Intercepts

An American Warship In Israel

By Christopher P. Cavas in Intercepts, International, Israel, Marine Corps, Navy, Operations No Comments

Tourism Trumps Terror in the Gulf of Aqaba, Where Israel and Jordan Vie for Visits from US Warships

The amphibious assault ship USS KEARSARGE berthed at the commercial port in Eilat, Israel on May 15. The Jordanian shore is visible across the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba. (photo by Barbara Opall-Rome)

By BARBARA OPALL-ROME

EILAT, Israel — Old Glory waves alongside Harrier jump jets on the aft deck of the USS Kearsarge docked just a short distance below my rooftop apartment in the Red Sea port town of Eilat. On the other side of this flagship of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, hosting the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit on an 8-month deployment in the region, the zoom on my Iphone can make out a squadron of MV-22 Ospreys and a few other rotary wing aircraft.

I tried to get a closer look by driving down to the dock, but security guards quickly waved me away. Turns out my rooftop vantage offers one of the best views not only of the first visit of a U.S. warship here in 14 years, but of the dynamics at play in the Gulf of Aqaba between Israel and Jordan, its precarious peace partner of nearly 19 years.

Across these inviting aquamarine waters, Israel and its Hashemite neighbor strive on multiple fronts to shield bilateral relations from the spillover of escalating regional tensions. Here, in the Gulf of Aqaba, tourism and commerce trumps the war on terror as the two nations vie for revenue from merchant vessels, travel agencies and the right to host the U.S. 5th Fleet for rest, relaxation, maintenance and repair services.  More

CAPE Director Christine Fox Leaving Pentagon

By Marcus Weisgerber in Acquisition, Budget, DoD, Intercepts, Navy, Policy, Sequestration No Comments

Christine Fox (DoD Photo)

Christine Fox, the director of DoD’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office (CAPE), is leaving the Pentagon at the end of June, a defense official tells Intercepts.

Fox’s departure will follow the completion of the Strategic Choices and Management Review (SCMR), in which she plays a key role. The review will present options for areas to trim the Pentagon budget in the coming years. More

Today in Military History: May 15, 1942; Creation of Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps

By Blair Tomlinson in Army, Intercepts, Today in Military History No Comments Tags: , , , ,

On May 15, 1942 congress passes a bill establishing an all female corps in the U.S. Army and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs it into law the next day. The bill creates the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs) and grants females official status in the military. The legislation was introduced a year earlier by the first women elected to Congress, Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA).

Sen. Boxer on Benghazi: It’s All About GOP ‘Going After’ Hillary Clinton

By John T. Bennett in DoD, Intercepts, International, Obama, Policy Tags: , , ,

YouTube Preview Image

Congressional Democrats in recent weeks have wondered aloud just what is the endgame for their Republican cohorts in their renewed attacks on Obama administration officials past and present over the deadly Benghazi consulate attacks.

One, Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday she believes the GOP’s efforts to find a smoking gun showing incompetence and/or a cover up at the highest levels of the administration is about one thing: Sinking a possible White House bid by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Boxer said, to her, the timing of last week’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Benghazi, other GOP efforts to paint the administration has hiding something, and a television ad (above) from American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s political organization, are anything but a coincidence.

“They are going after her for the 2016 election,” an agitated Boxer said. More

F-22s Parked Less Than Six-Minute Flight from Iran

By Marcus Weisgerber in Air Force, DoD, Intercepts, International, Iran, Israel, Operations, Policy

Five US Air Force F-22 Raptors on the ramp at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. (Google Earth)

At a dinner in downtown Washington Thursday, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel touted the Pentagon’s deployment of advanced weaponry, including the Air Force F-22 Raptor, to the Middle East.

The stealthy fighters, as well other “high-end air, missile defense, and naval assets,” have been positioned in the region “to deter Iranian aggression and respond to other contingencies,” Hagel said during his remarks to The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

It just so happens that satellite imagery of those F-22s in the Middle East has popped up on Google Earth. More

A Turf War Over Obama’s Drone War

By John T. Bennett in Afghanistan, Capitol Hill, CIA, DoD, Drones, Industry, Intelligence, Intercepts, International, Obama, Operations, Policy

A U.S. Predator drone in Kandahar, Afghanistan, one of the hubs of the Obama administration's aggressive targeted-killing war against al-Qaida. (Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images)

As the Obama administration carries out its drone war on al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen, a senior lawmaker on Thursday fired the latest shot in a simmering Capitol Hill turf war over which committees will oversee the program.

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, is pushing legislation that would require the executive branch to notify the congressional defense oversight and appropriations committees “of any overseas lethal or capture operations outside Afghanistan,” according to a statement issued by his office. No where in the statement are the congressional intelligence panels mentioned, signalling the increasing efforts of pro-military lawmakers and Obama administration officials to move the controversial drone program under the control of the Pentagon. More

Photo of the Day: May 10, 2013

By John T. Bennett in Intercepts

A wreath and note left by HRH Prince Harry at Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery during a lengthy visit to the United States. ( Bruce Adams/Pool/Getty Images)

Video of the Day: May 9, 2013

By Zachary Fryer-Biggs in Intercepts, Photo of the Day

You may have already seen this video which has been making the rounds the last couple of days, but it’s funny enough to post again here.  Several reports indicate that the service member was fine, having landed quite a bit away from the intended drop zone, so you can go ahead and laugh.

HT Suigenesis

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