What the SecDef Didn’t Call For, But Should Have

By Matt Armstrong

Today, American public diplomacy wears combat boots. In the global media and the blogosphere, the military and its uniformed leaders shape the image of the United States. But that is not how it has always been. On the contrary, American public diplomacy was born out of the need to directly engage the global psyche and avoid direct martial engagement.

On November 26, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, speaking at Kansas State University, recalled how the United States marshaled its national power at the beginning of the Cold War. Mr. Gates reminded his audience that sixty years ago the United States dramatically restructured itself in the face of a global threat and passed the National Security Act of 1947, created the United States Information Agency and the United States Agency for International Development, among other agencies and institutions. Key to the success of all of these was the timely creation and transmission of quality information, or truthful propaganda...

Continue reading "What the SecDef Didn’t Call For, But Should Have" »

Separate Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan - Korb and Duggan, Baltimore Sun
Still No Way Out of Iraq – New York Times editorial
Winning Baghdad – Ralph Peters, New York Post
A Partner For Dealing With Iran? - Zbigniew Brzezinski, Washington Post
Al Qaeda’s Emerging Defeat – Austin Bay, Washington Times
Musharraf Stands Alone – Washington Times editorial
Musharraf’s Tasks – London Times editorial
Citizen Musharraf - Chicago Tribune editorial
Should the U.S. Abandon Pervez Musharraf? – Markey and Haqqani, Foreign Policy
If You Thought Musharraf Was Bad - Mansoor Ijaz, Los Angeles Times
A Leader for Lebanon – Los Angeles Times editorial
Who are the Financiers of Islamization? – Diana West, Washington Times
Saudi Petrodollars at Work - Deborah Weiss, Human Events
Mosques May Not be So Moderate – Paul Goodman, London Daily Telegraph
A New Mideast Try - San Francisco Chronicle editorial
In Kosovo, Appearances Deceive – Christian Science Monitor editorial
Democracy’s Last Chance in Venezuela – USA Today editorial
Thorns in the Congo – Michael Gerson, Washington Post
Wounds of China’s Cultural Revolution – David Brooks, New York Times
John Bolton: Diplomats are Dangerous – Con Coughlin, London Daily Telegraph
Our Changing Nation – Cal Thomas, Washington Times
A Teddy Bear Called Mohammed – London Daily Telegraph editorial

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

While not all inclusive, here are some items that caught my eye and interest so far this week - COIN reading, more on Secretary Gates and soft power, Iraq, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda IO, AFRICOM, Uganda, Pakistan, barbarians, Saudi Arabia, anti-war movies...

Continue reading "SWJ Odds and Ends" »

Gordon Lubold in today’s Christian Science Monitor - A ‘Surge’ for Afghanistan.

The top general of the Marine Corps is pushing hard to deploy marines to Afghanistan as he looks to draw down his forces in Iraq, but his proposal, which is under discussion at the Pentagon this week, faces deep resistance from other military leaders.

Commandant Gen. James Conway's plan, if approved, would deploy a large contingent of Marines to Afghanistan, perhaps as early as next year. The reinforcements would be used to fight the Taliban, which US officials concede is now defending its territory more effectively against allied and Afghan forces.

Within the Pentagon, General Conway's proposal has led to speculation about which, if any, American forces would be best suited to provide reinforcements for a mission that, most agree, has far more political appeal than the one in Iraq. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has already recommended against the proposal, at least for now, a military official said Tuesday…

Conway says that Marines, who have been largely responsible for calming Anbar Province in Iraq, can either return home or "stay plugged into the fight" by essentially redeploying to Afghanistan...

Rick Rogers, San Diego Union-Tribune, on USMC current operations in Anbar, Iraq and implications for the Afghanistan mission - Marines' Duties go Well Beyond Combat.

... some Marine commanders and defense specialists question whether the Corps' expeditionary combat strengths are being wasted in Anbar.

The Marines are revered for their offensive capabilities, said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute think tank in Arlington, Va.

“At some point, we are going to have to ask why are we sending a quick-strike force to do nation building. It really would make more sense to send them to Afghanistan to chase insurgents than to have them helping locals in Anbar province build schools,” Thompson said.

“If the mission becomes more reconstruction, then it is more of an Army job,” he added.

The proposal for handing Marines the lead combat role in Afghanistan has been espoused by senior commanders such as Lt. Gen. [General] James Mattis, Helland's immediate predecessor at Camp Pendleton...

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Continue reading "A ‘Surge’ for Afghanistan" »

The Gates Critique – Boston Globe editorial
Iraq Must Seize Precious Opportunity – Anthony Cordesman, Financial Times
Bush Isn’t the Only Decider on Iraq – Bruce Ackerman, Los Angeles Times
Iraq Accountability Due – David Limbaugh, Washington Times
Public Sees Progress in War – Pew Research Center
Good News on Bush’s Watch? – Rosa Brooks, Los Angeles Times
Al Qaeda’s Emerging Defeat – Austin Bay, Real Clear Politics
Rewarding One's Friends - Robert Scheer, San Francisco Chronicle
Military Readiness and Waging War – John Brinkerhoff, Washington Times
A Few Good People – Victor Davis Hanson, Real Clear Politics
A Tribute to Howard – Greg Sheridan, The Australian
Annapolis: The Long Haul - Baltimore Sun editorial
Annapolis: It's a Start - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
Palestine: Land of Prophets at a Loss – Alan Gold, The Australian
Annapolis Animosity - Meyrav Wurmser, National Review
Saudis Played Key Role - Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Annapolis Talks Likely to Fail – Rami Khouri, Daily Star
Pakistan: The General Retires – Washington Post editorial
Sharif, Bhutto and the (Ex-) General – New York Times editorial
Ominous Future for Pakistan - Kamal Siddiqi, Boston Globe
Citizen Musharraf – Amir Taheri, New York Post
Destroying Lebanon for a Great Sinecure – Michael Young, Daily Star
Battle of the Youth Bulge - Gunnar Heinsohn, Weekly Standard
On the Archbishop of Canterbury – Giles Fraser, Sydney Morning Herald
‘Tolerance’ in Khartoum – New York Post editorial
British Muslims Should Protest Teddy Lunacy – Boris Johnson, London Daily Telegraph
Lesson in Russian Voter Fraud – Mark Almond, Canberra Times
Shutting Up Venezuela’s Chávez – Roger Cohen, New York Times
Hugo Chávez's Vision in the Hills – Charles Lane, Washington Post

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

Noah Shachtman's Wired article - How Technology Almost Lost the War: In Iraq, the Critical Networks Are Social — Not Electronic.

The future of war began with an act of faith. In 1991, Navy captain Arthur Cebrowski met John Garstka, a captain in the Air Force, at a McLean, Virginia, Bible-study class. The two quickly discovered they shared more than just their conservative Catholic beliefs. They both had an interest in military strategy. And they were both geeks: Cebrowski — who'd been a math major in college, a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and an aircraft carrier commander during Desert Storm — was fascinated with how information technologies could make fighter jocks more lethal. Garstka — a Stanford-trained engineer — worked on improving algorithms used to track missiles.

Over the next several years, the two men traded ideas and compared experiences. They visited businesses embracing the information revolution, ultimately becoming convinced that the changes sweeping the corporate world had applications for the military as well. The Defense Department wasn't blind to the power of networks, of course — the Internet began as a military project, after all, and each branch of the armed services had ongoing "digitization" programs. But no one had ever crystallized what the information age might offer the Pentagon quite like Cebrowski and Garstka did. In an article for the January 1998 issue of the naval journal Proceedings, "Network-Centric Warfare: Its Origin and Future," they not only named the philosophy but laid out a new direction for how the US would think about war...

And yet, here we are. The American military is still mired in Iraq. It's still stuck in Afghanistan, battling a resurgent Taliban. Rumsfeld has been forced out of the Pentagon. Dan Halutz, the Israeli Defense Forces chief of general staff and net-centric advocate who led the largely unsuccessful war in Lebanon in 2006, has been fired, too. In the past six years, the world's most technologically sophisticated militaries have gone up against three seemingly primitive foes — and haven't won once.

How could this be? The network-centric approach had worked pretty much as advertised. Even the theory's many critics admit net-centric combat helped make an already imposing American military even more effective at locating and killing its foes. The regimes of Saddam Hussein and Mullah Omar were broken almost instantly. But network-centric warfare, with its emphasis on fewer, faster-moving troops, turned out to be just about the last thing the US military needed when it came time to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. A small, wired force leaves generals with too few nodes on the military network to secure the peace. There aren't enough troops to go out and find informants, build barricades, rebuild a sewage treatment plant, and patrol a marketplace...

Much more, well worth the read...

Discuss at Small Wars Council

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Continue reading "Wednesday Night Recommended Reading" »

ZARQA, Jordan (Army News Service, Nov. 28, 2007) - Arabic cultural-awareness training from Third U.S. Army/U.S. Army Central and the Jordanian Armed Forces is now available to all American service-members...

Continue reading "Arabic Cultural-Awareness Training Now Available" »

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Continue reading "27 November Iraq Briefing" »

Answer the following six questions concerning Iraq and the “surge” then head on over to Harpers Magazine to read Colonel Douglas Macgregor’s (US Army, ret.) reply to these questions as posed by Ken Silverstein.

1. How big of a change has there been in recent months in the military situation in Iraq?

2. Has the “surge” in troop levels played an important role here as well?

3. So is the problem in Iraq one of refining counterinsurgency tactics?

4. How will this play out in terms of Iraqi political reconciliation?

5. What’s the likelihood of a future full-out clash between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites?

6. What’s Iraq going to look like five years down the road?

Douglas Macgregor is a retired Army colonel and a decorated Persian Gulf War combat veteran who was an active duty officer (and Pentagon advisor) until 2004. He has authored three books on modern warfare and military reform. His latest is Transformation under Fire: Revolutionizing the Way America Fights. He is also authored Breaking the Phalanx: A New Design for Landpower in the 21st Century.

Macgregor writes for the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C. He recently replied by email to a series of questions about the current situation, and future prospects, in Iraq.

Hat tip to Small Wars Council member LTC Gian Gentile for the pointer.

His [Macgregor] answers are not of the "matrix" and as usual challenge conventional wisdom. Considering the MG Scales Op-Ed on culmination, Macgregor's answers offer up a different conceptualization of the war in Iraq and the way ahead.

Nothing follows.

Continue reading "Six Questions for Doug Macgregor" »

6 Questions for Macgregor on Iraq and the “Surge” – Ken Silverstein, Harpers
The Failures of Lt. Gen. Sanchez – Jack Kelly, Real Clear Politics
Caution: Taliban Crossing – Arthur Keller, New York Times
U.S. and Iran - Vallely and Gedrich, Washington Times
Iran: No Profit from New Cold War - Ali-Asghar Kazemi, Daily Star
An Opening in Annapolis – Washington Post editorial
Starting from Annapolis – New York Times editorial
Make Annapolis Work - Jerusalem Post editorial
After Annapolis – Boston Globe editorial
Annapolis Lays Ground for Progress – USA Today editorial
Handshakes and Empty Words at Annapolis – National Review editorial
Give Peace a Chance – The Australian editorial
Oasis or Mirage? – Thomas Freidman, New York Times
Another Piece Summit – Cal Thomas, Washington Times
How Annapolis Helps – David Ignatius, Washington Post
What's Plan B? - Daoud Kuttab, Daily Star
Mideast Policies – Harlan Ullman, Washington Times
Annapolis and History of Abject Failure – Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Annapolis: The Cost of Failure – Henry Siegman, New York Review of Books
Annapolis: Madrid on Tranquilizers - Rami Khouri, Daily Star
Still Time for Mideast Peace – Aaron David Miller, Canberra Times
Knotty Issues at Annapolis – Helle Dale, Washington Times
Grooming the Next Ahmad Chalabi – Alan Weisman, Los Angeles Times
Saudi Arabia: Crime and Punishment - Schwartz and Al-Alawi, Weekly Standard
Ghosts of Rwanda – Michael Gerson, Washington Post
PRC – Taiwan: Peace through Confusion – Paul Greenberg, Washington Times
Venezuela Veers Towards Dictatorship – Los Angeles Times editorial
Venezuela: Comeback for Communism – Steve Chapman, Washington Times
Give Venezuela Credit - Angelo Rivero Santos, Los Angeles Times
Youth of Venezuela Rise Up – Christian Science Monitor editorial
Ensure Transparency in Terrorism Trials - Miami Herald editorial

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

Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Manhattan, Kansas, Monday, November 26, 2007

Full Transcript – Department of Defense

Video - Kansas State University

Audio - Kansas State University

Excerpt (SWJ Links and Bolded Emphasis Inserted)

… In 1968, the first full year I lived in Washington, was the same year as the Tet offensive in Vietnam, where American troop levels and casualties were at their height. Across the nation, protests and violence over Vietnam engulfed America’s cities and campuses. On my second day of work as a CIA analyst, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. And then came the 1970s - when it seemed that everything that could go wrong for America did.

Yet, through it all, there was another storyline, one not then apparent. During those same years, the elements were in place and forces were at work that would eventually lead to victory in the Cold War - a victory achieved not by any one party or any single president, but by a series of decisions, choices, and institutions that bridged decades, generations, and administrations…

Continue reading "SECDEF Gates Address at Kansas State University" »

Confronting Iran
Securing Iraq’s Border:
An Irregular Warfare Concept

By Brigadier General David L. Grange (U.S. Army ret.) and Scott Swanson, MSI

Special to Small Wars Journal

Contributions by Major General John Singlaub (U.S. Army ret.), Billy Waugh (U.S. Army Special Forces ret.), Rowdy Yeats (U.S. Army Special Forces ret.) and Chuck de Caro (U.S. Army Special Forces ret.)

Excerpt

Background

Iran is intentionally employing disruptive, anti-US activities that complicate the peace process in the Iraqi Freedom Theater of operation. Iran's actions kill US personnel, drain resources, and compromise stability in the region. While these actions – particularly cross-border activities into Iraq – are a significant menace, international attention to Iran's destabilizing efforts has largely been overshadowed by concerns about its uranium enrichment program, which has garnered the priority for debate, diplomacy, and sanctions. The US could, however, confront Iran’s hostile actions in Iraq by addressing their illegal border movements with a regional special operations strategy that can work in conjunction with the nuclear proliferation conflict. Findings from some historical successes and challenges in Special Operations Forces (SOF) efforts during previous conflicts offer possible solutions for the Iraq/Iran border today that can be expanded to other border issues with Iraq/Turkey, Afghanistan/Pakistan, and Iraq/Syria. These border issues are related to Iran’s regional influence capabilities and offer an excellent platform for the US to deter some key Iranian endeavors...

Continue reading "Confronting Iran: Securing Iraq's Border (Updated)" »

By Captain Tim Hsia, U.S. Army

Years from now after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have ended; historians will pore over the operations and tactics of the U.S. Army during both campaigns. They will likely applaud the all-volunteer force and the courage of the individual soldier; just as likely, however, they will criticize the lack of information sharing and management between the militarily and civilian departments of the U.S. government. Specifically, they will note the military’s poor record in information management, accessibility of intelligence gathered, and the inability to apply years of accumulated intelligence to current battlefield operations. A way to patch the current intelligence gap within the U.S. government would be to adopt an information collection program that accumulates data similar to major internet stock market trackers. Market trackers absorb information continuously, rigorously track trends, and enable traders to formulate decisions based off the latest news combined with historical data. The ability of market trackers to store and quickly recall historical data should be mimicked by the U.S. government so that commanders and diplomats possess relevant records that enable them to make decisions which take into account the economic, historical, cultural, political, anthropological, and environmental aspects of the region they are operating within...

Continue reading "Intelligence Collection and Sharing (Updated)" »

Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, U.S. Army (retired) served as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq (CJTF 7 / MNF-I) from June 2003 to June 2004. He delivered the weekly Democratic radio address this morning. We begin with the transcript of Sanchez's address and follow with some background and what we term a "quick-look" reaction.

Transcript

“Good morning, this is Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, U.S. Army, retired.

“I speak to you today, not as a representative of the Democratic Party, but as a retired military officer who is a former commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq. In that capacity, I saw firsthand the consequences of the Administration’s failure to devise a strategy for victory in Iraq that employed, in a coordinated manner, the political, economic, diplomatic, and military power of the United States. That failure continues today. At its base is the mistaken belief, despite years of evidence to the contrary, that victory can be achieved through the application of military power alone.

Much more..

Continue reading "Sanchez Delivers Democratic Party Weekly Radio Address (Updated)" »

America’s Image: Persuading Them – James Traub, New York Times
At Peace with Pax Americana – Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
To Win the Peace, Restore the Peace Corps - Obermayer and Quigley, Baltimore Sun
Dems March Backwards on Foreign Policy – James Kirchick, Politico
Ideology Was Bush's Undoing - Patrick Buchanan, Real Clear Politics
The Real Goal at Annapolis – Mohamad Bazzi, Christian Science Monitor
Condi’s Road to Damascus – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
Bush’s Clarity – Jerusalem Post editorial
Annapolis: Just Keep Talking – London Times editorial
Middle East Muddle - New York Post editorial
The Syrian Peace Track – Baltimore Sun editorial
Beyond the Reach of Annapolis – Richard Cohen, Washington Post
No Lasting Peace - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Annapolis Summit Requires Willpower – Tim Butcher, London Daily Telegraph
The Day after Annapolis – Dennis Ross, USA Today
Making History in the Middle East – H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe
Farce in Annapolis – Andrew McCarthy, National Review
Mideast Summit Success Could Pay - Emily Hauser, Chicago Tribune
Annapolis: Set Realistic Aims – Ghassan Khatib, Daily Star
Gang Rape in Annapolis – Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times
Bush’s Big Moment in Annapolis - Zev Chafets, Los Angeles Times
Give Annapolis a Chance? – National Review Q&A
Give Peace Summit a Chance - Raafat Dajani, Daily Star
Fire and Water in Gaza - Maher Najjar, Washington Post
Peace Parks and Pipe Dreams – Dan Diker, Jerusalem Post
Democracy Myth, Fantasy Pakistan – Stanley Kurtz, National Review
Justice, Saudi Style – USA Today editorial
Desperate Somalia – Washington Post editorial
Darfur's Path to Peace - Shane Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle
Venezuela's Future in the Balance - Miami Herald editorial
Corruption Rooted in Cuban Society - Oscar Espinosa Chepe, Miami Herald
Covering Customs in Turkey - Tulin Daloglu, Washington Times
Exit, Russian Democracy – New York Times editorial
Putin’s Potemkin Election – Christian Science Monitor editorial
Russia’s New Old Dissidents – Anne Applebaum, Washington Post
Globalization: Follow the Fundamentals – David Brooks, New York Times
No Defence for Des Browne – Liz Hunt, London Daily Telegraph
Howard’s End – National Review editorial
John Howard's Great Run - New York Post editorial
Howard: Another Bush Ally Out - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
Australia: Defence and Environment – Nicholas Stuart, Canberra Times
John Bolton: Principled Public Servant - Sol Schindler, Washington Times
A Muslim Belongs in the Cabinet – Mansoor Ijaz, Christian Science Monitor
Iran: Columbia’s Concern – John McCormick, Weekly Standard
Anti-America Americans - Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami Herald

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

Links:

US Africa Command

General William E. Ward - Commander, US AFRICOM

Ambassador Mary C. Yates - Deputy Commander for Civilian-Military Activities

Admiral Robert T. Moeller - Deputy Commander for Military Operations

Continue reading "Conversation with General William Ward, U.S. Africa Command" »

Continue reading "26 November Iraq Briefing" »

Unheralded Military Successes – Robert Kaplan, Los Angeles Times
Promoting Innovation in the US Army - Fred Kaplan, Slate
Protecting American Freedom in Wartime – Nat Hentoff, Washington Times
Iraqi Homecoming - New York Post editorial
Democrat’s Iraq Denial – Donald Lambro, Washington Times
The Surge against the Surge - Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard
Iraqi: Beyond the Drop in Violence - Amir Taheri, New York Post
Australia Exits Coalition of Willing - The Nation editorial
Obama Is Right on Iran - Shelby Steele, Wall Street Journal
What Pakistan Needs – Oakley and Yaphe, Washington Post
Start Normalizing – Jerusalem Post editorial
The Annapolis Summit – Washington Times editorial
The Middle East’s Middle Ground – Christian Science Monitor editorial
Annapolis: Bush’s Best Hope – Roger Cohen, New York Times
Obstacles and Opportunities for ME Peace – James Carroll, Boston Globe
A Small Mideast Step - Peter Brookes, New York Post
Annapolis is Just the First Step - Aaron David Miller, Los Angeles Times
Annapolis: The Cost of Failure – Henry Siegman, New York Review of Books
Don’t Ignore Hamas – Yossi Beilin, Christian Science Monitor
Syria: Bull in the China Shop – Barry Rubin, Jerusalem Post
Middle East is Moscow’s Ticket - Konstantin Eggert, Daily Star
An Egyptian Makes the Case for America - Mona Charen, Creators Syndicate
Lebanon Looking into the Abyss – Michael Young, Daily Star
Where Boys Grow Up to be Jihadis – Andrea Elliott, New York Times
The Hair of the Balkan Dog – Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters
Russia: The Net Tightens – Washington Post editorial
A Comeback for Communism – Steve Chapman, Real Clear Politics
Murtha’s Mistake was Slandering Marine Corps – Christian Lowe