What’s Going On At Guantanamo Bay Prison?

The interior of an unoccupied communal cellblock is seen at Camp VI, a prison used to house detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. (Reuters)

FOX News: Political poison: What’s going on in Guantanamo Bay?

Down to just 40 inmates, the future of Guantanamo Bay could change under a Biden administration.

While once front and center of U.S. election campaigns, the politically noxious topic of the 19-year-old Guantanamo Bay prison has made little dent on this year's election cycle.

Yet it still remains open, sparsely populated by alleged terrorists at a high cost to the American taxpayer. And even with the protracted war in Afghanistan winding down as part of a controversial "peace deal" with the Taliban, experts remain skeptical that Gitmo too will be brought to an end.

"The prison holds the most violent people on the planet, and they have become worse since they have been there. If you close it, where are you going to put the prisoners? You can't bring them back to the U.S. because (then) they are entitled to due process rights," Kelly Hyman, a political strategist and federal trial attorney told Fox News. "So what do you do with them? You have no foreign country that will take them. Everyone wants to get rid of them, including Trump, but we can't."

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WNU Editor: What a difference 12 years make. Presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2007 promised to close Guantanamo Bay Prison .... Obama's Failed Promise to Close Gitmo: A Timeline (The Atlantic), and what was going to happen to Guantanamo was a huge news story. In this election cycle, Guantanamo Bay Prison is not even mentioned.

Trump Administration Wants To Know How Fast Its Nuclear Weapons In Storage Could Be Pulled Out If The START Treaty Is Over

Marshall Billingslea, special U.S. presidential envoy for arms control, and Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori pose for a photo ahead of their bilateral meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI

Japan Times: White House wants to know how fast nukes could be pulled out of storage, report says

As talks over extending the last remaining strategic arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia remain deadlocked, the Trump administration has reportedly asked the military to assess how quickly it could pull nukes out of storage and load them onto bombers and submarines if the treaty expires in February.

The request was part of a strategy to heap pressure on Russia in renegotiating the New START agreement ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, Politico reported Monday, citing three people familiar with discussions on the issue.

The Trump White House, which sees Moscow as dragging out the talks, reportedly hopes to underscore that it is serious about letting the treaty expire if Russia fails to meet U.S. demands.

“It’s a clear signal that the costs for not negotiating before the election are going to go up,” the report quoted one of the sources as saying. The U.S. is “trying to create an incentive, and it’s a real incentive, for the Russians to sit down and actually negotiate.”

The request for the assessment came in the last two weeks from a group of officials at the National Security Council and State, Defense and Energy departments that is supporting Ambassador Marshall Billingslea in negotiations with Moscow to try to replace New START before it expires, according to the report.

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Update: Trump administration orders assessment on bolstering nuclear warheads as talks with Russia stall (Politico)

WNU Editor: In an emergency I am sure these weapons could be pulled out, prepared, and deployed very quickly.

Video Shows Russian S-400 Missile Hitting Its Own Launcher

Eurasian Times: New Viral Video Shows Russian S-400 Missile Hitting Its Own Launcher – Watch Now

The Russian military along with six other militaries have been engaged in intense combat exercises in Russia’s southern military district, named the Kavkaz-2020. However, an interesting video has surfaced over social media, showing the firing of the S-400 Missile Defence System.

The video shows the firing of two missiles under an air defence simulation scenario, where the first missile successfully fired and completed its boost phase. While, the problem starts with the second missile, which successfully separated from the launcher fails to initiate its boost phase and the missile, fell back to the ground over the launch vehicle itself.

After the missile falls over the vehicle, soldiers are seen running to take cover behind military trucks, while black smoke rising in the background.

While the video’s location and details cannot be independently authenticated by the EurAsian Times, it indeed has increased anxieties in the potential buyers of the lethal systems.

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WNU Editor: Not a good video to have out there if you are trying to sell this missile system.

An Update On China’s Aircraft Carrier Program

The Jiangnan shipyard showing carrier 003 under assembly. Weibo

Rick Joe, The Diplomat: 003 and More: An Update on China’s Aircraft Carriers

Over the past year, disparate elements of the Chinese Navy’s carrier development program have continued to progress and come together.

As another year passes, additional developments in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) carrier program continue to be sighted and confirmed, in spite of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions between the United States and China show no sign of easing. Media interest in Chinese military and naval developments shows no sign of easing either, particularly with regard to speculation about the future path of Chinese carrier development.

This article will review some of the developments and rumors in the Chinese carrier sphere that have occurred since The Diplomat published a similar piece in mid-2019, as well as further clarifying some continuing confusions over the designations of PLAN carriers.

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WNU Editor: A good analysis. I also agree with the author's assessment that the Chinese Navy is looking at having a total fleet of 10 aircraft carriers in the future.

U.S. Marines And Navy Will Be Dependent On Conducting Multiple Missile Strikes In Its New Pacific War Plan

ANGLICO 5 Marines spot a target for USS 'Antietam''s Tomahawk. U.S. Marine Corps

Forbes: U.S. Marines Lobbing Cruise Missiles—A Preview Of Pacific War

It’s no secret that that Pentagon has a new, island-hopping war plan. One that could help it to roll back Beijing’s land-grabs in the China Seas.

On Sept. 20, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy showed off one tactic that could be critical to the plan. Marines slipped ashore on an uninhabited island near Guam. They picked a target on a military bombing range and relayed the coordinates to a Navy cruiser.

Minutes later, a Tomahawk cruise missile slammed onto the range.

The live missile exercise was part of Valiant Shield 2020, a sprawling, 12-day naval war game that played out around Guam. At least 11 warships including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the assault ship USS America played, as did more than 100 aircraft including U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighters and B-1 bombers.

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WNU Editor: I say be prepared to stockpile a lot of missiles.

U.S. Warship Breaks Navy Record For Longest Stint At Sea

A woman photographs the USS Stout as it sails past the Statue of Liberty during the parade of ships for Fleet Week in New York City on May 20, 2015.Brendan McDermid / Reuters file

NBC: U.S. missile destroyer ship breaks Navy record for longest stint at sea

The USS Stout reached 208 days at sea Sept. 26 as the Navy has imposed restrictions on port visits to protect sailors from the coronavirus.

A U.S. guided missile destroyer ship has broken the record for the longest consecutive number of days at sea for a military surface vessel, the Navy said Tuesday, underscoring the effects of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The USS Stout reached 208 days at sea Sept. 26, spending nearly seven months in the Middle East and the North Africa area, known as the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The previous record of 207 days, held by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto, was also set this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the Navy to cancel port visits to prevent sailors from being exposed while ashore.

Earlier this year, more than 1,000 sailors were infected with Covid-19 on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. One sailor died and the aircraft carrier was sidelined in Guam for weeks.

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WNU Editor: 208 days at sea. Wow! That is a long deployment.

US Intensifying Plans To Move Its Main Military Base At Incirlik To Greece

A U.S. Air Force (USAF) C-5 Galaxy Outsize Cargo Transport Aircraft lands at Incirlik air base in Adana, Turkey, August 10, 2015. (Reuters)

Arab News: US intensifying plans to move military assets from Incirlik to Greece

* The US is considering Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete as an alternative to Incirlik
* Erdogan has also threatened to kick the US military off Incirlik air base if Congress imposes sanctions on Turkey

NEW YORK: The US is exploring plans to relocate some of its important assets from the Incirlik air base in Turkey to Greece.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will discuss such proposals on his visit to Souda Bay, a US naval facility on the northern shores of the Geek island of Crete.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee for Europe, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Jonson, had already mentioned earlier in September that the US is considering Souda Bay as an alternative to Incirlik.

Jonson told the Washington Examiner that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “disturbing” foreign policy has spurred American officials to intensify preparations to withdraw from Incirlik.

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Previous Post: Will The U.S. Military Leave Incirlik Air Force Base In Turkey And Relocate To The Greek Island Of Crete? (September 12, 2020).

WNU Editor: Talk about moving the US base has been intensifying for the past few weeks. I still have my doubts that it will happen.

Is US Military Training In Africa Helping To Spawn Coups?

CCO Public Domain

Lee J. M. Seymour and Theodore McLauchlin, Phys.org/The Conversation: Does U.S. military training incubate coups in Africa? The jury is still out

Military officers overthrew Mali's government in a coup d'état on August 18, 2020. Among the more worrying aspects of the coup is the fact that a number of the officers involved had received foreign training, most notably from the United States.

In fact, this was the second time in eight years that US-trained officers in Mali had launched a coup. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one civilian government to a coup launched by foreign-trained officers may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.

For many commentators with a strong sense of déjà vu, events in Mali reinforce suspicions of a link between US training and coups d'état.

But does US foreign military training provoke coups d'état? The short answer is we don't know. Until we know more, we should be skeptical of the blanket claim that it does.

Initial evidence, much cited by journalists, suggests a link.

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WNU Editor: US training of foreign soldiers is a huge part of US foreign policy and it is big .... Between 1999 and 2016, US programs involved 2.4 million trainees in programs that cost over $20 billion. The possibility that there could be some soldiers who received US military training being involved in a coup should surprise no one.

World Bank Report: The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Pushed 38 Million Back Into Poverty In East Asia

The World Bank said the East Asia and the Pacific region this year is projected to grow by only 0.9 per cent, the lowest rate since 1967. Photo: Reuters

CNBC: East Asia poverty could rise for first time in 20 years due to the pandemic, World Bank says

* The number of people living in poverty in developing East Asian and Pacific countries could increase for the first time in 20 years, a World Bank forecast showed on Monday.
* The bank said as many as 38 million more people could fall below below the poverty line this year, including 33 million who would have escaped poverty if the Covid-19 shock didn’t happen.
* World Bank defined the poverty line as income of $5.50 a day.

SINGAPORE — The number of people living in poverty in developing East Asian and Pacific countries could increase for the first time in 20 years, as the coronavirus pandemic erased much of this year’s economic growth, a World Bank forecast showed on Monday.

The bank defined the poverty line as income of $5.50 a day. It said as many as 38 million more people could fall below that income level this year, including 33 million who would have escaped poverty if not for the Covid-19 shock.

That World Bank forecast was published in an economic update for the region, which includes China, Southeast Asian countries and the Pacific Islands, such as Fiji and Samoa. The report doesn’t include India and other South Asian countries.

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More News On The Covid-19 Pandemic Pushing 38 Million Back Into Poverty In East Asia

China’s economic growth to be 2 per cent in 2020 but coronavirus to keep Asia’s growth at lowest since 1967, World Bank warns -- SCMP/Reuters
Covid-19 pandemic will push millions across East Asia and the Pacific into poverty this year, says World Bank -- Straits Times
Coronavirus pushes 38m Asians below poverty line: World Bank -- Nikkei Asia Review
Pandemic sparks rise in Asian poverty for first time in 20 years -- The Telegraph
East Asia poverty to rise for first time in 20 years due to Covid-19 pandemic – World Bank -- RT
Southeast Asian Economies Face Generational Downturn from COVID-19 -- The Diplomat

Kuwait's Ruler Has Passed Away At The Age Of 91

CNBC: Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah dies at age 91

* Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, was the oil-rich country’s leader since 2006.
* He had been its top diplomat for 40 years, including during Saddam Hussein’s invasion.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who ruled over his oil-rich country since 2006 and had been its foreign minister for 40 years, including during Saddam Hussein’s invasion, has died. He was 91.

He is expected to be succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

“With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn to the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world, the death of the late His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait who moved next to his Lord,” the royal palace said in a statement, according to state media. Tuesday’s announcement didn’t say when he died or where.

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More News On The Death Of Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah dies at age 91 -- Al Jazeera
Kuwait ruler, longtime diplomat Sheikh Sabah, dies at age 91 -- AP
Kuwait mourns Emir Sheikh Sabah, veteran defender of Arab unity -- Reuters
Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah dies at age 91 -- France 24
Kuwait emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah dies aged 91 -- Arab News
Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Al Ahmed Al Sabah dies at 91, half brother to take over duties -- FOX News
Kuwait monarch Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at 91 -- CNN
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah dies at 91 -- Middle East Eye