James A. Lyons

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ISIS in the Middle East and now here

MundoAméricaInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

A comprehensive strategy to defeat Islamic supremacists must include not only a war plan to defeat the enemy on the active battlefields of the Middle East, but it must also address how to defeat this enemy now inside the United States.

Such a strategy must start by recognizing that there is a Global Islamic Jihad Movement which is carrying out attacks in the United States, e.g., Sept. 11, Ft Hood, Boston, San Bernardino, Orlando, New Jersey, New York and Minneapolis. This Islamic Jihad Movement is operating on the al Qaeda seven-phase timeline for the conquest of Western Civilization. For example, Phase Four (2010-2013) was to bring about the collapse of hated Arabic governments, such as Egypt, Iraq, and Libya, a goal which was accomplished successfully with the help of the Obama administration.…  Seguir leyendo »

How China challenges the West

InternacionalOrden Mundial,

The red-carpet treatment was given to every world leader attending the Beijing G-20 economic summit meeting Sept. 4-5, 2016, which was hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Everyone, that is, except for the president of the United States of America. There were no stairs for President Obama to emerge from the usual front door of Air Force One. The White House entourage, including the press photographer, were deliberately harassed.

Such an obvious snub, which was seen all over the world, was clearly planned by his Chinese host Xi Jinping. The message that was being sent was that China no longer believes it necessary to be subservient, or even respectful, to the United States.…  Seguir leyendo »

What to tell Xi

MundoAsia, ,

President Obama should not let slide his last summit meeting with Chinese Communist Party and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leader Xi Jinping, who needs to hear that he is pitching Asia toward war and that the United States will finish what he starts.

Of course, China hopes to avoid such complaints during the September 4-5 G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. But as China appears ready to increase its aggressive pressures against its neighbors there is little time to set clear red lines and to prepare for conflict so as to better deter it.

Following the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Council for Arbitration in The Hague that China’s expansive Nine-Dash-Line, and specifically its newly reclaimed island military base on Mischief Reef, are both illegal under the Law of the Sea Treaty, it is now necessary for the United States to declare that China’s actions in the South China Sea are a threat to peace in Asia.…  Seguir leyendo »

Countering Beijing’s South China Sea defiance

MundoAsia, ,

As China builds toward its ambition of becoming the world’s military hegemon, it is important to pause and consider how its virulent reaction to the July 12 Permanent Court of Arbitration’s denial of its “historic” claims to the South China Sea previews how “Pax Sinica” will threaten democracies.

To thwart China’s military and anti-democratic ambitions, it is now critical that the United States lead its Asian allies in devising a South China Sea strategy that militarily secures its regions vital to the U.S. and its allies.

For decades Communist China has insisted that its claims to most of the South China Sea are based on its “historic” “nine-dash line” that it inherited from the previous Nationalist regime.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

The Obama administration’s drive to achieve any type of agreement with Iran on the nuclear weapons program defies logic. President Obama and his team argue that while the agreement may not be perfect, the alternative is war.

It obviously will come as a surprise to the Obama administration that Iran has been at war with the United States for more than 35 years. This has led to the loss of thousands of American lives. Every administration, be it Democrat or Republican, has failed to counter Iran’s acts of war, starting with the Carter administration, when Iranians took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.…  Seguir leyendo »

Cuba Diversion from Iran Nukes Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

MundoOriente Próximo,

President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with the totalitarian Castro regime, with their human rights atrocities directed against their own citizens, has rightly outraged our loyal Cuban-American community. This appeasement, with apologies by Mr. Obama to the godless communist regime during our traditional holiday season, is a betrayal of America’s principles of freedom and democracy. Of course, with his radical background, it apparently was easy for the president to forgo a demand for any of the long-standing concessions that the Castro regime has refused to make to even qualify for normalization of relations.

Some have said Mr. Obama should have learned from America’s dealings with other totalitarian communist regimes that engagement does not translate into freedom and democracy for their citizens.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia, ,

New missile-interceptor capability can protect the U.S. Navy from China’s Pacific threats.

With the world’s attention focused on the atrocities being committed by the evil Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, plus Russia’s de facto invasion of eastern Ukraine, China has continued its bullying tactics in pressing its illegal claims in both the South and East China Seas.

China is mounting a direct attack on the “freedom of the seas” concept, which has been the cornerstone of our maritime strategy for more than 238 years. With almost 90 percent of the world’s commerce traveling by sea, the exercise of the “freedom of the seas” concept is critical to the world’s economy, particularly ours.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

China’s new president, Xi Xinping, has discarded former leader Deng Xiaoping’s cautious foreign policy of “bide our time, hide our capabilities,” by mounting increasing military challenges to America’s Asian allies and to U.S. leadership.

China’s bullying tactics in the East China Sea and South China Sea will only increase with its expanding military might despite President Obama’s much-heralded pivot to Asia. The pivot is not enough. Washington must elevate regional military cooperation if China is to be deterred.

Coming on the heels of China’s declaration of an air-defense identification zone over the East China Sea, Beijing continued its bullying tactics in its Dec.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

The surprise Nov. 23 agreement reached in Geneva with Iran does little to limit the Islamic republic’s ability to enrich uranium or limit its nuclear breakout capability. For relief from the crippling economic sanctions, Iran promises only to limit centrifuge production; to delay, not dismantle, construction of the Arak plutonium production reactor; and to suspend for six months the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, near the concentration needed for bomb production.

In this agreement, Iran did not agree to dismantle even one of its more than 19,000 centrifuges. Further, they may keep their current stockpile of low-enriched uranium. With what Iran currently has on hand, the Institute for Science and International Security has estimated that Tehran’s ability to reach a nuclear weapon “breakout point” has shrunk to one month or less.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

With all the media focus on the recently concluded talks in Geneva with Iran over its nuclear program, it’s easy to overlook the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut 30 years ago on Oct. 23, 1983.

On that day, 241 of our finest military personnel were killed, with scores more seriously injured. Almost simultaneously, a similar attack was carried out at the French military headquarters, killing 58 French paratroopers. We have positive proof that these attacks were planned and ordered by Iran using their Islamic Amal terrorist proxies — forerunners to Hezbollah — in Lebanon. It is astounding that we had the information to prevent these attacks, and even more astounding is the “reason” for not retaliating.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Underlying the chaotic situation throughout the Middle East is the Obama administration’s dysfunctional political strategy of switching sides in the Arab Spring revolutionary wars. The Obama administration has abandoned U.S. allies in the global war on terrorism and formed an alliance with many of the Islamic jihadist groups and militias that Americans have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan — and few have noticed.

In Libya, the U.S. wound up supporting the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was listed as an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group by the United States and the U.N. Security Council. The Arab Spring movement only served to legitimize the Islamic supremacists under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Obama administration promoted as a moderate political force.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

North Korea’s outrageous and provocative threats to the United States and our allies Japan and South Korea have certainly had the intended effect of causing world attention to focus on the hermit kingdom and its new “dear leader,” Kim Jong-un. It appears that the main purpose of these outbursts is to promote the young leader’s image as a powerful military figure who can handle international crises. For example, last year when the United States announced an agreement to send food aid to North Korea in exchange for “close” international monitoring of its nuclear program, the new leader responded arrogantly by ordering the launch of a long-range missile in violation of U.N.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa,

With North Korea continuing to draw world attention with its bellicose threats of launching nuclear ballistic-missile attacks against the United States and South Korea, we cannot afford to overlook what Russia has been doing.

While given scant coverage and basically no reaction from the Obama administration, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is taking an increasingly provocative stand against global U.S. interests, including probes of American air defenses, and Moscow is assuming a more assertive regional role from the North Pacific to the Middle East to Latin America. Likewise, Russia’s growing military relationship with China and Iran further exposes the folly of the Obama administration’s indifference to America’s shrinking strategic conventional and nuclear posture, to the detriment of our security and that of our allies.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOrden Mundial

Recent threats from North Korea have led the Obama administration to reverse some of its previous decisions and to build up U.S. missile defenses. Welcome as that course correction is, the North’s recent missile developments and underground nuclear test should cause President Obama to rethink his basic approach to nuclear weapons policy. He should acknowledge that he was unrealistic in making it U.S. policy to achieve “a world without nuclear weapons.”

Whatever good and idealistic intentions may have motivated the initial rhetoric about “nuclear zero,” the practical effects of embracing this slogan are harmful. The goal of minimizing the possibility of nuclear war is not served when the U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia, ,

On March 14, China completed the transition of its new leader, Xi Jinping, with his assumption of the presidency. His main power comes as the leader of the Communist Party and as chairman of its Central Military Commission. While trying to project his image as a “man of the people,” his various speeches on “the China Dream” have a definite military overtone, even though he professes to continue the peaceful development policies of his predecessor. He has launched a well-planned campaign to enhance the military force of the People’s Liberation Army in order to give China the capability to “fight and win wars.”…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia, , ,

With most of the world’s attention focused on the realignment of the “Arab Spring,” Islamists and the latest Hamas-Israeli conflict, China continues its aggressive island imperialism in both the South China and East China seas with its illegal territorial claims. The confrontational incidents forced by China’s bullying tactics on our regional allies — most recently, Japan over the Senkaku Islands and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal — are clearly unacceptable.

There are multiple territorial claims throughout the East China and South China seas. This is a strategic maritime area transited by more than half of the world’s total shipping trade. While there is a growing competition for the natural resources near the contested islands, these confrontations must be viewed in a broader context involving China’s ultimate objective: As part of its anti-access and area-denial strategy, China wants to replace the United States as the dominant power in the Western Pacific.…  Seguir leyendo »

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A Russian Akula-class cruise-missile attack submarine recently transited the  North Atlantic and operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for an undeclared  period of time. The United States did not find out until after it left. This  should not have come as a surprise.

The naval resources we once had that implemented the Navy’s Maritime Strategy, a major factor in winning the  Cold War, have been decimated. President Reagan’s 600-ship Navy has been allowed to atrophy to about 285 ships. To  put that number in perspective, that is approximately the number of ships I had  under my command of the Pacific Fleet.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

The Islamic fundamentalist regime in Iran has been at war with the United States for more than 30 years, but every administration from President Jimmy Carter’s to the current one has tried to ignore it. Currently, the Obama administration is wrestling with the issue of Iran’s drive to achieve nuclear weapons capability. The question of what we should do about it really becomes moot, since we now have clear evidence of Iran’s direct involvement and support of al Qaeda before and after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Evidence indicates Iran, Hezbollah and al Qaeda made an alliance in the 1990s.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

A recent 10-day naval exercise by Iran was intended to display a capability to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz should further sanctions be imposed that would affect Iran's oil industry. The exercise was accompanied with the usual bluster, even threatening some unspecified action should the attack carrier USS John C. Stennis return to the Persian Gulf. Suffice it to say, the U.S. Navy will continue to operate its ships in international waters, which includes the Persian Gulf, whenever necessary to carry out its mission.

A more recent report indicates that Iran's parliament is preparing a bill that would prohibit all foreign warships from entering the Persian Gulf unless they first request and receive permission from the Iranian navy.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Now that the last U.S. troops have withdrawn from Iraq, the question of how to deal with Iran’s aggression and its drive to develop a nuclear weapon remains less than clear. At the White House meeting on Dec. 12 between President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, only passing recognition was given to these two issues.

Mr. Obama warned Iran not to meddle in Iraq. I am sure the fanatic mullahs will view the president’s warning as just another hollow gesture. The Iranian rulers know that when they directly confront the United States, they have nothing to fear because our leaders have shown they lack the political will to respond.…  Seguir leyendo »