Good Sunday Morning August 21 .
I hope that you all are having a great weekend.
Regards,
Skip
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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
Aug. 21
1858 The brig, USS Dolphin, captures the slave ship, Echo, with 300 Africans on board off the north coast of Cuba. She is taken to Charleston, S.C., and those saved from slavery are later sent back to Africa.
1883 The installation of the first electric lighting on board a U.S. Navy ship is completed on board USS Trenton.
1918 During World War I, while piloting a Navy seaplane near Pola, Ensign Charles H. Hammann lands on the Adriatic Sea to rescue Ensign George H. Ludlow, whose aircraft is shot down by Austro-Hungarian forces. Though Hammann's plane is not designed for two persons, and despite the risk of enemy attack, he successfully completes the rescue and returns to the base at Porto Corsini, Italy. For Hamman's actions on this occasion, he is awarded the Medal of Honor. USS Hammann (DD 412) and USS Hammann (DE 131) are named in his honor.
1965 Gemini V is launched. Astronauts are Gordon Cooper, Jr., USAF, (Command Pilot) and Lt. Cmdr. Charles Conrad Jr., USN, (Pilot). They complete 120 orbits in almost eight days at an altitude of 349.8 km. Recovery is by helicopter from USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39).
1980 USS Truxtun (CGN 35) rescues 42 Vietnamese refugees and USS Merrill (DD 976) rescues 62 Vietnamese refugees, over 200 miles southeast of Saigon.
1993 USS Tempest (PC 2) is commissioned at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The third Navy ship to be named Tempest, the Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship.
2017 The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) is involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. Ten Sailors lose their lives and the ship suffers significant damage to the hull resulting in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms.
This day in History August 21
1129 The warrior Yoritomo is made Shogun without equal in Japan.
1525 Estevao Gomes returns to Portugal after failing to find a clear waterway to Asia.
1794 France surrenders the island of Corsica to the British.
1808 Napoleon Bonaparte's General Junot is defeated by Wellington at the first Battle of the Peninsular War at Vimeiro, Portugal.
1831 Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia that kills close to 60 whites.
1858 The first of a series of debates begins between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Douglas goes on to win the Senate seat in November, but Lincoln gains national visibility for the first time.
1863 Confederate raiders under William Quantrill strike Lawrence, Kansas, leaving 150 civilians dead.
1864 Confederate General A.P. Hill attacks Union troops south of Petersburg, Va., at the Weldon railroad. His attack is repulsed, resulting in heavy Confederate casualties.
1915 Italy declares war on Turkey.
1942 U.S. Marines turn back the first major Japanese ground attack on Guadalcanal in the Battle of Tenaru. See more below
1944 The Dumbarton Oaks conference, which lays the foundation for the establishment of the United Nations, is held in Washington, D.C.
1945 President Harry S. Truman cancels all contracts under the Lend-Lease Act.
1959 Hawaii is admitted into the Union.
1963 The South Vietnamese Army arrests over 100 Buddhist monks in Saigon.
1968 Soviet forces invade Czechoslovakia because of the country's experiments with a more liberal government.
1972 US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched.
1976 Mary Langdon in Battle, East Sussex, becomes Britain's first firewoman.
1976 Operation Paul Bunyan: after North Korean guards killed two American officers sent to trim a poplar tree along the DMZ on Aug. 18, US and ROK soldiers with heavy support chopped down the tree.
1986 In Cameroon 2,000 die from poison gas from a volcanic eruption.
1988 Ceasefire in the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq.
1989 Voyager 2 begins a flyby of planet Neptune.
1991 Communist hardliners' coup is crushed in USSR after just 2 days; Latvia declares independence from USSR.
1994 Ernesto Zedillo wins Mexico's presidential election.
1996 The new Globe theater opens in England.
2000 Tiger Woods wins golf's PGA Championship, the first golfer to win 3 majors in a calendar year since Ben Hogan in 1953.
2001 NATO decides to send a peacekeeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
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Thanks to Cowboy who found the URL
A few days ago we had a list of all the current folks running our country and how they were interrelated. I could not find the url for this one. Now you can see how California has its own set of relationships.
Found it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trcSpd_YWIA
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Thanks to THE BEAR
… For The List for Sunday, 21 August 2022…Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 21 August 1967… Ten aircraft lost to NVN and PRC defenses…
A Brown Bear tale to add to the Sunday, 21 August posts… Thanks, Bear
http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/21-august-1967-chumming-sams-in-the-heart-of-the-heartland/
http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to Chuck
Watch to the very end! He is the story teller of our time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xpv1J0QipE
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Thanks to Barrel
Freighter pilots
Funny because a lot of it is true
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=767379897621644
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Thanks to Jerry
Another Royce Williams article
Fyi~
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Thanks to Dr. Rich
I remember how refreshing a combat nap could be Breathing is one of the most basic functions of the human body. It's so basic that our bodies often do it without us even having to think about it.
[Watch the video on training to go to sleep in two minutes that is used to help soldiers nap, even on the battlefield!]
View the article. https://flip.it/rWyoCP
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Thanks to the Bear
NATIONAL REVIEW August 18, 2022
Deter China through Strength and Confidence The U.S. is the dominant maritime power in the Pacific; let's keep it that way.
by John Lehman and Bing West
American policy toward Taiwan is one of "strategic ambiguity." If China attacks Taiwan, U.S. forces may fight or not fight. Chairman Xi's bellicosity signals that he believes we wouldn't fight. By seizing Taiwan, China would control $6 trillion in seaborne trade and cut us off from South Korea and Japan. Simply put, our own security depends upon a willingness to fight for Taiwan's freedom.
To ensure that Xi believes that the U.S. would fight, three actions are necessary. First, make it clear that America would defeat a Chinese invasion. A few years ago, a senior Pentagon official claimed that China defeated us in a series of war games. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a war game conducted by a think tank. After "horrific [U.S.] losses," one of its participants concluded, "Nobody won, but nobody lost either." That is scarcely reassuring. The chairman of our Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley, has said, "We're witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power that the world has witnessed." Such lugubrious sentiments, coupled with the Afghanistan debacle, are demoralizing. In 2018, 70 percent of Americans had a great deal of confidence in our military; that has dropped to 45 percent. Our senior leaders must belay pessimism.
America's defeat is not predestined. China must attack across one hundred miles of open ocean, while our Navy can detect the movement of any warship, submarine, or plane. Thousands of anti-ship missiles await the invasion craft. China has never fought a maritime war, whereas our command systems have been forged in continuous wars. Nor can China rationally expand a naval clash with America. Its entire economy depends on imports of oil and natural gas across oceans controlled by America's attack submarines, aircraft, and surface forces. Our Navy must exude confidence in its lethal mission to sink the enemy, and visibly exercise and train to do it.
Here is the precedent. In the Carter years, in the 1970s, worry raged about a Soviet blitzkrieg against Germany, with our Navy shepherding convoys, as in World War II. Our Pentagon leaders believed that the Soviets would sink our fleet in the Mediterranean. Several of us believed that, after Vietnam, our officials had sought counsel in their fears and had lost sight of our huge geographical advantages and of our Navy's immense global striking power. In war games at the Naval War College and under President Reagan in actual exercises, we sent our attack submarines and carriers a thousand miles north of England to demonstrate that we intended to sink the Soviet navy and attack its bases. The Soviet command was flummoxed. Gorbachev said the demands from his admirals for more money to defend the Kola Peninsula helped convince him of America's superiority.
As we did in the '80s, we should display confidence in defeating a Chinese invasion or blockade. The Pentagon should hold ecumenical war games. Invite all services, Congress, and the White House to participate. But war games are theoretical. What's really needed is to follow up with bold exercises. Start now in the South China Sea, where the Philippines has requested joint naval patrols because China is bullying their fishermen and ships. Alongside Filipino vessels, we should send our warships with U.S. Marine landing parties to protect defenseless vessels. That is how you encourage and strengthen alliances.
The second step is to do away with the current policy of ambiguity that places America's response to an invasion in one man, the president. This contradicts our Constitution, which reposes war-making authority with the Congress. Independent of the administration, the American people and Congress will support a winner. Congress should pass a mutual-defense pact with Taiwan, the same as we have with the Philippines. That would be the strongest measure to dissuade Xi.
The third step is to safeguard the endurance of deterrence. President Biden requested a 5 percent increase in the Navy budget, not matching inflation. This prematurely retires 30 ships, further shrinking our too-small Navy. Congress must add ships. We are the dominant maritime power in the Pacific; let's keep it that way and act with confidence.
In the Reagan administration, John Lehman served as secretary of the Navy and Bing West as assistant secretary of defense. Both have written several books about national security.
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This Day in U S Military History
A day-by-day digest of events regarding all services of the U.S. military
August 21
1778 – The Siege of Pondicherry was the first military action on the Indian subcontinent following the declaration of war between Great Britain and France in the American War of Independence. A British force besieged the French-controlled port of Puducherry in August 1778, which capitulated after ten weeks of siege. Following the American victory at Saratoga in October 1777, France decided to enter the American War of Independence as an ally to the United States. Word first reached the French Indian colony of Pondicherry in July 1778 that France and Britain had recalled their ambassadors, a sign that war was imminent. The British colonies had already received orders to seize the French possessions in India and begun military preparations. The siege would last almost 2 months. Between 6 and 13 October the British siege operations continued, but heavy rains hampered them. The British succeeded in draining the northern ditch, which the French unsuccessfully attempted again to flood. On 14 October the walls of the two bastions the British had targeted lay in ruins, and preparations began for an assault. Bellecombe was also running out of ammunition. After holding a war council on 15 October, he sent a truce flag to Munro the next day. He signed the terms of capitulation on 18 October.
1883 – The first installation of electric lights in a US Navy warship took place during the summer of 1883. Earlier that spring, seven electric power companies were asked by the Bureau of Navigation to submit bids for installing lights in USS Trenton, then currently berthed at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Only one, the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting, submitted a bid of $5,500 to install one L dynamo & one Armington-Sims engine complete to supply light via insulated wiring to 104 16-candle power lamps, 130 10-candle power lamps, and 4 32-candle power lamps. The ensuing contract also included 238 key sockets, 6 extra brushes, 1 automatic regulator and 1 dynamo foundation. Lieutenant.Commander. R. B. Bradford, executive officer of the ship, oversaw the installation of this equipment in Trenton between 7 June and 21 August 1883. Owing to the need to maintain the engine and dynamo, the system was only run at night.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, Japanese Colonel Ichiki's force of 1000 men attack the American positions across the Tenaru River. The American strength and defenses are unexpected and the Japanese force is destroyed. The Marines continue to receive shipments of supplies and some reinforcements.
1945 – Haroutune (Harry) Krikor Daghlian, Jr. (May 4, 1921 – September 15, 1945), an Armenian American physicist with the Manhattan Project, accidentally irradiated himself during a critical mass experiment at the remote Omega Site facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, resulting in his death 25 days later. Daghlian was irradiated as a result of a criticality accident that occurred when he accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a 6.2 kg delta phase plutonium bomb core. This core, available at the close of World War II and later nicknamed the "Demon core", also resulted in the death of Louis Slotin in a similar accident, and was used in the Able detonation, during the Crossroads series of nuclear weapon testing.
1965 – It is revealed by MACV headquarters (Headquarters Military Assistance Command Vietnam) in Saigon that U.S. pilots have received approval to destroy any Soviet-made missiles they see while raiding North Vietnam. This was a major change from previous orders that restricted them to bombing only previously approved targets.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
HAMMANN, CHARLES HAZELTINE
Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve Fleet. Born: 16 March 1892, Baltimore, Md. Appointed from: Maryland. Citation: For extraordinary heroism as a pilot of a seaplane on 21 August 1918, when with 3 other planes Ens. Hammann took part in a patrol and attacked a superior force of enemy land planes. In the course of the engagement which followed the plane of Ens. George M. Ludlow was shot down and fell in the water 5 miles off Pola. Ens. Hammann immediately dived down and landed on the water close alongside the disabled machine, where he took Ludlow on board. Although his machine was not designed for the double load to which it was subjected, and although there was danger of attack by Austrian planes, he made his way to Porto Corsini.
SMITH, JOHN LUCIAN
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Fighter Squadron 223, Place and date: In the Solomon Islands area, August-September 1942. Entered service at: Oklahoma. Born: 26 December 1914, Lexington, Okla. Other Navy award: Legion of Merit. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and heroic achievement in aerial combat above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 223 during operations against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area, August-September 1942. Repeatedly risking his life in aggressive and daring attacks, Maj. Smith led his squadron against a determined force, greatly superior in numbers, personally shooting down 16 Japanese planes between 21 August and 15 September 1942. In spite of the limited combat experience of many of the pilots of this squadron, they achieved the notable record of a total of 83 enemy aircraft destroyed in this period, mainly attributable to the thorough training under Maj. Smith and to his intrepid and inspiring leadership. His bold tactics and indomitable fighting spirit, and the valiant and zealous fortitude of the men of his command not only rendered the enemy's attacks ineffective and costly to Japan, but contributed to the security of our advance base. His loyal and courageous devotion to duty sustains and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
*YOUNG, MARVIN R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Ben Cui, Republic of Vietnam, 21 August 1968. Entered service at: Odessa, Tex. Born: 11 May 1947, Alpine, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Young distinguished himself at the cost of his life while serving as a squad leader with Company C. While conducting a reconnaissance mission in the vicinity of Ben Cui, Company C was suddenly engaged by an estimated regimental-size force of the North Vietnamese Army. During the initial volley of fire the point element of the 1st Platoon was pinned down, sustaining several casualties, and the acting platoon leader was killed. S/Sgt. Young unhesitatingly assumed command of the platoon and immediately began to organize and deploy his men into a defensive position in order to repel the attacking force. As a human wave attack advanced on S/Sgt. Young's platoon, he moved from position to position, encouraging and directing fire on the hostile insurgents while exposing himself to the hail of enemy bullets. After receiving orders to withdraw to a better defensive position, he remained behind to provide covering fire for the withdrawal. Observing that a small element of the point squad was unable to extract itself from its position, and completely disregarding his personal safety, S/Sgt. Young began moving toward their position, firing as he maneuvered. When halfway to their position he sustained a critical head injury, yet he continued his mission and ordered the element to withdraw. Remaining with the squad as it fought its way to the rear, he was twice seriously wounded in the arm and leg. Although his leg was badly shattered, S/Sgt. Young refused assistance that would have slowed the retreat of his comrades, and he ordered them to continue their withdrawal while he provided protective covering fire. With indomitable courage and heroic self-sacrifice, he continued his self-assigned mission until the enemy force engulfed his position. By his gallantry at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service, S/Sgt. Young has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 21, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
21 August
1918: For saving a downed US Navy pilot near an Austrian naval base at Pola, Ensign Charles H. Hammann became the first naval aviator to receive the Medal of Honor. (24)
1923: First airways lighting occurred when 18- and 36-inch electric arc beacons were used to light 42 landing fields on a route between Chicago and Cheyenne. They were visible for 50 miles. (24)
1943: First Los Angeles to New York airfreight service started. (24)
1944: The F8F Bearcat first flew. 1948: In his final report as CSAF, Gen Carl Spaatz disclosed the development of a supersonic guided atomic missile with a 5,000-mile range. (24)
1953: A Boeing P2B-1S (B-29 Superfortress) dropped the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket at 34,000 feet above Edwards AFB. From that altitude, Lt Col Marion E. Carl (USMC) flew the aircraft to 83,235 feet to set a world record. (20) (24)
1956: Flying an F8U-1 Crusader over California's Mojave Desert, Cmdr Robert W. Winslow (USN) set a speed record for US combat planes of 1,015.428 MPH. (24)
1957: Lt Cmdr James M. Pruitt flew his twin-jet A3D Skywarrior from Hawaii to California to set a FAI record of 4 hours 12 minutes for the 2,438-mile eastward transpacific flight. (9)
1961: A test pilot exceeded Mach 1 in the new Douglas DC-8 jet airliner during an experimental flight. (24) Construction on first Minuteman I (Model B) operational facilities began at Ellsworth AFB. (6)
1965: GEMINI V. Through 29 August, Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. and Charles Conrad, Jr. (USN) set eight records in the Gemini V mission: (1) longest flight--190 hours 55 minutes; (2) national man-hours in space--641 hours and 24 minutes; (3) longest multimanned flight--190 hours 55 minutes; (4) most orbits for manned flight--120; (5) most manned flights--9; (6) first man with a second flight--Cooper; (7) most flight time--Cooper; and (8) longest space flight-- Cooper and Conrad. The capsule splashed down 600 miles east of Jacksonville after a 3,309,506-mile flight. (9)
1967: With a special coating of heat resisting material and protective white paint, Maj William J. Knight flew the X-15 at 3,409 MPH (Mach 6.5) above Edwards AFB. It was the X-15's first flight with an ablative coating. (3)
1968: An Air Force UH-1F helicopter evacuated 260 people and 52,000 pounds of personal belongings and food during a 4-day period to aid flood victims in northeastern Nicaragua. (16) (26)
1970: An A-7D Corsair completed its first aerial refueling over Death Valley, Calif. A KC-97L tanker from the Illinois ANG provided the fuel. (3)
1972: Fourth and last Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO), named Copernicus, launched to observe interstellar gases, young hot stars, and X-ray stars and other phenomena. It was our costliest and heaviest unmanned satellite (4,900 pounds) to date.
1987: At Seattle, a Boeing 767 modified for the Strategic Defense Initiative Airborne Optical Adjunct mission, first flew. It carried a special infrared sensor built by the Hughes Aircraft Company.
1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD. In the first two weeks of the operation, the Air Force deployed six fighter wings to the area, while SAC increased refueling and reconnaissance flights over the region. (20)
1998: Maj. Michael J. Brill, a full-time air reserve technician with the 419 FW, 466 FS, at Hill AFB, became the first Air Force pilot to amass more than 4,000 total flying hours in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. According to Lockheed-Martin officials, more than 3,000 pilots have topped the 1,000- hour mark in an F-16; more than 400 pilots have surpassed 2,000 hours; and 21 have more than 3,000 hours. (AFNEWS, 26 Aug 98)
2002: The first Lockheed-Martin Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral to inaugurate a new type of launch missile. Under the USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program, the system used a standard booster and added supplemental boosters to handle various payloads. (21) An AFFTC F-22 launched a radar-guided AIM-120 missile over the Pacific Test Range while flying at Mach 1.2. This event was the first supersonic launch of an air-to-air missile for the new fighter. (3)
2003: The Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB received a Czech L-39 Albatross for a six-month trial of its flight capabilities. Warsaw Pact countries used the L-39 as a trainer and light-attack jet, and the USAF studied it as a partial replacement for its retired T-39 fleet. (3)
2007: The A-10C Thunderbolt II achieved its Initial Operational Capability at Moody AFB, Ga. The A-10C received modifications to install the "hands-on-throttle and stick," a situational awareness data link, and an ability to drop Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers. (AFNEWS, "A-10 Thunderbolt II Gets Technological Thumbs Up," 27 Aug 2007.)
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Thanks to Brett
Stratfor - The Weekly Rundown: Independence Day in Ukraine, Election Day in Angola KEY DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE TRACKING
Ukraine observes its independence day. Ukraine on Aug. 24 will mark its independence day, traditionally one of the country's most important national holidays. This year, the date will be a normal working day, and some formal celebrations including the annual military parade in Kyiv will not take place. Ukraine's military has expressed concerns that Russia could attempt massed missile strikes across Ukraine or on Kyiv using weapons it has been accumulating in Belarus. Ukraine's military meanwhile could attempt to strike deep behind Russian lines or in Russia to boost morale and provide further cause for celebration on the date. Internationally, Ukraine is seeking to organize demonstrations it is calling the Free World Gathering, calling on those who aspire to freedom globally to take to the streets and form human chains in solidarity with Ukraine, which will serve as a proxy indicator of public support for Ukraine abroad.
Angola holds a presidential election. President Joao Lourenco on Aug. 24 of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) will face off against Adalberto Costa Junior of the opposition National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The MPLA has dominated Angola for decades, but intensifying grievances ranging from poverty to police brutality to suppression of political dissent have fostered increased support for UNITA in recent years. Even so, the MPLA's long-standing dominance and willingness to use misinformation, political intimidation, press leaks, illegal voter registration and payouts to win means that Lourenco is very likely to secure a second term. If so, Lourenco would likely continue to foster a pro-business environment to facilitate continued investment in oil and gas projects.
Key eurozone economic data emerges. New economic data for the eurozone and some of its key economies to be released the week of Aug. 21 will give a sense of where the economy is headed in Europe for the rest of the summer. After the purchasing managers index for the eurozone dipped below 50 in July, indicating a contraction in economic activity, August PMIs will reveal how key European economies are coping with even more difficult operating conditions. More deterioration is expected amid inflation concerns, supply issues and macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on growth, particularly as industries struggle with ever higher energy prices and with a drought creating further supply bottlenecks in Central Europe and adding to production problems. Consumer confidence data will also be published for Germany, France, Italy and the eurozone as a whole, most likely revealing further subdued sentiment in August after an all-time low in July.
South Korea and the United States conduct military drills. South Korean and American forces on Aug. 22 will begin the so-called Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills in South Korea involving about 10,000 U.S. troops and up to 200,000 South Korean soldiers. These will be the first large-scale military drills on the peninsula since 2017, after which the Trump administration and then pandemic restrictions limited their scope. The drills will focus on defensive activities, such as missile response, field communications, drone maneuvers and counterdrone activities, and troop deployments, and will involve artillery, armor, aircraft and naval landing craft. North Korea will likely greet the exercises with bellicose rhetoric, and potentially with artillery, cruise missile or ballistic missile tests or launches, but this would not signal a prelude to war or invasion by North Korea.
MOST READ ANALYSIS FROM THE WEEK
A Wiretapping Scandal Rattles Greece's Government If an ongoing wiretapping scandal forces Greece's government to resign, the resulting political uncertainty would further deteriorate the country's economy by impeding the implementation of economic reforms and the disbursement of much-needed EU funds. On Aug. 16, Greek Justice Minister Kostas Tsiaras said his government wants a full investigation into illegal phone-hacking in Greece, including actions by previous governments, to assess the magnitude of the issue and decide a course of action. The scandal began in late July, when the leader of the center-left PASOK opposition party and a member of the European Parliament, Nikos Androulakis, denounced an attempted bugging of his mobile phone. Shortly thereafter, the director of Greece's National Intelligence Service (EYP), Panagiotis Kontoleon, reportedly told a parliamentary committee that the institution had spied on a journalist's phone. In early August, the Greek government led by the center-right New Democracy party admitted that the EYP had wiretapped Androulakis's phone, but Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was not aware of it. The scandal led to Kontoleon's resignation as well as that of Grigoris Dimitriadis, the general secretary of the prime minister's office.
Turkey Raises the Stakes in Northern Syria
For now, Turkey is conducting a restrained campaign to strike Kurdish militants in Syria. But cycles of retaliation between its troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) could spark a new, major Turkish invasion, which would complicate ties between Ankara and Moscow, push the SDF closer to Damascus and possibly end the SDF's alliance with the United States. On Aug. 16, local observers reported heavy fighting between SDF and Turkish forces near the northern Syrian city of Kobane, which lies in between two Turkish buffer zones and also hosts some Syrian government troops. Several Turkish drone strikes have also killed at least three SDF commanders in the past month. Meanwhile, the SDF has been striking Turkish forces both in Syria and Turkey itself, as the SDF attempts to deter further Turkish operations against the group.
The U.S. Resets Its Sights on the Moon, Kicking Off the Next Space Race
Through NASA's long-awaited Artemis program, the United States is seeking to secure its lead in the new space race, as a combination of technological advancements and the potential for lucrative natural resources on the moon and other planetary bodies draw more countries to venture beyond Earth's atmosphere -- with the United States' top geopolitical rivals, China and Russia, being chief among them. After many delays, the first major mission launch under NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program has been scheduled for Aug. 29, with Sept. 2 and Sept. 5 as the backup launch windows. The unmanned Artemis I mission will test the performance of the U.S. agency's new Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft in the hopes of certifying their use for future crewed missions.
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