Friday, May 11, 2007

Why would an ex-Norad CINC become head of US Pacific Command?


The Admiral cut more than the cake.

An interesting change of duty station, don't you think? Adm. Timothy Keating warns about the Chinese whacking one of their own satellites. Some think it was a bad move by the Chinese. The good Admiral should have more to say about a more familiar bad move. If you care about US security, read this article about moving Norad into an office building.

As NORAD leaves Cheyenne Mountain, some worry it's a dangerous mistake

by Michael de Yoanna


The sun setting on Cheyenne Mountain has been a loaded metaphor since plans emerged to scatter NORAD operations elsewhere.

An executive jet filled with fuel and explosives suddenly veers off its approach to a runway at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport.
Its terrorist pilot is on a suicide mission.

His target is a glass-front office building on Peterson Air Force Base.

It's not just any building. It is the new headquarters of North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, as well as U.S. Northern Command.

Operators in the office building, charged with preventing just such an attack, detect the plane's motives.

But they have, at best, 10 seconds to react — too little time.

The plane smashes into the building, and the early-warning systems go down, disrupting the flow of critical information to the president and temporarily crippling the nation's ability to respond to any other attacks.

This fearsome scenario, outlined by a former high-ranking military officer intimately familiar with the security situation, is possible if operations at Cheyenne Mountain are moved to what's known as Peterson Building 2.

Some aspects of the move already are underway; commanders say a full transition could happen within a year.

Recently retired U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado Springs is among those with grave concerns. Noting the building's close proximity to roads, he invokes the 1995 bombing of a government building in Oklahoma.

"If you can do what you can do in Oklahoma City with some fertilizer, imagine what you can do with some of the high-tech weapons now," says Hefley, who, as Republican chairman of the House military readiness subcommittee, sought answers to myriad questions — without success.

Months later, his replacement on the subcommittee, Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz, continues to ask why operations should be moved out of a mountain hailed as the world's best bunker.

[...]

The same former officer also alleges that even while NORAD/NorthCom's former commander, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, cited financial reasons for pushing for the change last year, investigators were revealing that the government had already poured more than $700 million into a largely unsuccessful effort to upgrade the mountain's capabilities — $240 million more than planned.


China anti-satellite test sends wrong signal
(Reuters)

12 May 2007


BEIJING - The new head of the US Pacific Command said on Saturday that China’s anti-satellite test sent a ‘confusing signal’ about its military intentions, adding he would use his post to push for deeper exchange and openness between the countries’ forces.


Adm. Timothy Keating, who took the helm of the Pacific Command two months ago, said Guo Boxiong, the vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, emphasised to him that Beijing’s intentions in the test were purely scientific.

But he said other countries saw the January missile strike against one of its own satellites as having military overtones.

‘We agreed, each of us, to hold to our different perspectives,’ Keating told reporters.

‘An anti-satellite test is not necessarily a clear indication of a desire for peaceful utilisation of space. It is a confusing signal, shall we say, for a country who desires, in China’s words, a peaceful rise.’

China’s military modernisation and expanding defence budget have been a source of friction with the United States, which has called for more transparency and warned that a build-up of forces could be destabilising to Northeast Asia.

But Keating, who will visit the 179th army brigade in the eastern city of Nanjing on Sunday, said more of those kinds of exchanges would increase exposure and understanding between the two nations.


16 comments:

  1. Bernard Lewis Credits Bush on Iraq

    As he ended his prepared remarks, Lewis surprised everyone by expressing “cautious optimism” regarding Iraq. Lewis credited President Bush for being “tough and consistent” in Iraq and ridiculed the attitudes of congressional Democrats who oppose the Iraq war and who are saying: “Unless we win the war by next Tuesday, we are done.”

    Bernard Lewis Praises Bush Big Time

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  2. "For Bin Laden, it is now the final stage in a three-act play. Having “destroyed the stronger and more deadly superpower,”the Soviet Union, “the effeminate American Empire is not a problem.” Bin Laden attacked U.S. installations in 1998 with impunity. Americans responded with “angry words” followed by “let’s get out of here.” This attitude began in 1983 Beirut after the U.S. Marine compound was destroyed and 241 U.S. Marines were killed, repeated in Somalia in 1994. Bin Laden’s attacks on American interests continued throughout the 1990’s, culminating with September 11, 2001, when Bin Laden opened the third phase - bringing his Jihad to America"

    Part of Bernard Lewis' address when accepting the Ataturk Peace Award from the Turkish government

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  3. interesting post
    habu.

    The US support for the mujahadeen aginst the secular Russians in Afghanistan had unintended and negative consequences. It certainly emboldened the Islamic enemy. That was compounded again in Kosovo. Try as I may Ito see the up side I fail to see how we avoid making a third mistake by leaving Iran as the next winner in our continuing conflict.

    We cannot win the war with Islam if we cannot even say the words.

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  4. It is chilling to think that our military minds are so fucked up as to think that a move out of Cheyenne Mountain is anything but a very bad idea.

    I have done alot of hiking and outdoor/survival exersizes. One of the treat assessments and simple wildlife observations I make is animal scat.
    I recognize this movement. IT'S BULL SHIT

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  5. Deuce,
    Good to read you old boy.

    Hey, I've been reading the book I mentioned awhile back about the US involvement in the ME since the birth of this nation...WOW..well written, easy to read and fascinating.
    Once again I would encourage EB'ers to take a good read on Power,Faith, and Fantasy by Michael Oren, 2007, W.W. Norton & Co.
    Beginning when we were operating under the Articles of Confederation out forefathers had a hard time deciding whether to pay ransom or build ships. The sentiment was to pay ransom but the Barbary Mussulmen kept hijacking our ships and enslaving their crews ....Jefferson,Hamilton,Adams,Washington,Madison all had the same kind of things to say about the Mussulmen that we do to this day...and none of it was good...

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  6. Habu,

    How boorish trying drag a 91 year old gassbag on the ME into a hosanna festival for the President.

    Lewis may be good but George has been "steadfast" because until recently his brain was cryogenically where Ted Williams thinking on issues currently is.

    I say let's choose the Shiites, let 'em kick the recalcitrant Sunni's asses for a while, allow the Kurds some latitude in there area and deal out the oil deals to our big oil companies in return.

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  7. So some nutjob comes up with the off-the-wall idea of some bigger nutjob flying a plane into a building?
    Fat Chance!

    The idea of making that Poor Admiral DRIVE so far every day over such trivial and unrealistic concerns is ABSURD!

    I say set up operations in a mobile home right down the block from the Admiral's residence:
    Think of all the time and Gas he would save!
    Might even get a prize from Saint Algore.

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  8. Cheney Threatens to Inflict the "H.A." treatment on Iwannajihad over nuclear enrichment dispute:
    ---

    H.A. was a medical professional who had read about the treatment of erectile dysfunction with penile injections.

    He injected himself with a dose that far exceeded what he needed.
    He developed a rock-hard penis and enjoyed it for several hours.

    Unfortunately, he developed priapism.
    He was so embarrassed by this that he actually went for seven days before seeking medical help.

    The pain was excruciating, and he tried numerous treatments that he had read about in outdated medical journals including ice water enemas and injecting local anesthetic into the penis.

    The resulting erection was unsalvageable, and the patient was eventually left with a penis that was less than an inch long.

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  9. "I say let's choose the Shiites, let 'em kick the recalcitrant Sunni's asses for a while..."

    This hasn't been done? C'mon. You don't get millions of Sunnis on the run, after all, by making the Shiites mind their manners. But as grim de facto policy going back to 2005, it has had its drawbacks, namely as a primary component of the state of affairs (civil war) that we find so lamentable when we aren't busy denying its existence.

    So we have taken sides, and the Iraqi Shiites at long last have their country, and the Sunni have nothing but their firm belief in an American/Iranian conspiracy to carve up their nation. (That's surely gotta help to keep the money coming in from outraged Sunnis elsewhere.)



    I'd like to ask Bernard Lewis how the "tough and consistent" Bush has managed to make us look so weak and ineffectual. And not very bright. Winning the war by next Tuesday is clearly out of the question; how 'bout winning it at all?

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  10. Phallic.org?

    Did you dig that one up yourself?

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  11. Naw, Richard "Dick" Cheney mentioned it in a speech yesterday.

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  12. Give the guy a break, Trish:
    Before the WOT, Al Queda controled parts of Afghanistan.
    Now they only control smaller parts of Afghanistan, growing parts of Pakistan, many areas in Iraq, and etc.
    How could that not spell "sucess?"

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  13. you may as well go on t the next thread. Our critics of the Elephant Bar do say we all march in lock step.

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  14. shocking and from the Belmont club:

    R said...
    You can spend time writing a lot of words trying to express thoughts on how to keep this dead horse alive. However, when one looks at this "horse" really hard; well, it's dead. This is a new time in the history of warfare, and this administration along with our congress has failed to come to terms with the new parameters of modern warfare. These suicide bombing, foot washing, bearded 13th century peoples have stymied the greatest and most powerful nation on this earth for over 3 years. With all the brain power we have...

    Sorry, I forgot who we are. Yea, gas is now over $3.35 a gallon, booming ecomony, etc. My fault, we are great, we're gonna win, just hold on till we learn more...blah blah, blah.

    We've elected nothing more than some of the 60's finest narcissists to run our world. I, for one, am very tired of these clowns. And when I think of those 6000 plus souls who have died since 9/11 and the thousands who have been injured...I seem to have lost my patience to read more garbage on how we just need to tweak this game a little more: Put your sons or daughters in that rat hole while you try to "tweak" this game! Narcissists are no good!

    5/12/2007 03:46:00 AM

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