Clairvoyant
News Service
March 2021
Highlight from Shocking Congressional Hearing on the PACFLT disaster of 2020 - US Navy was ill prepared and poorly equipped to meet what should have been a very visible threat
Today
marked the first congressional hearing following the shocking loss of
six Navy combatants and crews, as well as an additional 11 ships
disabled, across the Pacific Fleet, culminating in the bloody Chinese
annexation of Taiwan.
Key elements from the day revealed that -
US Navy and military communications were disabled or compromised – more of a benefit to the PLAN (Chinese Navy) than our sailors. US Naval forces were heavily satellite dependent despite a demonstrated ability by China to destroy satellites in orbit. 'Web-enabled' warfare, necessitating data communications between disparate platforms, sensors, and missiles, long championed as a cost saving 'multiplier' by Naval theoreticians such as Adm Art Cebrowski, proved debilitating against a technologically competent enemy.
US Navy and military communications were disabled or compromised – more of a benefit to the PLAN (Chinese Navy) than our sailors. US Naval forces were heavily satellite dependent despite a demonstrated ability by China to destroy satellites in orbit. 'Web-enabled' warfare, necessitating data communications between disparate platforms, sensors, and missiles, long championed as a cost saving 'multiplier' by Naval theoreticians such as Adm Art Cebrowski, proved debilitating against a technologically competent enemy.
Anti-Ship
Missile defenses were grossly ineffective – even counter
productive. Compromise of critical secrets in US Navy missile seeker
jamming techniques turned defense systems into beacons for Chinese
missiles. This despite the fact PRC penetration of the most secret
US weapons development labs was determined to be 'total' in the late
'90s.
Chinese
use of Mine Warfare was extensive and crippled US platforms PACFLT
commanders expected would be decisive. Two American nuclear attack
submarines were destroyed, with total loss of crews. These nuclear
powered attack submarines were destroyed by Chinese mines that
couldn't even see their own, relatively primitive but absolutely
silent, conventional submarines. Covert deployment of vast numbers
of mines by the Chinese commercial and fishing fleets starved the
critical air base in Guam of jet fuel and delayed deployment of
reinforcements from US ports in time to alter outcome. US mine
clearing and defenses were described as demonstrably no better than
when re-flagged tanker Bridgeton struck a mine in Operation 'Earnest
Will' over three decades ago.
Xi's
declaration of intent to use nuclear armed anti-carrier (ship)
ballistic missiles (ASBM) effectively removed the US carrier force
from the battlefield. This decisive move should not have been a
surprise. As had been signaled, China's nuclear 'no first use
policy' had a massive caveat – combat in the waters China
considered it's possession – including nearly the entirety of the
South China Sea, as well as Taiwan, was deemed 'defense of the
homeland' justifying such use. China's now competent strategic ICBM force, which benefited enormously from technological transfers during the Clinton administration, meant
strategic exchange involving major US cities would likely follow any
attempt by the US Navy or Air Force to attack the
tactical nuclear armed ASBM launch sites within China.
Lacking
meaningful American support Taiwan was left to the mercies of PLA
Generals – as was predicted by US Naval War College in 2009. Their
assessment of China's naval mine warfare capabilities even then
warned “Washington seemingly has little choice but to adopt a
cautious strategy concerning the Taiwan issue and face the
uncomfortable truth that it cannot feasibly defend Taiwan militarily
over the long term.”
Perhaps
most telling was the testimony by one sailor, a survivor of the USS
Gabrielle Giffords, who wryly remarked “it was
drilled into each of us “Diversity is Our Strength”. That didn't
do (deleted) to save my ship.”
-------------------------------
Sources include:
CMSI
Red Books Reports & Studies 6-2009
Chinese
Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin's Mace'
Capability
Andrew
S. Erickson William S. Murray Lyle J. Goldstein
The
national interest
Report:
China's Military Is Growing Super Powerful
by
Stealing America's Defense Secrets
December
8, 2016 Bill Gertz
Report
of the Select Committee on U.S. National
Security
and Military/Commercial Concerns with
the
People's Republic of China
(commonly
known as the Cox Report)
The
strange case of Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin
David
B. Larter Navy Times January 22, 2017
https://capitalresearch.org/article/flashback-bill-clinton-gave-china-missile-technology/
