Tag: military

Why Didn’t Early Modern Armies Always Dig In?

Posted on by Lone Candle

Early modern armies knew about trenches and fortifications and used them often, but these wars didn’t turn into WWI style trench wars because trenching takes a lot of labor and locks in positions that the enemy can just go around. There were fewer scenarios where you could know that the enemy would attack you in a particular position, so building a trench would just get you avoided. Part of warfare is maneuvering around and trying to start a battle when you have the advantage, but if you want to engage the enemy, they wouldn’t fight you if you are entrenched in too strong a position, unless they had to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfxcgJsEWY0

‘The damage has been done’: As Trump claims victory on Greenland, Europe loses trust

Posted on by Lone Candle

“In an interview with Fox Business, he said, “We’re getting everything we wanted — total security, total access to everything.”
Yet all of that was available to Trump from the start, without the drama that sent the NATO alliance barreling toward an internal crisis, a Danish official told NBC News on Thursday.

The only nonnegotiable point for Denmark was that Greenland shouldn’t be absorbed by the U.S., the person added.

“We can discuss increased military presence and more troops. You name it, basically, you can have it” under existing treaties, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

…

his Greenland gambit clawed away some of the trust that underpins a successful alliance, said diplomats, government officials and foreign policy experts.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/damage-done-trump-claims-victory-012236295.html

Did Delta Force using a secret SONIC WEAPON in the Maduro raid?

Posted on by Lone Candle

The claims that the US used a new secret sound weapon in Venezuela are not well sourced. It’s not clear if any actual Venezuelan guards made these claims. If they did, it’s possible they are making it up. Or, if they did, it’s possible they were hit by flashbangs, buzzing drones, and breaching explosions and just thought they were being hit by some new, hightech weapon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elt2Zi4ENk4

The ‘Law Enforcement’ Rationale for Invading Venezuela Is an Open-Ended License for War

Posted on by Lone Candle

“The “law enforcement” rationale for Saturday’s attack on Venezuela is nevertheless both implausible and troubling. It offers an open-ended license for any president who wants to excise Congress from decisions about the use of military force, accelerating a trend that threatens to nullify its constitutional war powers.

…

A superseding indictment that the Justice Department recently unsealed, which updates an indictment that the first Trump administration obtained in 2020, charges Maduro and several other Venezuelan officials with conspiracies involving narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, and machine gun possession. But Trump’s commitment to holding foreign leaders accountable for drug trafficking is open to question.

Just a month before invading Venezuela to serve justice on Maduro, Trump granted a “full and complete pardon” to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of similar charges in March 2024. Thanks to that act of clemency, Hernández served just 18 months of his 45-year sentence.

…

According to the Trump administration, the president has unbridled authority to decide when such extreme measures are appropriate. Since “this was a law enforcement operation” rather than “military strikes for military purposes,” Rubio told The Washington Post, the administration did not need to notify Congress, let alone consult with legislators or seek permission.

A president who wants to attack another country, in other words, does not need an imminent threat, a declaration of war, or even an authorization for the use of military force. All he needs is an indictment, which is convenient because grand juries almost always approve charges recommended by federal prosecutors.

…

We cannot blame Trump for coming up with this excuse, which President George H.W. Bush deployed against Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega without legal trouble or any serious political repercussions. Nor can we blame Trump for the legislative branch’s abdication of its responsibilities.”

https://reason.com/2026/01/07/the-law-enforcement-rationale-for-invading-venezuela-is-an-open-ended-license-for-war/

The U.S. Operation in Venezuela – Maduro’s Capture & what next for Venezuela?

Posted on by Lone Candle

The attack on Venezuela seems to have used a cyber attack to take out the city’s electricity and over 150 aircraft. The US suppressed Venezuelan anti-air capability by suppressing and destroying them. Many military targets were struck, most by relatively small and targeted weapons, and most anti-air assets. There wasn’t an attempt to more broadly destroy Venezuela’s military capabilities. The US may have used new one-way attack drones that are cheaper than missiles.

This US operation represents what is possible, but also required luck. Shoulder fired anti-air rockets were launched, and one helicopter was hit in the leg three time and still managed to land the helicopter on the attack. If those hits hit the helicopter or person a little differently, the operation may have gone differently. The US may have had to send more waves, giving Venezuela more time to respond. Success was not inevitable.

The Maduro regime is not gone. The US took the leader, but the rest of the regime stayed in place.

The attack was not authorized by Congress, and therefore unconstitutional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APmgHMDOObk

Venezuela strike marks a turning point for US cyber warfare

Posted on by Lone Candle

“Internet tracking group NetBlocks reported a loss of internet connectivity in Caracas that occurred around the same time as power cuts in the country. Venezuela’s electric energy ministry said Monday that power cuts in some areas of the country were due to U.S. attacks.

Chinese-made radar systems and Russian-made air defense systems were also reportedly disrupted during the strikes, hampering the Venezuelan government’s ability to effectively respond.

In a statement, a Space Command spokesperson declined to comment on details of its operations, but noted that “space-based capabilities such as Positioning, Navigation and Timing and satellite communications are foundational to all modern military activities,” and that “U.S. Space Command possesses the means and willingness to employ combat-credible capabilities that deter and counter our opponents.”

These efforts point to a more aggressive use of U.S. military technology and cyber expertise in foreign operations — a shift that the administration has repeatedly touted since Trump’s first term. In 2018, a classified national security policy memorandum was signed, expanding the Pentagon’s authorities to conduct offensive cyber strikes. This policy was later refined under the Biden administration.

Joshua Steinman, who served as senior director for cyber on the National Security Council under the first Trump administration, said that the Venezuela strikes demonstrate that the U.S. “is finally in a place where we can use cyber as a tool of national power.””

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/07/venezuela-us-cyber-warfare-00713507