OT subject but worth a main-stream read- OT News Feeds...

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukraine’s Air Force says it shot down 43 out of 61 Russian drone attacks in an overnight raid targeting nine regions across Ukraine. No major damage or casualties were immediately reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed again for “the strong support” from Ukraine’s allies and for more United States-made Patriot air defence systems. This follows a week of more than 1,000 Russian air offences."

lousubcap

Tuesday Middle East update:

"Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees early yesterday, concluding the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement following Hamas’ return of three female Israeli hostages on Sunday. The Washington Post reports.

Hamas yesterday said it would next release additional hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, in accordance with the agreed ceasefire timeline. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose report for Reuters.

The Israeli military today announced it has begun an operation in the occupied West Bank’s city of Jenin, without providing further details. James Mackenzie reports for Reuters.

The U.N. said 915 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday on the second day of the ceasefire, citing information from Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.

Israel expects Trump to lift the Biden administration's hold on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs, outgoing Israeli U.S. ambassador Mike Herzog told Axios in an interview. Barak Ravid reports.

Hamas is ready to enter into dialogue with the United States, a senior Hamas official said on Sunday, a rare move for the group which has long excoriated Washington for supporting Israel. Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times. 

Yemen's Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships if the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented, the Houthi-associated Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center said in an email dated Friday. Jonathan Saul reports for Reuters."

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukraine’s Air Force claimed it shot down 93 of 141 drones Russia launched in attacks overnight. The Air Force also said that 47 of the drones were “lost” while two returned to Russia.

Russia said it destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones which had primarily targeted industrial sites in Russia’s Tatarstan region, located about 1,000km (about 600 miles) from the Ukrainian border. No victims or damage have been reported.

The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said 14 Ukrainian drones were neutralised in the region, which borders Ukraine. He claimed Kyiv also fired four United States-made HIMARS missiles at targets in Bryansk.

Putin said he was “open to dialogue” with Ukraine under Donald Trump’s administration. He also said any settlement should ensure “lasting peace based on respect for the legitimate interest of all people”.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Russia’s war on Ukraine would not end “tomorrow or the day after” in response to Trump’s pledge to end the war quickly."

lousubcap

Wednesday Middle East update:

"Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), yesterday said she agrees with extremist members of the Israeli cabinet that Israel has a “biblical right” to the entire West Bank. She also denounced what she described as an “antisemitic rot that is pervasive within the U.N. system.” Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan report for the Washington Post. 

Qatar's prime minister yesterday said he hopes the Palestinian Authority will play a role in governing post-war Gaza. Separately, the country’s foreign minister said Qatar is “confident” in the ceasefire deal but expects the next stage of negotiations to be much more complex. Samia Nakhoul and Marwa Rashad report for Reuters. Susannah George reports for the Washington Post.

More than 900 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday with no apparent law-and-order issues so far, a senior U.N. official said. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters."

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched four missiles and 131 drones towards Ukraine overnight. The Air Force also said that 72 of the drones were destroyed while 59 disappeared without reaching their targets.

Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said its troops intercepted and destroyed 55 Ukrainian drones in six Russian regions overnight. Six drones were downed in Voronezh where, according to the region’s Governor Aleksandr Gusev, falling debris started a blaze just six days after remnants of another intercepted drone triggered an earlier fire. No injuries were reported.

President Donald Trump said he planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and told reporters that Putin was “destroying Russia” by refusing to strike a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. Trump said he thought “Russia’s going to be in big trouble” and expressed concern for Moscow’s economy.

Trump warned Putin that he would impose new sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin refused to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. Trump also said the US was looking into sending weapons to Ukraine but added that the European Union should do more to support Kyiv.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video call with Putin during which the pair discussed the outlook for a potential peace deal to end Moscow’s war with Ukraine, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said. The two leaders also touched on issues relating to the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, Syria and Taiwan, Ushakov said."

lousubcap

Thursday Middle East update:

"Israel will maintain control of the Rafah crossing into Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday. AP News reports.

Israel has not yet decided whether to help fund the reconstruction of Gaza, Israel's Economy Minister Nir Barkat said yesterday. Elisa Martinuzzi and Brad Haynes report for Reuters.

Hamas’ continued hold on power in Gaza poses a challenge to implementing a permanent ceasefire, regional diplomats and security experts say. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters."

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:

"NATO is willing to “pay the bill” to ensure the continued supply of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said today. Sudip Kar-Gupta and Lili Bayer report for Reuters.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 99 drones towards Ukraine overnight in what has become a daily volley of strikes. The air force said Kyiv’s troops destroyed 65 drones while 30 disappeared from radar. Six regions in Ukraine reported attacks as a result of the drones.

Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow only sees a small window of opportunity to forge an agreement with the new United States administration under President Donald Trump.

Trump gave an ultimatum to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to “stop this ridiculous war” with Ukraine “now” or face tariffs and sanctions on “anything sold by Russia to the United States”. He threatened similar consequences for Russia’s allies as well.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, responded to Trump’s threats, saying Moscow would have to see what Trump means by a “deal”. Polyanskiy also said although Trump is not responsible for the US’s “malicious anti-Russia” policy, he now holds power to put an end to it."

lousubcap

Friday Middle East update:

"Clashes between Hamas and organized looters temporarily interrupted the influx of aid to southern Gaza late on Wednesday, according to residents, transport workers and video footage of the gunfight. Claire Parker, Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Hajar Harb, and Adam Taylor report for the Washington Post.

U.S. security contractors will help secure the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza by screening returning Gazan vehicles for weapons, U.S. officials said. It is not yet clear when the mechanism will be put into effect. Patrick Kingsley, Ronen Bergman, and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times.

Palestinians in north Gaza are readying tent encampments for displaced families set to return to their home areas on Saturday following the expected release of the second round of Israeli hostages. Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Mahmoud Issa, and Dawoud Abu Alkas report for Reuters.

The Israeli government has told the Trump administration it wants to keep its military positions in southern Lebanon for at least 30 days past the Sunday withdrawal deadline, according to an Israeli official. Hezbollah said yesterday that the IDF’s continued presence would be a “brazen breach of the [ceasefire] agreement.” Mick Krever and Jeremy Diamond report for CNN.

Syria’s central bank yesterday ordered commercial banks to freeze all accounts linked to former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to a document seen by Reuters. Riham Alkoussa and Timour Azhari report.

Syria’s new authorities are using Islamic teachings to “instill a sense of morality” in the country’s fledgling police force, five senior police officers said. Analysts say the move risks sowing new tensions in the diverse country and alienating foreign governments. Amina Ismail and Khalil Ashawi report for Reuters.

Two Russian ships linked to Moscow’s military have docked at the Kremlin's naval base on the Syrian coast at Tartus, which analysts say may indicate the anticipated evacuation of the facility has begun. Nick Eardley and Matt Murphy report for BBC News."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"North Korea is preparing to send additional troops to Russia after suffering heavy casualties, South Korea’s military said today. Hyung-Jin Kim reports for AP News.

Hundreds of North Korean weapons are flooding into Russia to aid Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, according to the head of Kyiv’s Defense Intelligence Directorate. Serhii Korolchuk reports for the Washington Post.

Russia said Friday it shot down 120 drones over a dozen regions overnight, including over the capital Moscow, in one of the biggest such barrages of the nearly three-year conflict. One drone was also intercepted over the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. Russian media reported damage in various regions, including fires.

Kyiv’s air force said it shot down 57 of 92 drones that Russia launched in attacks overnight. The air force also said 27 of the drones were “electronically lost” and did not cause any damage.

President Donald Trump said he wants to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately, and told reporters that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to make a ceasefire deal.

Belgium’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, told a panel in Davos that an analysis by the European Union concluded that the Russian economy could sustain its war with Kyiv for at least another year. De Croo also said it was vital that the 16th package of sanctions against Moscow include gas, energy and fertilisers.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Ukraine would one day join NATO when there is sustainable peace, and warned NATO must make it clear that Russia has no right to veto a vote on who joins the alliance."

dbCooper

George Will has relevant commentary on Pete Hegseth . . .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/24/pete-hegseth-defense-department-unqualified/

Opinion

George F. Will

There are ample reasons, not about his personal life, for rejecting Hegseth

Pete Hegseth has shown no evidence of being capable of managing the Pentagon behemoth.

January 24, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. ESTToday at 7:00 a.m. EST

4 min

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's choice to be defense secretary, appears during a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

A thought experiment: Suppose you assembled 100 intelligent, public-spirited people experienced with the complexities of managing enormous bureaucracies, deeply familiar with today’s geopolitical challenges, alert to the importance and sensitivities of allied nations, and acquainted with large private-sector manufacturing and the precarious condition of the U.S. defense industrial base.

Suppose you asked each of these 100 to list 100 people qualified to be defense secretary. There could be, cumulatively, 10,000 different names. What is the probability that even one of those would be Pete Hegseth? Approximately zero.

If the task is to capture a heavily defended hill, select Hegseth, a decorated combat veteran. Or perhaps Army Gen. George S. Patton. Or Marine Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller. But you would send none of those three — Patton commanded an army, Puller a division, Hegseth a platoon — to command the Pentagon.

Today, defense secretary is the most demanding and consequential Cabinet position. So, let us stipulate certain things:

Follow George F. Will

Hegseth, 44, should be presumed sincere when he says his alcohol-fueled sexual rowdiness is in his regretted past. Controversies about his past loutishness should not be dispositive when deciding whether he should be confirmed. There are ample other reasons to reject his nomination.

An independent forensic accountant found evidence of gross financial mismanagement while Hegseth was administering two small nonprofits. This information is redundant evidence of what is facially obvious: his unreadiness to manage the Pentagon’s almost $900 billion budget (soon, one hopes, $1 trillion), 3.4 million military and civilian employees, and relations with myriad contractors and foreign military leaders.

Hegseth worries that the military’s “warrior culture” has been diluted by DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) preoccupations that have seeped in from portions of the civilian culture, distracting the services from focusing on lethality that deters wars or wins them. Wokeness can, however, be scrubbed from the military in a morning: Orders sent down the chain of command will be obeyed. More daunting problems — e.g., reviving military and nonmilitary shipbuilding, deciding whether aircraft carriers, F-35 fighters and other weapons systems are right for a rapidly changing threat environment — are many orders of magnitude more difficult to solve.

Granted, one miscast defense secretary had glittering credentials. Robert S. McNamara came to the Kennedy administration from Ford Motor Co.’s presidency. He was considered an administrative wizard and a polymath. He surrounded himself with “systems analysts,” who were the policy fad du jour in the 1960s. He and they thought that “the best and the brightest,” armed with MBAs and sufficient data, could subdue Vietnam, Capitol Hill and other trouble spots. House Speaker Sam Rayburn was skeptical: “I’d feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff once.”

In government’s upper reaches, prior credentials, acquired in the private and public sectors, should include judgment, gained from political or government experience. These do not guarantee success, but their absence foretells failure.

Some Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats in Hegseth’s confirmation hearing were preoccupied with questions pertaining to gender (e.g., women in combat). These, while important, are less so than others. One exemplary Democrat highlighted some.

In his opening statement, Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), West Point Class of 1971, former chairman of the committee, now its ranking minority member, noted Hegseth’s “disregard for the law of armed conflict” and “support for service members who have been convicted of war crimes. You have championed the pardoning of military members who were turned in by their fellow soldiers and SEALs, as well as military contractors convicted of killing 14 Iraqi civilians without cause.”

Hegseth, Reed said, has advocated the reinstitution of interrogation methods such as waterboarding that the United States considers torture. How, Reed wondered, would Hegseth as secretary “maintain good order and discipline”?

Reed noted Hegseth’s statements, in books and in cable television fulminations, against “modern leftists” who are “the soul of the Democratic Party.” Reed could have cited Hegseth’s “welcome to the Warring Twenties!” And: “If you don’t own a gun, buy one. Train to use it. Then buy more.” Because, “Yes, there will be some form of civil war.”

Reed, who has voted to confirm nine defense secretaries, including those of the first Trump administration, said: The defense secretary’s challenge “is to remove partisan politics from the military. You propose to inject it.”

In last Monday’s inaugural address, President Donald Trump vowed to encourage a “merit-based” society. He certainly did not start with the Pentagon’s E-ring.

lousubcap

Too bad the totally unqualified is now SecDef.  

lousubcap

Saturday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukraine’s military said that Russia launched 61 drones and two missiles into the country in an overnight attack, adding it shot down both missiles and 46 drones. It said 15 other drones disappeared from radars without reaching their targets.

Moscow said it intercepted 121 Ukrainian drones, including 37 in Russia’s Bryansk, 20 in Ryazan and 17 in the Kursk and Saratov regions of the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested meeting in person with US President Donald Trump to discuss an end to the Ukraine war.  Putin said he always had a “pragmatic and trusting” relationship with Trump and supported his view that he was the real winner of the 2020 US election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Russian president of seeking to manipulate Trump to secure an end to the war on Moscow’s terms."

lousubcap

Sunday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukrainian forces downed 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight. It said nine drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones, while one is still in Ukrainian airspace.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over Russia and two sea drones in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said allies should work towards determining a format for potential peace talks with Russia, reiterating that only talks involving Kyiv could bring about sustainable peace.

Zelenskyy said US military assistance to Kyiv has not been affected by the State Department’s foreign aid freeze. According to him, the suspended aid concerns humanitarian support. “I am focused on military aid. It has not been stopped,” he said."

lousubcap

Monday Middle East update:

"President Trump on Saturday said he spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about “cleaning out” Gaza and urged Jordan and Egypt to “take on” about “a million and a half” refugees from the territory. Annabelle Timsit and Gerry Shih report for the New York Times.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister yesterday said his country’s opposition to the Gaza refugee transfer plan floated by Trump is “firm and unwavering.” Separately, Egypt’s foreign ministry reiterated its position against “the displacement of Palestinians from their land through forced eviction.” Will Weissert reports for AP News; Betsy Klein and Lex Harvey report for CNN.

The White House on Friday instructed the Pentagon to release the former Biden administration’s hold on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel,according to Israeli officials. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Israel on Friday gave the U.N. aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) six days to stop all operations in East Jerusalem, according to a letter from Israel’s U.N. Ambassador to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.

The White House yesterday announced that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon will extend until February 18, following Friday’s statement from Netanyahu’s office that the IDF would not complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in accordance with the agreed ceasefire schedule. The White House statement did not indicate whether both parties had agreed to the extension. Patrick Kingsley, Ronen Bergman, and Natan Odenheimer report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Abbie Cheeseman reports for the Washington Post."

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"A barrage of more than 100 Russian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in western Ukraine and damaged residential buildings in other regions, Ukrainian officials said. The strikes resulted in two fires at an industrial facility in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

The Ukrainian army said Moscow’s units launched 38 attacks with artillery support at various points against the Ukrainian lines of defence.

Ukraine said its armed forces, together with the country’s defence intelligence, repeatedly struck Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refining Company for a second time just two days after its initial overnight attack on the facility. Kyiv said the oil refinery is one of the four largest in the Russian Federation."

lousubcap

CHEETO and the Canal and why we are here:

A Bet on Nationalism (Tasos Katopodis / Getty)

View in browser Stephanie Bai: In Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, and even before he assumed office, he promised to retake the Panama Canal. Is this an issue that Americans care about? Franklin Foer: Until Trump started talking about it, the Panama Canal hardly ranked on the list of the top 500 strategic threats to America. Best I can tell, there were some toll increases, and the Chinese have started to pay greater interest to the canal over time. But there’s zero national-security reason for the United States to deploy its prestige and military might to take back the canal. When it comes to his domestic audience, I think what Trump is betting on is a rising sense of nationalism that he can tap into. And I think by framing the canal as a lost fragment of the American empire and implying that it’s rightfully ours, he’s betting that it will be a piece of the broader “Make America great again” sentiment that he coasts on. Stephanie: You wrote in your recent story that “reclaiming the Panama Canal is an old obsession of the American right.” Why is it important to that faction of the country? Franklin: Many countries failed to build a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, so America’s success was seen as a feat of engineering—at least, Americans viewed it that way for much of the 20th century. But its construction exacted an enormous human toll; thousands of workers died. And by the 1960s, most American presidents pretty clearly realized that the canal generated so much resentment toward the United States that keeping it didn’t make sense. But you also had a large sector of the American right that felt like we were abandoning our empire. And so Ronald Reagan, when he ran for president in 1976, made reclaiming the Panama Canal one of his central slogans. The issue was something that the insurgent New Right movement, a rising force in American politics, exploited mercilessly in order to raise money and garner enthusiasm. Stephanie: Trump’s grievances include his claim that the canal’s neutrality has been violated because it’s under the control of China. Franklin: China likes to involve itself in the operation of infrastructure, and it has lots of global trading routes that it aims to control and exert influence over. There is a new Chinese presence in the canal, but that doesn’t mean that they’re about to take it over. One of the things that’s ludicrously self-defeating about Trump’s strategy within the hemisphere is that he’s deliberately aggravating countries that could conceivably be thrown into the arms of China. So Panama may not want to enter into any sort of alliance with the Chinese, but because Trump is threatening military action against it, the country may decide that aligning more closely with China is in its interest. Stephanie: In response to Trump’s inauguration speech, Panama President José Raúl Mulino said that “the canal is and will remain Panama’s.” As you noted, Trump has already floated the idea of using military force to retake the canal. Do you think this could actually come to pass? Franklin: I think Trump is testing limits to see what he can get. I would be surprised if he was asking the Pentagon to draw up plans right now to retake the Panama Canal. But the problem is: Once he goes down this road of threatening to use military force to take something back, what happens when Panama doesn’t give it back? I don’t think there’s an extremely high chance that we will go to war to take back the canal. But I think there’s at least some possibility that we’re going down that road. Stephanie: American expansionism seems to be top of mind for Trump. He talked about his “manifest destiny” vision in his inauguration speech, and he has repeatedly spoken about annexing Greenland and Canada in addition to taking back the Panama Canal. Franklin: The fact that he’s using the term manifest destiny, which is a callback to American expansion in the West in the 1840s and 1850s, shows that this is not a departure from American history but a return to the American history of imperialism. This is a big shift in the way that America now thinks of its role in the world. I think for Trump, who is a real-estate guy, acquiring real estate is a token of his greatness. He looks at Vladimir Putin and sees the way in which Putin has projected his power to expand his territory with Ukraine and thinks, Well, that’s what powerful leaders and powerful nations do. And here he is starting to explore that possibility himself.

lousubcap

Tuesday Middle East update:

Over 300,000 displaced Palestinians crossed into northern Gaza yesterday,Hamas said. Gerry Shih, Abbie Cheeseman, Hazem Balousha, Lior Soroka, and Shira Rubin report for the Washington Post. 

The U.N. aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) is preparing to vacate its East Jerusalem office following Israel’s order to cease its operations in the city yesterday. Reuters reports.

The EU will restart a civilian mission monitoring the Rafah crossing, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said yesterday. Reuters reports.

Palestinians “must not be expelled from Gaza,” the German foreign ministry said yesterday in response to Trump’s suggestion that Jordan and Egypt should take in more Gazans. Reuters reports."

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Moscow’s air defences destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones in an overnight attack. Nearly half were destroyed over the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine, the ministry said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Kyiv’s forces downed 57 of 104 Russian drones in an overnight attack. The air force said 39 drones were also lost. The barrage of attacks reportedly sparked a fire at an industrial facility in western Ukraine, damaged infrastructure facilities, an apartment block and private houses. No casualties were reported.

The Kremlin said Washington has not yet contacted it to set up a meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow believes the US is still interested in organising a meeting with Trump, who recently said that he wanted to meet Putin “immediately”."