UK Still Pretends ...

 ... to be a great power, which it is not. Four Germans and the Fourth Reich. 

Losing Military ...

 ... ah, wait. This cannot be, right? But NYT somehow arrives to this conclusion yesterday. 

The U.S. Military Was Losing Its Edge. After Iran, Everyone Knows It.

From the get go they bring up same beaten to death argument.

On paper, the war in Iran should not be much of a contest. The United States spends around $1 trillion a year on its military, more than 100 times as much as Iran. That money buys a vastly larger Air Force and Navy, as well as advanced weapons technologies that Iranian generals can only dream about. In the war’s early days, the mismatch played out as one might expect. American forces destroyed much of the Iranian military. Now, however, the contest looks less one-sided. Iran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, and its missiles and drones still threaten America’s allies in the region. While President Trump seems eager for a negotiated truce, Iran’s leaders do not. Somehow, the weaker nation is in the stronger negotiating position. That reality exposes the vulnerabilities in the American way of war. Tactical success has not yielded victory.

I have news for NYT--the US doesn't know what REAL war is. Nor can it sustain not to mention increase the effort--a critical operational parameter, because ... yes, again, even the fanatical Russophobe Richard Pipes figured it out: 

The United States wants to win its wars quickly and with the smallest losses in American lives. It is disinclined, therefore, to act on protracted and indirect strategies, or to engage in limited wars and wars of attrition. Once it resorts to arms, it prefers to mobilize the great might of its industrial plant to produce vast quantities of the means of destruction with which in the shortest possible time to undermine the enemy’s will and ability to continue the struggle. Extreme reliance on technological superiority, characteristic of U.S. warfare, is the obverse side of America’s extreme sensitivity to its own casualties; so is indifference to the casualties inflicted on the enemy. 

When even this hack figured it out. Russians, the ones who really matter, not some retired generals in search for publicity and with political aspirations, have never been impressed with the "American Way of War". Nor "technological edge" which Hollywood portrayed and pundits love to talk about was that great to start with, especially with a technological and operational complexity of the war growing exponentially since 1960s. 

Today? Well, some obscure Russian author wrote something about this.

Trying to warn that the encounter with a reality will be devastating for the US military in particular and the US as a whole when the REAL balance of power will emerge. Now it emerged and it cannot be hidden anymore behind mountains of corpses of VSU's cannon fodder. All it took was for the US step out from the behind backs of its proxies and try to fight a real fight. 

Now it may not matter at all because, as NYT (to my surprise) noted correctly--now everyone knows it(c). In related news, Israel has been defeated in Southern Lebanon. 

This Is Really Strange ...

 ... or not. 

Washington — A fire broke out Tuesday on the USS Higgins, a guided-missile destroyer and a mainstay of the Navy's forward presence in Asia, according to U.S. officials. The fire knocked out electricity and propulsion on the destroyer, one of the officials told CBS News, speaking under condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. It was contained to one piece of equipment, and the flames didn't spread. No injuries to U.S. service members had been reported as of Wednesday. Details of how the fire started and the exact location of the Higgins in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) were not readily available. Details regarding what sections of the ship were damaged and how long it will take to repair were also not available. 

I call this BS outright. Because of this: It was contained to one piece of equipment. What does it even mean? USS Higgins is by no means a young ship, she is 26 years old, but ANY ship in any navy is built with redundancies (2+ diesel-generators, four gas-turbines et al) which preclude a loss of power and propulsion, UNLESS it is a sabotage or external something, whatever that might be. Arleigh Burkes are fine boats and as on any ship they have a main propulsion control room, which also contains main distribution console, but it is also reserved (I am sure in other places around the ship) and it will take a fucking huge effort to do to such a significant ship what is described in the news. 

I am not going to speculate on reasons, but those "small fires" in laundry room which took 30 hours to extinguish, 3 F-15 shot down "by rogue Kuwaiti pilot", now this. Yes, USS Princeton lost her power for 15-20 minutes when struck a mine in 1991 and there was other damage and another fire just a few days ago while in the dock. And the only question one has to ask is this: WTF? Iran? Sure, but there is something more sinister behind all that and one CANNOT exclude the possibility of technology simply malfunctioning due to abuse at the service of disintegrating empire.  

Enter Souyz 5.

New heavy class rocket with the most powerful liquid engine--RD171. 

Ramifications are enormous. The test was flawless. 

Open Thread.

 Go at it. 

Garland Nixon And Me ...

 ... live in 50 minutes. 

At Least Merz Admitted ...

 ... what has been known for a long time.