of our foreign adversaries starting with the call by senior Chinese Navy officers calling for the ramming of American Navy ships in the South China Seas. If that wasn't bold enough, they also reminded the world they intend to take Taiwan back by brute force once they are confident that America will do nothing.

Meanwhile, as our foolish leader orders the withdrawal from Syria and Afganistan, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has called the American Presence in Japan an obstacle to signing a formal peace treaty that would finally end hostilities lingering from WWII. Why not? He somehow he got Trump to abandon the Middle East and our Kurdish allies to certain death gifting Moscow and Tehran dominance. With indecision and vacillation, our impulsive leader is emboldening such moves on the part of our adversaries. This is a disturbing development which further makes a case for PM Shinzo Abe to push for the record military budget he has asked for and the long overdue revision of their post-war American imposed Constitution. As a result, Japan will now get more F-35A and F-35B Stealth fighters and prepare to upgrade the existing Izumo Class carriers to launch them. Naturally, Beijing has already sounded protest and has in so many words warned of an escalation of tensions. If that weren't enough, North Korea has thrown an all or nothing denuclearization demands on this already weakened president who declared victory by meeting with their despotic leader. The solution will come for the American people have had enough of this chaos. We must right this ship of state or be sunk by it. Until that moment of truth comes, our military leadership, as well as our newly elected members of Congress must restore order before the world is plunged further into crisis. And while it is said it is always darkest before the dawn, the new reality is as my child's favorite movie says, we will have to sail through a whole ocean of bad to get there. Until then, pray for peace. 

Missile Reassurance: New Joint Japan-US Missile Test Success

Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin was celebrating the demise of the United States as a Superpower at the hands of Donald Trump. While it is true that America's clout has been damaged by our soon to be impeached Reality TV show president, our military might and alliance with Japan has not diminished by any means. It should be noted that while the party in Moscow was winding down for the night, the U.S. Navy fired a SM-3 Block IIA missile from the USS John Finn and successfully intercepted and destroyed a medium range missile. Such interceptor capabilities will be crucial in the event of a hostile North Korean launch. This missile has been jointly developed by the United States and Japan and is part of the AEGIS Missile Defense System produced by Raytheon. The SM-3 Block IIA missile will soon become a fixture in the Pacific, so put those Russian champagne glasses away, America is still in business!

The Politics of Parades

When General Douglas MacArthur stepped off the American Military Transport plane at Atsugi Air Base in 1945, he had ordered his officers to leave thier side arms on the plane. His reasoning in the face of over one million armed Imperial Japanese soldiers who were to stand guard was to display as he put it, "Old American Swagger." In otherwords, Confidence. Such confidence projects strength. Fast forward to the age of Donald Trump where American Swagger has been replaced by Fear and Loathing and an admiration on the part of the 45th Commander in Chief for Authoritarian Strongmen such as Dutartte and Kim Jong Un instead of the leaders of Democracy. Here is a man who talks tough but made excuses as to why he would not serve his country when he was called upon during the Vietnam War. It is a cruel irony that such a man would through the help of Russian meddling find himself in the position as C&C. His failure to understand our true military might has led to his demand for our military to parade in our nations capital at great tax payer expense. While this may be the practice of the Kremlin, Beijing, and Pyongyang, this is not who we are. We know we have the most lethal fighting forces in the world. We don't need 3rd world Banana Republic displays of strength to prove it. This only shouts to our geopolitical foes in Russia that Donald Trump is doing his best to erode American Confidence and Strength.

One must hand it to Vladimir Putin for learning the most valuable lession from the fall of the Soviet Union, make your enemy spoend all his money and watch them go bankrupt. This is a lesson our enemies around the world have been learning as we waste trillions of dollars in defense projects for weapons and missions dreamed up out of fear for tomorrow might come. Putin recently proved that with the announcement of a weapon he claims to be invincible but in reality is more invisible because he is proding Trump to misspend our resources and further drive our economy into debt all while failing to protect our nation from Russian cyber attacks and proxy attacks on our troops abroad that thus far have gone unanswered.

You can't have a victory parade without a victory. George Bush learned this the hard way with his Mission Accomplished Banner. Fortunately, there is great disdain for the call for this parade that serves no prupose other than to force our military to stroke Trump's fragile ego and salute it. Forcing this iussue in the wake of cuts to services for our military veterans will come at a great political price. Both for the Republican Party that backs him and for the rest of the free world who look to us with confidence in our military as a force for good. I believe it is always darkest before the dawn and we too shall recover from Donald Trump.This will take many years to correct the damage this man is doing but it must be done. And the sooner we remove him from power and put him on Marine One for the last time, the sooner we can get back to restoring American Confidence.