Know Your Opposition

Some gems in this Oil and Gas Journal opinion video about the "stakeholders" in opposition to development of "non-conventional" petroleum production and transportation. The development of new means of production is an "inconvenient truth" for groups now fighting, as noted in the opinion, for that in which they've invested their time and talents. In some instances, it is almost like arguing against a religious belief.

Naval Strategy: "Cooperation from Strength: The United States, China and the South China Sea"

January 10, 2012 - at the Center for a New American Security, with an interesting introduction from Chief of Naval Operations Admrial Greenert, Cooperation from Strength: The United States, China and the South China Sea | Center for a New American Security about . . .

the future of U.S. strategy in the South China Sea and the impact of territorial disputes on the maritime commons.

For those of you who like to listen as you work out, you can download the audio here. Lots of good stuff - during one Q&A sequence, the second part of question was something like, ". . . the Chinese Ministry of Defense warned the U.S. to be careful in words and actions." To which the Admiral responded, "I appreciate the advice." UPDATE: Oh, and the written report they are discussing Cooperation from Strength: The United States, China and the South China Sea. Read it, watch it and think about how big and capable a Navy we need.

Sea Mysteries: Something on the Ocean Floor . . .

Side scan sonar images show - what, exactly? From CNN Shipwreck hunters stumble across mysterious find:

Using side-scan sonar, the team found a 60-meter diameter cylinder-shaped object, with a rigid tail 400 meters long.

Looks like some sort of rock formation to me, but there are other theories.

Exporting Good Ideas: The RiverHawk Multimission Platform Launched

MSS Image

For Lebanon, as reported by MarineLink, RiverHawk's Multimission Platform Launched

RiverHawk Fast Sea Frames (RHFSF) has launched its signature Advanced Multimission Platform (AMP) at its shipyard in Tampa, Florida. Fully designed and built in the United States, the 145-foot coastal security craft was contracted 12 months ago by the U S Department of the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to Maritime Security Strategies (MSS) of Tampa, Florida. RiverHawk designed, produced and is outfitting the ship, scheduled for final delivery to NAVSEA in May. Subsequent transfer is expected this summer to the Lebanese Armed Forces under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The launching ceremony was attended by NAVSEA program officials, representatives from the U S Central Command (USCENTCOM) and a delegation from Lebanon led by the Chief of the Lebanese Navy, Rear Admiral Nazih Baroudi.

The AMP 145 is a design contracted for by Maritime Security Strategies of Tampa, which describes the design as follows:

Each Advanced Multimission Platform begins with our basic design, the AMP-145.
The platforms are built performance tough, using state of the art fabrication processes, materials, and technologies.
12 month delivery.
Composite hull with Aluminum deck and superstructure for speeds of 30+ knots.
Twin Hamilton Waterjets/MTU diesel plants.

Somali Criminals: SEALing their fate

Reported as U.S. Forces Rescue Kidnapped American, Danish Humanitarian Workers in Somalia:

By the order of the President of the United States and under the direction of U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM), early Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012, U.S. Special Operations Forces rescued an American citizen and a Danish citizen from captivity in Somalia.

Mrs. Jessica Buchanan of the United States and Mr. Poul Thisted of Denmark, who both worked for the Danish Demining Group, a non-profit humanitarian organization, were kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, near Galcayo, Somalia, and were being held for ransom.

The Department of Justice requested assistance from the Department of Defense, which, in turn, directed U.S. AFRICOM to plan and conduct the rescue operation.

Receiving actionable intelligence, U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a coordinated operation in the vicinity of Gadaado, Somalia. During the course of the operation, the rescue force patrolled to the location and confirmed the presence of Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted guarded by nine captors. All nine captors were killed during the assault. After securing the location, U.S. Special Operations Forces found Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted unharmed in the outdoor encampment.

"Last night's mission, boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces, exemplifies United States Africa Command's mission to protect Americans and American interests in Africa," said General Carter F. Ham, commanding general, U.S. Africa Command. "I am extraordinarily proud of the joint-service team that planned, rehearsed and successfully concluded this operation. Thanks to them, a fellow American and her Danish co-worker are safe and will soon be home with their families. We should remember that Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were working to protect the people of Somalia when they were violently kidnapped. It is my hope that all those who work in Somalia for the betterment of the Somali people can be free from the dangers of violent criminals."

At the time of their abduction, Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted had finished conducting a demining training course for local Somali citizens.

If I was a pirate, I wouldn't be so sure that I was safe at home. Emphasis added.

Philippines: 15 Dead Fisherman on High Seas

Reported as "High seas massacre":

Gunmen mercilessly strafed at least 15 fishermen in a grisly massacre on the high seas off Basilan, with a police official saying investigation is under way to identify and hunt down the perpetrators.

Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional police, said they are banking on the testimony of the three survivors of the attack that occurred at around 7 a.m. Monday some 10 nautical miles away from Basilan.

***

The initial conduct of the investigation revealed that a total of 18 fishermen were on board three fishing boats when gunmen on board three small watercrafts started shooting them some 10 nautical miles away off the Sibago Island in Mohammad Ajul town in Basilan.

***

Asked if the Abu Sayyaf is responsible for the attack as the area is known routes of the bandits in going to mainland Mindanao, Latag said it is early to point the blame to the group, saying it is also a possibility that sea pirates perpetrated the massacre.

Doesn't sound like a chance encounter, does it? UPDATE: More here, which makes it sound like a fishing "turf" war:

Cabangbang told The Associated Press that the fishermen were probably attacked by a rival group of fishermen because they strayed into their fishing grounds. . . . "They were fishing in the turf of another group of fishermen from Basilan," Cabangbang said. *** One of the survivors told police that their group had been warned to stay away from the fishing grounds where the attack took place, ABS-CBN TV reported. Khu, the regional police official, said there was unconfirmed reports that the attacked fishermen were blamed by their rivals for destroying giant nets that they had set up worth about $3,500. Such nets are used for catching tuna, one of the Philippines' main exports.

Things having to do with Iran

Paying a premium for strategic incoherence | Shadow Government:

Here the administration's incapacity to develop a strategy has had deeply detrimental effects. They don't seem to realize their writing off Iraq has fanned sectarian tensions throughout the middle east, how their inactivity on Syria is further destabilizing Iraq (and vice versa), or their approach to the peace process undercut Palestinians working to build a state and further isolated Israel, can't tell the difference between success in Libya and success in Egypt, what fleeting opportunities now exist to contain Iranian activity and influence in the region, how far -- and even just how -- to support the transition to democracy, whom to partner with, or coordinate their rhetoric about priorities (a pivot to Asia?) with in this once in a century set of changes occurring in the middle east.

Morning Brief: European Union bans Iranian oil:

European ministers elected to phase in the embargo gradually to protect the European economy as it struggles to overcome its debt crisis, but enraged Iranian authorities may foil that plan. Iran's Fars news agency quoted one official as saying Iran should halt oil exports to the EU immediately "so that the price of oil soars and the Europeans ... have trouble."

Why we should take Tehran's threat to cut off the Strait of Hormuz seriously. :

, , , The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), a well-connected Washington defense think tank, just released a new analysis of future military trends around the Persian Gulf. Mark Gunzinger and Chris Dougherty, authors of "Outside-In: Operating from Range to Defeat Iran's Anti-Access and Area-Denial Threats," assert that over the next decade, Iran could acquire military capabilities that would rip up the assumptions that the U.S. military has used for its Persian Gulf planning over the past three decades. The authors conclude that the Pentagon needs to adapt to changing military circumstances in the region by devising new plans and redirecting investments into new capabilities.

From the web page offering up referenced CSBA piece:

Iran has had ample opportunity over the last twenty years to examine the “American way of war” and to deduce that allowing the United States and its allies to mass overwhelming combat power on its borders is a prescription for defeat. Therefore, Iran is pursuing measures to deny the U.S. military access to close-in basing and make traditional U.S. power-projection operations in the Persian Gulf possible only at a prohibitive cost.

Challenges, challenges.