Rattling Sabers in the South China Sea

The South China Sea is a rather interesting place right now. Appropriately, in the Chinese sense of the word.

North Korea is planning a "Satellite Launch," a well worn code-phrase for a ballistic missile test of the kind that the United Soviet Socialist States used to launch their satellites into space and test their ICBM's.

They are planning it during the annual US-South Korea Training Exercises, Operation Key Resolve, a defensive training exercise designed to simulate a North Korean Invasion across the 38th Parallel.

North Korea claims that these "War Games," which have been held annually since 1976, are pretexts to prepare for an invasion, a standard claim used by dictators in a Closed Fear Society to control their populace and claim an external threat against the populace and the state.

The US Navy and the Japanese Self Defense Fleet are currently planning to shoot down the missile, no matter the payload, to show North Korea that NATO and the US Major Non-NATO Allies mean business.

North Korea has thus threatened to destroy any aircraft not associated with North Korea that strays into the DPRK Air Space. Normally an Empty Threat, North Korea is not above doing so, as their history of sabotage and attempts to assassinate South Korean Leaders shows.

At this same time, the USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23), an Ocean Surveillance Vessel built atop a Catamaran Hull. It belongs to the Navy Sea Lift Command, and trails sonar probes to search for Chinese Submarines and track the conditions of under-sea fault lines in the area.

On March 8th, five vessels of the Chinese Navy shadowed the vessel, as Fishing Trawlers, many flying the flag fo the PRC, began to hamper the movements of the ship, stopping in fron of the vessel and forcing emergency "All Stop" manuevers by the US Navy to prevent an impact that would cause an International Incident.

This is just the latest in a long string of incidents between the Impeccable and the People's Liberation Army Navy, many of which resulted in Intelligence Gathering Ships contacting the Impeccable and threatening it with "Consequences" should it not leave the South China Sea, which the PRC has claimed as territorial waters. This despite constant incursions into American Territorial Waters by Chinese Fishing Ships, and Chinese Oil Rigs.

Don't you just love Hypocrites?

Now, the United States Navy Seventh Fleet is steaming for the Hainan Straight, home of China's primary Submarine Base, and a stand off is here.

Soon, North Korea's Missile will launch, and more than likely fall into the sea near Japan's coast, if it is not shot down outright.

Will North Korea follow through with their threat? Only time will tell...

Mutiny

Recently, two soldiers currently operating in Iraq have come forward and challenged the eligibility of their Commander and Chief. While I opposed him in the election, I would like to remind them that their current actions can be easily defined as "Mutiny in a War Period," and thus earn them the Death Penalty.

The current President may be taking cues from Woodrow Wilson (the man of a 1,000 Political Prisoners), he has yet to violate the Constitution of the United States of America to the best of our knowledge.

Until and unless those birth certificates become public, reveal Obama to be a Non-Native Born Citizen, and he refuses to step down, there is nothing we can do except pray he does not do something foolish that will harm the soldiers.

Until that time (hopefully) does not occur, you are to treat him with all the respect to be given to your Commander in Chief and you will sit down and you will shut up. Anything else is insubordination, and a violation of your oath of office as Officers of the United States Army.

For those who have never taken said oath, it is as follows.

"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

Remember, Officers wear their insignia on their shoulders to symbolize that they bear the weight of the actions they take, and the impact this has on the future of the men they lead.