Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Revolutionary War Remnant Washes Ashore

    Here’s an interesting little treat for the military history buff: an underwater portion of a bridge crossing Lake Champlain to the famed Fort Ticonderoga has floated to the surface and been recovered.

    For more than two centuries, the waters of Lake Champlain have hidden the remains of a marvel of 18th-century engineering — a bridge built by 2,500 sick and hungry Continental soldiers.

    Now a piece of that bridge sits in the preservation laboratory at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, destined to give visitors a portal into revolutionary times.

    “When you look at what they wanted to do, it connects you right to the American Revolution,” said the museum’s executive director, Art Cohn.

    Historians say the bridge was constructed in March and April 1777. Thousands of huge pine logs were skidded onto the ice and notched together. Weighed down with rocks, these caissons sunk to the lake bottom through holes the soldiers cut in the ice.

    By spring 22 caissons, some up to 50 feet tall, reached the lake’s surface. They were joined by a 16-foot-wide deck that linked Fort Ticonderoga in New York and Mount Independence in Vermont.

    […]

    If the part of the bridge above the water was destroyed, the part under the surface was not. The caissons were set so deep that they did not interfere with boats on the lake.

    The bridge was largely forgotten until 1983, until divers discovered the caissons, still largely intact, laid out in an arc between the two shores.

    Cohn and others began to study the bridge more intensely in 1992, mapping the locations of the caissons and recovered thousands of Revolutionary War artifacts believed dumped in the lake when the British abandoned the fortifications in late 1777. Some of those artifacts are now on display at the Mount Independence Visitor Center in Orwell.

    Then, last year, a 26-foot beam estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 1,800 pounds surfaced and was pulled to shore near Fort Ticonderoga.

    The story gives a little more information on the roles that the bridge and the fort played in the war. It goes on to discuss the preservation efforts and plans for display. Go read and enjoy if you find these types of things as intriguing as I do.

  • More on EU’s Chinese Arms Ban

    In my previous post, I blogged against the push by France to lift the European Union’s current ban on weapons sales to China. I also blogged against France in general and Jacques Chirac in particular, but that was for fun.

    Today, my stance finds unexpected support — a Los Angeles Times editorial (courtesy of the Decatur Daily Democrat). I’ll omit the initial and closing paragraphs, which consist of the expected qualifications against the U.S. and the Bush administration.

    China’s adoption of an anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan that reserves the right to use military force plays into the hands of the Bush administration and Congress, which adamantly oppose the sale of European weapons to China. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice increased the pressure Monday when she declared in Beijing that if the EU lifted the ban, it “would not send the right signal.”

    European weapons sales would stoke the Asian arms race, even if they would be unlikely to radically change the region’s balance of power. If the Europeans sold advanced fighter jets to China, Taiwan would turn to the United States for increased sales, which Congress would almost surely approve. But for China, which nurses memories of being carved up by Western imperial powers in the 19th century, the issue is primarily about pride; it’s livid at still being treated as a pariah nearly 16 years after the brutal suppression of Tiananmen Square demonstrators.

    France, the world’s third-biggest weapons seller, has never hesitated to provide African and Middle East dictators with arms, and is chafing to treat China like a normal country that poses no threat to peace. What’s more, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana says the embargo is “unfair” and wants to increase the organization’s clout by wooing Beijing.

    China has been counting on these two allies to prevail, but it overlooked the unwieldy, democratic nature of the EU. No matter how powerful France is inside the union, it can’t, like the Chinese Politburo, carry out its will by fiat. For one thing, Germany doesn’t want to risk another quarrel with the United States. And China’s peremptory anti-Taiwan move has emboldened Britain and other countries to point to Beijing’s abysmal human rights record. Without a consensus, the EU cannot terminate the weapons ban.

    Also coming out with similarly ominous warnings was a think tank with affiliations with the Japanese Defence Ministry.

    The [National Institute for Defence Studies’] report said the future of the military balance between China and Taiwan was becoming unclear as China moves ahead with the modernisation of its military.

    It warned that lifting Europe’s embargo on arms exports to China could help Beijing vastly improve its weaponry and military technology.

    Russia, a long-time supplier of arms to China, would likely see Europe as its rival and launch an aggressive campaign to sell more arms to Beijing, the report said.

    “We believe Russia would try aggressively to sell arms to China if the European Union lifts its embargo on arms exports,” said Tomio Kougami, one of the experts who wrote the report.

    An interesting twist there, that a lifting of the EU ban could actually spur greater arms dealings from Russia to China. All the more reason the push back against Chirac’s efforts in this matter.

  • Chirac: Lifting Chinese Arms Ban ‘Legitimate’

    It’s just Jacques being his usual cheese-dick Jacques self: Oui, we should sell arms to China.

    French President Jacques Chirac told a concerned Japan that China’s desire for the European Union to lift its arms embargo was “legitimate” and would not entail exports of sensitive weapons and technology.

    France has been a prime supporter of ending the ban on selling arms to China, a move opposed by both the United States and its ally Japan.

    “The prime minister told me of his concerns. He asked me for explanations,” Chirac told a joint news conference after talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

    “I indicated to him that the decision of the European Union does not imply a change in exports of sensitive arms or technology to China as they are subject to rules which cannot be broken,” Chirac said.

    “Hence the decision does not mean things would change. It’s a political decision,” he said.

    “We believe that this lifting is legitimately sought by China and that’s why we have taken this decision.”

    Koizumi reiterated Japan’s opposition to lifting the embargo.

    “We told the president that we are against it,” Koizumi said.

    “Japan does not regard China’s economic growth as a threat. Rather we regard it as an opportunity. However, in relation to security concerns such as the Taiwan issue Japan has been asking for a peaceful resolution,” Koizumi said.

    The European Union had initially set a goal of lifting the ban by the end of June, when the presidency of the 25-member bloc shifts from Luxembourg to Britain.

    Britain had suggested that the end of the weapons sale ban could be delayed after China on March 14 adopted the Anti-Succession Law. Chinese Foreign Ministry said China opposes to linking the lifting of arms ban with the new law, saying they are irrelevant.

    But Chirac has vowed to push ahead and end the embargo by the end of June.

    Look, there’s a reason that the U.S. Army only somewhat-jokingly divides its answers in armor vehicle identification to three categories — friend, foe or French. The bastards have historically proved that they’ll sell to anyone. It’s all about the Franc.

    Ahh, the French, unable to successfully protect themselves since the days of Napoleon, and quite willing to expect the Americans to save their collective asses for almost a century. Don’t give me that crap about WWI until you read John Mosier’s The Myth of the Great War and can counter the argument that, contrary to prevailing opinion that American intervention only provided the Allies’ tipping point, the Americans actually saved an imcompetent French military from destruction. I won’t discuss the WWII or Indochina French debacles, but will point that the country meekly chose the wrong side of history by hedging its bets by bailing out of the military side of NATO in 1966 (only to boldly return to the fold in 1992 after the Cold War was over).

    It’s all about the Franc. Despite the obvious, oh so obvious, intentions of the Chinese.

    It’s all about the Franc.

    Hey, Jacques, let me be the first to welcome you and your ilk to the wrong side of history once again.

  • Troops Killed by Afghan Landmine Identified

    I blogged yesterday about the poor reporting of the loss of four American troops whose vehicle struck a landmine while scouting for a potential shooting range. Those lost troopers have now been identified.

    Thank you, Guardsmen, for your service and sacrifice.

    The four Hoosier soldiers who died Saturday in Afghanistan came from across the state but included one man from Indianapolis, a spokesman from Task Force Phoenix in Kabul confirmed today.

    The National Guard soldiers died after a land mine exploded under their vehicle. They were Capt. Michael T. Fiscus, 37, of Warsaw; Master Sgt. Michael Hiester, 33, of Bluffton; Spc. Brett Hershey, 23, of Indianapolis; and Spc. Norman Snyder, 19, of Carlisle.

    Their deaths marked Indiana’s bloodiest day since the war on terrorism began, and the nation’s worst day in Afghanistan in almost 10 months.

    The soldiers were part of the 76th Infantry Brigade.

    “Four brave and irreplaceable citizens have lost their lives for all of us in the noblest of causes. I ask the prayers of every Hoosier for their families as we grieve and await their return home,” Gov. Mitch Daniels said in a statement.

    My condolences and best wishes to their families and loved ones.

  • Quote of the Week, 27 MAR 05

    We do not want war any more than the West does, but we are less interested in peace than the West, and therein lies the strength of our position.

    —Joseph Stalin

  • Michael Jackson’s Hospital?

    I had planned on signing off for the night, but stumbled onto this incredible graphic (hat tip to Joe Gandelman at Dean’s World).

    Did everybody involved really not see the problem?! Apparently, somebody finally saw the light, as it seems to have been yanked. Still, follow the link for a good chuckle.

  • Is Kofi Considering Quitting?

    It is often said that it’s lonely at the top. Apparently, it’s depressing at the top of a trash dump of corruption and international impotence.

    Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future. Colleagues have reported concerns about Annan ahead of an official report this week that will examine his son Kojo’s connection to the controversial Iraqi oil for food scheme.

    Depending on the findings of the report, by a team led by the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, Annan may have to choose between the secretary-generalship and loyalty to his son.

    American congressional critics of the UN are already pressing him to resign over the mismanagement of the oil for food programme, and even his supporters have been dismayed by the scandals on his watch, including the sexual abuse of children by UN peacekeepers in Congo.

    One close observer at the UN said Annan’s moods were like a “sine curve” and that he appeared near the bottom of the trough.

    Kojo, 29, was employed by a Swiss company, Cotecna, but left before it won one of the contracts under the oil for food programme. Last week it emerged he received up to $400,000 from the company. The UN confirmed that Kofi Annan three times met executives of the firm, twice before the award of the oil for food contract and once afterwards.

    Mark Malloch Brown, Annan’s British chief-of-staff, said the meetings were brief and had nothing to do with Cotecna’s contract. If some of the allegations against Kojo were confirmed, that would create “a very different situation, but for Kojo — not the secretary-general”.

    Kojo and Cotecna insist he had no part in securing the oil for food contract and that his work related to activities in Nigeria and Ghana.

    New scandals continue to erupt, however. One revelation last week was that the UN had agreed to pay legal fees for Benon Sevan, the disgraced head of the oil for food programme, out of the funds raised from the Iraqi oil sales.

    “Kofi Annan is going to find his position increasingly untenable,” said Nile Gardiner, an expert on the UN at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “There is a strong possibility he will resign voluntarily because of his declining credibility.”

    In the end Annan’s feelings may be more decisive than the facts.

    No loss at all, and I really hope he does blaze town.

    I wanted a snappier headline but had to settle for some weak alliteration. Where’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali when you really need him?

  • 4 U.S. Troops Killed by Afghan Landmine

    Shooting ranges are dangerous places, and those in the military are necessarily drenched in a ton of safety rules and safety briefings and cease fires for any and every little thing. Apparently, setting up a shooting range is also dangerous, if that range is to be located in a country that has seen decades-long warfare.

    Four U.S. soldiers died when their vehicle struck a land mine in central Afghanistan on Saturday, the military said. It was unclear whether the mine was freshly laid or a leftover from the country’s long wars.

    The soldiers were among a group of American and Afghan officials examining a potential site for a shooting range in Logar Province, 25 miles south of Kabul, when one of their three vehicles hit the mine, spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore said.

    The bodies of the four dead, none of whom was identified, were airlifted to the main U.S. base at Bagram, Moore said. No one else was reported hurt.

    A truly tragic occurence, especially in a theater of operations that receives little media attention.

    Speaking of media attention, the Taliban has decided to ridiculously take credit for this mine and, in the interest of fairness, the Associated Press has given them equal time.

    A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the blast, but Moore said investigators suspected the mine was an old charge dislodged by recent rain and snow or that the vehicle had wandered into an unmapped minefield.

    Moore said U.S. troops first toured an area near the scene of Saturday’s incident about a week earlier searching for a site for a training range for the American-trained Afghan army.

    “We believe it was an old mine which could have shifted,” she said.

    Gov. Mohammed Aman Hamini said the incident occurred in a desert area crisscrossed by rough tracks.

    “It’s an old mine. There’s no traffic on the route they took, but the Russians used to use it because they were afraid of the main road,” Hamini told The Associated Press, referring to the Soviet troops which occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s.

    However, Mullah Hakim Latifi, a man who claims to speak for the Taliban, said its fighters detonated the mine by remote control.

    “We’ve said again and again that we would resume our holy war in the spring,” Latifi told AP by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

    Ummm … yeah, sure. Listen, Queen Latifi, setting off a mine by remote control, with no other action or ambush activity, against soft targets in the open is either stupidity or a lie. Either way, it’s a silly way to claim the resumption of your holy war, which so far has consisted mainly of “Holy shit! Run away!”

    Back to the Associated Press, let’s see how they wrap up the story.

    According to Defense Department statistics, 122 American soldiers have now died since U.S.-led forces invaded to oust the former Taliban government for harboring al-Qaida militants after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

    Many have been killed in accidents, including by mines left behind by Soviet troops or the Afghan factions who then fought each other.

    A U.S. military policeman died March 15 when his vehicle hit what appeared to be an old mine in western Afghanistan.

    The worst incident occurred in January 2004, when an explosion at an arms dump in southeastern Ghazni province killed eight American soldiers.

    The 17,000 American troops still in Afghanistan also face a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency. The U.S. military says its air and ground operations along the Pakistani border killed 12 people in the past week. Eight were suspected militants while four were civilians, including three children.

    Quagmire! Baby-killers!

  • Colombians Find Drug-Smuggling Sub

    You’ve got to hand it to the supply side of the drug trade — it certainly is resourceful.

    Authorities discovered a submarine-like vessel Friday still under construction by drug traffickers who planned to use it to smuggle cocaine, the head of Colombia’s secret police said.

    Eduardo Fernandez said the fiberglass submarine was nearly complete when police found it near the Pacific Ocean, in Tumaco, 370 miles southwest of Bogota.

    “The ingenuity of drug traffickers is amazing,” Fernandez told The Associated Press.

    He said the vessel would have been used to carry cocaine to speed boats offshore, which would then take the drugs to Central America or Mexico, for eventual delivery to the United States.

    The discovery came after authorities were tipped off to pieces of fiberglass and other construction material being transported to where the submarine was being built.

    Fernandez didn’t provide details of its size. But Colombian authorities have caught drug traffickers using subs on a few occasions. They have been small, fiberglass vessels that travel just below the surface. But in 2000, police on a raid of a warehouse near Bogota were stunned to find a 100-foot-long steel submarine being built to transport up to 150 tons of cocaine.

    Sure, the spice must flow, but I didn’t expect it to flow ‘neath the waves.

  • Obligatory March Madness Post

    About those March Madness brackets I was working on, well, they ain’t worth the computer memory they’re stored on now. Really, they didn’t survive the opening weekend.

    Hey, I won the office pool back in 2000, so I figure I’m still in the black for many years to come.