Diplomacy & Crisis News

More than one million people in two areas of the war-ravaged Tigray region in Ethiopia have received emergency food assistance since distributions began in March, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Tuesday. 

The world must harness “clear, transformative and actionable solutions” to address the ocean crisis, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday, opening a meeting to generate momentum towards the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, when public health safety measures allow. 

Governments are being urged to finance a new $50 billion roadmap to end the COVID-19 pandemic and drive a fast recovery, announced on Tuesday by the heads of the world’s predominant global financing, health and trade agencies. 

“Quitters are the real winners in the case of tobacco”, says the World Health Organization as part of a campaign to help smokers that have decided to quit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but lack the support to do so. A new chatbot and even an AI assistant are ready to aid them in their quitting journey.  

In Haiti, the number of severely malnourished under-fives could more than double this year, UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Monday. Some could die if they do not receive timely treatment.

UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all countries on Monday to support a pandemic preparedness treaty, warning that it would be a “monumental error” to think the danger of COVID-19 has passed.

When Nigerian Blessing Ojukwu became pregnant after she was raped, her family disowned her. She was forced to live with her abuser, who continued to attack her. Now, a UN-backed initiative is giving her, and others in similar situations, a chance to become financially independent, and start new lives. 

“Ghost fishing” occurs when abandoned fishing gear dumped in the ocean traps and kills fish or other underwater life, and it is causing devastation to marine environments, warns the UN food agency, FAO.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet voiced her “deep concern” at recent events in the Colombian city of Cali that include reports of several deaths and violence.

Drones are providing life-saving care to women in remote parts of the southern African country, Botswana, who otherwise may die in childbirth, thanks to support from the United Nations.   

David Axe

Chinese Submarines, Asia

As far as its sub fleet goes, China has made great progress in the two decades since the 1996 crisis.

Here's What You Need to Remember: Of course, a chance to attack doesn’t guarantee a successful attack. And the U.S. Navy isn’t exactly standing still as Chinese forces improve, RAND pointed out.

In 1995 and 1996, Taiwanese politicians signaled greater support for declaring their island country officially independent of China. Beijing’s response was swift, forceful … and ultimately an embarrassment to China. The Chinese fired several missiles toward small, Taiwanese-held islands.

That’s when the United States intervened in a big way, sending two entire aircraft carrier battle groups into the waters around Taiwan — and even sailing one carrier through the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese military was powerless against this show of force. Beijing couldn’t even reliably track the American warships, and had no forces of its own capable of threatening the powerful U.S. vessels.

The Chinese backed down.

Years later, the situation has changed.

According to the California think tank RAND, if the same crises occurred today, Chinese submarines could target a U.S. flattop several times during a weeklong campaign. “China has rapidly improved its ability to reliably locate and to attack U.S. carrier strike groups at distances of up to 2,000 kilometers from its coast,” RAND warned.

Beijing’s ability to target carriers from below the sea depends on two related capabilities. First, China needs modern and reliable submarines. Second, these subs need some way of finding the flattops.

As far as its sub fleet goes, China has made great progress in the two decades since the 1996 crisis. “In 1996, China had taken delivery of only two submarines that could be described, by any reasonable definition, as modern,” RAND explained. “The remainder of its fleet consisted of legacy boats based on 1950s technology, lacking teardrop shaped hulls and armed only with torpedoes.”

By 2017, China will possess a smaller but more capable undersea fleet with 49 modern subs. “China’s recent submarine classes are armed with both sophisticated cruise missiles and torpedoes, greatly increasing the range from which they can attack,” according to the think tank. “Although most Chinese boats are diesel-powered and none is not up to U.S. standards, they could nevertheless threaten U.S. surface ships.”

Just how much Beijing’s subs could attack a single American carrier during a seven-day campaign depends on what RAND called “cueing.” In other words, the ability of Chinese satellites, drones, spy planes, land-based radars and other so-called “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance” systems, or ISR, to detect the carrier and pass along the flattop’s location to the subs.

“Improvements to Chinese ISR have improved the chances that Chinese submarines will receive such information,” RAND reported.

In 1996, Chinese subs had basically zero chances to take a shot at a U.S. carrier, with or without cueing. By 2010 that was no longer the case. Without cueing, Beijing’s subs were still pretty much blind, but with help from ISR the undersea vessels would have gotten two or three chances to attack a carrier with missiles or torpedoes.

RAND projected that Chinese subs with no cueing probably still won’t be able to attack a carrier. But with cueing in the same timeframe, the undersea warships could get three, four or even five chances to attack.

Of course, a chance to attack doesn’t guarantee a successful attack. And the U.S. Navy isn’t exactly standing still as Chinese forces improve, RAND pointed out. “The United States will look to counter this growing threat by developing ways to degrade Chinese intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and by improving its own anti-missile, anti-submarine and defensive counterair capabilities.”

Image: Reuters.

Ethen Kim Lieser

Unemployment Tax Refund,

With only a week left in the current month, millions of eligible Americans are still left on the sidelines—and the IRS has provided few updates on the matter.

Here's What You Need to Remember:

In the post-$1,400 coronavirus stimulus check world, it appears that there will be plenty of waiting for millions of cash-strapped Americans as they look forward to other government-issued payments.

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that tax refunds on 2020 unemployment benefits—part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan—are slated to start landing in eligible bank accounts this month.

But with only a week left in the current month, millions of eligible Americans are still left on the sidelines—and the IRS has provided few updates on the matter.

Know that these potentially generous payments are from the waiving of federal tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits—or $20,400 for married couples filing jointly—that were collected last year. Unemployment benefits are generally treated as taxable income, the IRS says.

The agency has noted that as many as ten million Americans likely overpaid on their unemployment taxes and could be in line for the refunds.

According to a recent Treasury report, more than seven million tax returns already processed by the IRS appear to qualify for the tax refunds. “Of the 7.4 million tax returns, nearly 7.3 million—or 98.6 percent—had modified adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 and would likely qualify for the exclusion,” the report’s authors wrote.

Current refund estimates are indicating that for single taxpayers who are eligible for the $10,200 tax break and fit into the 22 percent tax bracket, they could be potentially refunded more than $2,200. That monetary figure would double for eligible married couples.

The agency also recently confirmed that it will automatically adjust tax returns if individuals qualify for a refund.

“Because the change occurred after some people filed their taxes, the IRS will take steps in the spring and summer to make the appropriate change to their return, which may result in a refund,” the IRS stated.

“The first refunds are expected to be made in May and will continue into the summer. Any resulting overpayment of tax will be either refunded or applied to other outstanding taxes owed,” the agency added.

For those who are still waiting for these funds to arrive, perhaps late summer is the better timeline for getting their hands on the checks. Do also take note that married couples who file a joint tax return may have to wait longer than individual taxpayers due to the higher complexity of calculating their respective refunds.

The IRS is expected to disburse the refunds in two separate phases—and currently, it appears that most married couples who filed jointly will be part of the second phase. No details have been released regarding when the second phase will start.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters.

Ethen Kim Lieser

Stimulus Check,

Do take note that the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill enabled the expansion of child tax credits that generally allowed families to claim a credit of up to $2,000 for children under the age of seventeen. But they now qualify to collect as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen.

Child Tax Credit Looks to Take Sting Out of States Ending Enhanced Unemployment

 

With the Internal Revenue Service in the final weeks of disbursing coronavirus stimulus checks and two dozen states announcing that they will end their participation in an enhanced unemployment program that pays an extra $300 a week, it appears that those Americans who are still struggling financially amid the ongoing pandemic can’t catch a break.

But thanks to President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, they can take comfort knowing that more help is indeed on the way via the expanded child tax credit. 

Do take note that the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill enabled the expansion of child tax credits that generally allowed families to claim a credit of up to $2,000 for children under the age of seventeen. But they now qualify to collect as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen.

This all means that eligible parents can receive a $250 or a $300 direct payment each month through the end of this year. In addition, eighteen-year-olds and full-time college students who are aged twenty-four and under can give parents a one-time $500 payment.

“The American Rescue Plan is delivering critical tax relief to middle class and hard-pressed working families with children. With today’s announcement, about 90 percent of families with children will get this new tax relief automatically, starting in July,” Biden said in a statement.

“While the American Rescue Plan provides for this vital tax relief to hard working families for this year, Congress must pass the American Families Plan to ensure that working families will be able to count on this relief for years to come. For working families with children, this tax cut sends a clear message: help is here,” the president added.

If the nearly $2 trillion American Families Plan ever gets green-lighted, know that the child tax credit could be extended four more years through 2025. In a recent press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki touted the bill’s potential reach.  

“If passed, the families of tens of millions of children will continue to get regular payments … we think that’s a proposal with a long-term benefit,” she said.

Meanwhile, some states that are withdrawing from the enhanced unemployment program are offering financial incentives to unemployed workers who eventually accept a job. For example, in Arizona, the state’s Back to Work program is giving a one-time $1,000 cash payment to unemployment recipients who accept part-time employment and $2,000 to full-timers.

“In Arizona, we’re going to use federal money to encourage people to work instead of paying people not to work,” Gov. Doug Ducey recently said in a press conference.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Trevor Filseth

Stimulus Stimulus Update,

The logic for such payments, on one level, is sound. Despite general improvements in the economy, the pandemic has had profoundly negative effects on blue-collar workers, whose jobs cannot easily be done from home.

Here's What You Need to Remember: While some polls anecdotally suggest support for additional stimulus measures among Americans, perhaps the most striking sign of support for further payments has been a Change.org petition for $2000 monthly stimulus checks – which has exceeded 2 million signatures since 2020.

By the end of May, it is estimated that most of the nation’s third stimulus checks, authorized in March 2021, will have been sent out. The IRS has claimed that roughly 90% of the payments have already been mailed, with a total of over $380 billion deposited in Americans’ accounts. While there is not likely to be a firm end date after which stimulus payments will be finished – invariably, some will be lost in the mail, while others will remain uncashed for months – the IRS has provided ways for concerned Americans to request their payments more quickly, meaning that anyone urgently waiting for a stimulus check will probably have it by mid-summer.

The passing of the third check, however, has led to requests for a fourth. In the two months since the beginning of the third stimulus check, more than eighty members of Congress – all Democrats – have publicly come out in support for a fourth measure. Of the eighty, the majority support further stimulus proposals that advocate for recurring, rather than one-time, checks for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

The logic for such payments, on one level, is sound. Despite general improvements in the economy, the pandemic has had profoundly negative effects on blue-collar workers, whose jobs cannot easily be done from home. Unemployment in these sectors remains high, and it is clear that another stimulus payment would go a long way towards covering their bills.

While President Biden has not indicated his support for a fourth stimulus measure, he has been the recipient of at least three letters urging him to consider it. The most recent of these was sent last week by Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA). Gomez’s letter highlights the fact that, so far, most stimulus money has been spent on urgent necessities, such as food and housing, rather than more discretionary items.

In the letter, Gomez indicates his support for a fourth stimulus check. He also suggests a novel approach, designed to allay concerns over whether the measure would actually be needed, by tying the issuance of the check to economic factors such as the unemployment rate. In this way, if the economy took another downturn, the stimulus measure could kick in, providing economic relief as needed.

While some polls anecdotally suggest support for additional stimulus measures among Americans, perhaps the most striking sign of support for further payments has been a Change.org petition for $2000 monthly stimulus checks – which has exceeded 2 million signatures since 2020.

Trevor Filseth is a news reporter and writer for the National Interest. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters.

Peter Suciu

Amphibious Assault Ships,

With its long flight deck and the ability for aircraft to take off and land, it would be easy to think that vessels such as the USS America (LHA-6) are "aircraft carriers."

Here's What You Need To Remember: However, while these warships are similar – similar doesn't mean the same. There are jobs that only a carrier can do, and there are jobs that the LHA can do. That is why both will likely remain floating runways for the foreseeable future and likely beyond.

With its long flight deck and the ability for aircraft to take off and land, it would be easy to think that vessels such as the USS America (LHA-6) are "aircraft carriers." However, looks can be deceiving and there is far more than meets the eye to these warships. USS America is an amphibious assault ship – concept that dates back to the Second World War, when escort carriers wouldn't "escort" just the larger carriers but rather the landing ships and troop carriers.

The Imperial Japanese Navy's Shinshū Maru was the first to be designated a landing craft carrier and served as a proto-amphibious assault ship. Unlike the modern version of the LHA, the Shinshū Maru could only launch aircraft via a catapult to support an amphibious assault, and aircraft had to (hopefully) land on captured airfields!

During the Cold War, the British Royal Navy was the first to transform a small carrier, the HMS Ocean (R68), into an assault ship. The Colossus­­-class carrier saw service during the Suez Crisis when it was used in the first-ever large-scale helicopter-borne assault.

The United States Navy built on this concept with a special class of ships specifically built to carry up to 20 helicopters. This was the Iwo Jima-class, which bore the hull classification LPH, referred to as "Landing Platform Helicopter. These vessels could transport more than 1,700 fully equipped Marine Assault Troops into combat areas and land them by helicopter at designated inland positions.

The subsequent Tawara-class Landing Helicopter Assault, which is why even today Amphibious Assault Ships are designated LHA and not AAS. Five of the planned nine Tawara-class LHA were built from 1971 and 1980, before it was succeeded by the Wasp-class, which first entered service in the late 1980s. These LHA's have provided the Marine Corps with a means of ship-to-shore movement by helicopter in addition to movement by landing craft. 

All eight of these ships are still active today, along with two of the America-class, and while the primary role is to carry about a battalion's worth of Marines, the LHA is far more versatile. But the LHA has shortcomings. All U.S. Navy Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft are catapult-launched, which the LHA can't perform, and it can't project airpower ashore utilizing organic electronic warfare assets such as the F/A-18G.

The development of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft and the F-35B Lightning II have further changed the way these smaller flattops could be used.

The USS America operates with at least five Marine F-35B Lightning II fighters as well as MV-22Bs tiltrotors and CH-53 helicopters as part of a typical Maine air combat element. But it can be reconfigured as needed, carrying 16 of the F-35Bs instead – which would provide an air group on board that is essentially on par with almost any actual aircraft carrier in the world, apart the U.S. Navy's Nimitz­-class and Ford­-class or the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle.

However, while these warships are similar – similar doesn't mean the same. There are jobs that only a carrier can do, and there are jobs that the LHA can do. That is why both will likely remain floating runways for the foreseeable future and likely beyond.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com. This article first appeared last year.

Image: Flickr.

Eli Fuhrman

Stimulus Payment Crime,

This is not the first example of a crime involving stimulus payments. Attempts at fraud involving stimulus payments have been a concern since the government first began sending them out.

Here's What You Need to Remember: A particularly gruesome example of violent crime involving stimulus payments comes out of Indianapolis, where a disagreement over a stimulus payment ended in a quadruple murder.

An elderly woman’s stimulus payment was part of a recent theft attempt. A couple in Ohio is facing charges of theft from a person in a protected class after they duped a woman into signing over a number of assets to them. Investigators say that Karen Laborde and Peter Laborde III managed to trick the woman into signing a quitclaim deed, used to transfer ownership of a property before they then placed her into a nursing home.

They also stole a number of other assets worth over $47,500 from her, including her social security and stimulus payment.

This is not the first example of a crime involving stimulus payments. Attempts at fraud involving stimulus payments have been a concern since the government first began sending them out. One Oklahoma woman, for example, reported that shortly after receiving her first $1,200 stimulus payment she was notified by her bank about more than one attempt to cash fraudulent checks against her account.

More organized attempts at fraud involving stimulus payments have also taken place, with one Chicago man accused of working with his brother, a postal worker, to steal stimulus payments from the mail and then resell them.

Those people accused of engaging in fraud related to stimulus payments could face very severe penalties, including fines of up to $1,000,000 as well as jail time.

Violent crimes involving stimulus payments have also occurred. An Indiana postal worker was killed by a man on her regular delivery route who was reportedly angry over having his mail withheld which resulted in a delay in his receiving his stimulus payment, while a man in Illinois was killed following an attempted home invasion and burglary that was targeting his stimulus payment.

Other examples of violent crime involving stimulus payments include a shooting in Detroit that followed an argument over a stimulus payment, as well as one man who set both his house and an ex-girlfriend’s car on fire after reportedly being angry that his $600 stimulus payment was being diverted for child support.

A particularly gruesome example of violent crime involving stimulus payments comes out of Indianapolis, where a disagreement over a stimulus payment ended in a quadruple murder.

Eli Fuhrman is a contributing writer for The National Interest. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters.

Caleb Larson

Anti-Satellite, Middle East

Striking a target just across a national border is relatively easy. What is much harder, however, is striking an adversary’s satellites. Could Iran do it?

Here's What You Need to Remember: Converting a missile from ground attack to space attack is not necessarily difficult. And space is a ripe target. Satellites are virtually defenseless from strikes by kill vehicles.

After the targeted killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Iran flexed a bit of its ballistic missile muscle in retaliation, striking several bases in Iraq that housed U.S. troops. Striking a target just across a national border is relatively easy. What is much harder, however, is striking an adversary’s satellites. Could Iran do it?

Bombs Away

A report from CSIS stated that Iran’s “missile forces [are] a potent tool for Iranian power projection and a credible threat to U.S. and partner military forces in the region.”

While referencing Iran’s conventional ballistic missile capabilities, the report fails to mention that Iran’s missile arsenal is fully adequate for reaching satellites of varying orbits.

Converting a missile from ground attack to space attack is not necessarily difficult. And space is a ripe target. Satellites are virtually defenseless from strikes by kill vehicles.

The United States, and virtually the entire world is dependent on satellites for peaceful reasons like communications, for navigating by GPS—and for violent reasons, like guiding precision-guided munition, or snapping photos from nuclear test sites.

One expert on the danger posed by anti-satellite capabilities wrote, “the military applications of ASAT missiles appear fairly obvious. China would seek to use the ASAT missiles to knock out U.S. satellites in order to degrade its C5ISR [Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] capabilities, rendering distributed U.S. military and allied assets unable to communicate or share information.”

If enough satellites were knocked out in a conflict scenario, troops would have to dust of the ole map and compass.

Still, striking a satellite is no walk in the park—and more complicated that just launching a missile into space. Satellites are small, and some travel along their orbits quite fast. Striking satellites has been compared to hitting a bullet with another bullet.

No Mental Limitations

Challenges aside, could Iran knock out the United State’s satellites? A Defense Intelligence Agency report acknowledged Iran’s desire to shape the space battlefield. "Iran recognizes the strategic value of space and counterspace capabilities and will attempt to deny an adversary use of space during a conflict.”

Iran does also have some capabilities, due to the aforementioned ballistic missile arsenal it maintains: “Because of the inherent overlap in technology between ICBMs and SLVs, Iran’s development of larger, more capable SLV boosters remains a concern for a future ICBM capability. Also, these advancements could be applied to developing a basic ground-based ASAT missile, should Iran choose to do so in the future.”

Desire aside, Iran has some practical limitations to deal with: “Tehran states it has developed sophisticated capabilities, including SLVs and communications and remote sensing satellites, but its SLVs are only able to launch microsatellites into LEO [Low Earth Orbit} and have proven unreliable.”

Deny > Control

Iran’s capabilities in space are most effective in denying the space sphere to adversaries, rather than actually controlling it themselves. In 2011, Iran was able to capture an American drone by jamming the drone’s GPS signal and spoofing another GPS signal. This is much easier to do than taking out a satellite.

It is unlikely that Iran would be able to strike satellites from their orbit, though the desire and ballistic missile base is there. There are just cheaper and easier alternatives like GPS jamming and spoofing. If you do lose your GPS signal soon—it probably wasn’t Iran.

Caleb Larson is a Defense Writer with The National Interest. He holds a Master of Public Policy and covers U.S. and Russian security, European defense issues, and German politics and culture.

Image: Reuters.

Ethen Kim Lieser

Stimulus Payments,

Polling data shows that 65 percent of Americans support recurring stimulus payments. “This includes support from 54 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents. Economists support the idea too,” they said.

Here's What You Need to Remember: “Our country is still deeply struggling. The recovery hasn’t reached many Americans. . . . It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it. Moving forward Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met. No more waiting around for our government to send the help we need.”  

Over the past year, Congress has green-lighted the delivery of three coronavirus stimulus cash payments—a $1,200 check in April 2020, $600 in December, and the current $1,400 payments under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

That’s already $3,200 in the pockets of most Americans—and with that in mind, can U.S. taxpayers really expect to collect another cash windfall?

Currently, there has been no hint of another round of payments from the White House. In fact, during a recent press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to be noncommittal regarding future stimulus checks.

“We’ll see what members of Congress propose, but those are not free,” she told reporters.

More recently, seven Democrats within the House Ways and Means Committee—led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.)—sent a letter to Biden that urged him to include recurring direct payments in his highly ambitious $1.8 trillion American Families Plan.

“The pandemic has served as a stark reminder that families and workers need certainty in a crisis,” the lawmakers wrote. “They deserve to know they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.”  

In March, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and other Democratic senators contended in another letter that “a single direct payment will not last long for most families.”

They also pointed to polling data that showed that 65 percent of Americans support recurring stimulus payments. “This includes support from 54 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents. Economists support the idea too,” they said.

It appears that recent polls and surveys are backing such claims that millions of Americans are still scraping by. TransUnion’s research has revealed that roughly four in ten Americans are still continuing to experience income loss compared to before the start of the pandemic, while a report put together by the Economic Security Project has suggested that additional rounds of stimulus have the potential to lift twelve million U.S. residents out of poverty.

In addition, ordinary citizens fed up with their precarious financial situations are taking action to demand more rounds of stimulus checks.  

In one such example, more than 2.2 million people already have signed a Change.org petition that is calling for $2,000 recurring monthly stimulus payments.  

“I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis,” the petition stated.  

“Our country is still deeply struggling. The recovery hasn’t reached many Americans. . . . It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it. Moving forward Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met. No more waiting around for our government to send the help we need,” it added.  

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters

Rachel Bucchino

Joe Biden,

“Tax increases on America’s job creators would stall the economic recovery rather than fuel it and counteract the economic benefits of smart infrastructure spending,” the coalition organizers told The Hill.

Here's What You Need to Remember: The Biden administration hopes to make progress on a bill by Memorial Day and has indicated that the president wants the legislation on his desk before Congress takes recess in August.

More than two dozen business groups from a variety of industries have joined together in efforts to reject President Joe Biden’s plans to boost taxes on corporations, arguing the measure would eradicate jobs and slow the country’s pace toward economic recovery. 

The coalition, dubbed America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery, was headed by the National Association of Wholesale Distributors.

“Tax increases on America’s job creators would stall the economic recovery rather than fuel it and counteract the economic benefits of smart infrastructure spending,” the coalition organizers told The Hill.

The groups involved include the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the International Franchise Association and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America.

The alliance comes as Biden has called for a slew of tax increases on wealthy individuals and corporations to help fund his multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure and jobs bill that’s sitting in a partisan deadlock, as both sides of the aisle fail to reach an agreement over what’s included in the bill and how it’ll be paid for.

The president, however, thinks the bill should be funded by a raised corporate tax rate to 28 percent, up from 21 percent, as well as by imposing a global minimum of 15 percent on companies’ profits overseas and by increasing the income tax rate to 39.6 percent.

The coalition has already begun paid messaging research nationally and in Arizona, sources told The Hill.

The group also plans to pivot their messaging away from taxing the rich and big corporations to help construct roads and bridges, since that method often rallies support from Democrats and party voters. 

Instead, the group told The Hill that overall support for Biden’s infrastructure bill tends to diminish if voters think that the measure requires public spending, meaning higher prices for goods and services, as well as potential tax hikes.

“The record tax hikes that Democrats are seeking to ram through could not come at a worse time for America’s job creators who are just beginning to recover from a crippling pandemic,” Eric Hoplin, president and CEO of the National Association of Wholesaler Distributors, told the publication.

A group of Senate Republicans plan to present a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure deal to the White House on Thursday as negotiations between Democrats and the GOP have hit a brick wall. 

Democratic lawmakers have sounded the alarm over the partisan impasse, with progressive members calling for the budget reconciliation process to pass the massive infrastructure bill. That would mean Democrats could move forward on an infrastructure package with a simple majority, which wouldn’t require a single Republican vote due to the party’s majority in the Senate.

In the meantime, a bipartisan group of senators have announced efforts to pursue a smaller, more targeted infrastructure bill that offers fresh ways to pay for the package. 

The Biden administration hopes to make progress on a bill by Memorial Day and has indicated that the president wants the legislation on his desk before Congress takes recess in August.

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters.

Sebastien Roblin

Submarines,

Most other navies have retained at least some diesel submarines because of their much lower cost and complexity.

Here's What You Need to Know: It is no surprise that navies that operate largely around coastal waters are turning to cheap AIP submarines, as their disadvantages are not as relevant when friendly ports are close at hand. The trade-off in range and endurance is more problematic for the U.S. Navy, which operates across the breadth of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Nuclear-powered submarines have traditionally held a decisive edge in endurance, stealth, and speed over cheaper diesel submarines. However, new Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology has significantly narrowed the performance gap on a new generation of submarines that cost a fraction of the price of a nuclear-powered boat.

A conventional submarine’s diesel engine generates electricity which can be used to drive the propeller and power its systems. The problem is that such a combustion engine is inherently quite noisy and runs on air—a commodity in limited supply on an underwater vehicle. Thus, diesel-powered submarines must surface frequently to recharge their batteries.

The first nuclear-powered submarines were brought into service in the 1950s. Nuclear reactors are quieter, don’t consume air, and produce greater power output, allowing nuclear submarines to remain submerged for months instead of days while traveling at higher speeds underwater.  

These advantages led the U.S. Navy to phase out its diesel boats in favor of an all-nuclear-powered submarine fleet.  However, most other navies have retained at least some diesel submarines because of their much lower cost and complexity.

In the 1990s, submarines powered by Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology entered operational use. Though the concept dated back to the 19th century and had been tested in a few prototype vessels, it was left to Sweden to deploy the first operational AIP-powered submarine, the Gotland-class, which proved to be stealthy and relatively long enduring. The 60-meter long Gotlands are powered by a Stirling-cycle engine, a heat engine consuming a combination of liquid oxygen and diesel fuel.

Since then, AIP powered-submarines have proliferated across the world using three different types of engines, with nearly 60 operational today in fifteen countries. Around fifty more are on order or being constructed.

China has 15 Stirling-powered Yuan-class Type 039A submarines with 20 more planned, as well as a single large Type 032 missile submarine that can fire ballistic missiles. Japan for her part has eight medium-sized Soryu class submarines that also use Stirling engines, with 15 more planned for or under construction. The Swedes, for their part, have developed four different classes of Stirling-powered submarines.

Germany has also built dozens of AIP-powered submarines, most notably the small Type 212 and 214, and has exported them across the globe. The German boats all use electro-catalytic fuel cells, a generally more efficient and quiet technology than the Stirling, though also more complex and expensive. Other countries intending to build fuel-cell-powered submarines include Spain (the S-80), India (the Kalvari-class), and Russia (the Lada-class).

Finally, France has designed several subs using a closed-cycle steam turbine called MESMA. Three upgraded Agosta-90b class subs with MESMA engines serve in the Pakistani Navy.

Nuclear vs. AIP: Who Wins?:

Broadly speaking, how do AIP vessels compare in performance to nuclear submarines? Let’s consider the costs and benefits in terms of stealth, endurance, speed, and cost.

Stealth:

Nuclear-powered submarines have become very quiet—at least an order of magnitude quieter than a diesel submarine with its engine running.  In fact, nuclear-powered submarines may be unable to detect each other using passive sonar, as evidenced by the 2009 collision of British and French nuclear ballistic missile submarines, both oblivious to the presence of the other.

However, there’s reason to believe that AIP submarines can, if properly designed, swim underwater even more quietly. The hydraulics in a nuclear reactor produce noise as they pump coolant liquid, while an AIP’s submarine’s engines are virtually silent. Diesel-powered submarines can also approach this level of quietness while running on battery power, but can only do so for a few hours whereas an AIP submarine can keep it up for days.

Diesel and AIP-powered submarines have on more than one occasion managed to slip through anti-submarine defenses and sink American aircraft carriers in war games. Of course, such feats have also been performed by nuclear submarines.

Endurance:

Nuclear submarines can operate underwater for three or four months at a time and cross oceans with ease. While some conventional submarines can handle the distance, none have comparable underwater endurance.

AIP submarines have narrowed the gap, however.  While old diesel submarines needed to surface in a matter of hours or a few days at best to recharge batteries, new AIP-powered vessels only need to surface every two to four weeks depending on type. (Some sources make the unconfirmed claim that the German Type 214 can even last more than 2 months.) Of course, surfaced submarines, or even those employing a snorkel, are comparatively easy to detect and attack.

Nuclear submarines still have a clear advantage in endurance over AIP boats, particularly on long-distance patrols.  However, for countries like Japan, Germany, and China that mostly operate close to friendly shores, extreme endurance may be a lower priority.

Speed:

Speed remains an undisputed strength of nuclear-powered submarines. U.S. attack submarine may be able to sustain speeds of more than 35 miles per hour while submerged. By comparison, the German Type 214’s maximum submerged speed of 23 miles per hour is typical of AIP submarines.

Obviously, high maximum speed grants advantages in both strategic mobility and tactical agility.  However, it should be kept in mind that even nuclear submarines rarely operate at maximum speed because of the additional noise produced.

On the other hand, an AIP submarine is likely to move at especially slow speeds when cruising sustainably using AIP compared to diesel or nuclear submarines.  For example, a Gotland class submarine is reduced to just 6 miles per hour if it wishes to remain submerged at maximum endurance—which is simply too slow for long-distance transits or traveling with surface ships.  Current AIP technology doesn’t produce enough power for higher speeds, and thus most AIP submarines also come with noisy diesel engines as a backup.

Cost:

Who would have guessed nuclear reactors are incredibly expensive?  The contemporary U.S. Virginia class attack submarine costs $2.6 billion dollars, and the earlier Los Angeles class before it around $2 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.  Mid-life nuclear refueling costs add millions more.

By comparison, AIP-powered submarines have generally cost between $200 and $600 million, meaning a country could easily buy three or four medium-sized AIP submarines instead of one nuclear attack submarine. Bear in mind, however, that the AIP submarines are mostly small or medium-sized vessels with crews of around 30 and 60 respectively, while nuclear submarines are often larger with crews of 100 or more.  They may also have heavier armament, such as Vertical Launch Systems, when compared to most AIP-powered vessels.

Nevertheless, a torpedo or missile from a small submarine can hit just as hard as one fired from a large one, and having three times the number of submarine operating in a given stretch of ocean could increase the likelihood chancing upon an important target, and make it easier to overwhelm anti-submarine defenses.

While AIP vessels may not be able to do everything a nuclear submarine can, having a larger fleet of submarines would be very useful in hunting opposing ships and submarines for control of the seas. Nor would it be impossible to deploy larger AIP-powered submarines; China has already deployed one, and France is marketing a cheaper AIP-powered version of the Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarine.

It is no surprise that navies that operate largely around coastal waters are turning to cheap AIP submarines, as their disadvantages are not as relevant when friendly ports are close at hand. The trade-off in range and endurance is more problematic for the U.S. Navy, which operates across the breadth of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. This may explain why the U.S. Navy has shown little inclination to return to non-nuclear submarines. However, AIP submarines operating from forward bases would represent a very cost-effective and stealthy means to expand the Navy’s sea-control mission.

Sébastien Roblin holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

This article first appeared in 2016.

Image: Flickr.