War In Ukraine (3/31/22)

SECDEF Austin Extends Truman Deployment As Conflict In Ukraine Continues

Pentagon Deploys 200 Marines To Eastern Europe

US Lethal Aid Shipments To Ukraine ‘Already Arriving,’ Pentagon Says

Biden Will Tap Oil Reserve, Hoping To Push Gasoline Prices Down

U.S. Targets Russia’s Technology Sector In Fresh Sanctions

As Ruble Rebounds, Some Question Impact Of Sanctions Against Russia

Kremlin Decree: Foreign Currency Can Still Buy Natural Gas

Russia Drafts 134,500 Conscripts But Says They Won’t Go To Ukraine

War In Ukraine Could ‘Drag On For Awhile’ As Russia Eyes Donbass: Pentagon

Russia Increasing Air Strikes In Ukraine, Pentagon Says

Russian Forces Leave Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, Transferring Control To Ukraine

Russian Invaders Begin Preparations For “Referendum” In Occupied Territory Of Kherson Region – General Staff

Ukraine In Fresh Effort To Evacuate Mariupol After Red Cross Warnings

Reports Of Heavy Fighting Around Kyiv Belie Russian Peace Claims

US, Filipino Forces Hold Combat Drills On Beach Facing China

The Seattle Times:

With assault weapons ready, U.S. and Filipino marines sprang from amphibious vehicles and transport helicopters to defend an island from potential aggressors in a war exercise and show of American firepower staged on Thursday in the northern Philippines.

The exercise — held in far-flung Claveria town across the sea from China and Taiwan — fits into a strategy unveiled in February by the Biden administration to considerably broaden U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region by strengthening a web of security alliances and partnerships, with an emphasis on addressing China’s growing influence and ambitions.

Watched by invited journalists, the mock combat ended with the allied forces successfully securing the island before it could be seized by invaders in a clear warning to would-be aggressors in a region with multiple trouble spots.

See also::
–China Signs Deal With Cambodia Army, Rebuffing U.S. Warnings
–Updated Pentagon Maps Reveal The Chinese Military’s Growing Reach

Concern Grows That North Korea Is Preparing For First Underground Nuclear Test In Years

CNN:

The United States and allies believe that North Korea is beginning to make preparations for a possible underground nuclear test for the first time since 2017.

North Korea has recently resumed digging tunnels and construction activities at its underground nuclear test site, according to five US officials. Commercially available satellite imagery had shown some indications of activity on the surface at Pyongyang’s remote Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

It is not yet clear how soon the regime would be capable of testing a device at the site, as it depends on the pace of the activity, the officials say.

The preparations for a possible underground nuclear test come after North Korea tested its first suspected intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 earlier this month.

See also: U.S., S.Korea Seen Resuming Major Military Drills As N.Korea Tensions Rise

The Challenge Of Containing A Nuclear Iran

The Dispatch:

Start with a probable assumption: The Islamic Republic will soon be able to produce a nuclear weapon whenever the supreme leader decides to do so. A new atomic accord, currently being negotiated in Vienna, won’t change the fundamental atomic fact: Biden’s deal undoubtedly will leave in place Tehran’s progress with high-speed centrifuges and a loose inspection regime that doesn’t account for, let alone eliminate, Iran’s ample stockpile of the high-tech components and maraging steel needed for the production of advanced centrifuges. Removing Iranian surpluses of highly enriched uranium by allowing its export abroad to Russia—an embarrassing destination now for the White House and the Europeans—or to China doesn’t really matter so long as advanced centrifuges can produce bomb fuel quickly. Iran’s nuclear engineers have shown that they can build high-speed, sufficiently reliable, machines rapidly. 

Barring a great, felicitous surprise, the theocracy, which has clandestinely and overtly striven at great expense to develop the bomb since the 1980s, will have its nuke. Which brings up the question of what a post-nuke Iran policy would look like—assuming those who still want America to confront the clerical regime are in power with sufficient will and means to do something more than sanctions.

See also: Without The Iran Nuclear Deal, War Is On The Horizon

What Next For Iraq Amid Deep Political Schism?

Al-Monitor:

Six months after Iraq’s parliamentary vote, the war-scarred country is no closer to electing a president amid a bitter political stalemate that has thrown institutions into limbo.

Wrangling between rival Muslim Shiite blocs in the assembly on Wednesday scuppered the legislature’s third attempt to elect a head of state.

US And Coalition Forces Could Have Done More To Decrease Civilian Harm In 2017 Battle For Raqqa, Syria, Think Tank Report Finds

CNN:

US and coalition forces that fought in Syria in 2017 to recapture the city of Raqqa from ISIS could have done more to decrease harm done to civilians living in the city during the months-long battle, a think tank report released on Thursday found.

Strategic choices the US and coalition forces made in the battle, like choosing to encircle the city and focus primarily on an air campaign in order to have fewer troops on the ground and decrease risk to them, ultimately had a greater impact on civilian harm, the report from the RAND Corporation said. The report was sponsored by the Department of Defense Office of the Undersecretary for Policy, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.

The choice to encircle the city was a “more aggressive approach,” that likely made it harder to create “civilian exit corridors” and may have caused ISIS to go further into the “densely-populated heart of the city,” the report said.

After Year Of Diplomacy, Biden Administration Confronts Difficult Realities Of Yemen’s War

ABC News:

One of President Joe Biden’s first foreign policy moves was a pledge to help end one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises – the war in Yemen – by “stepping up our diplomacy” and “ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”

More than a year later, the war has escalated – with a sharp increase in civilian casualties, a growing number of Yemenis facing hunger, with less humanitarian funding, less international oversight of airstrikes and more complex attacks against Yemen’s neighbors fighting in the conflict.

Biden’s Economic Warfare On Afghanistan Is Killing Thousands And Empowering The Taliban

Left Voice:

Despite a historic humanitarian crisis, the Biden administration’s economic measures against Afghanistan, as well as the sanctions on Russia and war in Ukraine are making it harder for Afghans to access food and survive. Biden’s policies are also making it harder for Afghans fighting back against the Taliban.

See also:
–The Taliban Hard-Liners Are Winning
–In Afghanistan, Private Aid Fills Void Left By Bureaucratic Failure

Tulsa County Fairgrounds Marks Home Plate Site Of Old Stadium

KRMG:

Today the Tulsa Expo Center, the Tulsa County Commissioners, the Tulsa Drillers and former players dedicated a plaque at the Tulsa County Fairgrounds.

The site is the home plate in the original baseball stadium at the Fairgrounds.

Several former players who played in the stadium were on hand for the dedication.

Tulsa VFW Celebrates 100th Birthday For An Original ‘Rosie The Riveter’

News 9:

One of the original “Rosie The Riveters” who served her country in World War II turned 100 years old. She was celebrated at the Tulsa VFW.

Fort Smith VA Clinic Readies For Opening

KNWA:

Veterans in the River Valley are about to have a much shorter drive to receive medical care.

The new Veterans Affairs clinic in Fort Smith is hosting a ribbon-cutting on Friday at 11 a.m.

The 34,000 square ft. facility on Phoenix Place will provide a variety of care options for vets including mental health, optometry, and women’s health.

Get Ready For Subfreezing Temperatures Tonight

40/29:

40/29 Chief Meteorologist says we should get ready for freezing and subfreezing temperatures tonight

Tulsa Police Face Backlash After Violent Mental Health Crisis Arrest Of 70-Year-Old Woman

KFOR:

The Tulsa Police Department is now facing backlash after an October 2021 arrest of a 70-year-old woman in a mental health crisis started making rounds on social media.

The startling 6-minute video of the incident was made from body camera footage of Tulsa police officers in a Tulsa business last October.

A woman named LaDonna Paris, 70, was suffering from a mental health crisis with her bipolar disorder and locked herself in the bathroom.

She was later arrested and spent a month in jail.

After a month, she was released with no charges.

I may be a little biased on this one—since I grew up with her family, and one of her sons was one of my best friends in high school—but I would like to see each and every single cop involved in this travesty not only fired, but nailed to the wall on any charge possible.

The cash settlement is going to be insane. There is no way, in a million years, that this should have happened.

LaDonna is a very intelligent woman. She is accomplished and respected. Tulsa may be the center of her orbit, but she has roots all over Oklahoma and Arkansas. I have been a guest in her home more times than I could possibly count. No matter what the boys were doing on Friday and Saturday nights, she had us at church on Sunday morning. No sir, I would not cross her. These cops messed up.

“This is not right.” – LaDonna Paris

War In Ukraine (3/30/22)

Number Of Ukraine Refugees Passes Worst-Case U.N. Estimate

Ukraine To Receive Additional $500 Million In Aid From U.S., Biden Announces

Nuclear-Armed Russian Bombers Entered EU Airspace Amid Ukraine War: Report

Chechen Chief Kadyrov Says Russia Will Make No Concessions In Ukraine

China, Russia ‘More Determined’ To Boost Ties, Beijing Says

Russia, Iran To Take Practical Steps To Circumvent Western Sanctions -RIA Cites Lavrov

India-Russia Explore A Rupee-Rouble Payment Scheme To Bypass War

Why The World’s Largest Democracy Won’t Back Ukraine

Breakaway Georgian Region Seeks To Be Putin’s Next Annexation

Russia Bombards Areas Where It Pledged To Scale Back

Pentagon Spokesperson: ‘Most Russian Forces Arrayed Around Kyiv Are Still There’

U.S. Says China’s Pressure On Taiwan A Threat To All Democracies

Reuters:

China’s diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan represents a threat to all democracies and the United States is committed to helping the island defend itself, the top U.S. diplomat in Taipei said.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan event late on Wednesday, Sandra Oudkirk, director of the American Institute in Taiwan which handles relations in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said managing U.S. differences with China faces “distinct challenges”.

US Sanctions Iranians After Missile Strikes In Iraq, Gulf

ABC News:

The United States sanctioned Iranian defense companies Wednesday after a spate of ballistic missile attacks on targets in Iraq and the Gulf.

The U.S. and Iran’s neighbors blame that country for a March 13 strike on Irbil, Iraq, and for repeated missile strikes into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.

On Friday, a Houthi missile strike set ablaze a Saudi Aramco oil storage site, prompting warnings from angry Saudi leaders that the attacks threatened the stability of the world oil market.

Even as the U.S. carries out indirect negotiations with Iran for reviving limits on Iran’s nuclear program, it will keep up penalties against those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile production, Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in announcing the sanctions.

U.N., U.S. Press For Broader Yemen Truce After Unilateral Moves

Reuters:

United Nations and United States envoys on Wednesday welcomed unilateral truce moves by Yemen’s warring sides as encouraging steps, while stressing the need for a more comprehensive ceasefire that would help alleviate a dire humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis had said it would temporarily halt military operations from Wednesday after the Iran-aligned group this week declared a three-day cessation of cross-border attacks and ground offensives in Yemen.

As part of efforts to end the seven-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions into hunger, the initiatives followed a U.N. call for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that starts this week.

See also:
–Iran Welcomes Houthi Peace Plan To End Yemen War
–Gulf Oil Powers Seek US Security Treaty After Yemen Strikes

New Front In Ethiopian War Displaces Thousands, Hits Hopes Of Peace Talks

Reuters:

A new front in Ethiopia’s war in the Afar region is imperilling efforts to get enemies to sit down to peace talks, three regional officials and three diplomats said, and a ceasefire declared last week may have been breached in some places.

The flare-up of violence in Afar this year came after fighting in the neighbouring regions of Tigray and Amhara had ground to a stalemate and as moves were gathering pace to get the government in Addis Ababa and Tigrayan rebels to agree to peace negotiations.

“There cannot be peace in Ethiopia while there is fighting in Afar,” said Mussa Ibrahim, a clan leader in Erepti, one of six districts in Afar currently occupied by Tigrayan forces.

China Shows Afghanistan Ambitions At Multinational Meetings

AP News:

China’s ambitions to have a major hand in Afghanistan’s stability and development under the Taliban, while boosting its own stature, will be on display at a pair of multinational meetings it is hosting starting Wednesday.

The talks offer a rare opportunity for Russia and the U.S. to come together over the knotty issue of Afghanistan despite their deep differences over the Ukraine conflict.

Special envoys for Afghanistan from China, the United States and Russia, a group known as the the “Extended Troika,” will convene separately from the foreign ministers of China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Oklahoma Becomes Fourth State To Enact Anti-Trans Sports Ban This Year

CNN:

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed legislation banning transgender women and girls from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender at public schools, public charter schools and public colleges in the state.

Oklahoma and Arizona, which enacted its own law later Wednesday, join three other GOP-led states that have established similar bans this year.