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Leaving Now Not the Way Out of Iraq – H. R. McMaster, London Times
One of the key strategists behind America’s last-ditch 'surge' in Iraq, Colonel HR McMaster explains his thinking to Marie Colvin, our award-winning correspondent, who has spent decades covering the Middle East and has witnessed the bloody reality of life in Baghdad. McMaster insists that ‘sustained stability’ is possible – eventually. But was the surge the right policy too late?
Adapt or Die - Greg Grant, Government Executive
The Army remains too laden with tradition, too conservative, too hierarchical and rule-bound to cope effectively with its new enemy. Counterinsurgency is small-unit warfare, so leadership and command must devolve to lower levels. The most important field commanders are sergeants, lieutenants and captains - their decisions have strategic implications. But the Army remains focused on making brigades stronger and empowering generals. The Army must change. Its focus must shift to platoons and empowering junior officers - captains like Ike Sallee, for instance.
The Joint Campaign Plan - Richard Lowry, Weekly Standard
The Joint Campaign Plan was developed and has been approved by the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and Multinational Force-Iraq as a top-level strategic planning document for both the Embassy and Multinational Force-Iraq missions. The Joint Campaign Plan certainly does not contain all the answers for the U.S. strategy in Iraq, but it is a living document and will be modified and amended as the situation there continues to develop. Still, the original strategy is a comprehensive plan that has both near-term and long-term goals in four critical areas--political, security, economic and diplomatic.
What if We Win? - Cal Thomas, Washington Times
Most Democrats seem so invested in defeat in Iraq that they apparently have no "Plan B," which would be success. So cynical have our politics become that a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democratic leaders are "not willing to concede there are positive things to point to" in Iraq. And House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn said a favorable report from Gen. David Petraeus could lead 47 moderate-to-conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats to oppose a withdrawal timetable, making it virtually impossible for the liberal leadership to pass such legislation. "[It would be] a real problem for us," said Mr. Clyburn.
Finish the Job in Iraq, Marine's Father Urges - Kevin Ferris, Philadelphia Inquirer
John Wroblewski suggests Congress stop all the talk about leaving Iraq in 60 days, or 90 days, or 120 days. Instead, what the country needs, he says, is "more discussion about victory and how we're going to win."
Troops and Crimes - Ralph Peters, New York Post
59 trials in 19 months, among an average troop population of almost 140,000. Compare that to civilian crime statistics back home, and it's clear that any of us would welcome the chance to live among such model citizens - even though our troops are overwhelmingly within the age window where criminal behavior is most frequent.
Dump O'Connor from Defence Role - Toronto Star editorial
Canadian troops battling Al Qaeda and its ilk in Afghanistan deserve to know that the shop back home in Ottawa is in steady hands. Sadly, it is not. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor is a poor communicator who has failed repeatedly to shore up fading public confidence in the mission. He has misled Parliament, has appeared to be openly at odds with Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier and has been inadequately briefed on significant matters.
A First Step to Save Darfur - New York Times editorial
The United Nations Security Council has at last taken a meaningful step toward stopping the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region, authorizing a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to begin operations this fall. With 26,000 soldiers and police officers, it will be the world’s largest peacekeeping effort.
The UN Blinks on Darfur – Christian Science Monitor editorial
Rather than plan for an invasion of Darfur to end a genocide, the UN Security Council decided Tuesday to send in 20,000 peacekeepers – not peacemakers. And the Blue Helmets will operate only without usurping Sudanese authority. Why the compromises? Two reasons: China and Iraq.
What Makes Brown Think UN Can Fix Darfur? - Con Coughlin, London Daily Telegraph
The road to UN peacekeeping operations is not only littered with good intentions: it is stained with the blood of its failures, from Bosnia to Lebanon. And however much politicians like to talk up the implications of the breakthrough at the UN, they would do well to remember the many obstacles and pitfalls that may impede any serious attempt to resolve the crisis.
Lawfare Amid Warfare - Charles Dunlap, Washington Times
"Is warfare turning into lawfare?" When I posed that question in a 2001 essay for Harvard's Carr Center, I was expressing concern about the increasing frequency with which international law was being used — and abused — by America's opponents.
Appeasement or 'Grand Strategy' - Diana West, Washington Times
Visiting "the kingdom" (the grating, fairytale nickname for that oil-rich human-rights pit), the U.S. secretaries of state and defense delivered a blunt message: If you keep fomenting and financing global jihad; if you keep teaching and preaching the eradication or repression of non-Muslims; if you keep trampling human rights, women's rights, freedom of conscience and freedom of speech; and, last but not least, if you keep supporting Sunni insurgents in Iraq who are battling American troops, well, then, the United States of America will be forced to act. Yessir, you can bet your bottom petrodollar. You Saudis keep doing all that bad stuff and Uncle Sam is going to... deliver $20 billion of cutting edge weaponry to you, ASAP.
Invisible Martyrs - Michelle Malkin, Washington Times
The blood of innocent Christian missionaries spills on Afghan sands. The world watches and yawns. The United Nations offers nothing more than a formal expression of "concern." Where is the global uproar over the human rights abuses unfolding before our eyes?
Young Russia's Enemy No. 1 - Sarah Mendelson and Theodore Gerber, Washington Post
Vladimir Putin's belligerent rhetoric and actions toward the United States and its allies have begun prompting pundits to debate whether a new Cold War is afoot. But how has the Russian president's message played to his home audience? A survey we commissioned by the Levada Analytic Center of 1,802 Russians ages 16 to 29 offers some insight. We focused on this "Putin generation" because it is Russia's political and economic future. In the days after the Soviet collapse, it seemed reasonable to hope, even expect, that this generation, as the collective beneficiaries of a putative post-Soviet transition to economic prosperity and political freedom, would embrace the United States as a friend of Russia. Yet our survey, conducted in April and May, found that a majority of young Russians view the United States as enemy No. 1. And while Putin's rhetoric is driving this development, human rights violations associated with U.S. counterterrorism policies have played a role.
Kosovo as Part of Russia's Design - Janusz Bugajski, Washington Times
For the Russian administration the Kosovo imbroglio has developed into an important strategic weapon. Due to the indecision exhibited by Western powers in confirming Kosovo's final status, Moscow views Kosovo as a valuable boost for its regional and global ambitions. By effectively vetoing Kosovo's supervised independence under the Western-sponsored Ahtisaari plan and maintaining an indefinite status quo in the region, Russia raises its international stature in several ways.
The Latest Mexican War - Austin Bay, Washington Times
Mexico is at war. No, not a war with the United States over immigration, though the war for stability and modernity Mexico is waging has profound effects on that hot-button North American issue.
Chávez's Goal: Media Hegemony - Carlos Lauría, Miami Herald
Venezuelan officials' increasing intolerance of free speech and press criticism reached a new low this week. A group of cable-television channels narrowly escaped being taken off the air, and President Hugo Chávez declared during his six-hour long weekly television and radio address that foreigners who criticize him or his administration while visiting the country will be expelled from Venezuela. Though analysts believe this is just another example of the president's inflamed rhetoric that won't result in any concrete actions, Chávez has ordered high-ranking officials to scrutinize statements made by foreign dignitaries and deport any outspoken critics while carrying out a deliberate strategy to control Venezuela's media.
Banner Year for Ulster – Washington Times editorial
Operation Banner was and is a case study in counterinsurgency which will be studied indefinitely. The expectation in August 1969 was that the violence could be quelled in weeks. It wasn't to be. Bloody Sunday and a torrent of violence ensued, followed by stalemate and a decade of painstaking peace talks involving terrorists, statesmen, militiamen and many more in between. Thirty-eight years and 300,000 troops later, Operation Banner ends as the longest military operation in British history, imperfect but now ending on as positive a note as could be hoped for. The remaining British garrison of approximately 5,000 troops is only slightly larger than the pre-Banner force in 1969. They are not slated for operations in Northern Ireland. Soldiers there train for Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Applying Lessons of Northern Ireland - Toronto Star editorial
The Northern Ireland campaign encouraged the army – and politicians – to think of soldiers as a new kind of force, able to act within civil society, building confidence and responding to terrorism and political chaos as well as old threats from opposing nations and armies.
The Cuban Armada - Duncan Currie, Weekly Standard
Nobody knows what will happen when Fidel Castro dies. But Caleb McCarry, the State Department's designated "Cuba transition coordinator," says the United States is currently "stepping up" efforts to encourage civil society on the island and "will continue to do so," adding that federal and local officials have held joint exercises in Florida to prepare for the day El Comandante finally expires. "This is an opportunity for the Cuban people that can't be lost."
Fiddling as al-Qeda Plots - Vito Fossella, New York Post
Right now, a terrorist in Pakistan is talking to a terrorist in Afghanistan about a plot to kill innocent Americans. But because that call is routed through America, intelligence officials are forbidden from monitoring it without a warrant.
Don't Rush to Modify FISA - Los Angeles Times editorial
As it shifts into overdrive before a summer recess, Congress is debating whether to oblige the Bush administration with changes in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that the administration ignored for five years as the National Security Agency -- without court approval -- monitored the international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. residents suspected of ties with foreign terrorists. Our advice: Hurry up and wait.
'Get Smart' in Washington - Wall Street Journal editorial
As we reported last week, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell has been working behind the scenes for weeks to restore what even Democrats now concede is declining U.S. ability to eavesdrop on terrorists abroad. The phone companies have limited their cooperation due to the risk of lawsuits following the New York Times exposure of the wiretap program in 2005.
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