We Are Winning, We Haven't Won - Max Boot, Weekly Standard
Bush's Freedom Agenda - Helle Dale, Washington Times
Afghan War May Not Be Forgotten Easily - Bronwen Maddox, London Times
What the PM Should Tell Us About Afghanistan - Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Kenya's Collapse - Wall Street Journal editorial
Ways to End Kenya's Killings - Christian Science Monitor editorial
Liberia: Firestone Chief Fires Back - Dan Adomitis, Los Angeles Times
Media Has Good Record on Terror Trials - The Australian editorial
Suharto Still an Enigma in Death - Peter Rogers, Canberra Times
Sri Lanka: Fighting the Absolute Enemy - Dayan Jayatilleka, The Island
What A.Q. Khan Knows - Selig Harrison, Washington Post
A Barrage Against Israel - Robin Shepherd, London Times
Olmert's Shame - Barbara Opall-Rome, New York Post
A Pogrom in Venezuela? - Mona Charen, Washington Times
Uncle Sam's Latin Challenge - Peter Brookes, New York Post
Warning Light on Kosovo - John Bolton, Washington Times
Russia's Regression - Michael Weiss, Weekly Standard
Georgia's Future Path - Hastings and Doggett, Washington Times
Dial '08 for Terrorism - John Wohlstetter, Washington Times
Nuclear Safety Paranoia - Jack Spencer, Washington Post
Mukasey's Disappointing Debut - New York Times editorial
'Waterboarding' Mukasey - Wall Street Journal editorial

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

While not all inclusive, here are some of the items that caught my eye and interest so far this week...

Continue reading "31 January Iraq Updates" »

“It is necessary, therefore, if we desire to discuss this matter thoroughly, to inquire whether these innovations can rely on themselves or have to depend on others: That is to say, whether to consummate their enterprise, have they to use prayer or can they use force. In the first instance they always succeed badly and never compass anything, but when they can rely on themselves and use force; then they are rarely endangered. Hence it is that all armed prophets have conquered and the unarmed ones have been destroyed”.

-- Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince

Background

Ideas as to what constitutes good governance various among individuals, groups and cultures. The current definition of good governance as outlined in a recent report on threats from safe havens and ungoverned areas is a case in point. (1) The report defines governance as the “delivery of security, judicial, legal, regulatory, intelligence, economic, administration, social and political goods and public services, and the institutions through which they are delivered”. The definition implies a social service centric function for government emphasizing “delivery” and distribution of social services. It further implies that only democratic institutions are a safeguard against militancy, extremism and terrorism. Not all cultures view the role and function of government in quite the same way. Tribal society, particularly along the North-West frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan judges the role and function of effective government quite differently...

Continue reading "Operations in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas" »

The Next Iraq Phase - David Ignatius, Washington Post
Afghan Decision Time - Toronto Star editorial
Military Budget Bill: The Fine Print - New York Times editorial
Foreign Diplomacy: Send in the Stars - Lionel Beehner, USA Today
Genocide Prevention: 60 Years of Failure - Eric Reeves, Christian Science Monitor
Kenya at the Abyss - London Times editorial
Kenya at the Brink of Collapse - Makau Mutua, Boston Globe
How Can Kenya Avoid Ethnic War? - Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor
Behind the Chaos in Kenya - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Kibaki Must Give Back Stolen Election - David Blair, London Daily Telegraph
Nigeria's Resurgence Flowing From Oil Diplomacy - Ike Okonta, Daily Star
Fighting AIDS in Africa, and Winning - Joseph Loconte, Weekly Standard
Israel's Lebanon Disaster - Michael Oren, Wall Street Journal
An Impossible Peace - Joel Mowbray, Washington Times
Ehud Olmert's Israel - Peter Berkowitz, Weekly Standard
Door Closed on Syrian-Israeli Negotiations - Itamar Rabinovich, Daily Star
Grimacing to Victory and Grinning to Defeat - Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post
Lebanon Held Hostage - Los Angeles Times editorial
US Needs Braver Iran Policy - Ellen Laipson, Daily Star
Teething Pains of US-Iran Conciliation - Anisa Mehdi, Daily Star
How to Curb Pakistani Militancy - Abdullah Adnan, Daily Star
PPP's Shattered Hopes - Gartenstein-Ross and Grace, Weekly Standard
FISA and the Democrats' Retreat - Washington Times editorial
Reform FISA, Now - National Review editorial
Don’t Give In on FISA Reform - Andrew McCarthy, National Review
9/11 Defines my Generation - Christopher Geisel, Jerusalem Post
The Daniel Pearl Standard - Judea Pearl, Wall Street Journal
Balancing Rights and Burqas - Angela Wu, Washington Times
Kicking Democracy’s Corpse in Russia - New York Times editorial
A Potemkin Election - Washington Post editorial
Full-fledged 'Commie-czar'? - Jim Guirard, Washington Times
Who Lost Ukraine? - Reuben Johnson, Weekly Standard

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

The Next Iraq Phase - David Ignatius, Washington Post

... The question is whether this Iraqi renaissance can continue as the United States reduces its surge of combat troops. The Iraqi military is still far from ready to take over the country's security. The military's transport systems won't be finished until the summer of 2009, and it could be two years before Iraq's military can operate fully independent of U.S. forces.

Gen. David Petraeus and other top military officials have begun debating what the post-surge level of U.S. troops should be. The commanders want a pause for assessment after July, when the last of the five additional combat brigades that made up the surge is withdrawn and the U.S. troop presence returns to its prior level of 15 brigades, or about 130,000 soldiers.

The debate centers on how long this pause should last and whether it should be followed by more troop cuts. Petraeus, who as field commander doesn't want to risk losing his hard-won gains, is said to favor an assessment period of more than three months, and perhaps leaving the full 15 brigades in place through the end of 2008. President Bush, who would like to leave office next January with Iraq as secure as possible, may also oppose further troop reductions after July...

Continue reading "The Next Iraq Phase" »

The State of the Union - New York Times editorial
Final State - Washington Post editorial
Bush's End Game - Wall Street Journal editorial
Iraq's Up, Economy's Down - USA Today editorial
A Union Hungry for Change - Boston Globe editorial
Battered Bush Battles On - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Endangered Democratic Species - Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times
Iraq: Nothing Happened in MAJ Today - David French, National Review
Death Squads Undoing Surge's Progress - Joseph Galloway, Miami Herald
Afghanistan and Pakistan Are One Struggle - Amir Taheri, London Times
Karzai Gets Tough with Lord Ashdown - David Blair, London Daily Telegraph
Pakistan's Most Wanted Warlord - Kevin Whitelaw, US News & World Report
Turkey: Democracy a Work in Progress - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
OBL: Signed and Delivered - Yousafzai, Moreau and Hosenball, Newsweek
Gulf Provocations: What to Do - James Lyons, Washington Times
No Way to Avoid Hamas Now - Helena Cobban, Christian Science Monitor
Last Chance for Two States? - Steve Masters, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rafah's Angry Tunnel Men - Tim McGirk, Time
The Gaza Breakout - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
The U.N.'s Human-Rights Sham - Ronan Farrow, Wall Street Journal
Not-So-Benevolent Strongmen - Christian Science Monitor editorial
Suharto's Grip Still Felt in Indonesia - Canberra Times editorial
Ruthless Tyrant Suharto Unworthy of Tributes - John Birmingham, The Australian
Suharto: The Devil You Knew - Piers Akerman, Sydney Daily Telegraph
Tamil Statehood? - Bruce Fein, Washington Times
68' Tet: Dreadful Sense of Deja Vu - Mike Marqusse, Sydney Morning Herald
How Kenya Came Undone - Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor
The 8/7 Families - Howard Kavaler, Washington Times
Colombia Seeks Commerce, Investment - Francisco Santos Calderón, Miami Herald
Nuclear Cooperation - Daniel Davis, Washington Times
Wiretrapped - Wall Street Journal editorial
The Navy and the Whales - Washington Post editorial

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

Iraq's No. 1 Problem

By Bing West and Max Boot, Los Angeles Times

... A staggered Al Qaeda is steadily losing one redoubt after another because, in the most important shift in the war, the Sunni people turned against the terrorists and aligned with the American soldiers. Over 80,000 men (mainly Sunnis) have joined neighborhood watch groups that the U.S. calls Concerned Local Citizens. Essential in last year's battles to drive Al Qaeda out of Baghdad, the CLCs also provide Sunnis with a defense against Shiite militias.

Now, victory is within our grasp -- if only the Iraqi government could effectively reach out to Sunnis and Shiites alike who are fed up with violence and sectarian divisions.

Yet the perverse political system stymies such an outcome. In 2004, U.S. and U.N. officials pushed through an electoral process that resulted in votes for parties rather than individual candidates. This left party bosses in Baghdad free to appoint hacks who do not answer to any local constituency and face no penalty for failing to provide essential services. Water, electricity, garbage collection and job creation are in terrible shape, especially in Sunni areas, because the government is run by Shiites.

American battalion commanders have stepped in. Officers trained to attack cities, not run them, have temporarily assumed the duties of city managers, cadging resources and hounding Iraqi officials to disburse hoarded funds.

This situation cannot last indefinitely. American officers cannot take the place of the missing government of Iraq. The CLCs must be incorporated into the police. But the government headed by Nouri Maliki is moving with agonizing slowness, running the risk that civil war may be reignited...

More at the LAT

Continue reading "Iraq's No. 1 Problem" »

From today's Congressional Quarterly (subscription required) - Small Wars, Big Changes by John Donnelly.

... U.S. military leaders, including Rumsfeld’s successor, Robert M. Gates, now recognize that the nature of warfare itself is changing, from conventional conflicts between nations to “small wars” — counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, religious and ethnic strife — and that the Army must change with it.

The new doctrine, spelled out in publications such as the newest Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, published in late 2006, is that the Army must be prepared to wage all types of warfare but focus much more of its attention on irregular, guerrilla conflicts like that in Iraq.

This is a fundamental change that will drive most other decisions within the Army — from recruitment to equipment — and will permeate every defense debate for the foreseeable future.

In fact, it already has. Military journals are full of articles and commentary on counterinsurgency. Last summer, eight months after the Army field manual appeared, the Air Force rushed out its own doctrine on the subject.

For the Army, the new doctrine means a seismic culture shift. It will still have guns and tanks, but it will also need more people skilled in languages, public affairs, economic development, even anthropology. Instead of grudgingly accepting the task of nation building, as it did in the Balkans and in Iraq at first, the new Army for the most part will have to embrace the role. In this way, the high-technology, smart-weapons “revolution in military affairs” that has captivated Pentagon strategists for decades is becoming a revolution beyond military affairs.

Though it is too early to tell precisely what the ramifications might be in general defense policy and the budget, most experts think the Army will not get a big budget increase, but will have to reorder its priorities, shifting money from, say, high-tech hardware to personnel...

Much more at CQ...

More here too, at Abu Muqawama

Continue reading "Small Wars, Big Changes" »

Iraq's No. 1 Problem - Bing West and Max Boot, Los Angeles Times
Enemy in Iraq on the Ropes - Steve Russell, New York Daily News
The War Over the War - Stephen Hayes, Weekly Standard
Don't Move Dave Petraeus - Roger Carstens, Human Events
A Better Way to Grow NATO - Ronald Asmus, Washington Post
Afghan Impasse - London Times editorial
Iran: Too Easy to Refuse - New York Times editorial
What Bush Must Tell Musharraf - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post
Straight Talk on Pakistan - Ralph Peters, New York Times
Hezbollah's Dark Hand - Tom Harb, Washington Times
Blame Hamas for the Suffering - Frida Ghitis, Miami Herald
Gaza: Fertile Ground for Radicalism - Daoud Kuttab, Miami Herald
Playing Real Dumb in UK - Mark Steyn, Washington Times
Smith Redefines Foreign Policy Rules - Glenn Milne, The Australian
Suharto: President of Region and Times - The Australian editorial
Suharto's Indonesia - Wall Street Journal editorial
Suharto's Legacy - Hugo Restall, Wall Street Journal
Farewell to Jakarta's Man of Steel - Greg Sheridan, The Australian
Suharto's Reign Came at Cost - Sara Webb, Sydney Daily Telegraph
Suharto: Our Model Dictator - John Pilger, Guardian
Suharto: General Havoc - Tom Fawthrop, Guardian
Bashing Bush over N. Korea - Richard Halloran, Real Clear Politics
On the Ground in Bangladesh - Nicki Bennett, New York Times
Listening to the Enemy - Roger Pilon, Wall Street Journal
Jihad Watch Offers Questions for Candidates - Robert Spencer, Human Events
A Law to Protect America - Lamar Smith, Washington Times
Wolfowitz Returns - Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial
Army Reinvents Warrior Care - Mark Bowden, Philadelphia Inquirer
Give Vets their Due - Finn M. W. Caspersen, Baltimore Sun

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

Reprinted with permission of the Marine Corps Gazette.

Speaking at the International Seapower Symposium on 17 October 2007, General Conway discussed the Marine Corps’ role in the new maritime strategy. Looking from the present to the years 2020-2025, the Commandant echoed oft repeated trends: that the average age in developed nations will continue to grow older while underdeveloped nations will grow younger, creating a population of military age males for whom employment opportunities will be scarce; that 75-80% of the world’s population will move towards an “urban sprawl” adjacent to a sea coast; and that state conflicts will continue to grow more rare as transnational and regional conflicts increase in scope and frequency. Largely due to these trends, the Commandant also spoke about the continuing likelihood of Marines being involved in complex irregular wars or what multiple experts have begun calling “hybrid” wars. (1)

As we enter the seventh year of “The Long War” the implications of these trends seem particularly significant, especially when, as the Commandant stated, one appreciates that a lot of “blue” exists on the map around the “Arc of Instability.” It may be that the fight ahead will include many “Small Wars,” fought amidst the remains of the old Islamic Caliphate. In the face of such a potential challenge, there has never been a more acute need for a “hybrid warrior,” possessing a mind capable of operating in timeless environments, conventional and irregular...

Continue reading "Training a “Hybrid” Warrior at the Infantry Officer Course" »

Iraq's Progress Report - Michael O'Hanlon, Washington Times
Don't Short-Circuit the Surge - Kimberly Kagan, Wall Street Journal
Cut and Running - Max Boot, New York Post
The Charges and Stakes in Iraq - Peter Wehner, National Review
Lesson from Saddam - New York Post editorial
Conversation with Afghan President Karzai - Lally Weymouth, Washington Post
An Afghan Province Points the Way - David Ignatius, Washington Post
US Tinkering in Afghanistan - Korb and Wadhams, Boston Globe
Compassion for Afghanistan - Dan Gardner, Ottawa Citizen
Manley Levels with Canadians on Afghanistan - Thomas Axworthy, Toronto Star
Musharraf Talks of Democracy - The Independent editorial
Going Home to Pakistan - Mohsin Hamid, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Gaza, Afghanistan and Black Schools - Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star
Unkept Promises in Darfur - New York Times editorial
Bush Hits a Wall in the Mideast - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post
Turmoil in Gaza - Abraham Rabinovich, Washington Times
Getting the Real Story in Gaza - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen
Excessive Deference to Islam - Mark Steyn, National Review
UN: Racism Must be Fought - Toronto Star editorial
Waving Goodbye to Hegemony - Parag Khanna, New York Times
In the Army, Strains are Showing - Boston Globe editorial
Air Force Knows its Enemies - Tom Ricks, Washington Post

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

Via Tom Ricks, Washington Post

Here, the Air Force uses the jargon of modern warfare to discuss its competition with the Army and Navy. Usually, it is China that U.S. officers describe as a "peer competitor" -- that is, a real or potential adversary. But in these briefing slides, it is the other services that the Air Force is targeting...

More:

The U.S. Air Force Declares War! - Abu Muqawama

Nothing follows.

Continue reading "USAF "Threat Estimate"?" »

Transcripts from 1 - 25 January 2008 Department of Defense Blogger Roundtables.

U.S. Army Colonel Edward J. Kornish on Afghan Police Force training. The Regional Police Advisory Command-South is making steady progress building a professional Afghan police force in Afghanistan’s austere South region.

U.S. Army Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr. on combating extremism south and east of Baghdad. The Army 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, deployed since February 2007, is fighting extremism in areas south and east of Baghdad, Iraq.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Edward Cardon on local security gains influence national action in Iraq. As Iraqis continue to organize at the local level to help with security, they are creating pressure on Iraq’s national leaders to build on momentum.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory J. Smith on Iraq still in Al Qaeda’s grip. The coalition’s success securing Baghdad and Iraq’s Anbar province from al Qaeda will need to be repeated in other parts of Iraq.

U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel David L. Coggins on Iraqi Navy progress. Over the past year, NATO members have been working to train the Iraqi navy and its petty officers.

U.S. Army Major General Rick Lynch on Iraqis continuing to move forward. More than 31,000 citizens are now providing security assistance to coalition forces south of Baghdad and southern provinces.

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Cy Bartlett on Iraqi Air Force ‘coming on strong.' Iraq’s new air force passed its infancy in 2007 and will continue to grow over the next few years.

U.S. Army Colonel John S. RisCassi on U.S. forces eliminate al Qaeda sanctuary in Baghdad. A Baghdad neighborhood formerly overrun by al Qaeda has been cleared of the enemy and is starting to thrive again.

Mr. Louis P. Lantner, Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader, on micro-grants helping to rebuild Iraq’s economy. Small grants to help Iraqi businesses rebound are paying dividends, as improved security has benefited economic recovery.

More: Audio, biographies and related DoD news articles.

Continue reading "Recent DoD Blogger Roundtables" »

Down and dirty - Intelligence drives operations, or so it should, in any form of warfare. In the counterinsurgency fight this is particularly true - success or failure is dependent on accurate, timely and relevant intelligence. COIN is a small unit fight – requiring dispersion and decentralization – with local commanders requiring a ‘real’ capability to collect, process and disseminate intelligence. A first step in solving a long-standing tactical support shortfall is finally seeing the light of day.

Corps Creates Intel Cells at Rifle-company Level – Kimberly Johnson, Marine Corps Times

A need for more intelligence analysts in the Corps is forcing infantry operations to get a whole lot smarter, under a new initiative that is for the first time pushing battalion-level intelligence know-how down to the rifle-company level.

The Corps is creating company-level intelligence cells — called C-LICs — in an attempt to plug the hole and curb the loss of valuable intelligence that often goes missing when units pass the baton on the battlefield, Marine officials said…

The C-LIC initiative, launched under the direction of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va., will soon be battle-tested by California-based 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, on its next Iraq deployment, slated for early 2008.

Today’s irregular warfare, with its lack of a uniformed enemy, makes intelligence gathering vital for enemy identification. To adapt to the emerging threat, infantry companies often create their own versions of ad hoc intelligence cells, said Vince Goulding, director of experimentation plans at the Warfighting Laboratory. But those individual efforts have been piecemeal, because the Corps had no standard training or equipment available, he said.

The new initiative for pushing intelligence analysis know-how down to the lower echelons, however, is about to change all that. Rifle companies will now be able to assess, analyze and disseminate information that they typically had relied on battalion or regimental command to produce…

Preparation for how units approach intelligence collection on the distributed battlefield has been as varied as the units themselves, said Capt. Gabe Diana, project officer for C-LIC at the Warfighting Laboratory.

“Databases were normally made by somebody in the companies, so what you’d see is five different databases within a battalion. Then come [relief in place] time, five more databases and there’s just loads of information that’s just lost,” Diana said.

Rifle companies use the databases for vital intelligence procured from the local area, which can help avoid much of the time lost sending intelligence requests to the battalion or regimental level, Dickey said.

“If we can train ourselves at this level, we can produce the intelligence we’re asking for,” which could save days of waiting for responses over the duration of a unit’s deployment, he said.

Continue reading "One Small Step for Intel, One Giant Leap for Boots on the Ground" »

How Bush Decided on the Surge - Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard
No Back-door Promises in Iraq - Boston Globe editorial
Locking in U.S. - Iraq Ties - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
The Charges and Stakes in Iraq - Peter Wehner, National Review
Harper's Unwise Afghan Blackout - Toronto Star editorial
State Of Disorder - James Kitfield, National Journal
Another Iran Resolution - Washington Post editorial
Making Up with Iran's Mullahs - New York Post editorial
Iran's New Purge - Amir Taheri, New York Post
Justice for Lebanon - Michael Young, Wall Street Journal
A Conversation With Ehud Barak - Lally Weymouth, Washington Post
The Enemy Within Gaza - Chicago Tribune editorial
Ending the Stranglehold on Gaza - al-Sarraj and Roy, Boston Globe
Syria's Assassination Central - Wall Street Journal editorial
Fair Elections for Pakistan - Los Angeles Times editorial
The U.N. Anti-Avengers? - Brett Schaefer, National Review
Chávez's Favorite Pariahs - Douglas Farah, Washington Post
Will Venezuela Be Judenrein? - Mona Charen, National Review
Turkey - Greece: Quiet Bridge-Building - Soner Cagaptay, Washington Times
Independent Kosovo - Hashim Thaci, Wall Street Journal
Questions for the Pentagon on Hesham Islam - Claudia Rosett, National Review
The FISA Follies, Redux - New York Times editorial
Save the Whales from the Navy - Los Angeles Times editorial

Continue reading "26 January SWJ Op-Ed Roundup" »

Originally posted at Committee of Concerned Journalists.

I spend a lot of time trying to convince my colleagues in the Army and the Marines that the media are not the problem. I cite chapter and verse of the history of our relationship -- the dysfunctional periods, propaganda phases, the development of the ethics of good responsible American journalism -- and I’m usually able to demonstrate that while what passed for mid-19th century journalism truly was enough to drive one to distraction, in the 20th and thus far in the 21st, journalists really have been at least as professional as we, and quite often more so.

This self-appointed task, unfortunately, often remains an uphill battle, as many soldiers, Marines and their officers are convinced a media bias exists against the military in general and the ground forces in particular.

I wage my little internal struggle because I think it is right, and that my peers are often blowing small things out of proportion and seeing a bogeyman where there is none. I try to show them how this is part of a narrative that periodically recurs in military circles (the German army after WWI, the American army after Vietnam). I also try to demonstrate to them how they have been conditioned to accept the narrative as true without being critical of the assertions.

In short, I argue for journalists and journalism all of the time, and passionately.

And then the editors of the New York Times dig themselves a nice deep pit, fill it with slime and muck, and dive in headfirst...

Continue reading "More Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics" »

Recent additions from the US Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute:

COIN of the Realm: U.S. Counterinsurgency Strategy (Seminar Report) - Dr. Steven Metz and Ralph Wipfli.

Participants at the seminar developed these key insights: Regardless of whether counterinsurgency (COIN) will be the dominant form of military activity in the future or simply one of several, the United States needs an effective national strategy which explains when, why, and how the nation should undertake it. The basic assumptions of the current approach need revisited, especially those dealing with the role of the state, the strategic framework for American involvement, and the whole-of-government approach. Given the demands placed upon the armed forces by the current campaigns, most of the effort has been on tactics, training, and doctrine. Ultimately strategic transformation is at least as important, if not more so. Rather than thinking of counterinsurgency and warfighting as competing tasks, the military and other government agencies must pursue ways to integrate them, thus assuring that the United States can address the multidimensional threats which characterize the contemporary security environment.