High Frontier l Resets, Red Lines, ISIS, Iran, EMP and All That . . . A Tangled Web!

“Oh what a tangled web we weave

When first we practice to deceive”.

– Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808) … often mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare

What a week this has been!

A positive highlight was our celebration of VE day—Victory and the end of World War II in Europe seventy years ago— punctuated by a fly-over of Washington with many WWII vintage aircraft and much well deserved applause for the “greatest generation.” Thousands, including over 500 WWII veterans gathered on the National Mall, bridges and throughout the city to watch dozens of aircraft in a total of 15 formations. Click here for Bloomberg News raw video of what the attendees witnessed, including the four P-51s below, a particular aircraft that I recall with great fondness from making models of it as a small boy during the war. They helped establish air superiority and escorted the bombers that delivered the goods.

Others throughout Europe also celebrated VE Day in various ways, for this was an allied victory over fascists in Hitler’s Nazi Germany, reestablishing the basis for freedom for many Europeans—at least before the rise of a hostile Soviet Union—a World War II ally that soon became our Cold War enemy, as heralded by Great Britain’s Winston Churchill less than two years later. In his March 5, 1946 Fulton, Missouri speech, he famously warned of the Iron Curtain descending across Europe, “from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic.”

How quickly things can change! Less than two years from VE Day to beginning a Cold War that lasted nearly a half-century until the Berlin Wall was torn down and millions of Europeans behind that Iron Curtain were freed, thanks to Ronald Reagan’s Peace through Strength strategy—and especially his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)—lest we forget.

A foretaste for the changing scene today? You think?

After gaining its freedom following the events of 1989-90 that ended the Soviet Union, its successor, Russia, now seems intent on developing another adversarial relationship with the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently seeks to restore Russian domination throughout Europe and beyond—and not only with his invasion of Ukraine and other hostile acts in Europe. So much for then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s famous “Reset button” that was supposed to herald a new U.S.-Russian cooperative relationship only six years ago.

Last week’s VE Day illustrated this growing hostility, e.g., by the lack of high level U.S. participation in Russia’s Red Square celebration where President Putin showed off a number of Russia’s growing modernized inventory of military equipment—in contrast to 1940’s vintage systems highlighted in the Washington celebration. And rather than highlighting Russia’s former allies in defeating Nazi Germany, he was impressing his special quest, China’s President Xi Jinping, including by working out several trade deals to boost their economic ties.

China, a U.S. ally in World War II (Remember Jimmie Doolittle’s famous “20-seconds over Tokyo?”), now is more than a U.S. peer competitor—and is joining forces with Russia, on the economic and perhaps other fronts. And we can expect China’s resistance to the so-called U.S. “pivot to Asia” to grow—not to mention its growing adventurism in its “near abroad.”

For a recent assessment of this growing threat from China, consider that among other things, China is deploying nuclear armed ballistic missiles that can reach 7400 kms on a growing submarine force. Click here for a Seapower Magazine summary of this development reported in the recent congressionally mandated DoD annual report, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.”

This important DoD report says that the China’s plan has four operational Type 094 Jin-class SSBNs, called “China’s first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent.”

So, stay tuned to China—and its growing alliance with Russia, among others.

Russia’s mischief is not limited to its involvement with China by any means. When he abandoned his unwise “Red Line” threat re. Syria’s President Bashir Assad’s chemical weapons, President Obama also basically turned over the Middle East to Vladimir Putin. My, how that festering cauldron of evil has metastasized! A tangled web, you think?

Click here to read about former Defense Secretary Panetta’s discussion, elaborated in his book “Worthy Fights: A Memoir or Leadership in War and Peace,” which he touts as an insider’s account of national security disputes in the Obama administration. Among other things, he noted in the linked Washington Times article that the growing lack of U.S. credibility led to the instabilities that fostered the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

You recall that President Obama referred to ISIS as a “JV” team—boy have they ever developed!

Following last week’s terrorist attack in Garland, Texas, foiled when a policeman shot and killed two Islamic terrorists—which ISIS claimed as their own, the U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security have raised the threat level for U.S. bases and other operations to the highest level since the Benghazi attack that killed our Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans on 9/11 in 2013.

(We still await an honest assessment of “What difference does it make?” a question by then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in a congressional hearing. Perhaps this time when she appears before the committee examining the Benghazi affair chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R–SC). But I digress.)

FBI Director James Comey says there are hundreds, maybe thousands of potential terrorists within the U.S. being marketed to join the ISIS ways. Others, such as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) thinks the numbers are actually much higher. Click here for his very informative interview on Fox News last Sunday.

And while ISIS seems to be getting most of the attention at the moment, we seem to be ambling willy-nilly toward a “deal” that was supposed to end Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, but now will at best only legitimize Russia’s ally Iran in achieving that end. Last week, the U.S. Senate apparently went along with the Obama administration, almost certainly leading to a situation that it cannot block a “bad deal” outcome. Click here to see my warning about the problems with this “bad deal.”

When Iran gets the nuclear weapons that can be carried on its already tested satellites, Ayatollah Khamenei can deliver an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the “Great Satan” America from over the South Polar regions. We are currently undefended against that all too real threat, which can lead to the death of most Americans within the following year. (Note: Russia’s, China’s and Iran’s ally, North Korea, already has a significant number of nuclear armed ballistic missiles and is may be deploying them on submarines.)

Should Iran take its time in gaining this capability, who knows what Saudi Arabia and other nearby Sunni Arab states will do. We could soon well be witnessing a Middle East nuclear arms race.

Remember Vice President Biden last week said Iran now could produce 8 nuclear weapons in a couple of months, if we don’t get the deal that alleges to stall Iran for a decade—whatever you or the Saudis believe about his claim. We could soon see more disturbing evidence of what they think as U.S. leadership in the Middle East continues to wane. That Saudi King Salman decided to snub President Obama’s Camp David confab with the Arab nations signals his displeasure with U.S. policies involving his regional enemy, as reported by the New York Times.

In any case, we are unprepared for the existential EMP threat that could kill most Americans. Hopefully, congress eventually get to the bottom of why this sorry state exists, since we have understood the nature of the EMP threat and how to counter it for a half century.

We are in the fourth Congress in which our friends have tried, unsuccessfully, to take initiatives to regulate the electric power grid to avoid this outcome. In the first—four years ago, the House unanimously passed legislations blocked by a single Senator. In the lame duck session of the last congress, the House again unanimously passed legislation to require the Department of Homeland Security to include the EMP threat among its scenarios all homeland security agencies are supposed to plan—and the Senate again did not take up the legislation.

Now advocates for effective congressional action are trying again.

A number of my colleagues will be testifying on these issues at tomorrow’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearing in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building on “The EMP Threat: The State of Preparedness Against the Threat of an Electromagnetic Pulse Event.”

Maybe this important committee will begin to get to the bottom of Washington lethargic response to this existential threat. If you are in DC, you may want to attend—and hopefully it will be carried by CSPAN. Click here for information as it evolves.

In any case, stay tuned to unfolding current events. Remain sober because today our friends no longer respect us and our enemies no longer fear us. I think we are living through the most dangerous time in my lifetime.

What a tangled web we weave, indeed!

Near Term High Frontier Plans.

While hoping for new and effective leadership from the congress, we will continue working with South Carolina folks to build a coalition to engage constructively with private citizens and their local and state representatives and other authorities to work with the SC National Guard in understanding and responding to this serious threat. We will expand this effort to neighboring and other states. We expect support from Cong. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) whose district includes my SC farm—who is a member of the Congressional EMP Caucus seeking legislation to counter the EMP threat.

We will be working with members of the EMP Coalition and others who are seeking to take our message across the country—especially with Bob Newman, a former Adjutant General of Virginia to help us link our SC plans more broadly and especially into the National Capital region.

What can you do?

Join us in praying for our nation, and for a rebirth of the freedom sought, achieved and passed to us by those who came before us.

Help us to spread our message to the grass roots and to encourage all “powers that be” to provide for the common defense as they are sworn to do.

Begin by passing this message to your friends and suggest they visit our webpage, www.highfrontier.org for more information. Also, please encourage your sphere of influence to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter.

Encourage them to review our past email messages, posted on www.highfrontier.org, to learn about many details related to the existential manmade and natural EMP threats and how we can protect America against them. I hope you will help us with our urgently needed efforts, which I will be discussing in future messages. Click here to make your tax deductible gift. If you prefer to mail a check, Please send it to 500 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

E-Mail Message 150512