Hoplite Group

#USMC - Exclusive - from Voice of America Top US Marine says 'crisis' with amphibious ships causing coverage gaps: A shortage of amphibious warfare ships for commanders across the globe has reached a breaking point, with defense officials warning VOA the crisis has triggered a monthslong drought in critical firepower from sea-based Marines. “I have the Marines, and I have the squadrons, and I have the battalions and the batteries … I just don’t have the amphibs,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told VOA in an exclusive interview. While the amphibious warfare ships, known as amphibs, make up just 10% of the fleet, they are the go-to alternative to aircraft carriers when commanders need something more precise or expedient. They also are the only ships made for the Marine Corps’ rapid reaction forces, known as Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), to get equipment and troops from sea to shore during an assault. “Amphibs are vital to us. They are an existential part of who we are as Marines,” Smith said. Once deployed, these units of about 2,000 Marines and sailors are the military’s Swiss Army Knife, providing everything from strike power with F-35 fighter jets, to support in non-combatant evacuation operations and disaster relief, like when the 15th MEU rushed humanitarian aid to the Philippines after deadly floods and landslides last October. It takes three amphibs – one big-deck amphib and two smaller ones – to make an Amphibious Ready Group that transports the Marines, a unit often referred to as an ARG/MEU. Smith says the military needs three of these 3-ship units deployed abroad at all times –one from the East Coast, one from the West Coast, and one from Japan – a plan known as 3.0. “The INDOPACOM Commander, the EUCOM Commander, the AFRICOM commander have all called for an ARG/MEU, so 3.0 is the requirement.” However, Smith tells VOA he cannot achieve this requirement with the number of amphibs that are ready today. Shelby Oakley with the Government Accountability Office authored a?GAO report?in December that showed half of the 32 amphibs in the fleet are in poor material condition. “You're running these ships to ground, not taking care of them,” she told VOA. “This is kind of equivalent to just driving your car and never changing the oil and expecting it to last 15 years. … Key systems aren’t functioning the way they are supposed to,” Oakley said. In 2022, Congress mandated the Navy keep a minimum of 31 amphibs in its fleet after the service had tried to divest six of these poorly maintained ships in their fiscal year 2023 budget plan. The Marine Corps had said a minimum of 31 amphibs would be enough to complete their missions, so long as the fleet’s readiness rate remained at 80% or higher. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/ej6MqCHW

#Greece / #Crete #Cyprus power linkup going nowhere - from Kathimerini English Edition: The Crete-Cyprus electrical interconnection project is at zero point. The ships that had been chartered to conduct surveys have returned to their bases in other countries. The Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), which had undertaken the project, has suspended payments to French company Nexans, which had undertaken the construction and laying of the cable. Only Nexans is still publicly insisting the project will be carried out and it will be paid the money it agreed with ADMIE. The French company has its reasons, as it may miss out on €1.4 billion euros, and last week its shares dropped 5.3%. All other parties involved are maintaining radio silence: The Energy Ministry refers to the Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Ministry to the Energy Ministry, and ADMIE to both ministries. At this point, silence seems to be a safe option. A few weeks ago, some leaked that Athens had decided to send survey ships out for research beyond the 6 sea miles. They probably believed they would have the support of the US, Israel and France, who want the project. In the meantime, circumstances have changed. Donald Trump is unpredictable and Emmanuel Macron has other priorities: European defense and Ukraine, while seeing Turkey’s involvement in both rather positively. AMIE, which as the project implementer has so far paid around €200 million to Nexans, on February 28 had to pay another installment of around €70 million and after consultation with the political leadership of the Energy Ministry proceeded with a temporary freezing of payments. The decision was made with the consent of Nexans, which would not want to see the project sink and lose a contract worth €1.4 billion. Greece seems to have downplayed the geopolitical factor when, last September, in order to remove Cyprus’ reservations, it assumed additional commitments, transferring additional burdens to the country’s taxpayers. Six months later and while Nexans’ research ships had been expected to enter international waters since mid-October, it is back to zero, without any visibility. https://lnkd.in/eGEM-dtD

What To Know As US-Ukraine Officials Meet In Saudi Arabia - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Senior Ukrainian and US officials have begun a high-stakes meeting in Saudi Arabia, discussing how to end Russia's war against Ukraine amid recent tensions between Kyiv and Washington and intensifying fighting on the battlefield. Ukrainian delegation leader Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said that "protection of Ukrainian interests" and "a clear vision of ending the war" were on Kyiv's agenda for the one-day talks in Jeddah on March 11. "A cease-fire in the three-year war the Russian Federation has waged on my country has never seemed closer," Yermak wrote in?an op-ed published in the Guardian newspaper?on day of the meeting. "A cease-fire in Ukraine will not come through diplomatic gestures alone," he added. "This includes putting political and financial pressure on Russia to raise the cost of renewed conflict." The talks come 11 days after a contentious White House meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump that inflamed relations between the two countries following Trump’s refusal to include any security guarantees in a potential deal for joint development of Ukrainian rare minerals and other resources. In the aftermath, Washington paused military aid to Ukraine and restricted intelligence sharing on the battlefield. Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told RFE/RL that the meeting should be seen as a "first step towards improving relations between the new Trump administration and Ukraine" and a "direct meeting" between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. "I expect that we will hear from our American friends whether there is any strategy from Trump regarding Ukraine, regarding how to stop Russian aggression," he said. "Because the latest statements of President Trump, they raise a lot of questions." John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said that restoring intelligence cooperation should be seen as a positive result for Kyiv. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is chairing the US negotiating team, said the talks would be focused around understanding what Ukraine would be prepared to concede in a peace deal and reiterated that Ukraine would have to make concessions over territory that Russia currently occupies as part of any agreement to end the war. “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” Rubio told reporters on March 10 as he flew to Jeddah. “If it's lifted after the talks, that’s a good thing,” Herbst told RFE/RL. “If it's not lifted, that's a sign that the Trump policy of pressuring Ukraine will continue.” Story continues: https://lnkd.in/eZxaebmW

#Lebanon - 95 coffins, countless wounds: Lebanon grapples with Hezbollah’s ‘victory’ over Israel - Thousands of mourners gather for the return of 95 coffins to the village of Aitroun in Lebanon. The dead were villagers killed or who died during the war between #Hezbollah and #Israel last year. They had been buried elsewhere while Aitaroun remained in Israeli hands. from Los Angeles Times: Summary: - Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered in a Lebanese village for a mass burial of those who died during the war with Israel. - The militant group frames its latest conflict with Israel as a victory, but for many Lebanese it looks very much like defeat. - Trucks bearing 95 coffins were swarmed by villagers, many desperate to touch a loved one’s casket. The procession of coffins was heard long before it came into view, a chorus of ambulance sirens drowning out the crowd assembled at the main square of this devastated village. “Arise, Aitaroun! This is the time of martyrs, and blood, and victory,” said an announcer, as four flatbed trucks rumbled to the square bearing 95 coffins. The dead were villagers killed or who died during the war between the militant group Hezbollah and Israel last year. They had been buried elsewhere while Aitaroun remained in Israeli hands. The Israeli withdrawal early last month spurred what amounted to a homecoming, first for Aitaroun’s living, who returned in the thousands the morning soldiers left; and now, on this Friday in February, its dead. In its myth-making and propaganda, Hezbollah portrays the?war as a victory, a greater and more significant triumph than when it repulsed the Israeli military during the last major engagement between the two sides in 2006. But the militant group now has to contend with an aftermath that for many Lebanese, including some Hezbollah partisans, looks very much like defeat. Thousands of its fighters and supporters are dead, the upper echelons of its leadership decimated. Wide swaths of pro-Hezbollah areas are all but flattened; almost 100,000 people remain displaced and Israeli forces still occupy parts of Lebanon. Hezbollah’s opponents are intent on defanging the Iran-backed group once considered one of the world’s top paramilitary factions and Lebanon’s most powerful political party. More than three months after a?cease-fire with Israel, Hezbollah’s performance in the war, its role in Lebanon’s future and its position as the vanguard of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” remain a matter of bitter debate. Yet despite being at its weakest in years, Hezbollah retains a loyal following, a reality that appeared in full force with the thousands that descended on Aitaroun for the mass reburial ceremony. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/ew9UwarD

#Ukraine / #Russia / #Drones - War Update - Two killed in biggest ever Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, after days of large-scale attacks against Ukraine - from Reuters News Agency: Ukraine on Tuesday launched its biggest ever drone attack on Moscow, killing at least two workers at a meat warehouse, injuring 18 others and causing a short shutdown at the Russian capital's four airports, Russian officials said. A total of 337 drones were downed over Russia, including 91 over Moscow region and 126 over Kursk region where Ukrainian forces have been?pulling back, the defence ministry said. The dawn attack unfurled as U.S. officials were to meet a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia to seek an end of the?three-year-war?and as Russian forces try to encircle thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the western?Russian region of Kursk. Kyiv has suffered?repeated mass strikes?from Russia throughout the war and said it was targeted by a ballistic missile and?126 drones on Tuesday. It has tried to hit back against its vastly bigger neighbour with repeated drone raids on oil refineries, airfields and even early-warning radar stations. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Tuesday's was the biggest Ukrainian drone attack on the city, which along with the surrounding region has a population of at least 21 million and is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe. A senior Russian lawmaker suggested Russia should retaliate for Tuesday's raid by striking Ukraine with the?"Oreshnik" hypersonic missile?which Moscow fired on Ukraine last November after the U.S. and UK allowed Kyiv to strike deeper into Russia with Western missiles. Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov, head of parliament's defence committee and a former deputy defence minister, said such a decision was up to President Vladimir Putin. "But I think it would be useful - and not just one," he said. Miratorg, one of Russia's biggest meat producers, said two employees were killed by falling debris. Another 18 people were injured, including three children, as residences were also struck, Russian officials said. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/eAPe5Qym

#Taiwan / #China / #BargainingChips - Taiwan Shows US Allies How To Win Over Trump - Newsweek: Taiwan showed this month that it was possible to emerge from negotiations with?Donald Trump?with a win-win deal, after the high-profile breakdown of Trump's recent meeting with Ukraine's?Volodymyr Zelensky?demonstrated the perils of defying the U.S. president. Last week, Trump announced?an additional $100 billion investment?in the U.S. semiconductor industry by Taiwan's TSMC, the leading chipmaker whose output holds the key to sustaining America's status as an economic, technological and military superpower. Trump has criticized Taiwan in the past for what he called the theft of America's chipmaking industry, and said Taiwan still holds a "monopoly" over the fabrication of semiconductors, the brainpower behind emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. "Without the semiconductors, there is no economy," Trump said while introducing C.C. Wei, TSMC's chairman and CEO, at the White House. "This is a tremendous move by the most powerful company in the world." "It's a matter of economic security. It's also a matter of national security for us," he said. "At the same time, Mr. Wei will be able to diversify and have his tremendous presence in another place and a very safe place." Liang-chih Evans Chen, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research think tank in Taipei, said: "Taiwan is much more active than Ukraine in increasing its relations and linkages to the U.S., so increasing arm sales from the U.S. and expanding bilateral trade, especially investment in the U.S., are two keys. And those fit?Trump's preferences." In Taiwan, where the threat of?a Chinese takeover?is rarely absent from public debate, the news was met with uncertainty about the island's own staying power as a high-tech economy, and renewed doubts about whether the United States remains a committed security guarantor amid shifting priorities in Washington. TSMC's moves at home and abroad have long had the backing and tacit encouragement of the pro-American government in Taipei, so it was no surprise when, less than 48 hours later,?Taiwan?President Lai Ching-te stood alongside Wei to address concerns about the United States, Trump and TSMC, whose stock prices wobbled slightly in the aftermath. Lai said his government was not pressured by the Unites States, while Wei said the expanded commitment abroad "will not affect investment in Taiwan." The Taiwanese government has sometimes caught flak for going out of its way to secure resources for TSMC's processes—water and electricity—and is now helping the company find new plots of land to expand its foundry empire, often seen by some as a "silicon shield." Story continues: https://lnkd.in/ehxFetZ2

#Philippines / #ICC - Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Ex-President, Is Arrested on International Criminal Court Warrant related to deadly anti-drug crackdown while in power - from The New York Times: Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was arrested on Tuesday in Manila, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity in his war on drugs in which, human rights groups say, tens of thousands of Filipinos were summarily executed. He was taken into custody at Manila’s main airport after returning from a trip to Hong Kong, according to the Philippine government. Mr. Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, said the arrest was unlawful, partly because the Philippines withdrew from the court while Mr. Duterte was in office. In the I.C.C. warrant, a three-judge panel wrote that, based on evidence presented by the court’s prosecutor, it believed that killings ordered by Mr. Duterte as mayor of the city of Davao and later as president were “both widespread and systematic.” The panel also said it believed that “Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity of murder.” The New York Times obtained a copy of the warrant, which was sealed and labeled “secret.” Story continues here: https://lnkd.in/d6hU8BM6

#Syria / #SDF - Syria’s government signs a breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities in the northeast - The Associated Press Syria’s interim government signed a deal Monday with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main U.S.-backed force there into the Syrian army. The deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government, which is led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that led the ouster of President Bashar Assad in December. The deal was signed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and?Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control.?Prisons?where about 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group are also expected to come under government control. Syria’s Kurds?will gain their “constitutional rights” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades under Assad. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement. The deal also says all Syrians will be part of the political process, no matter their religion or ethnicity. Syria’s new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the?Druze in southern Syria. Earlier on Monday, Syria’s government announced the end of the?military operation against insurgents?loyal to Assad and his family in the?worst fighting?since the end of the civil war. The Defense Ministry’s announcement came after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday spiraled into widespread clashes across Syria’s coastal region. The Assad family are Alawites. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/eRgunA_d

#Syria - SDF Commander General Mazloum Abdi signs a deal with Syrian President Al-Sharaa to incorporate Kurdish autonomous region into the central state. Developing story, from multiple outlets - Developing Story!!

#Ukraine - War Update - #BREAKINGNEWS - Secretary of State Marco Rubio Gives Update on Ukraine Weapons, Intelligence Ban, from Newsweek and others: The U.S. pause on sending weapons to Ukraine and its ban on intelligence-sharing could be lifted as soon as Tuesday—provided that critical talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia are successful, Secretary of State?Marco Rubio?said. Developing story... https://lnkd.in/epKg-cJP