Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- January 31, 2017

FOX News: EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon believes attack on Saudi frigate meant for US warship

The Iranian-backed suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense officials told Fox News.

The incident in question occurred in the southern Red Sea and was carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three were wounded. At first the ship was thought to have been struck by a missile.

Read more ....

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- January 31, 2017

Pentagon identifies Navy SEAL killed in Yemen raid -- Navy Times

US commando dies in Yemen raid as Trump counter-terror plans take shape -- The Guardian

Trump speaks with family of slain Navy SEAL -- The Hill

Incompetence, cronyism hurts US military in online fight against ISIS, report says -- AP

US: Iran Has Tested a Ballistic Missile -- AP

Beijing’s second aircraft carrier ‘takes shape’ after two years, nine months of construction: media -- South China Morning Post

Russian government rules out defense spending cuts -- UPI

Russian cybersecurity experts suspected of treason linked to CIA -- The Guardian

The Russian Military's Super Weapon of Choice: The 'Big Guns' -- National Interest

Austria orders Pandur 6x6 armored personnel carriers -- UPI

Germany sends tanks to Lithuania for NATO mission -- Reuters

Egypt boosts navy as part of Red Sea strategy -- UPI

Chilean navy modernizing P-3 Orions -- UPI

MEADS Team Submits Proposal For Polish Missile-Defense System -- Defense News

Mattis aiming to reaffirm US alliance with Japan and South Korea -- DW

4 Reasons North Korea Looms Over US Defense Chief's Asia Trip -- AP

U.S. Air Force completes Talon trainer modifications -- UPI

Mattis Review Of F-35 Fighter Likely To Yield Lower Price, Faster Production -- Forbes

New US Air Force Wish List Adds Billions for More Aircraft -- Defense News

Keel laid for future USS Lyndon B. Johnson -- UPI

Keel Laid for Third Zumwalt-class Destroyer -- Seapower

Navy Details Desired Technical Specifications For New LCS, Frigate Over-the-Horizon Missile -- Scout Warrior

Trump adding CIA back to National Security Council: White House -- Reuters

Trump to sign cybersecurity executive order -- UPI

Trump taps executive power on military – with limits -- Stars and Stripes

Report: U.S. military did not distort intelligence reports on Islamic State -- AP

Army Must Be Ready For Multi-Domain Battle In Pacific ‘Tomorrow’ -- Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Breaking Defense

It’s Time to Create a Megacities Combat Unit -- John Spencer, Modern War Institute

New Threat Realities and Deterrence Requirements -- Keith B. Payne, RCD

By Lifting Sanctions, Trump Could Hand Russia’s Military a Lethal Technological Advantage -- Patrick Tucker, Defense One

Is The Trump Administration About To Change U.S. Rules Of Engagement In The War Against Extremists?

US Special Troops Battalion (Reuters / Peter Andrews)

The Hill: White House walks back assertion military won't target US citizens overseas

The White House on Tuesday walked back its assertion that the military will never target U.S. citizens in overseas operations.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters earlier in the day that “no American citizen will ever be targeted” when asked whether the Trump administration would deliberately go after U.S.-born people with ties to extremists.

The statement represented a break with policy set under the Obama administration.

But a White House official later clarified that “U.S. policy regarding the possible targeting of American citizens has not changed.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: President Obama did specifically order the killing of U.S.-born alleged al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen .... so the precedent is there. But as to changing the rules of engagement in general .... I am sure there is a revision being done right now, and there will be some changes.

Are China And Russia Afraid Of America's New Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers?

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: Why China and Russia Fear America's New Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers

In 2009, the U.S. Navy finally began construction of the first new type of aircraft carrier in nearly thirty-five years. Named after former president and naval aviator Gerald R. Ford, the USS Ford fully takes the nuclear supercarrier into the twenty-first century. The technological innovations built into the new ship, while causing the inevitable delays involved in building a first-in-class vessel, will keep the Navy’s unique fleet of super flattops the largest and most advanced in the world for the foreseeable future.

USS Ford follows in the steps of the highly successful Nimitz-class carriers. Construction began in 2009 at Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Virginia—the same location where the Ford’s predecessors were built. Indeed, the Ford class resembles the Nimitz ships in many ways: they measure 1,106 feet long versus the Nimitz’s 1,092 feet. Both classes weigh the same: approximately one hundred thousand tons fully loaded. Layout is similar, too, with an island on the starboard side, four catapults and an angled flight deck.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I am sure that both Russia and China are watching this U.S. aircraft carrier program very closely .... and see it as one big target.

A Look At China's Aircraft Carrier Program

© AFP 2016/ STR

Defense News: Analysis: Chinese Aircraft Carrier Program Progressing Substantially Into the New Year

MELBOURNE, Australia — China continues to make strides in its aircraft carrier program, with a number of milestones achieved in 2016 and looks set to make more in 2017.

The country’s sole carrier, the refurbished Soviet-era Kuznetsov-class ship, now renamed the Liaoning, was declared “combat ready” in November by Senior Capt. Li Dongyou, the political commissar onboard the ship as it departed for a training cruise that included a stopover at the purpose-built pier at the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) base near Sanya on Hainan island on the edge of the South China Sea.

The ship sailed with a battle group comprising of several PLAN destroyers, frigates and corvettes, while the Liaoning itself carried more than a dozen Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark carrier-borne fighters and several Harbin Z-9 and Changhe Z-18 helicopters onboard, including at least two Z-18J airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters.

Read more ....

More News On China's Aircraft Carrier Program

China may deploy 2nd aircraft carrier near South China Sea -- Times of India/PTI
China's second aircraft carrier 'takes shape': media -- Reuters
Beijing’s second aircraft carrier ‘takes shape’ after two years, nine months of construction: media -- South China Morning Post
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Program to Make New Advances in 2017 -- Sputnik
Will China Go To War? Beijing Building Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, Likely To Be Based Near South China Sea, Reports Say -- IBTimes

U.S. Navy Cruiser Runs Aground Near Japan

USS Antietam (CG-54) underway on March 6, 2016. US Navy Photo

USNI News: Cruiser USS Antietam Runs Aground in Tokyo Bay, Spills Oil

The Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54) ran aground on Tuesday in Tokyo Bay resulting in an oil spill, two Navy officials confirmed USNI News.

The ship – part of the Navy’s forward deployed forces – was in the process of anchoring in the bay when it ran aground and damaged its props. Antietam was unable to maneuver on its own and was brought back to into port with tugs.

“There were no injuries to U.S. or Japanese personnel. The incident did result in the discharge of hydraulic oil into the water,” read a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet provided to USNI News.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Someone's career in the US Navy has just ended.

More News On A U.S. Navy Cruiser Runsning Aground Near Japan

Officials: Navy cruiser ran aground near Japan -- Navy Times
Oil Spill in Tokyo Bay After Navy Cruiser Runs Aground -- Military Times
Navy cruiser runs aground, gushes oil into Tokyo Bay -- San Diego Union Tribune
A U.S. Navy Guided Missile Cruiser Just Ran Aground Off the Coast of Japan -- Popular Mechanics
US Navy cruiser damages propellers, spills oil into Tokyo Bay -- RT

Tweet For Today

A little fog won't stop this crew. A @usairforce weapons crew loads a live guided laser bomb into an F-35A @TeamEglin, #Fla. pic.twitter.com/GAkvQwYfKa

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) February 1, 2017

A Remarkable Story On U.S. And German Soldiers Joining Forces Near The End Of The Second World War To Battle Against An SS Division

‘The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe’ By Stephen Harding. 256 pages. Da Capo. $25.99.

Andrew Roberts, Daily Beast: World War II’s Strangest Battle: When Americans and Germans Fought Together

Days after Hitler’s suicide a group of American soldiers, French prisoners, and, yes, German soldiers defended an Austrian castle against an SS division—the only time Germans and Allies fought together in World War II. Andrew Roberts on a story so wild that it has to be made into a movie.

The most extraordinary things about Stephen Harding's The Last Battle, a truly incredible tale of World War II, are that it hasn’t been told before in English, and that it hasn’t already been made into a blockbuster Hollywood movie.

Here are the basic facts: on 5 May 1945—five days after Hitler’s suicide—three Sherman tanks from the 23rd Tank Battalion of the U.S. 12th Armored Division under the command of Capt. John C. ‘Jack’ Lee Jr., liberated an Austrian castle called Schloss Itter in the Tyrol, a special prison that housed various French VIPs, including the ex-prime ministers Paul Reynaud and Eduard Daladier and former commanders-in-chief Generals Maxime Weygand and Paul Gamelin, amongst several others.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: A remarkable story. Hat tip to Phill for this link.

Picture Of The Day

Other than in China, the Chinese New Year is also celebrated in countries with significant Chinese populations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. © Sputnik/ Janna Manukyan

WNU Editor: Sputnik has a photo gallery on this year's Chinese new Year. The link is here.

European Council President Donald Tusk: 'President Trump Is A Threat To Europe'

DW: EC President Tusk lists US administration as one of EU's 'external threats'

The Trump administration has joined Russia, China and radical Islam as a geopolitical challenge for the European Union, EC President Donald Tusk said in a letter. Tusk also called on EU member states to stand together.

In a letter to the European Union's (EU) national leaders, European Council (EC) President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that the bloc's current challenges "are more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome 60 years ago."

Tusk highlighted an "assertive China," "Russia's aggressive policy" in Eastern Europe, and "radical Islam" as key external threats to the EU. These factors "as well as worrying declarations by the new American administration all make our future highly unpredictable," he said, referencing the Trump administration.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: According to the EU President .... the Trump administration is now on par with Russia, China and radical Islam as a geopolitical challenge for the European Union. OK .... but I think what the EU leadership are really worried about are the Trump administration's remarks on how certain EU countries are manipulating their currencies to favor their trade balances .... and they are now calling them out on this practice .... Trump’s trade advis​​er says Germany uses euro to 'exploit' US and EU (The Guardian). More here .... Donald Trump's trade adviser accuses Germany of currency exploitation (The Independent).

More News On European Council President Donald Tusk Calling President Trump A Threat To Europe

EU chair labels Trump a 'threat' as Europeans debate U.S. ties -- Reuters
EU's Tusk warns of Trump 'threat' -- AFP
EU leader declares Trump a "threat" to European Union -- CBS/AP
EU's Donald Tusk sees Trump as threat to Europe -- BBC
Trump Threatens Europe’s Stability, a Top Leader Warns -- NYT
European Union president trashes Trump as 'threat' -- CNN
US under Trump among external threats to EU – council president Tusk -- RT

Is Russian Intelligence Funding The Anti-Fracking Movment In The U.S.?

People walk away from a protest against fracking and neighborhood oil drilling in Los Angeles, California, May 14. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Drew Johnson, Newsweek: Intelligence: Putin Is Funding the Anti-Fracking Campaign

Recent intelligence reports show that Russia is interested in influencing more than just America's elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies have taken aim at undermining the U.S. energy industry, as well.

Buried within the U.S. intelligence community's report on Russian activities in the presidential election is clear evidence that the Kremlin is financing and choreographing anti-fracking propaganda in the United States. By targeting fracking, Putin hopes to increase oil and gas prices, destabilize the U.S. economy and threaten America's energy independence.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a decades-old drilling technique in which water and sand is pumped through rock at a high pressure to release previously unreachable deposits of oil and natural gas.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There are a lot of groups who oppose fracking .... with many supporters and a lot of funding. I would be surprised if these groups are dependent on Russian funding. But it is true that fracking and its impact on oil production and prices is a strategic threat to Russia .... and it is in Russia's interest (as well as OPEC's) to see these anti-fracking movements succeed.