Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

Canada delays euthanasia for the mentally ill

RT | February 4, 2024

Canada has frozen a plan to expand its assisted suicide program to include people suffering from mental illnesses, Health Minister Mark Holland and Justice Minister Arif Virani have announced.

Among the reasons for the postponement, they cited a lack of medical professionals, especially psychiatrists, willing to evaluate patients before a lethal injection.

Canada legalized euthanasia after the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that requiring people to cope with intolerable suffering was tantamount to violating their basic rights. In 2021, the Superior Court of Quebec demanded that the government expand the criteria to those suffering from “grievous and irremediable” conditions, such as depression and other mental health issues.

The law’s separate provisions for people with mental illnesses were originally postponed for two years.

Speaking to reporters on Monday following a session of a special parliamentary committee looking into the issue, Holland explained: “it’s clear from the conversations we’ve had that the system is not ready, and we need more time.”

On Thursday, Canada’s Health Ministry released a statement, clarifying that the expansion originally slated for March 17 of this year had been postponed until 2027. It is hoped that by then, regional healthcare providers will be better prepared to administer euthanasia to the mentally ill, with clear guidelines developed in the meantime, the document added.

Canada is already among the countries with most liberal laws regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide, with the procedure available to terminally and chronically ill people.

However, plans to extend the practice to the mentally ill have proven controversial, with members of the opposition Conservative Party accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of promoting a “culture of death.”

Some critics on the left have also argued that the authorities should instead focus on improving psychiatric care, which is said to be chronically underfunded.

A number of psychiatrists, for their part, have voiced concern that patients could bail out of treatment schemes that do not provide immediate relief, and opt for the easy way out instead.

According to a report released by the Canadian Health Ministry last October, there was a 31.2% increase in the number of cases involving what is termed in the country as medical assistance in dying (MAID) in 2022 compared to 2021.

In 2022, a total of 13,241 people chose to end their lives this way, with 463 of those being “individuals whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable.”

February 5, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | | Leave a comment

The “NO LIABILITY” aspect of the unlicensed, novel vaccine developed in 100 days is in-your-face in the WHO’s proposed treaty

BY MERYL NASS | FEBRUARY 2, 2024

The globalist lawyers who drafted the pandemic treaty definitely anticipated injuries from the 100 day vaccines. So what did they do? They made sure that all the nations signing up to the Treaty “shall shall shall” i.e., MUST give the WHO, its lawyers, the nations, the manufacturers, the doctors and anyone else involved a bullet-proof liability shield.

Just in case someone did not understand, they said it 3 times3 different ways, in 3 paragraphs. I screenshot what they said so there would be no confusion.

If you don’t want the mandated experimental vaccines for which nobody is liable, join us to fight against this nonsense. DoorToFreedom.org

https://apps.who.int/gb/inb/pdf_files/inb7/A_INB7_3-en.pdf

February 3, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

Canada smears China over ‘interference’ in elections to fool its people, blindly follow US: expert

By Zhang Yuying | Global Times | February 3, 2024

After Canada released an assessment smearing China for “interference” on Thursday at a hearing investigating “foreign influence” in its past two elections, Chinese experts on Saturday pointed out that this is actually an attempt by the Canadian government to fool its people into supporting the policy of following the US to engage in strategic competition with China.

According to media reports, the assessment was released by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service at a hearing held to investigate whether foreign countries interfered in Canada’s past two elections, after the country smeared China as “meddling” and set up a commission to conduct an inquiry.

However, Canada’s repeated hype about China’s “intervention” in its elections was refuted by Chinese experts as an attempt by the Canadian government to gain social consensus supporting the country’s policy of following the US’ strategic competition with China.

Canada hopes that through such hype, its people’s fear and resistance to China will increase, so that they will give strong support to the Canadian government’s current policy and future direction toward China, which is to have competition and confrontation, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Saturday.

“Canada is blindly following the US, and wishes to show its “loyalty” through such acts,” Li added.

The expert also pointed out that by smearing China, Canada is sending a warning to local Chinese, as well as those who have extensive economic, trade and people-to-people ties with China, to reduce their contacts with the Chinese side. “This is a very unwise and foolish approach that undermines the comprehensive connection and mutual understanding between China and Canada,” Li said.

In response to Canada’s smearing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in May 2023 that China follows a foreign policy of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and is also firmly against interference by any country in other countries’ internal affairs.

“We have no interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs, including its elections, nor will we do any such thing. We urge Canada to abandon its ideological bias and Cold War mentality and stop making an issue of China,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Analysts noted that Canada’s repeated smearing will undoubtedly have a destructive impact on China-Canada relations. “Since elections involve politicians as well as high participation from all sectors of society, Canada’s false accusations against China not only undermine mutual trust and communication at the government level, but also disrupt people-to-people exchanges between the two countries,” experts said.

February 3, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

Americans likely part of crew that shot down Ukrainian POWs – TASS

RT | February 1, 2024

American specialists may have been part of the crew that operated the US-made Patriot air defense system that shot down a Russian military aircraft carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war last week, TASS news agency reports.

The plane, a Russian Il-76, crashed over Belgorod Region last Wednesday while carrying 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen who were set to take part in a prisoner swap later that day. All of the POWs, as well as three Russian officers and six crew members, died in the crash.

On Thursday, Russia’s Investigative Committee released a report claiming that the plane was brought down using two MIM-104A surface-to-air missiles launched from a Patriot missile system deployed at a staging area in Kharkov Region, Ukraine near the village of Liptsy, around 10km from the Russian border.

Following the Investigative Committee’s report, a source within Russia’s security services told TASS that it is very likely that the crew operating the Patriot system represented a mix of Ukrainian and American specialists.

The agency’s source explained that Ukrainian officers are likely placed in lower positions while “Western specialists, including Americans, sit at the control and missile guidance stations.” They added that Ukrainian servicemen are often only allowed to be involved with these systems as drivers or operators of transport-loading vehicles.

The TASS report noted that the Russian authorities are still in the process of identifying the exact people who were involved in the attack and were operating the Patriot system.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the use of a US-made system in the killing of Ukrainian POWs means that US President Joe Biden and his administration have made regular American citizens “complicit in the bloody tragedy.”

February 1, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

West refusing to cooperate with Ukrainian POW plane crash investigation – Kremlin

RT | February 1, 2024

The US and its allies have shown little interest in launching an international probe into last week’s crash involving a Russian aircraft that was carrying Ukrainian captives, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin called for an investigation on Wednesday.

A Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft with 65 Ukrainian POWs on board crashed in Belgorod Region on January 24. All of the Ukrainians, as well as six crew members and three Russian military personnel, died in the crash. Moscow immediately blamed Kiev for the incident.

On Wednesday, Putin said Moscow had asked “for international experts to be deployed [here] to conduct an analysis, assess the existing material evidence” as part of an international probe.

According to Peskov, Western nations have demonstrated no interest in the Russian initiative. “The president stated it publicly and openly yesterday that we are ready for an international investigation,” he said, adding that the US and its allies were demanding official written requests and refusing to consider the issue without such documentation.

The West’s position came as no surprise for Russia, since it is a “direct participant” in the ongoing conflict, Peskov said. “It is clear that not one of them [the US and its allies] would be interested in conducting a probe and stumbling upon themselves as a result,” he added.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had disputed Moscow’s claims and called for an international probe into the incident as well.

On Thursday, the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed that the aircraft had been shot down by a US-made Patriot air-defense system. Such systems have been provided to Kiev’s troops by the Western backers.

February 1, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , | Leave a comment

ICJ Rules Against Ukraine on Terrorism, MH17

In a blow to Ukraine, the World Court ruled Russia didn’t finance terrorism in Donbass and the court refused to blame Moscow for the downing of Flight MH17.

By Joe Lauria | Consortium News | February 1, 2024

The World Court ruled on Wednesday that Russia did not finance terrorism in its defense of separatists in Ukraine and the court refused to find Russia guilty of downing Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 as Ukraine had asked.

The case was brought to the ICJ by Ukraine in 2017, three years after the U.S.-backed coup in Kiev overthrew the democratically-elected President Viktor Yanukovych.

When Russian speakers in Donbass rebelled against the unconstitutional change in government that they had voted for, the coup leaders in 2014 launched what it called an “anti-terrorist” military operation to put down the rebellion.

Russia responded by helping ethnic Russians with arms and other military equipment. Ukraine claimed to the court that that was in breach of a treaty barring terrorism financing.

But the ICJ ruled on Wednesday that the treaty only covered cash transfers made to alleged terrorist groups. This “does not include the means used to commit acts of terrorism, including weapons or training camps,” the Court said in its judgement.

“Consequently, the alleged supply of weapons to various armed groups operating in Ukraine… fall outside the material scope” of the anti-terrorism financing convention, the Court ruled. The Court also said it had no evidence to show that any of the armed militias in Donbass fighting against the government could be characterized as terrorist groups.

The ICJ found only that Russia was, “failing to take measures to investigate facts… regarding persons who have allegedly committed an offense.”  It added that the court “rejects all other submissions made by the Ukraine.”

The ruling is highly significant in undermining Kiev’s claim to be fighting a war against terrorists in Donbass, an essential part of the Ukraine’s and the West’s narrative in justifying its brutal operation that left more than 10,000 civilians dead.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 amid indications that Kiev was beginning a new offensive against Donbass. Ukraine and the West had failed to implement two peace agreements negotiated in Minsk and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

Western and Ukrainian officials later admitted they never had any intention of implementing the deal and pretended to to buy time to build up its forces against Russia.

Rejected MH17 Claim

In its complaint to the Court, Ukraine had also claimed that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, killing all 298 civilian passengers and crew on board. Kiev wanted Russia to pay compensation to the victims.

But the court refused to rule whether Russia was responsible and to order compensation. This ruling appears to contradict the results of the official investigation into the incident.

The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and a Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT) concluded in 2016 that the plane was shot down by ethnic Russian separatists using a missile supplied by Russia. Moscow has denied involvement in the incident.

The ruling on MH17 came two weeks after the European Court of Justice decided that the Dutch government was not required to release information it has about the incident. The Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws had brought the case before the ICJ.

It wanted to know what reports the Dutch government had received about Ukrainian airspace before the plane was shot down. The government refused to release that data and the European court ruled it did not have to divulge information regarding aviation safety.

No Discrimination

Ukraine was also denied compensation for what it said was discrimination against ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014.

The court only agreed that Russia failed to adequately protect Ukrainian language education in Crimea. This complaint came as Ukraine passed laws discriminating against the Russian language in the country.

US Judge Votes Against Russia

Joan Donoghue, the American judge who is president of the Court, voted to protect Ukraine against several of the measures of the judgement.

For instance, she voted (in a 10-5 vote) against rejecting “all other submissions made by Ukraine with respect to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.” She only voted for the point criticizing Russia for not properly investigating the charge and against rejecting Ukraine’s demands for compensation.  

Donoghue also voted (in another 10-5 vote) against rejecting Ukraine’s charge regarding discrimination against Ukrainians and Tartars in Crimea. 


Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange. He can be reached at joelauria@consortiumnews.com and followed on Twitter @unjoe

February 1, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

ICJ Rejects Ukraine’s Claim to Recognize Russia as Aggressor State – Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik – 01.02.2024

MOSCOW – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected Kiev’s claim to recognize Russia as an “aggressor state” and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) as “terrorist organizations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the ICJ rejected most of Ukraine’s claims against Russia under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Crimea, Court President Joan Donoghue said.

“The International Court of Justice did not follow Kiev’s whim and refused to recognize Russia as an ‘aggressor state.’ The court also rejected Ukrainian insinuations that the DPR and LPR are allegedly ‘terrorist organizations,'” the statement said.

Kiev hoped to back up its demands for the transfer of Russian assets frozen in the West and the introduction of international restrictions against Russia with the court claim, the ministry added.

Ukraine filed the lawsuit with the ICJ in 2017, accusing Russia of violating international conventions on anti-terrorism and racial discrimination over actions in Donbass and Crimea.

The ICJ found that Russia had breached the anti-discrimination treaty by “the way in which it has implemented its educational system in Crimea after 2014 with regard to school education in the Ukrainian language,” and rejected all other claims.

The Hague-based court also found that Russia had faithfully fulfilled its obligations to cooperate in the fight against terrorism financing, including the obligation to identify and block funds used to finance terrorism.

The ICJ declined to rule on Kiev’s accusations of Russia’s alleged responsibility for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

January 31, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Joint UK-Japan Plan to Supply Artillery Shells to Ukraine Falls Through – Reports

Sputnik – 30.01.2024

More bad news for Ukraine – Japan and the UK fail to carry out preliminary agreements on supplying the struggling army with more artillery, as the silver lining at the end of the tunnel goes dim for the Kiev regime.

Efforts by the UK and Japan to replenish Ukraine’s artillery stocks have fallen through, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported, citing sources privy to the draft.

There are two core aspects to the issue – the technical mismatch of the British and the Japanese military blueprints, and the limited production capacity of the supposed Japanese contractor.

By the initiative, Japan was to produce 155 mm shells under an official license granted by the BAE Systems company, one of the leading global defense contractors.

The shells in question were to be manufactured at local Japanese facilities and then were supposed to be shipped over to the UK. Thus, Japan was essentially getting tacitly involved in supplying the Kiev regime with foreign arms without ever having to openly side with Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.

Last December, The Financial Times reported on a similar plan being considered between Japan and the US. The draft was aimed at replenishing the now depleted Western armory stockpiles, so that Kiev’s sponsors were in a better place to provide even more supplies without having to compromise their own military potential.

However, both plans stalled. According to the WSJ sources, British officials have assessed whether the military could use 155 mm projectiles produced by the Japanese Komatsu manufacturer, and have ultimately decided to scrap the plan altogether.

The main issue reportedly stems from troubles in using weapons and arms systems that come from different manufacturers. Besides, the WSJ also noted Komatsu’s limited manufacturing capacity of the shells.

The US and its allies ramped up their military assistance to Kiev shortly after Russia launched its special military operation in 2022. Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying arms that the Kremlin said adds to prolonging the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, underscored that any cargo with weapons for the Zelensky regime would become a legitimate target for Russian forces.

January 30, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Hamas fighting with Israeli-made weapons: Report

The Cradle | January 29, 2024

Much of the arsenal used by Hamas during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October was originally Israeli weapons, the New York Times (NYT) reported on 28 January. 

“Israeli military and intelligence officials have concluded that a significant number of weapons used by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks and in the war in Gaza came from an unlikely source: the Israeli military itself,” the NYT wrote on Sunday. 

According to recent intelligence, a large number of Hamas’ explosive weapons were recycled from undetonated Israeli bombs dropped on Gaza and repurposed for the resistance group’s use. 

“Unexploded ordnance is a main source of explosives for Hamas,” Michael Cardash, former deputy head of the Israeli National Police Bomb Disposal Division, said. 

“Hamas has been able to build many of its rockets and anti-tank weaponry out of the thousands of munitions that failed to detonate when Israel lobbed them into Gaza,” the NYT cites weapons experts, as well as US and Israeli intelligence officials, as saying. 

The report also highlights that Hamas fighters are armed with weapons that have been stolen from Israeli military bases. 

“Intelligence gathered during months of fighting revealed that, just as the Israeli authorities misjudged Hamas’s intentions before Oct. 7, they also underestimated its ability to obtain arms.”

On 9 October, Iranian news outlet Tasnim cited an unnamed Palestinian source as saying that elements of the Israeli army who had been collaborating with Hamas provided the resistance group with “crucial” intelligence that aided in the successful launching of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. 

According to the official, this cooperation was ongoing for some time and explicitly related to the increase over the years of weapons theft from Israeli bases.

“Robbers often easily breach security and steal military equipment, bullets, rifles, generators, and even military vehicles,” the Tasnim report said.

In 2012, Haaretz reported that $14 million worth of equipment had been stolen from Israeli military bases. In May 2019, Maariv newspaper reported the disappearance of nearly 50 M16 rifles, many of which were never recovered.

Many instances of theft from Israeli bases have been reported since.

An investigation by The Cradle revealed last year that resistance groups in the occupied West Bank have mainly been relying on weapons stolen from Israeli army bases, as well as some which are smuggled in via Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.

January 29, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Canceled US Joint Exercises in Africa Shows Washington’s Influence Abroad Slipping

Sputnik – 28.01.2024

Retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official Larry Johnson told Sputnik the move may be related to internal pressure not to work alongside “troops associated with coup governments.”

The United States military leadership has scrapped plans to hold joint exercises with several African states such as Sudan, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Burkina Faso.
According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon’s change of plans was, “at least in part,” the result of US Democrats pressuring the Biden administration to bar “troops associated with coup governments” from participating in US-led military exercises.

Exercises such as these are usually planned many months in advance, so the decision to scrap these plans means “there’s an issue with the governments that were supposed to participate,” said retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official Larry Johnson.

Describing the military exercises’ cancellation as a “significant” development, Johnson told Sputnik that this move by the Pentagon may have also been prompted by the decision of the host African governments not to participate.

“In any event, I think what it does signify is that US influence over other countries, its ability to basically tell countries what to do and compel countries to follow US policy, is slipping, that the US influence in areas like Africa is growing weaker, not stronger,” he remarked.

Johnson also suggested that the decision by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) may be related to this development, considering that ECOWAS is primarily regarded as an entity “under Western influence.”

According to him, the fact that these countries chose to part ways with ECOWAS and pursue “bilateral agreements among themselves” does seem like signs of them “distancing themselves from US control.”

January 28, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US ambassador makes threat to Hungary


David Pressman, U.S. ambassador to Hungary, attends the LGBTQ Pride parade in Budapest, 15 July 2023 © Getty Images / Marton Monus
RT | January 27, 2024

The US has the power to pressure Hungary if it does not adjust its foreign policy towards the EU, NATO and Russia, American ambassador to Budapest, Davis Pressman, said.

In an interview published in the Financial Times on Friday, Pressman laid out a laundry list of complaints about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, including his defiant stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“When you look at Hungary’s foreign policy, whether it be suggesting raising questions about Ukraine’s EU accession, stymying efforts to provide financial support to Ukraine, meeting with Vladimir Putin, resisting efforts to diversify off of Russian energy, resisting sustained efforts to close Kremlin platforms inside of Hungary, all of these have something in common,” the diplomat said. “And it’s something that is leaving Hungary more isolated from its partners within Nato and its partners within the EU.”

Pressman went on to insist that Orban’s “policy choices, without question, are helpful to Putin.” He added that the US has the means of coercing Hungary.

“We absolutely have leverage, that is true. And we’re prepared to use our leverage.”

Unlike many NATO members, Hungary has refused to send weapons to Ukraine and has barred the alliance from using its territory to provide military aid to Kiev. Orban also opposed certain economic sanctions on Russia. Last month, Hungary vetoed an additional €50 billion ($55 billion) in EU funding for Ukraine.

Budapest has maintained that no foreign pressure can prompt it to abandon national interests. “No one can tell us from the outside how to lead our lives within our own borders. Whether it is a foreign citizen, or even a foreign ambassador, their opinion is irrelevant for us,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said last year, as quoted by local media.

January 27, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Why Are Almost 40 Percent of US Nuclear Attack Subs Out of Service?

By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 21.01.2024

Eighteen fast attack submarines are being temporarily decommissioned for repairs, a move that is fraught with far-reaching consequences for the US, experts told Sputnik.

On January 21, 1954, the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, was launched at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.

SIxty-nine years later, a congressional report has revealed that something has gone wrong with the US Navy’s nuclear-powered fast submarine fleet. Of the 49 multi-purpose attack submarines (SSNs) in the navy, 18 are currently out of service for repairs, per the report.

So how did this happen? Sputnik explores.

What’s in the Report?

As of 2023, at least 37% of the entire fleet of SSNs have been temporarily decommissioned for repairs, according to previously undisclosed navy data published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The report cited 18 SSNs that are either in depot maintenance or awaiting maintenance, known as idle. The number is significantly higher than the navy’s target of having a maximum of 20% of all fast attack subs undergoing maintenance at any one time and zero submarines sitting idle and waiting to begin repairs.

The maintenance backlog has “substantially reduced” the number of the SSNs operational at any given moment, reducing the “force’s capacity for meeting day-to-day mission demands and potentially putting increased operational pressure” on fast attack submarines that are in service, CRS naval analyst Ronald O’Rourke said in the report.

The Naval Sea Systems Command responded by blaming “planning, material availability, and shipyard execution.” The service has launched several initiatives to address these “primary maintenance delay” factors, the command added.

Which Subs Need Maintenance?

The inactive SSNs are not the nuclear ballistic missile Ohio-class submarines, “but fast attack boats, including the Seawolf-class, that can fire torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missile at vessels and land targets, and perform stealth missions such as surveillance,” Bloomberg earlier reported.

As for SSNs, it is the US Navy’s hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine.

‘Severe Blow to US Admirals’ Pride’

Taking almost 40 percent of US fast attack submarines out of service is “quite a big blow to the pride of American admirals and sailors,” Vasily Dandykin, a Russian veteran military analyst and retired Russian Navy captain 1st rank, told Sputnik.

The reasons why the 18 SSNs have been temporarily decommissioned should be discussed in light of the US’ self-declared victory in the Cold War, Dandykin insisted.

“After announcing this win, Americans turned a blind eye to maintenance­-related issues,” the analyst said, adding that “the delayed repairs shorten the lifespan of a submarine.”

When asked about the condition of the SSNs in service, the analyst pointed to a spate of problems with the maintenance and qualifications of crews, which he said resulted earlier in various navigational incidents.

Connecticut Sub Crash

One of the major incidents happened to the USS Connecticut in the South China Sea in October 2021.

A subsequent navy investigation into the crash of the Seawolf-class submarine into an underwater ridge in the sea found that the incident was “preventable” and that it followed navigation planning and risk management mistakes, as well as other errors.

The failures “fell far below US Navy standards,” and the incident left the fast attack submarine unable to operate “for an extended period of time” because of the damage, the probe pointed out. The Connecticut reportedly won’t be back in service until early 2026 at the soonest.

Another incident dates back to January 9, 2005, when one crewman died after the US nuclear submarine San Francisco ran aground off Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Twenty-three crewmen were injured in the incident.

In February 2001, the USS Greeneville’s rudder tore through the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru’s lower deck during a fast surface maneuver, sinking the vessel within minutes. Nine people aboard died, including students and instructors in commercial fishing.

Repercussions

Operational pressure on the SSNs that are still in service is almost sure to increase, which means that their life span may be reduced and the construction of more such submarines will be needed, Dandykin meanwhile went on to say. This will, in turn, lead to spending hefty sums from the US’ defense budget, he added.

He was echoed by Earl Rasmussen, a retired lieutenant colonel with over 20 years in the US Army, who told Sputnik that the fact that 18 SSNs are now out of service means that the US Navy will have to limit its operations in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the South China Sea.

“Almost 40% of the SSNs being decommissioned will impact our capability to deploy our reach and to deploy the defensive capability,” Rasmussen pointed out. The US Navy is “below its optimal or even projected readiness capability,” the US expert concluded.

January 21, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | | Leave a comment