Headline News 14/10/2016

Headlines:

• Francois Hollande: France Has a Problem with Islam
• Future War with Russia or China would be Extremely Lethal and Fast: US Generals Warn
• Turkey Expresses Solidarity with Pakistan on Kashmir

Details:

Francois Hollande: France Has a Problem with Islam

The French president, François Hollande, has said his country has “a problem with Islam” and that there are too many illegal migrants arriving in France. He also suggested that today’s “veiled woman” could become a Marianne, the female symbol of the French republic, and attacked his rival Nicolas Sarkozy as “the little De Gaulle”. The controversial remarks are published in a 660-page book, A President Should Not Say That: Secrets of Five Years in Office. It was his comments on Islam that could prove the most controversial. The book quotes Hollande saying: “It’s true there is a problem with Islam … and nobody doubts that. There’s a problem with Islam because Islam demands places (of worship), recognition. It’s not that Islam is a problem because it’s a religion that is in itself dangerous but because it wants to assert itself as a religion on the Republic. What might also be a problem is if Muslims don’t criticise acts of radicalisation, if imams behave in an anti-republican way.” He added: “The veiled woman of today will be the Marianne of tomorrow … because, in a certain way, if we offer her the right conditions to blossom she will liberate herself from her veil and become a French woman, while remaining a believer if she wishes, capable of carrying with her an ideal ... Ultimately, what are we betting on? That she will prefer freedom to subservience. Perhaps the veil is a kind of protection for her, but that tomorrow she will not need it in order to be reassured of her presence in society.” [Source: The Guardian]

Hollande’s comments do not come as a surprise. The real surprise is that Hollande did not declare the obvious—France is at war with Islam both at home and abroad.

Future War with Russia or China would be Extremely Lethal and Fast: US Generals Warn

Any future war with Russia or China would be "extremely lethal and fast" and produce violence on the scale not seen for 60 years, according to US generals. Artificial intelligence and automated weapons systems will accelerate any future conflict, Major General William Hix has warned. “A conventional conflict in the near future will be extremely lethal and fast," he told a future-of-the-Army panel on Tuesday, Defense One reports. "And we will not own the stopwatch.” General Hix described his vision of accelerated future warfare: “The speed of events are likely to strain our human abilities. “The speed at which machines can make decisions in the far future is likely to challenge our ability to cope, demanding a new relationship between man and machine.” He warned that technological advancements made by Russia and China in recent years had forced the White House to prepare for "violence on the scale that the US Army has not seen since Korea”. The US faces existential threats from modern-states "acting aggressively in militarised competition," Lieutenant General Joseph Anderson, Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training, told the panel. "Who does that sound like? Russia?" he asked. Such a war is "almost guaranteed," Army Chief of Staff General Mark A Milley said at the same event. Future adversaries could end the US's traditional air superiority, and anti-access, area-denial capabilities could prevent the Navy from getting near the battlefield. So “land forces will have to enable sea forces,” and the Army “is definitely going to have to dominate the air above our battle space,” he added. The Army will also have to be prepared to engage in cyber warfare, work without space-based communications and precision navigation it has come to take for granted, and fight in a complex urban settings. [Source: The Independent]

Every era is accompanied by technological revolution that changes the nature of warfare. But fighting wars with new weapons is just one element in this revolution. The other element is the nature of war itself. Despite America’s military might, the country is not suited to asymmetric warfare as witnessed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Russia and China may also choose to fight US asymmetrically then America’s technical prowess will not count for much.

Turkey Expresses Solidarity with Pakistan on Kashmir

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who was representing Pakistan at a World Energy Council (WEC) meeting in Istanbul, met with and apprised Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim about the human rights violations by Indian forces in held Kashmir. The Turkish prime minister expressed solidarity with Pakistan. The defence minister also held meetings with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the WEC meeting. The prime minister’s special envoys, Muhammad Pervez Malik and Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha also called on the Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Ismail Kahraman and briefed him on the atrocities being committed against Kashmiris in India-held Kashmir. Additionally, the envoys apprised Kahraman about the latest security situation in the region, including escalation of tensions along the Line of Control. Kahraman reaffirmed Turkey’s consistent support for a negotiated solution of Kashmir within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions, taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The special envoys also met with the chairman of the Pakistan-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group and interacted with prominent media outlets, according to the report. The Turkish officials reiterated their grave concern over the prevailing situation in India-held Kashmir and affirmed their solidarity with the Kashmiri people, reiterating their commitment to the cause of the Kashmiri people. [Source: The Pakistan Observer]

The only solidarity that Kashmiris need is for the armed forces of Turkey and Pakistan to combine and liberate Kashmir. The 1.2 million soldiers can also remove Assad and stabilize the region from Syria to Afghanistan. The only thing missing is the political will, which the prevalent nation state system is effectively blocking.