In reference to an earlier post - COIN Seminar: Dr. David Kilcullen – Wargaming Division of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory has posted my summary report (pdf – word) of the event.

From the earlier post (updated):

The Small Wars Center of Excellence had the privilege of organizing a Counterinsurgency (COIN) seminar featuring Dr. David Kilcullen on 26 September at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia.

Dr. Kilcullen spoke to a standing room only crowd at the Gray Research Center and provided an excellent and very informative brief (1 ½ hour) followed by a Q&A period that could have lasted well beyond the allotted 45 minutes.

The purpose and scope of the COIN seminar was to share some basic observations on COIN theory and practice derived primarily from Dr. Kilcullen’s service in Iraq (2006 and 2007), Afghanistan (2006), and pre 9/11 campaigns in SE Asia and the Pacific. Additionally, the forum served as a conduit to open a discussion on issues relevant to seminar attendees.

Dr. Kilcullen opened with a caveat – everyone sees Iraq differently, depending on when they served there, what they did and where they worked. Because the environment is highly complex, ambiguous and fluid; observations from one time / place may or may not be applicable elsewhere – even in the same campaign in the same year. He enjoined the audience to first understand the essentials of the environment, then determine whether analogous situations exist, before attempting to apply “lessons”. Dr. Kilcullen’s role in Iraq (hence his bias) was as Senior COIN Advisor to General David Petraeus (Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq [M-NF – I]). He spent approximately 65 percent of his time in the field and the remainder at M-NF – I Headquarters and the US Embassy in Baghdad.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory’s Wargaming Division has posted Dr. Kilcullen’s briefing slides here. The SWJ has posted a ‘backup’ copy of the brief here. The presentation, as well as the Q&A were videotaped and will be made available; along with the briefing slides, the summary report, a 45 minute video interview with Dr. Kilcullen, and several of his articles and SWJ Blog postings; on DVD. I’ll post another heads-up as the DVD production date nears.

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Continue reading "COIN Seminar Summary Report" »

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Continue reading "Gen. Casey on A Failure in Generalship" »

I’d like to digress from my usual analysis of insurgent strategy and tactics to speak out on an issue of grave importance to Small Wars Journal readers. We, as a nation, are having a crisis of honor.

Last week the Attorney General nominee Judge Michael Mukasey refused to define waterboarding terror suspects as torture. On the same day MSNBC television pundit and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough quickly spoke out in its favor. On his morning television broadcast, he asserted, without any basis in fact, that the efficacy of the waterboard a viable tool to be used on Al Qaeda suspects.

Scarborough said, "For those who don't know, waterboarding is what we did to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is the Al Qaeda number two guy that planned 9/11. And he talked …" He then speculated that “If you ask Americans whether they think it's okay for us to waterboard in a controlled environment … 90% of Americans will say 'yes.'” Sensing that what he was saying sounded extreme, he then claimed he did not support torture but that waterboarding was debatable as a technique: "You know, that's the debate. Is waterboarding torture? … I don't want the United States to engage in the type of torture that [Senator] John McCain had to endure."

In fact, waterboarding is just the type of torture then Lt. Commander John McCain had to endure at the hands of the North Vietnamese. As a former Master Instructor and Chief of Training at the US Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School (SERE) in San Diego, California I know the waterboard personally and intimately. SERE staff were required undergo the waterboard at its fullest. I was no exception. I have personally led, witnessed and supervised waterboarding of hundreds of people. It has been reported that both the Army and Navy SERE school’s interrogation manuals were used to form the interrogation techniques used by the US army and the CIA for its terror suspects. What was not mentioned in most articles was that SERE was designed to show how an evil totalitarian, enemy would use torture at the slightest whim. If this is the case, then waterboarding is unquestionably being used as torture technique...

Continue reading "Waterboarding is Torture… Period (Links Updated # 9)" »

U.S. Defense Policy at a Crossroads - Frederick Kagan, American Enterprise Institute
War vs. ‘War’- Jonathan Foreman, National Review
Winning in Afghanistan - Harlan Ullman, Washington Times
Blackwater and Justice in Iraq – Los Angeles Times editorial
Saudi King: He’s One to Talk on Terror – Wall Street Journal editorial
Paying a Call on the Saudi Embassy – Stephen Schwartz, Weekly Standard
Yemen’s Truce with Al Qaeda – Jane Novak, Weekly Standard
Iran’s Challenge – Helle Dale, Washington Times
On Iran Fear is Counterweight of Overconfidence – Bronwen Maddox, London Times
Wildfires in the Middle East - Dan Simpson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Israel Lobby Has Sights on Iran – Rami Khouri, Daily Star
Mining for Trouble in Lebanon – Lenny Ben-David, Jerusalem Post
Jerusalem: An Embodiment of the Middle East Conflict - Ghassan Khatib, Daily Star
Rules of the Game: Palestinian-Style – Barry Rubin, Jerusalem Post
PM's Foreign Evasion is Highly Dangerous - Allan Mallinson, London Daily Telegraph
Tortured Logic - New York Daily News editorial
The Mukasey Test – Washington Times editorial
Target Mukasey - New York Post editorial
I Know Waterboarding is Torture - Malcolm Nance, New York Daily News
Mukasey's Confirmation: A Vote about Torture – Jonathan Turley, Los Angeles Times
There’s No Avoiding the Waterboarding Issue - Stephen Winn, Kansas City Star
Partners in the War on Terror - John D. Rockefeller IV, Washington Post
The Global Poverty Gap - Robert Samuelson, Real Clear Poltics
Surveillance Sanity – Benjamin Civiletti, Wall Street Journal
Shortsighted on Missile Defense - Charlie Szrom, Weekly Standard
On Cuba, The U.S. is an Island - Paolo Spadoni, Los Angeles Times
Cuban-Americans: Hardliners, Moderates, Appeasers - Frank Calzon, Miami Herald
Unbury the LOST Treaty – Washington Post editorial
LOST 25 Years and Counting – New York Times editorial
The Mysterious Case of the Law of Sea – National Review editorial
Engineer Corps Reform – Paul Harrison, Washington Times

Continue reading "31 October SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

Ralph Peters in the November 2007 edition of American Legion Magazine - 12 Myths of 21st Century War. Visit the link for Peters' commentary, plus his reasoning behind each myth.

... Two trends over the past four decades contributed to our national ignorance of the cost, and necessity, of victory. First, the most privileged Americans used the Vietnam War as an excuse to break their tradition of uniformed service..... Second, we've stripped in-depth U.S. history classes out of our schools.

Myth No. 1: War doesn't change anything.
Myth No. 2: Victory is impossible today.
Myth No. 3: Insurgencies can never be defeated.
Myth No. 4: There's no military solution; only negotiations can solve our problems.
Myth No. 5: When we fight back, we only provoke our enemies.
Myth No. 6: Killing terrorists only turns them into martyrs.
Myth No. 7: If we fight as fiercely as our enemies, we're no better than them.
Myth No. 8: The United States is more hated today than ever before.
Myth No. 9: Our invasion of Iraq created our terrorist problems.
Myth No. 10: If we just leave, the Iraqis will patch up their differences on their own.
Myth No. 11: It's all Israel's fault. Or the popular Washington corollary: "The Saudis are our friends."
Myth No. 12: The Middle East's problems are all America's fault.

… The unprecedented wealth and power of the United States allows us to afford many things denied to human beings throughout history. But we, the people, cannot afford ignorance.

Discuss at Small Wars Council

Continue reading "12 Myths of 21st Century War" »

Lt. Michael Murphy 'The Protector' - San Francisco Chronicle editorial
US Military: Asking Too Much of Too Few – Joseph Galloway, McClatchy Newspapers
New Threat Stirs Iraqi Nationalism – Richard Gwyn, Toronto Star
Kurdish Terror and the West - Tulin Daloglu, Washington Times
Will Bush Really Bomb Iran? – Sarah Baker, London Times
The Cost of Bellicosity Towards Iran - Kaveh Afrasiabi, Christian Science Monitor
Iran: “Murder with Impunity” – Paul Marshall, Weekly Standard
Mainstream Mosques: Studies in Hate – London Times editorial
How to Build Trust at Annapolis Summit – Alon Ben-Meir, Jerusalem Post
Saudis: Uncongenial, But Trustworthy – Amir Taheri, London Times
Upbeat Indicators – Donald Lambro, Washington Times
Restoring Habeas Corpus – Bruce Fein, Washington Times
The Waterboarding Dodge – Washington Post editorial
Is Mukasey Willing to be a 'No' Man in the White House? – USA Today editorial
Yes, It's Clearly Torture - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial
Bearing Witness to Torture - Clyde Haberman, New York Times
Reassess America's 'Idealism' – Janet Daley, London Daily Telegraph
Bush's Speech at Castro's Grave - Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami Herald
Argentina: All in the Family – London Times editorial
Argentinians Elect Woman President - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
Kirchners: Two for the Price of One - Roberto Guareschi, Miami Herald
How Argentina Jump-Started its Economy - Mark Weisbrot, Los Angeles Times
Amazonian Swindle – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
Uganda: Bush, Museveni: Step Up! - Carolyn Davis, Philadelphia Inquirer
Prosecuting Our Friends – Mona Charen, Washington Times
The Dalai Lama’s Plea – Toronto Star editorial
Australia: New Jet Fighters Buy Us Leverage – Nicholas Stuart, Canberra Times
German Soldiers and Toilet Paper – London Times editorial
LOST Runs Silent, Runs Deep – Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times

Continue reading "30 October SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

Al Qaeda's Quagmire - New York Post editorial
Learning the Right Lessons in Iraq – Michael Gerson, Newsweek Magazine
War, Like Life, Is Not a Movie – Mark Steyn, Orange County Register
Taking Down Terrorist Web Sites – James Zirin, Washington Times
Holy Land Trial: Evil Exposed - Steven Emerson, New York Post
Trash Talking World War III - New York Times editorial
Rein in the Rush to a War in Iran – Chicago Sun-Times editorial
Iran Continues to Meddle - James Lyons, Washington Times
Iran: Sanctions Smanctions – David Warren, Real Clear Politics
A Choice for the Ayatollahs - Ofer Bavly, Miami Herald
Don’t Alienate Ankara – Gidon Remba, Jerusalem Post
Can Bhutto Survive? – Robert Novak, Washington Post
The Importance of a Failed Israeli-Arab Summit – Gideon Levy, Haaretz
Israeli-Arab Conflict Not Ripe for Resolution Yet – Richard Haass, Real Clear Politics
Corruption’s Cost in the Arab World, Beyond – John Cooley, Christian Science Monitor
Don't Expect US to Push Egypt Democracy - Hrach Gregorian, Daily Star
Jordan: Elections without Surprises - Oraib Al-Rantawi, Daily Star
Be Decisive in Darfur – London Daily Telegraph editorial
NATO: Saying Yes to France – Ronald Asmus, Washington Post
Return to Bamiyan - Roger Cohen, New York Times
A World Overwhelmed with Hungry Little Mouths – Melanie Reid, London Times
America’s March of Folly - Francis Fukuyama, Canberra Times
Castro's Last Hurrah - USA Today editorial
More Cuba Fulminations – Boston Globe editorial
Cuba's Regime Deserves No Oxygen - Carlos Gutierrez, USA Today
Burma: Monks and the Military – Charles London, The Nation
Clinton: Foreign Policy Grownup – Sebastian Mallaby, Washington Post
Act on the Shield Law – Washington Post editorial
The Politics of Interrogation - Wall Street Journal editorial
Troubling Questions for Judge Mukasey - Miami Herald editorial
Mukasey: More Answers Needed - Carl Tobias, Batlimore Sun
Inspecting the CIA - Los Angeles Times editorial
PMCs: A Job for Uncle Sam - Baltimore Sun editorial
LOST at Sea - John Fonte, National Review
Annan: No Knight in Shining Armor - Nile Gardner, National Review

Continue reading "29 October SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

Abu Muqawama's counterinsurgency reading list to include bare bones essentials, intermediate reading (colonial and modern), advanced reading, political Islam and Islamist violence, fiction and films can be found here. Recommended additions to the list by site visitors can be found in comments.

One that I would add is The Village by Bing West.

To see what Council members are reading go here.

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Continue reading "COIN Reading List" »

Inside the Surge - Michael Yon, New York Post
Ross Dead Wrong on How to Leave Iraq – Boston Herald editorial
Turks on the Border – National Review editorial
Armies of the Future: Brains, Not Bullets – The Economist editorial
The Real Heroes – Oliver North, Washington Times
On Guard Against Iran – New York Daily News editorial
Pressing Iran to Disarm – Toronto Star editorial
Walking Into Iran’s Trap – David Ignatius, Washington Post
The Challenge of Nuclear Deals - Mark Brzezinski, Boston Globe
Blogowar in the Blogosphere - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times
Putting British Interests First – Iain Martin, London Daily Telegraph
Ideology vs. Canada’s National Interest – Harry Sterling, Toronto Star
Who’d be a British Soldier in Basra? – London Daily Telegraph editorial
PKK’s Independence Dream Faces Harsh Reality – Austin Bay, Houston Chronicle
Armenian Genocide Measure is Misguided – Bruce Fein, San Francisco Chronicle
Courage Under Fire: They Tell Iraq’s Story – Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer
Eerie Silence of Syria Bomb Raid – Greg Sheridan, Sydney Daily Telegraph
The Expanding Axis of Evil – Washington Examiner editorial
Gaza: No Security, No Power – Jerusalem Post editorial
Middle East Conference: More Harm than Good? – Philadelphia Inquirer editorial
In Arabia, A Glimmer of Hope – Michael Goodwin, New York Daily News
Hanoi, Tripoli Elected to UN Security Council – John Metzler, World Tribune
The Smart Way to Shut Gitmo Down – Matthew Waxman, Washington Post
Defining Torture – Clifford May, Washington Times
Bush’s Dangerous Liaisons - François Furstenberg, New York Times
Czar Chertoff – Baltimore Sun editorial
Free Elections Come First – Robert Kagan, Washington Post
Bush on Cuba: ‘Same Old Macho Speech’ – Carl Hiaasen, Miami Herald
Cambodia: Touring the Tragic Kingdom – Boston Globe editorial
Messy Revolutions – Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Putin’s Guessing Games – Jim Hoagland, Washington Post
A Generation Lost? – James Zumwalt, Washington Times
Will Newspapers Survive? – Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe

Continue reading "28 October SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

Continue reading "10 Myths Sunday" »

Joint Force Quarterly is published by the National Defense University Press for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JFQ is the Chairman's flagship joint military and security studies journal designed to inform members of the U.S. Armed Forces, allies, and other partners on joint and integrated operations; national security policy and strategy; efforts to combat terrorism; homeland security; and developments in training and joint professional military education to transform America's military and security apparatus to better meet tomorrow's challenges while protecting freedom today.

Issue 47, 4th Quarter 2007 of Joint Force Quarterly is now posted. Here are several articles of interest:

The Country Team: Restructuring America’s First Line of Engagement by Robert Oakley and Michael Casey, Jr.
The Phoenix Program and Contemporary Warfare by Mark Moyar
Arresting Insurgency by Kyle Teamey
The U.S. Air Force and Stability Operations Transformation by Oliver Fritz and Gregory Hermsmeyer
The Missing Component of U.S. Strategic Communications by William M. Darley
Anaconda: A Flawed Joint Planning Process by Richard B. Andres and Jeffrey B. Hukill
Five Years after Operation Anaconda: Challenges and Opportunities by Michael W. Isherwood
Countering Chinese Influence in Africa by Philippe Rogers
Five Lessons from China’s War on Terror by Martin Wayne

More in this “Focus on China” edition of JFQ.

Continue reading "Joint Force Quarterly Articles of Interest" »

Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, reports on a new US State Department intitiative; nay, order; that will see additional diplomats taking posts in Iraq next year because of expected shortfalls in filling openings, the first such large-scale forced assignment since the Vietnam War. As far as we are concerned this is a long overdue move by State to fulfill its end of the 80% political, 20% military counterinsurgency (COIN) fight in Iraq.

While we applaud (what we call “long overdue”) this move, we do acknowledge that State and other non-military departments and agencies lack the resources to fulfill their COIN obligations. It is time for Congress to get serious and ensure that our Nation has the capacity to deploy fully-trained and mission-capable personnel that truly represent all elements of national power.

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Continue reading "Prime Candidates for Iraq (Updated)" »

One presidential candidate's recent remarks regarding a possible unilateral preemptive strike into Pakistan sent a cold shiver down the spines of many national security professionals and officers in the armed forces. It was particularly surprising coming from someone who was an early and often critic of what he saw as the Bush administration’s unilateral, preemptive attack on Iraq. The candidate’s aides have back tracked saying that he would seek President Musharif’s concurrence, but almost everyone who knows the region knows that Musharef would be committing political suicide to allow such an overt action. The potential unintended consequences of a unilateral U.S. strike are sobering; the possibility of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of a radical Islamic Pakistani successor government is foremost among the defense community’s nightmare scenarios. It would make al Qaeda look like the “Wiggles”, and for all we know, al Qaeda might be shadow partners in the new governing mix.

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Continue reading "Out of the Box Thinking for Pakistan" »

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Continue reading "NATO Must Increase Assets, Cut Caveats in Afghanistan" »

May 2007 General Accounting Office Report: Actions Needed to Improve DOD's Stability Operations Approach and Interagency Planning...

Continue reading "GAO Report: Stability Operations Approach & Interagency Planning" »

Irregular Warfare: After Smart Weapons, Smart Soldiers – The Economist editorial
Winning One Battle, Fighting the Next – Frederick Kagan, Weekly Standard
Anthropologists and a True Culture War – Richard Shweder, New York Times
Islamist Terrorists Learning From Iraq, So Must We – The Australian editorial
Turkey and Iraq, A Missed Moment – Henry Barkey, Washington Post
Bringing the Iraq War Home – Kevin Ferris, Philadelphia Inquirer
Slipping in Afghanistan – Washington Post editorial
NATO’s Cringe Reflex in Afghanistan – Toronto Star editorial
Recipe for Disaster in Afghanistan - James Travers, Toronto Star
Lt. Michael Murphy: Lone Survivor – Mark Lasswell, Wall Street Journal
Blackwater: Shoot First, Forget the Questions – Vicki Woods, London Daily Telegraph
Curb State Department’s Hired Guns – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
Tightening on Teheran – National Review editorial
Iran on Notice – London Times editorial
Preventing World War III – Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post
Something to Consider Before Attacking Iran – Rami Khouri, Daily Star
It’s All About Iran – Jerusalem Post editorial
Talking Through a Nuclear Showdown – Graham Allison, Boston Globe
Iran Attack Would Help Ahmadinejad at Home - Mehdi Khalaji, Daily Star
U.S.- Israel Relations Crisis – Daniel Pipes, Jerusalem Post
The Palestinians Don’t Want a State – Evelyn Gordon, Jerusalem Post
Fatah and Hamas Human Rights Abuses – Jordan Times editorial
Israel-Palestinians: Truth, Lies and Peacemaking - Gershon Baskin, Daily Star
Abbas’s Opportunity – David Horovitz, Jerusalem Post
Bhutto Sweeps All Aside in Pakistan - Ramesh Thakur, Canberra Times
FISA: Progress on Surveillance – Washington Post editorial
But Who Will Surveil the Judges? – Gary Schmitt, Weekly Standard
Patriot Act and the Bill of Rights – Mitch McConnell, National Review
Waterboarding and Torture – Andrew McCarthy, National Review
Human Rights: The Left’s Mixed Up Priorities – Mona Charen, National Review
As a Country, UK Lacks Power – Matthew Parris, London Times
Cold War Cuba – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
A Deal to Keep with N. Korea – Boston Globe editorial
China’s Crucial Role in Burma – Michael Richardson, Canberra Times
Poland, Untwinned – New York Times editorial
Today’s Hidden Slave Trade – Bob Herbert, New York Times
Liberal Revisionists Vilify America – Michael Knox Beran, National Review
Profile Foreign Donors – Michelle Malkin, Washington Times

Continue reading "27 October SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

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Continue reading "Iraq Briefing 26 October 2007" »

By Bill Putnam

The presidential primaries are quickly approaching and yet no candidate has put forward an innovative plan for salvaging the Iraq crisis. Mr. or Mrs. Presidential Candidate, peace in Iraq is possible, but only if true national reconciliation occurs. US-led Coalition efforts to build national unity have thus far produced limited results. Future attempts at this should be willing to adopt more unconventional concepts and focus on the few bonds that still connect Iraq’s different groups. One of these links is the Iraqis’ love for soccer and their national team.

Continue reading "Third Time a Charm?" »