George H. Wittman: Writer on Current and Foreign Affairs

The request (order?) to travel back to the Congo (renamed Zaire) came from an unexpectedly high echelon in Washington. It was set forth in simple terms but there was no doubt as to its political importance. The son of the chairman of the South African Stock Exchange had left his post as an officer in the elite British cavalry regiment, The Blues, to join the mercenaries battling against the Soviet-backed African rebels in the eastern Congo. Technically, Gary Wilton had not resigned his commission in one of the two regiments that comprise the Queen's Household Calvary, but nonetheless had taken an “extended leave” without authorization. To make this long story shorter let's just say this action had created possible international implications as well as considerable family distress. Enter an experienced American government professional who had “worked” Africa quietly for some years and was thought to be able to handle this diplomatically embarrassing affair. At the very least h...

The ASEAN Post is dedicated to covering all matters concerning the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Recently this journal has been focused diligently on Chinese claims in the South China Sea. The fact is that the nations of that region have all been publicly drawing attention to the subject. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has vigorously pursued its ambition to control that entire waterway, and thus the region. Small and large islands in this oceanic region are targets for development by the Chinese in total disregard of the impact on historical interests and understandings of many regional countries. These include among others, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and even Cambodia. Obviously, regional Western powers such as Australia, New Zealand, and even Great Britain with its traditional activity in that area are involved. Of course, the United States has maintained an economic and political interest and presence in that region since World War II. The truth is that ...

In the middle of this October Iran will regain the legal right to rebuild their conventional weapon capability under terms of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) first agreed upon by the Obama Administration and subsequently rescinded by the Trump Administration. Nonetheless, the other members of the agreement still recognize the original terms. This means that the Tehran government will be enabled to use a broad array of non-nuclear weapons to coerce, control or even invade neighboring countries. The term “conventional” can be interpreted to include ordnance and support elements of considerable capability, just so that it is not nuclear related. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo stated on Fox News recently that the United States could “handle” this new situation. Unfortunately, he didn't expand on that statement. Effectively, the entire issue is operationally tied to Iran's ability to make deals – usually financial. Iran never has had a problem with arranging ...

There has been a great deal of discussion about how one or another major international figure, and other relatively minor ones, are “in the pocket” of this or that political entity. The fact is that all major governments have at their disposal organizations and individuals who specialize in these forms of deception often referred to as “disinformation”. In brief, this activity is simply a way to disseminate propaganda and sometimes even tactically false information for operational purposes. The entire activity has been a staple of rival governmental activity since the earliest of times. Essentially, this political weapon is based on human frailties that are then exploited by the opposing group. The alternatives are endless. It's both an offensive and defensive weapon. We have seen it used recently in the case of the coronavirus where many in the international community placed blame on the Chinese government seeking to embarrass Beijing. To protect themselves, the PRC respond...

The pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has exposed the shortcomings of numerous countries, but the profoundly communist Peoples Republic of China seems to have been caught up in its own political insecurity. As usual, the vastly over organized political structure of the PRC resulted in an initial effort to disclaim any role in the evolution of the new virus emanating from the city of Wuhan. At the same time worldwide, similar confused political elements sought to avoid placing blame for the siting of the virus on China - or at least quickly condemning those who did. The fact that it had been recognized in the first week or two of January – or even before that by American and other intelligence services that a new and serious epidemic had hit the city of Wuhan was kept from the public for well over a month in many cases and more in others. It appears that even Beijing's leadership were unaware of what their local security service had been reporting after they learned o...

The West reacted predictably when Vladimir Putin announced he would stay in office after his current term was over. Of course, this was greeted with claims of “dictatorship” outside of Russia. These claims may be justified on the face but are not very insightful. To begin with, it is important to recognize that Putin's background, parentage and upbringing have been carefully confused in official rewriting. There are few facts that seem consistent. It seems fairly sure that his father was a mechanic, but he was raised by his grandparents in most reports. Who his mother was is disputed in several accounts, though there now seems to be agreement on Maria Ivanova Putin (family name: Shelonova). None of this seem to matter very much except that he came from a 'working class” family. What is important is the general agreement that Putka, as he was called in his early years, seemed to be fascinated by the organization of the secret police, the NKVD, as it was then called. It has...

Israel is supposed to be a staunch ally of the United States and in many ways it is. However, the American public in general knows little about Israel and certainly nothing about its internal politics. This doesn't matter very much because the only thing of importance to Americans is that they believe Israel will provide military-related assistance, if and when necessary, to the U.S. in the Middle East. That is the ultra-simplified way to consider U.S./Israel relations, but still essentially accurate. While the American public is largely ignorant of Israeli political matters, it is always a bit surprised when the news media bring up situations that reflect serious divisions within this determinedly friendly state. The truth is that the non-Jewish American public seem to be unaware that Israel has had any other prime minister that wasn't Bibi Netanyahu. Maybe there is a glimmer of remembrance of the others, but Bibi is just about the only one they can recall. This may be a...

While this space usually does not concern itself with domestic matters, there are persistent reports coming out in the media involving serious claims of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. That any foreign intelligence service worried about the outcome of presidential politics would want to monitor the situation is obvious. To take that interest further in an operational sense is difficult and dangerous. To begin with, there is a vast difference in gathering information for intelligence use and the ability and desire to exploit that information for the sponsoring country's advantage. This operational difference in covert intelligence gathering and covert action-taking is the basic division in any nation's intelligence capability. Major countries, such as Russia, have the ability in some instances to meld both activities. However, from a professional standpoint, operations in the area of covert influence are far more difficult and potentially counterpro...

In Africa there are very few people who speak of the continent as a singular place. The people of Africa joined and separated into hundreds if not thousands of various groupings well know they live in given countries in a large continent. But the truth is that their underlying loyalties are to family and tribe and that is how an ordinary African think of himself / herself. They may be Ghanaian, Nigerian, Sudanese, Congolese, etc. - and they do identify themselves as such when abroad, in their homeland they first think of themselves as tribal and sub-tribal members. Their loyalties begin with their extended family identity. Westerners who have lived among these people for the most part recognize them in that manner. Among Kenyans Barack Obama was viewed through his father's identity as a Luo. That he was the American President did not change his tribal identity in their minds. Those outsiders passing through - and this includes official observers and even journalists – tend to see ...

It is rather easy to condemn U.S. foreign policy in the last three years as at best an exercise in incompetence or perhaps a complete failure, as anti-Trump commentators seem to prefer. Sometimes the complaints grow so strident one wonders what else is going on. The problem in countering these claims is particularly difficult, for they tend to be seeking a way to turn everything into a Cassandra-type catastrophe. In the end, the result is to make even reasonable observations lean toward the absurd.            There are many legitimate examples of seemingly wrong-headed U.S. foreign policy decisions. That can occur in any situation. Perhaps one of the easiest to condemn is the recently ballyhooed “deal of the century” aimed at creating a final solution to the long-running Israel/Palestine conflict. The “deal” itself contained concepts that only historical change could bring about. That was obvious. Yet it did establish a bare bones ...

Expectation of Iran developing a nuclear weapon was perceived as diminished after Tehran decided not to launch a full-scale attack on U.S. forces in Iraq and elsewhere after the successful America drone attack on General Soleimani. Certainly, that was the consensus of Western news coverage. This view was quickly changed when the Ayatollah-led Iranian leadership stated that Iran's nuclear program would have no limitations in production. In fact, President Rouhani went further by announcing their nuclear fuel production had progressed apace and now was greater than before the joint accord of 2015. To the surprise of many the technical reaction to the high-level Iranian statement was hardly what one would have considered excited. In fact, the story quickly circulated that the Iranians actually already could build nuclear capable missiles if they desired! This position is based on the fact that Tehran already has a medium to long range missile capacity and the technological abili...

Apparently, many Americans believe that wars are and should be fought along certain rules of chivalry. What a shock it has been to find the U.S.   military capable of a dastardly attack on an individual who repeatedly had planned operations that killed and maimed American civilian and uniformed personnel along with many others. The fact that this person held a high rank in his own country's elite force seems to be expected to give him protected status. The entire concept is absurd, and it certainly was not the reason why two previous presidential administrations chose not to close down the activities of this dangerous and unscrupulous killer. Then there is the argument that this man was considered such a high official that killing him would be considered a war crime. This too would be a fanciful notion. Without a doubt past historical figures of dastardly repute were always deemed legitimate targets. The list would go on at great length. To accept the concept of “too high ran...

What would you do if you were Kim Jong Un? To begin with, you would be worrying that your always aggressive-minded military leaders were getting nervous over Beijing seeming to weaken in their dealings with the United States. Of course, some would say the Chinese really haven't given up much militarily in exchange for some strictly economic deals. Unfortunately for Kim, that sort of logic doesn't go very far with DPRK defense types who still believe the best defense is the threat of a growing offensive capability. This mentality is underpinned by these same NK generals having a long record of offensive actions - both overt and covert. Kim cannot be overly sympathetic to Donald Trump's current involvement in reelection politics. It has been well explained to the North Korean leader that the U.S. president is constrained during the forthcoming year in what he can offer in exchange for limited DPRK reductions/promises in advanced weapon development – and that is clearly ...

The question implicit in the demand that China has made regarding American involvement with the Hong Kong demonstrators is whether or not Beijing is really willing to forego a substantial trade deal with Washington. Unless the PRC leadership is willing to sacrifice their much-desired trade relationship with the United States, they must not continue with their threats. To deny the American Navy access to Hong Kong's port facilities may seem to be a strong action, but in reality, it's not – although the loss of shore leave for American sailors may be a hardship. As convenient as Hong Kong may be in technical naval support terms, the truth is that other ports can fill in quite well, even if the entertainment is less attractive. Of course, the entire issue of gaining full political control of HK may be deemed so important that Beijing could choose to “cut off its nose to spite its face”. The fact is that the agreement to leave Hong Kong to control its own administration f...

Controversy has grown over President Trump's pardons, commutations and restoration of rank to several outstanding servicemen, veterans of special operations. Each case was different, but each shared the opprobrium heaped on them for acts deemed “un-American”. A more absurd statement cannot be imagined.       The basic problem is the lack of understanding of some observers of the nature of combat required against rabid, unconventional and often radical Islamist terrorist partisans. The well recognized Western rules of warfare as applicable to conventional wars just do not apply. The question i s who the best individuals are to fight this complicated and often bloody war in which the anti-Western carry no hesitancies in their attempts to destroy those who do not follow their fanatical path. The men (and some women) who are chosen and trained to fight these unique enemies must have special characteristics to engage in these special operations.   ...