Anonymous ID: d7f6ca Aug. 5, 2023, 7:35 p.m. No.19307007   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>7028 >>7109 >>7224 >>7431

>>19306907

Mitch McConnell’s Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company

After drugs were found aboard the Ping May, a vessel owned by his wife’s family’s company, Colombian authorities are investigating.

Lee Fang October 30, 2014

 

Before the Ping May, a rusty cargo vessel, could disembark from the port of Santa Marta en route to the Netherlands in late August, Colombian inspectors boarded the boat and made a discovery. Hidden in the ship’s chain locker, amidst its load of coal bound for Europe, were approximately 40 kilograms, or about ninety pounds, of cocaine. A Colombian Coast Guard official told The Nation that there is an ongoing investigation.

 

The seizure of the narcotics shipment in the Caribbean port occurred far away from Kentucky, the state in which Senator Mitch McConnell is now facing a career-defining election. But the Republican Senate minority leader has the closest of ties to the owner of the Ping May, the vessel containing the illicit materials: the Foremost Maritime Corporation, a firm founded and owned by McConnell’s in-laws, the Chao family.

 

Though Foremost has played a pivotal role in McConnell’s life, bestowing the senator with most of his personal wealth and generating thousands in donations to his campaign committees, the drug bust went unnoticed in Kentucky, where every bit of McConnell-related news has generated fodder for the campaign trail. That’s because, like many international shipping companies, Chao’s firm is shrouded from public view, concealing its identity and limiting its legal liability through an array of tax shelters and foreign registrations. Registered through a limited liability company in the Marshall Islands, the Ping May flies the Liberian flag.

 

McConnell’s ties to the Chaos go back to the late 1980s, when James Chao began donating to the senator. In 1993, McConnell married James’s daughter, Elaine Chao, a Republican activist and former Reagan administration official who would later serve as secretary of labor in the George W. Bush cabinet. James Chao emigrated to the United States from Taiwan, and founded the Foremost Maritime Corporation upon settling in New York. The company has grown significantly over the years, from acting as maritime agent during the Vietnam War to controlling a fleet of approximately sixteen dry-bulk cargo ships in operation today.

 

Foremost acts as a shipping agent, purchasing vessels made primarily in China and coordinating shipment of commodities. Records reviewed by The Nation reveal that Foremost transports corn, chemicals and other goods to cities throughout the world. The company has offices in New York and Hong Kong.

 

More:

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company/

Anonymous ID: d7f6ca Aug. 5, 2023, 8:40 p.m. No.19307357   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>7373

>>19306722

Brookings Institute Warns Of US Military’s Logistics Gap Vs China

John Konrad August 1, 2023

 

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Last week the Brookings Institute recently published a new report titled “America can’t afford to ignore the logistics triad,” highlighting the critical role of logistics in military operations. The report underscores the importance of logistics in high-end warfare scenarios, particularly against formidable adversaries like Russia and China. It argues that the logistics triad – transport systems, physical military infrastructure, and digital/cyberinfrastructure – should be a top priority in defense modernization efforts.

 

The report begins by noting that logistics do not fit prominently into the military identities of the nation’s three largest services – the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army. However, it emphasizes that logistics are crucial for the functioning of weapons and combat formations. In today’s world, logistics would be contested by the adversary in any high-end war, making the penalty for undervaluing logistics potentially severe.

 

The logistics triad—transport systems, physical military infrastructure, and digital/cyber infrastructure tying everything together—should be a top priority in defense modernization efforts, write Marcos A. Melendez III, @MichaelEOHanlon, and Jason Wolff. https://t.co/e4yGboM0Ld

— The Brookings Institution (@BrookingsInst) July 28, 2023

 

The report also discusses the aging and atrophying of ships, planes, and trucks bought in the 1980s, the development of precision missiles by China and Russia that can threaten fixed bases, and the proliferation of cyber systems that have created new vulnerabilities for America’s global transport and supply networks.

 

“First, ships and planes bought in the 1980s have aged and atrophied, without being adequately maintained or replaced,” says Marcos A. Melendez III and his coauthors in the report. “Second, China (and Russia) has developed precision missiles that can threaten fixed bases anywhere, especially in regions near its shores. Three, cyber systems have proliferated. That has made logistics more efficient, but it has also created new vulnerabilities for America’s global transport and supply networks.”

 

The report further delves into the challenges faced by the United States in the Western Pacific, where the logistics challenges are significantly greater than those faced by China due to geographical advantages. The report suggests that the United States needs to prioritize the logistics triad to effectively compete in this region.

 

The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of improving the nation’s ability to move, supply, and sustain its armed forces abroad. It suggests that the triad of military logistics systems must be seen as an ongoing top priority for the Department of Defense, on par with the nuclear triad, command and control, fighters and bombers, tanks and rockets, and subs and ships.

 

“Every U.S. military department or service has developed a separate logistics enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, resulting in six major systems,” says the report highlighting the problem extends well beyond the aging military sealift fleet to the digital infrastructure. “China consolidated its military logistics into one logistic force in 2016 called the Joint Logistics Support Force. This move eliminated the large self-contained logistic systems for each service. That is the right approach.”

 

In light of this report, it is clear that a comprehensive and strategic approach to military logistics is crucial for the United States to maintain its global military power in the modern era. The report serves as a wake-up call for policymakers to prioritize and invest in the logistics triad as a key component of defense modernization efforts.

 

https://gcaptain.com/brookings-institute-warns-of-us-militarys-logistics-gap-vs-china/