Cocktails.

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Potent indeed!

"cocktail - - n 3. any combination of diverse elements, esp one considered potent"

With a wedge of lemon on the side please!

From the Internet web site Strategy Page and as extracted from the book review by Professor Al Nofi:

"Cocktails from Hell: Five Complex Wars Shaping the 21st Century"

CAULDRONS OF CRISIS THEY ARE CALLED. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS! HOT-SPOTS!

"Five Cauldrons of Crisis"

"Defense analyst, historian, and novelist Bay [Col. Austin Bay], a U.S. Army veteran whose service includes a tour in Iraq, looks at five very complex, dynamic crises – essentially wars of varying degrees of violence – that will be influencing the world for decades to come."

The five cases are:

   * The generations long North Korean Crisis
   * China’s intervention in the South China Sea
   * Russia’s aggressive moves in the Caucasus, Black Sea, and elsewhere
   * Iranian intervention in Yemen
   * The internal conflicts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

BUT I MIGHT ADD HARDLY CONFINED TO THESE "FIVE CASES". DYNAMIC ALWAYS EXISTING THAT CREATES NEW CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS WHERE CRISIS AND A RESULTANT WAR "INFLUENCE THE WORLD".

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Korean War VIII.

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Conclusion!

Final link to the You Tube video the topic being the Korean War:

"Korean War - PART 31, Who won the war?"

"Some Korean people discuss their feelings about the war..."

As to the Korean War, who lost and who won:

* North Korea definitely lost the war. Too much death and destruction for what was gained.

* South Korea definitely lost the war. Too much death and destruction for what was gained.

* The United States lost the war. Too much death and expenditure of resources for what was gained. Goal of unifying Korea under the flag of the United Nation Command not achieved.

* Communist China lost the war. Too much death and expenditure of resources for what was gained. Goal of unifying Korea under the banner of Red Communism not achieved.

* The Soviet Union lost the war. Intrigues of Stalin thwarted. Kim in the aftermath of the war more independent of Stalin and the Soviet Union and Communist China both I would think much to the chagrin of Moscow and Peking..

* Japan indirectly won the war. American protective posture assurance more or less guaranteed. Long-term American commitment in Asia a result of the war.

* Nationalist China indirectly won the war. American protective posture assurance more or less guaranteed. Long-term American anti-communist commitment in Asia a result of the war.

* America too indirectly WON THE WAR! Cold War adversaries so impressed [and frightened?] with American resolve in Korea further attempts by hostile powers [communist] to provoke an additional and much-wider scale "hot war" [such as in Europe] muted and averted.

* South Korea [ROK] too in the long-run WON the war! It took many decades but the South Korea story of economic development and now democracy robust perhaps one of the most remarkable stories in the entire history of mankind! Can someone suggest or find a historical parallel or equivalent?

The end! Now we know where we have been we have a better idea of how we got here [Korean Crisis] and to an extent where we are going?? I am not sure.

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Korean War VII.

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Further links to the You Tube video the topic of which is the Korean War:

"Korean War - PART 26, Koje-do POW Camp"

"The commander of Kojedo Island POW camp, General Dodd, is captured by his own prisoners. He promised to stop forced 'screening' of POWs. He was relieved of command upon release."

* Chinese communist prisoners-of-war took the Koje-do camp over. Captured and held hostage the American general in charge of the camp.

* Chinese Communist Forces [CCF] Red Army commissars voluntarily and with quite deliberate intent surrendering to the American military. Object to gain access to Chinese army troops held captive by the United Nations command. Commissars their goal to organize communist troops for resistance of whatever nature was possible.

* Larry Wu-Tai Chin the Chinese Communist spy one of the most devastating spies in all of history. Larry by the estimate of the CIA a man single-handedly prolonging the Korea War by at least a year!

* Germ warfare allegations continue to this day but are a HOAX. Commie agitation and propaganda [agit-prop] effective even unto this very day!

* American machinations to remove Rhee an operation code-named Ever-Ready. AGAIN RHEE SEEN AS A LOOSE CANNON.

"loose can·non - - noun - - an unpredictable or uncontrolled person who is likely to cause unintentional damage."

"Korean War - PART 27, Denouement"

"denouement - - n. The conclusion or resolution of a plot"

"The war is coming close to an end. Close to 5 million refugees live in the South. Millions of children were abandoned. The vast disparity between the relative wealth of the foreigners in South Korea and the great poverty of the Korean population, in their own country, stands out."

* 5 million refugees [1 million abandoned children] in South Korea. A tremendous strain on the entire society.

* South Korea not a wealthy country BEFORE the war. Conditions during the war exacerbated by millions of refugees for which there was no accommodation. The separation of families between North and South continues almost seventy years later.

"Korean War - PART 28, End of the War"

"President Syngman Rhee releases North Korean POWs to derail the armistice talks (6:25). The Armistice talks go into the final phases. Operation 'Little Switch', the first big exchange of prisoners, takes place. In the meantime, the war goes on."

* Rhee continues with misguided and counter-productive efforts to disrupt armistice talk. Releases North Korean POW on his own initiative.

* Armistice when finally signed done without the participation of Rhee.

* Both sides of the war attempting to gain an upper hand during truce negotiations. Combat continuing while talks in progress. That demilitarized zone [DMZ] the demarcation line as to be set where the fighting had stopped.

* When armistice talks concluded, the adversaries more or less in the same location as when the war started. A stalemate without reasonable amelioration.

"Korean War - PART 29, Two Koreas...again"

"The political regimes of both the DPRK and the ROK consolidate and solidify their control over their respective parts of Korea after the war. Kim Il Sung purges political rivals in the north, while Syngman Rhee plays his own political games in the south."

* Kim purging his own Communist party of Stalinist elements! Those continuing to be loyal to the Soviet. Kim becomes his own man!

* Rhee unfortunately ruling in the manner of the strong-man, an autocrat who brooks no opposition. Protruding nails will be hammered is the expression most applicable..

* Some Chinese POW under UNC control mutilating or tattooing their bodies in defiance, evidence of their refusing repatriation to mainland China.

"Korean War - PART 30, Post-War Korea"

"The war ends with Korea still divided."

* Economic miracle of South Korea in the aftermath of the war undeniable.

* North Korea their rebuilding also remarkable, but at great cost societal-wise.

More to follow!

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Korean War VI.

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Still yet more links to the You Tube video the topic of which is the Korean War:

"Korean War - PART 21, Prisoners of War [1]"

"The Gloucesters of the British 29th Brigade are taken prisoner of war after the battle of the Imjin River in April, 1951. The war stabilizes at around the 38th parallel, and the two sides agree to negotiate in the summer of 1951"

* Korea the last war British Commonwealth Forces fought as part of a single integrated command.

* Communist treatment of UNC POW must be thought of as beyond mere incarceration. Also an educational process.

* The last two years of the war the status of prisoners of war [POW] and repatriation of POW a central issue of negotiations between the warring parties. The Korean War basically a single year of movement followed by several years of wrangling over an armistice and POW repatriation.

* See prior blog entry the experience of Sir Michael Caine the actor during his service in Korea.

"Korean War - PART 22, Bombing of North Korea"

"This episode details the UN bombing campaign over North Korea and the results for the people on the ground. The majority of civilians killed in the Korean War were killed in North Korea by air attack. (This segment on the bombing of North Korea was censored from the US version of this documentary.)."

* That American strategic bombing effort the target North Korean cities far greater than what I had thought.

* Tactical air campaign Operation Strangle the results of which were inconclusive.

* Strategic bombing did not work in Korea. 600,000 tons of bombs. 2 million civilians dead in North Korea but the adversary still not capitulating.

"Korean War - PART 23, Prisoners of War [2]"

"Truce talks continue as the war goes on. The Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (known to the North Koreans as 'The Battle of Height 1211') in October 1951 was Verdun-style trench warfare, albeit with perhaps more fire-and-maneuver than the Great War battle. The North Koreans believe that this was the toughest battle of the war"

* United Nations forces thought to be more prepared and adept at trench style warfare in the manner of combat ala' World War I.

* American air force prepared for use of atomic weapons. This was Hudson Harbor. Repeated demonstrations to intimidate the communist leadership. Use of atomic weapons was indeed a possible.

* Chinese Communist treatment of UNC POW more correct and humane.

"Korean War - PART 24 Geojedo POW camp [3]"

"The Western prisoners' Chinese captors attempt to 're-educate' them, and try to get the POWs to question their countries' involvement in the war"

* American military promulgates the Code of Conduct in the aftermath of the Korean War. The behavior of some American military personnel while in communist captivity found to be wanting and remedial measures taken.

* American POW nearly a thousand of them sent to the Soviet Union for Nuclear/Chemical/Biological warfare experimentation.

* North Korean/Chinese/Soviet efforts at re-education of UNC POW yielding scant results it would appear for the amount of effort as expended.

* American soldiers found to be deficient in their knowledge of chain-of-command.Again, performance of some American troops in communist captivity found to be lacking.

* Behavior of communist POW under control of UNC "an example how POW should behave to create maximum nuisance value". A military best.

"Korean War - PART 25, Germ Warfare"

"The North Koreans and Chinese alleged that the USA dropped disease-infected insects on North Korea and China in 1952."

* Insects used as biological warfare vectors during winter not a do-able?

* Those North Korean propaganda films showing personnel testing for germ agents those lab technicians not taking precautionary protective measures .

* Accusation of germ warfare when made difficult if not impossible to disprove.

More to follow!

coolbert.

Korean War IV.

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Continuing yet further with more links from a You Tube video the topic of which is the Korean War:

"Korean War - PART 11, I Landings (August 1950)Incheon"

"The Incheon landings of Operation Chromite effectively turns around the disaster for the UN forces."

* Japanese personnel [in a civilian capacity] participating in the Incheon landings. Those Japanese having an intimate knowledge of the tidal conditions present Incheon. [second most extreme tidal conditions in the world!]

* Naval assets and merchant vessels as devoted to Chromite their world-wide movement to vicinity of Incheon apparently not detected by communist intelligence?

"Korean War - PART 12, Breakout: Sept. 1950-"

"The 8th US Army and the 10th US Corps link up on September 22nd, and are successful in capturing Seoul. North Korean atrocities are discovered upon the recapture of South Korean territory." .

* Seoul changing hands four times during the war. A capital city of a nation [ROK] more or less obliterated by constant and unremitting combat.

"Korean War - PART 13, To the 38th Parallel and beyond-"

"The South Korean army crosses the 38th parallel, and MacArthur soon follows, without much thought to the consequences with China."

* Pursue your enemy, allowing the foe no let or surcease. Do not allow the adversary to reconstitute as an organized fighting units. Sound military doctrine.

"Korean War - PART 14, China enters-"

"Here (at 3:52), the French journalist, Philippe Daudy, addresses the Americans' use of the term, 'gook' in the Korean War. Also in this episode: Secretary of the Army [State] George C. Marshall is concerned that the US public will not understand that ideas of 'winning' and 'losing' are not exactly applicable to a limited war, like Korea."

* Gook that word derogatory in nature a derivation of the Korean words for American person [Mi-guk] and Korean person [Han-guk]

* Indeed, the American public having thought such a conflict as Korea with the ground combat would never occur again. NOR was victory as understood within the context of the Second World War possible.

* Once more [twice in a period of less than six months] MacArthur and Far East Command caught with their pants down, surprised by the Chinese onslaught. Very experienced and competent commander and staff again flummoxed and made to look very bad!

* See the previously highly classified American CIA document item # 1 the numbers of CCF troops as close to the Manchurian/Korean border and their intention as made manifest.

"Korean War- PART 15, The Rout of the UN"

"MacArthur asks the US Air Force to make good on its promise to obliterate the Chinese forces now routing the UN armies out of North Korea. President Truman is afraid of widening the war, and asks that bombing be restricted to Korea to avoid a wider war."

* That number of North Koreans killed by American saturation bombing prodigious. Estimated to be as many as two million?

 * MacArthur his his pronouncement that the war might be over by Christmas neither a boast or a declaration. "If all goes according to plan some of the boys might be home for Christmas." If! Some! Might! Devoted readers to the blog make your own determination.

More to follow!

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Korean War III.

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Continuing with links to the You Tube video the topic the Korean War:

"Korean War - PART 6, The First Weeks (June, July 1950"

"In the first few weeks of the North Korean attack of June 1950, the USA changes its defense policy in East Asia to include defending South Korea and Taiwan from attack."

* The American Seventh Fleet interposing in the Formosa [Taiwan] Strait between Red China and Taiwan. [protection of the Nationalist government on Formosa guaranteed with conditions].

* South Korean army units [more of a constabulary force as that term understood] understandably not able to withstand massed formations of advancing T-34 tanks. Retreat and regroup the only option and this done repeatedly. Often retreat in a routed and disorganized manner. This again somewhat understandably so.

* The Soviet delegation as part and parcel of the United Nations Security Council boycotting all proceedings totally absent from UN deliberations to send a UN combat force to Korea in response to the North Korean invasion.

"Korean War - PART 7, The First Weeks (June, July 1950"

"In this episode is a detailed description of the USA's first land battle involving Task Force [TF]  Smith, and the ill-preparedness of US soldiers who thought they were in Korea to just make a show of force."

* Task Force Smith [as commanded by Lt. Colonel Smith] an under strength and ill-prepared unit. A task force as designated normally consisting of a full-strength infantry battalion reinforced. Smith having under his command two companies of infantry not even fully manned and a single battery of artillery [six guns].

* Strange that the effectiveness of the Soviet T-34 tank not anticipated. T-34 more or less impervious to American anti-tank weaponry.

* None of the military planners in Washington working under emergency conditions actually thought TF Smith would have to do battle with the North Koreans. TF Smith merely would set up a blocking-position beyond the North Korean would not dare move further south. This of course was not to be!

* The North Korean army a mix of regular conventional ground units and guerrilla combatants. Teams [four-man] in civilian dress infiltrating south with columns of refugees. Each man of the team armed with dagger, pistol, hand grenades concealed on their person. Fight during hours of darkness, taking advantage of a situation to attack American units when possible.

"Korean War - PART 8, Summer of 1950"

"This episode outlines the great expansion of the US defense budget in response to a new US policy outlined in NSC-68; an expansion that made defense expenditures amount to about 20% of US GDP"

* Conscription for military service becoming an aspect of American life for over two decades as a result of Korea.

* American defense spending as a percentage of the federal budget increases markedly.

"Korean War - PART 9, July, August 1950"

"This episode details the fighting around the Naktong River, west of Taegu and the Pusan perimeter."

* Read here of the spontaneous and ad hoc codebreaker unit able to provide extremely vital real-time intelligence to UNC forces as besieged during the fighting in and around the Pusan Perimeter.

"Korean War - PART 10, Pre-Incheon (August 1950"

"UN forces enjoy almost complete air superiority, and the bombing campaign begins. The Naktong River battles continue, with the NKPA pushing UN forces further into a tighter perimeter east of the Naktong and south of Pohang."

* Air superiority continuing until the arrival of Soviet piloted MiG-15. Relentless B-29 saturation bombing of North Korea continuing until early 1951 and the events that became known as "Black Thursday". Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter proven to be superior to the American counter-part at that stage of the war.

* Contingency plans were drawn for a Dunkirk-type reverse amphibious operation if the situation in the Pusan perimeter became too acute.

More to follow!

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Korean War I.

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Here begins a series of blog entries, links to a You Tube video the subject of which is the Korean War.

I MUST WARN THE DEVOTED READER TO THE BLOG THE QUALITY OF THESE VIDEO POOR BUT STILL VIEW-ABLE!

As originally produced almost thirty years ago but so much more significant as it pertains to the present day Korean Nuclear Crisis.

My comments as usual starred! * 

You cannot know where you are and where you might be going unless you know where you have been?

"Korea: The Unknown War (1988– )" 

By —Mark Lovmo. And all thanks to Mark.

"A documentary about the Korean War by Thames Television that aired in the Summer of 1988 and in the US in August 1990 through WGBH Boston. Including interviews with participants from both the United Nations (USA, UK), South Korea and North Korea,he war."

PORTIONS OF THE VIDEO REGARDING AMERICAN SATURATION BOMBING OF NORTH KOREA AND ALSO AMERICAN USE OF NAPALM DURING THE CONFLICT EDITED FOR BROADCAST ON AMERICAN TV.

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Monitors.

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You are being watched!

From the Russian media outlet Russian Times [RT] and as originally reported by other sources.

More on the combined effort to track ship movements vicinity North Korea. Observe and report actual and possible embargo violations.

"US sets up coalition to track foreign ships delivering fuel to North Korea – report"

"A US Navy ship will reportedly host military personnel from the Five Eyes countries plus Japan and South Korea to monitor foreign vessels delivering fuel to the North in violation of UN sanctions.:

"The coalition will include the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada – America’s partners within the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance – as well as Japan and South Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an American military official. This is apparently the first US-led effort to track fuel deliveries to North Korea."

See previous blog entries as germane:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/09/ran-korea.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/09/kayforce-ii.html

Ships! Planes! Personnel! All this a demonstration of solidarity and resolve. Kim take note!

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Sir Michael.

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 "Whenever I [Caine] killed someone there was no guilt, no remorse - it didn't feel real. It was during the Korean War and I was just trying to stay alive. It was self-defense. It was always done at night and we never had any idea who we had killed. I didn't even think about it - we had machine guns and we just did it. I never did anything close up or hand-to-hand. It didn't give me nightmares, because the Army brutalizes you. It was like the World War I trenches - half a mile apart - and we were just firing backwards and forwards, so we never knew who any of our victims were as individuals. You never saw the whites of a man's eyes when you killed him."

BEFORE THERE WAS THE MOVIE "ZULU" MICHAEL CAINE LIVED IT!!

See this outstanding video courtesy You Tube. The war experience of Sir Michael. The man fought in a war he did not understand for a people he did not know. But did his bit and is obviously proud of his service. 

See also this Internet web site, the comportment of the Royal Fusiliers in Korea most commendable. Exemplary even. "THE 1ST.BATTALION ROYAL FUSILIERS(THE CITY OF LONDON REGIMENT)".

"Honi soit qui mal y pense".

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RAN Korea.

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RAN - Royal Australian Navy.

From a Hot Mail courtesy Harry at Sharkhunters and thanks to WIZARD.

"RAN ON THE MOVE - A pair of Royal Australian Navy mine hunters have departed Sydney for a three-month deployment to North-east Asia, the first such deployment in over seventy years. The deployment comes amidst a major shift in focus for the service as it looks to refocus on Asia after decades in the Middle East."

NORTH-EAST ASIA! Presumably this means waters contiguous to the Korean peninsula?

Yet one more further show of solidarity with allied powers - - an Australian response to the Korean Crisis?

See as well the most recent blog entry as relevant to this naval deployment.

"Forward Australia Fair"!

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Kayforce II.

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Kayforce = New Zealand military contingent Korean War, United Nations Command.

First and thanks to the tip from Jay, ANZAC  [Australian New Zealand] deploying additional military aircraft to the Sea of Japan.

"Australia, New Zealand deploy aircraft to Japan to help enforce North Korea sanctions"

"WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand said on Friday their governments were deploying three maritime patrol aircraft to Japan to assist with efforts to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea."

One patrol aircraft currently on station [Australian]. Three more patrol aircraft [two Australian and one New Zealand] to follow.

VIOLATORS OF INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS BEWARE! YOU ARE BEING WATCHED! AND RETURN OF THE KIWI!

Kayforce that New Zealand military contingent their contribution to the United Nations Command [UNC] effort during the Korean War unknown to me.

"New Zealand in the Korean War"
Korean War - - Page 1 – Introduction

"New Zealand military forces were involved in Korea from 1950 to 1957. First, they took part in the United Nations ‘police action’ to repel Communist North Korea’s invasion of its southern neighbour. Better known as the Korean War, this conflict lasted from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953, when an armistice was agreed. A reduced New Zealand force then remained in Korea in a garrison role until the last troops were finally withdrawn in 1957."

Devoted readers to the blog recall the officer-in-charge of the United Nations Command Rear is an Australian! The "southern people" do have a stake in the current Korean Crisis.

coolbert.





   

Defective.

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Came across this quite by accident. Also consider this yet more instance American military high-technology as defective.

SRAM! Short-Range-Attack-Missile. That replacement for the Hound Dog SEAD missile. SRAM a weapons system with nuclear warhead as carried by American  B-52 bombers.

American Short-Range-Attack-Missiles [SRAM].

"SRAM entered service in 1972 and was carried by a number of aircraft, including the B-52, FB-111A, and the B-1B. In September 1980 a ground fire raised concerns about the safety of the warhead, and in 1990 they were temporarily removed from service while safety checks were carried out. These revealed a number of the missile's rocket motors had developed cracks that could have resulted in them exploding when launched."

CONCERNS RAISED FIRST IN 1980 BUT NOT INVESTIGATED UNTIL 1990?? CONCERNS VALID BUT NOT AS ORIGINALLY PERCEIVED, EVEN MORE ACUTE IN RETROSPECT! WEAPONRY INDEED ARMED WITH ATOMIC WARHEADS!

Read further and as had been relied upon "American military high-technology" found to be defective, more or less useless if not downright dangerous to the user. Technology too having an atomic weapon application:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/08/tubes.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W47#Reliability_controversy"

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rok/hyunmoo.htm 

coolbert.