The terror gang now known as the Islamic State planned and executed an astonishingly successful military and media offensive. Hatched in 2010 when the gang still went by al-Qaida in Iraq, the combined military-and-message punch banked on a complete U.S. military withdrawal. The jihadists got it. Iraq needed a U.S. “security nightlight” to protect and […]
Austin Bay
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Austin Bay: Sell French warships to NATO, not Russia
Arming a geopolitical foe is a grave mistake, especially one led by a cunning and utterly amoral character like Vladimir Putin. However, NATO-member France is on the verge of selling Putin’s Russian regime two highly capable Mistral amphibious assault ships. The first warship, the Vladivostok, is almost ready for delivery. The second, ironically named the […]
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Austin Bay: Put some teeth in Russian sanctions
Ultimate responsibility for the massacre of the 298 people aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 begins and ends in the Kremlin office of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Even if the triggermen who fired the missile turn out to be Donetsk locals, the so-called pro-Russian separatist militia fighters are armed and advised by Russian intelligence officers. Until […]
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Austin Bay: Missile defense system generates diplomatic power
According to the Israeli government, in this latest round of Israel-Hamas combat, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system has (so far) intercepted 90 percent of targeted incoming Hamas rockets. Iron Dome is a very sophisticated tactical (short-range) anti-missile and anti-artillery projectile defense system. In terms of combat operations, Iron Dome’s “sensor-shooter” system is a drastically […]
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Austin Bay: An independent Kurdistan: World War I continues
As the militant Islamic State (formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL) threatens to shatter Iraq’s central government, the leaders of Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government have called for the creation of Independent Kurdistan. In June, KRG President Massoud Barzani said, “the time is here for the Kurdistan people to determine their future.” […]
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Austin Bay: America’s airpower advantage, 1944-2014
Sometime during the spring of 1944, Allied commanders concluded that their air forces had secured air superiority over an area stretching from Great Britain to central France as well as parts of Belgium and Holland. Driving the German Luftwaffe from western European skies was a costly process paid for with the blood of Allied airmen. […]
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Austin Bay: World War I enters its next phase?
On June 28, 1914, Serbian ultra-nationalist Gavril Princip assassinated Austro-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Police quickly arrested Princip and the rest of a ragtag band of Serb terrorists who had come to the Balkan city to provoke hate and create chaos. Terrorist is an accurate description — and one with dangerous resonance for June […]
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Austin Bay: Better U.S. response needed in Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s bloody media foray into northern Iraq adds another international dimension to Syria’s thoroughly internationalized civil war. It is also a direct political challenge to the Obama administration, one so stark that unless the administration acts decisively, nations world wide that rely on U.S. security support will severely […]
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Austin Bay: Vietnam seeks U.S. help against China
The China-Vietnam confrontation in the South China Sea continues to roil Asia. Gun battles have yet to erupt in the disputed Paracel Island maritime zone where, in early May, China deployed a very large oil exploration and drilling ship. In lieu of anti-ship missiles and fighter-bombers, the antagonists are using media, political and legal-judicial weapons. […]
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Austin Bay: D-Day: Rangers led the way at Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc on Normandy’s northern coast was D-Day’s “high ground.” The promontory’s 30-meter high cliffs overlooked two long and relatively flat “beach zones” capable of handling large amphibious landing ships. The beach to the northwest is now best known by its D-Day code name, Utah. The beach due east — which connects to the […]