Bangladesh-United States military agreements

[Alim]

On 1/26/2020 at 6:48 PM, Professor Chanakya said:

You're making assumptions as to whether I know or not. I teach these issues to people. Anyways I've not taken offense to your statement. It doesn't matter what Sanders says. He will have his hands tied when dealing with this issue. Congress and Senate won't allow him to do a lot of things that he might want to do. There isn't much support for such policies from any major segment of Democratic or Republican Party. American system functions in such a way that Sanders being completely clean from corporate interest won't be able to make major change. He might close 1-2 bases but no major change will come. Trust me. All these bases serve American interest and as such America can't give away its valuable possessions.

The question of "taking offense" does not even arise.

I do not understand the need to get so defensive. You could be an expert in PoliSci/IR and yet not be familiar with certain politicians, policies or countries because guess what, you are only human.

I am sure there are other topics you can educate me on.

Anyway, you do not know what I do or where I get my info from so let us stick to presenting facts and logic.
 

The American public is overwhelmingly against foreign interventionism yet the US keeps on getting militarily involved in new countries and the military budget keeps balloning while Flint, Michigan does not have clean drinking water, causing mental defects among children, and US infrastructure gets a grade of D+ from America's oldest and highly prestigious engineering body.

Vast majority of American support background checks for gunownership yet there is hardly any effort pass any meaningful gun reforms.

Now why is this? This is because US public opinion has single-digit impact on policymaking. 

99/100 Senators and the majority of US Reps are bought off by corporations thanks to Buckley vs Valeo.

You are therefore dead wrong when you suggest that US bases serve "US interests"; they don't. They serve MNCs of the O&G and defence sectors.

Cheney gets a $40 million exit bonus from Halliburton in 1997 and voila! The US lands in Iraq 5 years later for no good reason.

The entire Congress is bought off by MNCs which is reflected in legislations.

The same MNCs run MSNBC, CNN, Fox and CNBC which cover up for them and suppress independent/honest voices.

All of this makes Sanders extremely special.Sanders has a 40 year old track record of standing against all odds and opposing US interventionism and corporate takeover of US government. He is the only US Senator and leading Presidential candidate who does does not take corporate and billionare donations. 

He has created history by running a small donor driven campaign racking in 4 million small contributions at under $20 apiece.

Trust me, if elected he will start the process of rolling back troops and divert money towards actual "US interests", i.e., nation building (education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc.)

He does not need Congressional approval to shut most bases especially the ones that were set up unconstitutionally by over leveraging the AUMF which was passed strictly for fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Now the question is how does he fight Congress to take his agenda forward.

All he needs to is visit home districts/states of Congrssional leadership and endorse honest primary challengers. Look up Our Revolution and Justice Democrats.

The dude shamed Amazon and Disney into paying $15/hr despite not having Congressional support. He will bulldose the American plutocracy.

 

There is no comparison between him and the smooth-talking neo-liberal, new deal sellout Obama who let Citibank pick his cabinet. He is a prodigee of Joe Liberman which tells you who he has been all along.

The last time a truely progressive POTUS took office he served four terms.

A revolution is already on to replace corporate sell-outs with real politicians.

AOC, Tlaib, Omar, Presley, Jayapal and Khanna only form the first wave of an impending Tsunami.

Anyway, feel free to start a new topic if you want to discuss/debate this further.

Going by polling and momentum, President Sanders is almost a reality which will be a boon for Bangladesh armed forces vis FMS and EDA.

@mods: Sorry for drawing a long, non-military tangent but this is relevant in the broader scheme of US-BD relationship.

 

 

 

[Alim]

On 1/29/2020 at 10:24 AM, Legionair said:

I dont think there will be any major shift in policy and I would expect another Trump tenure in coming years so dont bother engaging your brain thinking Sanders has chance. The boost of defense budget by Trump is a good news for Bangladesh , not so a good news that 900 bases will be closed due to a new POTUS in power. 

Also delighted to see we have a stronger ties now and it is preferable to have decommissioned ships from US then some Chinese ! might have Coronavirus on them who knows!  

 

Look up polling.

This is a good video to get a feel of what is going on.

 

[Legionair]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:10 PM, Alim said:

Look up polling.

This is a good video to get a feel of what is going on.

 

Well , Im not a Trump fan but Trump is a show man for many years, he can easily turn things around. You can hope Sanders to win but its better to watch what Trump does next. His popularity is rising -because he is data driven from last election. His target group is absolutely precise. Cambridge Analytica did an excellent job for the US republican, UK conservatives and Brexit election. The data was recent and the psycoprofile they did is still valid.

[Alim]

32 minutes ago, Legionair said:

Well , Im not a Trump fan but Trump is a show man for many years, he can easily turn things around. You can hope Sanders to win but its better to watch what Trump does next. His popularity is rising -because he is data driven from last election. His target group is absolutely precise. Cambridge Analytica did an excellent job for the US republican, UK conservatives and Brexit election. The data was recent and the psycoprofile they did is still valid.

He won because he could not run against a more disliked Democrat. Voter turnout was low.

It is not just about me "hoping" things. You have to study polling data (both of candidates and of policy proposals) and momentum. Feel free to discuss further in the election thread I have started.

[Darth Nihilus]

17 hours ago, Legionair said:

Well , Im not a Trump fan but Trump is a show man for many years, he can easily turn things around. You can hope Sanders to win but its better to watch what Trump does next. His popularity is rising -because he is data driven from last election. His target group is absolutely precise. Cambridge Analytica did an excellent job for the US republican, UK conservatives and Brexit election. The data was recent and the psycoprofile they did is still valid.

Let's not go into the election debacle that happened. As you can see, the US hasn't even figured out what happened as of yet. But the more important point is as hard as it is to admit, Trump needs to stay. He really is decisive (not a fan of most of his decisions) but he actually does what he thinks is good for the US. Sanders will never be able to close the bases down as Congress won't allow it and if nothing changes, will still have a majority of the opposition in power there. As long as that happens, no bases will be shutdown. Let me remind you that Obama wasn't able to close down GitMo or pull troops from Afghanistan fully the two terms he was in power.

[Rezwan12]

4 November, 2020 07:21:03 PM

Bangladesh, US Navies to work together to expand ties

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh and the US Navies are working to expand relationships and broaden maritime awareness during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2020, commencing on Wednesday.

CARAT Bangladesh 2020 demonstrates the US’s continuing commitment to working with the Bangladesh military to address shared maritime security concerns in the region and strengthen our partnership to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, said the US Embassy in Dhaka.

“Working together with our friends and partners is a force multiplier for peace and stability,” said Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7.

"We will continue to operate with and learn from the Bangladesh Navy and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder in our commitment to a free and open maritime commons.”

Historically, CARAT exercises involve people-to-people interactions and relationships through a variety of professional exchanges and symposia, subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs), community relations projects, and social events.

To mitigate COVID-19 risks, exercise events were planned virtually and current SMEEs will take place online, using real-time virtual meetings, for US and Bangladesh to share best practices and carry on discussions in a live forum.

Despite the challenges in a COVID-constrained environment, online technology allows the opportunity to safely exercise with partners in the region.

Commander, Bangladesh Navy Fleet Rear Adm. M Mahbub-Ul Islam, who presided over the opening ceremony, said mutual cooperation and partnership is essential to make the maritime domain safe.

“The longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Bangladesh has been steadfast and time tested,” said Mahbub-Ul Islam.

“Exercise CARAT with this level of difficulty, of enhancing cooperation, and in friendship, and strengthening professional interoperability, has become a unique forum to work with the U.S. Navy.”

The virtual SMEE events will feature a variety of joint training opportunities, to include replenishment at sea (RAS) training, maritime domain awareness (MDA), legal regulations at sea, and aviation best practices of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, and maritime patrol and reconnaissance (MPRA) fixed wing aircraft.

This is the first year United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Bali Process Regional Support Office are supporting CARAT Bangladesh.

Both organization's expertise provide the U.S. Navy and the Bangladesh Navy a better understanding of the international rules and norms associated with operational challenges of today's complex maritime security mission.

Their technical expertise assisted in developing a tailored scenario with an emphasis on strengthening capacity to adhere to international standards and legal obligations to more effectively counter maritime security challenges at-sea.

UNODC educates and offers practical assistance on technical assistance to combat maritime crime, including trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, through its interregional approach.

The Bali Process supports efforts to protect migrants at sea, and explores cooperative approaches to confront the scourge of people smuggling and trafficking of persons.

The sea phase will take place in the Bay of Bengal with ships and from both partner militaries, with events designed to enhance interoperability between the two navies.

U.S. and Bangladesh will work through coordinated deployment of surface ships, to include tactical maneuvers.

Ships will also participate in a gunnery exercise, rehearse division tactics, man overboard and search and rescue procedures, and RAS approaches, all designed to enhance communication sail together in complex maneuvers.

“We are continuing to grow U.S.-Bangladesh cooperation and training foundation through virtual means and at sea,” said Capt. Ann McCann, commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 during the virtual opening ceremony.

“While we cannot meet in person this year, our communication and bonds remain strong, and we look forward to practicing maritime professionalism when we meet at sea and online.”

Bangladesh marks the second CARAT exercise in 2020, following CARAT Brunei in the South China Sea, 5-9 Oct.

The CARAT exercise series, celebrating its 26th anniversary, is designed to address shared maritime security concerns and strengthens partnerships between regional navies.

Bangladesh has been a participant since 2011.

With nearly a half century of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Bangladesh, the two countries continue to work closely together to advance a shared vision of a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region.

 

http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/255550