By Jason Ditz

The Trump Administration’s nuclear plan is increasingly public, with its unclassified summary providing confirmation of all the concerns that have already been set out in recent weeks, that the administration intends the development of new, lower-yield nuclear weapons that they believe would be more usable than the current arsenal.

Though Defense Secretary James Mattis denied that the new weapons would lower the nuclear threshold, the Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review says the exact opposite, revealing that they view such weapons as useful in retaliation against non-nuclear attacks or other “extreme circumstances.”

The document tries to justify this as a way to deter Russia, arguing that Russia doesn’t view the current US posture as threatening enough, and that getting the US even more weapons, including smaller-yield ones they might well use more readily, would really intimidate them.

In reality, low-yield weapons would be useless with respect to Russia, who has its own large nuclear arsenal, making nuclear exchanges unthinkable. Such weapons are primarily for attacking nations without nuclear retaliation capabilities.

That would include nuclear attacks on non-nuclear states, in keeping with the US refusal to establish itself as never carrying out a nuclear first strike, as well as potentially used in a sneak attack against North Korea.

Still, Russia tends to be a successful rationale for new spending, no matter how unreasonable, and may deflect long-standing concerns that this scheme is actually just making nuclear weapons more usable, and as a result, making nuclear warfare more common in the future.

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Sourced from The Anti-Media

By Jason Ditz

While US “relief funds” are frozen in Syria, the Pentagon continues to seek massive amounts of funding for its military operations in the country. This includes a request for $300 million in weapons to give to “partner forces” in Syria.

This amounts to enough arms for 65,000 fighters. This is expected to center on the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is to say, almost entirely the Kurdish YPG. The US has been arming the YPG for years now as part of its Syria operations.

This is being sought in spite of repeated US assurances to Turkey that their arming of the YPG was temporary. With ISIS virtually wiped out in Syria, the YPG no longer has offensive goals fitting into US plans for Syria, and rather is focused chiefly on fighting a Turkish invasion of northern Syria.

The $300 million in arms also comes with $250 million in “border security” funding for Syria. Both are going into the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which Pentagon officials can easily shuffle around to spend on virtually anything.

While couched as “Counter-ISIS” funding, the funding looks more likely to be backing the YPG in fighting Turkey. While the US is unlikely to fund fighting against another NATO ally, it may also be this is just another excuse to grow the OCO.

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Image credit: TFTP

By Jason Ditz

According to Kurdish officials, US troops in the Syrian city of Manbij are setting up a new military base inside the city. The base is intended to house US troops as well as French troops that are presently in the city.

Manbij was captured by the YPG in a US-backed offensive. Turkey objected to this, on the grounds that Manbij is not a Kurdish city, and have demanded the Kurds leave. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to attack the city militarily, and has suggested they would target US and French troops if they are helping the Kurds in the city’s defense.

The establishment of the new base is something of a surprise. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has suggested there are ongoing talks with the US on resolving the situation in Manbij, which Turkey envisions involving expelling the Kurds. The US, however, seems to be digging in.

The YPG’s statement is also confirmation that French troops have entered Manbij. France has troops elsewhere in YPG territory, but Turkey responded very aggressively to reports they would send troops to Manbij to coordinate with US and British forces already there.

Turkish officials have accused the other major NATO members of supporting “terrorists” by helping the YPG. Turkish President Erdogan has suggested Turkey’s intention is to take all Kurdish territory in northern Syria.

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By Jason Ditz

Speaking to Congressional Republicans during a visit to Greenbrier resort on Thursday, Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he believes the US military needs to be made “more lethal,” and pushing for yet more money.

After a massive military spending increase last year, Mattis says he wants another $50 billion tacked on for next year. He mocked the idea of the military being an “equal opportunity employer” and emphasized lethality.

Mattis had similarly pushed the idea of making US troops more lethal in September, in the context of pushing for more predictable spending increases. This time as well he complained about continuing resolutions as a funding source, wanting money set out for a longer term.

Mattis says he is hoping to get 3-5% increases annually over the rate of inflation to both build readiness and to compete with Russia and China. The US already far outspends all nations on their military.

Presenting the push for more funds as a push for lethality appears to be popular with hawks, though in practice the US military already kills a massive number of people as it is, and doesn’t seem to be approaching the limit of how many it could kill in a pinch.

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Source from The Anti-Media