Six Global Hotspots to Watch

Aircraft from the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group fly in formation during a demonstration above the USS John C. Stennis underway in the Pacific Ocean, April 20, 2013. The group is returning from an eight-month deployment to areas of responsibility for the U.S. 5th and 7th fleets. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak

Six Global Hotspots to Watch: The Next War -- Real Clear World

While the Middle East has a powerful claim on the world's attention (or at least Washington's), the world has no shortage of potentially explosive hotspots. Whether it's conflicting claims on vital resources, or waterways and borders whose demarcation remains unsettled and contested, the world's hotspots are simmering. Some are dangerously close to the boiling point; others are heating up gradually.

We've identified six to watch for 2013 and beyond.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The six 'hotspots' are .... East China Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Congo, India China border, the Arctic, and the Caspian Sea.

Top 4 Concerns For The Pentagon On China's Growing Military

China's Growing Military Might: Top 4 Concerns For The Pentagon

China continues to increase spending to grow its already considerable military, and top Pentagon officials continue to watch the developments carefully.

In a report issued this week, the Department of Defense for the first time directly accused China’s military of using cyberattacks to spy on US networks.

In this arena and others, “China’s military buildup shows no signs of slowing,” said David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for East Asia, who presented the congressionally mandated report on the state of China’s military activities.

Here are Pentagon officials’ top four concerns as they carefully monitor the growth of China’s military.

Read more ....

My Comment: China will be (if not already) the number one concern for the Pentagon .... and will be for the future .... but for the moment no one in Congress or in the White House is listening to them.

Who Is The Enemy?

Who Is Our Enemy? -- Will Cain, CNN Contributor, and Andrew C. McCarthy, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Will Cain is a CNN contributor and co-host of Real News at The Blaze. Andrew C. McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, is a contributor to National Review and author of "Willful Blindness: Memoir of the Jihad." The following is an e-mail exchange/debate between Cain and McCarthy.

(CNN) -- Will Cain: Andy, who are we fighting in the war on terror? I don't mean to turn this into a freshman Political Science 101 question, but this is a pretty important issue. The answer to that question should protect us not only from terrorists, but also from the government depriving us of constitutional rights.

Sens. Lindsay Graham, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Peter King are all raising hell over the fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev -- one the of suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing -- wasn't designated an "enemy combatant" and held in military detention for interrogation. But I see nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force or the National Defense Authorization Act that takes away rights afforded to citizens (Dzhokhar is a U.S. citizen) by the Constitution.

Do you disagree?

Read more ....

My Comment: Over the years I have lost count on how many times different governments (and their institutions) told me that "our country" had "enemies" out there .... and that we had to do something about it. Being one who lived in the former Soviet Union and who now lives in North America .... there is/was always an enemy .... and there is/was always a course of action to fight them. I guess this is a part of the human condition .... people in power need adversaries to not only justify their status and positions .... but to also give credence to their policies.

So who is our enemy?

I guess the answer depends on where you are coming from ... and that is where the conflict comes about. From my perspective a person like Osama Bin Laden is a monster who made a pact with the Devil .... but to millions of others he is a saint.