Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Hi, everyone, Peter Zion here coming to you from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which I don’t know if you guys have been here before. But it used to be not so much the place where Hope went to die, but went to get tortured for all eternity with adult penknife. And now, it’s not just glorious, it’s functional. And that’s just fantastic. This merging of the old and new, I thought it would be a good backdrop to talk about one of the more recent developments in the Ukraine war, we are looking at in the next few weeks, the Americans starting to provide a different technology to the Ukrainians, specifically J dams or joint direct attack munitions. If you remember back, and you know, for anyone who’s under age 45, this is going to be nothing. But if you remember back to the first Gulf War, we saw a lot of footage in American propaganda of direct strikes on Iraqi military targets, basically live footage that for the first time showed the US military from the bombs point of view. And it was impressive, and it was fun to watch. But we found out after the war, that it’s not that it was staged, but we were only seeing the best on average, it took 24 attacks, to destroy each piece of infrastructure, because these were dumb bombs. And so it was the tomahawks that kind of stole the show because they could maneuver. Well, in the aftermath, United States created the JDM products. And I’m oversimplifying here, but you basically put a bunch of fins, and a GPS transceiver on the bomb, and use the satellite network to provide the location information. And once you do that, you can hit within a few feet of what you’re aiming at. And the JDM kits are very cheap. They’re only about $25,000 a pop, and you can take anything in your arsenal, that’s a dumb bomb, basically planted on it, and then you know, go to town. No, normally, this wouldn’t make a big difference. Because the Ukrainians are wildly outnumbered in terms of airpower, the Russians just have so many more fighters and fighter bombers. But in the environment that we’re moving into where the Russians have been targeting civilian infrastructure, everyone in Europe has decided that now is the time to provide the Ukrainians with as much air defense as they can operate. And in that sort of environment, all of a sudden, Russian jets are largely banned from Ukrainian airspace, without NATO providing any fighter jets at all. In that sort of environment, the Ukrainians now can actually fly offensive air attack missions rather than purely defensive. And that means they can get in range of Russian targets, not just in Ukraine proper, but in Russia itself. And now they can hit them with pinpoint accuracy. So this is one of those technologies that when we get past mud season into next May, is going to prove crucial. Because all of a sudden, you’ve got a country with unrestricted air access, who can target whatever they want, anywhere within range of all of the technologies that come into play, whether it’s javelins, or hammers, or whatever else this is now but one that could actually change the tactical and strategic picture in every place that the Ukrainians choose to operate. So things to look for. Oh, wow. There’s a petting zoo down here. All right, I gotta go Y’all take care. Bye. Bye.
-
Can other nations replicate success of US shale revolution?
The “shale revolution” has provided the United States with a bountiful domestic supply of oil. But extracting oil from shale is a highly technical process, and it is also dependent on specific geological formations. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan tackles the question of whether or not other nations might be able to replicate the…
-
Peace between Israel and Iran, at least for now
A series of recent airstrikes between Israel and Iran inflamed fears of a wider regional war erupting in the Middle East. That concern now seems to have paid off, after third-party countries around the world successfully intervened and talked down military hardliners in both Israel and Iran in order to avoid such an outcome. Israel’s…
-
Global internet in a precarious state, but that could be a positive
Over 500 underwater cables span over 870,000 miles worldwide, serving as the foundation of the modern global internet. Despite their critical role in facilitating communication, these cables often go unnoticed, even as the amount of data transmitted through them has surged. So what happens if the cables fail? Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan contends…
-
Water wars are an unlikely future
Foreign policy writers have long warned of the possibility that clean drinking water might become “the next oil” — that is, that major wars might be fought around the globe over access to potable water. With expanding populations and finite water supplies, these critics argue that humans will inevitably fight each other to secure drinking…
-
Are Russia’s hypersonic missiles too good to be true?
Russia has reportedly used five of its new hypersonic Zircon missiles to target Kyiv since the beginning of 2024. Russia claims that these sea-based missiles, boasting a range of 625 miles and capable of traveling at nine times the speed of sound, are part of its family of “superweapons” aimed at penetrating the U.S. missile…
Latest Stories
-
Supreme Court justices split over Idaho’s abortion law
-
Businesses sue over FTC ban on noncompetes
-
National Enquirer ex-publisher: Tabloid made up stories to help Trump
-
Bird flu fallout: USDA says milk is safe, states must test dairy herds
-
Biden administration cracks down on flight refunds and hidden fees
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
Latest Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum. We hope these different voices will help you reach your own conclusions.
The opinions published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Latest Commentary
We know it is important to hear from a diverse range of observers on the complex topics we face and believe our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions.
The commentaries published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Peter Zeihan
Geopolitical StrategistPeace between Israel and Iran, at least for now
Global internet in a precarious state, but that could be a positive
Water wars are an unlikely future
Dr. Frank Luntz
Pollster and Political Analyst‘Take the job seriously’: Why Americans are fed up with Congress
‘If we can shrink it, it will stop growing’: Americans talk debt, deficit
‘I don’t think they care’: Undecided voters explain their reasons
Pete Ricketts
U.S. Senator for Nebraska