IRAQ
Iraq Violence Falls to Four-year Low - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times
Iraqi Officials and Cleric’s Backers Spar - Farrell and Oppel, New York Times
Race to Free British Hostages - Damien McElroy, London Daily Telegraph
Iraqi Military: al-Qaida Fleeing Mosul - Associated Press
Airline Deal With Boeing Boosts Iraq - David Sands, Washington Times
The Brits and Basra - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
Are the Brits Wimps? - Dr. iRack, Abu Muqawama
Iran Paid for Attacks on British Troops - J. Peter Pham, The Tank
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS
NATO Sees Rise of Militant Activity in Afghanistan - Associated Press
NATO: Pakistan Talks Lead to More Afghan Attacks - Reuters
Suicide Blast Hits NATO Convoy in Afghan South - Reuters
Breaking Point - David Wood, Baltimore Sun
Combat Stress, in Combat - David Wood, Military Watch
Afghanistan: Streamlining ... Not Quite Yet - David Wood, Military Watch
Initial Phases of Taliban Operations Complete - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
IRAN
Egypt Eyes Iran With Suspicion - Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times
Iranian-born Israeli Charged with Spying for Iran - Associated Press
THE LONG WAR
States Chafing at US Focus on Terrorism - Schmitt and Johnston, New York Times
Koran Target Practice - Diana West, Washington Times opinion
Guantanamo's Day in Court - James Carroll, Boston Globe opinion
Resilient Structures - Chet Richards, Chet Richards
Daniel Kimmage at the ICSR - Tim Stevens, Ubiwar
US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Military Chief Warns Troops About Politics - Thom Shanker, New York Times
The Proud, The Few - Donnelly and Kagan, New York Post opinion
A Test for Army Recruiting - Kip, Abu Muqawama
Mr. Bush and the GI Bill - New York Times editorial
US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
Gutless and Misunderstood - Michael, Haft of the Spear
AFRICA
Zimbabwe's Mugabe Threatens to Expel US Ambassador - Associated Press
Mugabe Threatens US Ambassador as Campaign Begins - Reuters
Mugabe Threat to Expel US Envoy - BBC News
While Zimbabwe Burns - Boston Globe editorial
Mbeki Describes Attacks as ‘Absolute Disgrace’ - Jonathan Clayton, London Times
Anti-foreigner Violence in South Africa Kills 50 - Associated Press
Mbeki Condemns Attacks on Migrants, Vows Action - Reuters
SA's Mbeki Says Riots a Disgrace - BBC News
New Civil War Feared in Sudan - Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post
UN to Examine Fighting in Oil-rich Region of Sudan - Associated Press
Sudan Politicians Accuse Government of Torture - Reuters
Lawyer Says Former Malawi President Arrested - Associated Press
Former Congo Warlord Bemba Arrested for War Crimes - Associated Press
Former DR Congo Leader Arrested - BBC News
AMERICAS
Mexico’s War Against Drugs Kills Its Police - James McKinely Jr., New York Times
FARC Rebels Vow To Continue Fight - Juan Forero. Washington Post
FARC Confirms Leader's Death - Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times
Rebel Death Raises Hope for Hostages - Simon Romero, New York Times
Colombian Rebels Say Leader Dead - BBC News
Is FARC’s Leader Dead? And is This Good or Bad? - Westhawk, Westhawk
ASIA PACIFIC
Powerful Aftershock Hits China - Maureen Fan, Washington Post
Aftershock in China Topples Many Buildings - Jake Hooker, New York Times
China Struggles to Shelter Millions - David Barboza, New York Times
Taiwanese Party Leader Visits Mainland China - Keith Bradsher, New York Times
Mid-Level Official Steered US Shift On N. Korea - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post
Diplomats: China is Middleman Between N. Korea, IAEA - Associated Press
Burma: Even Farmers Wait for Food - New York Times
Aid Pledged to Burma If Workers Get Access - Amy Kazmin, Washington Post
Burma Political Prisoner Set to be Released - Richard Ehrlich, Washington Times
Burma's Crucial Week - The Australian editorial
EUROPE
International Forces Blur Mission Lines in Kosovo - Michael Evans, London Times
UN Says Russia Downed Georgian Drone - C.J. Chivers, New York Times
MIDDLE EAST
General Takes Office As President Of Lebanon - Shadid and Ibrahim, Washington Post
Lebanon Elects President to Ease Divide - Robert Worth, New York Times
Suleiman Sworn in as President of Lebanon - Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
Gunfire Welcomes Lebanon's New Leader - Nicholas Blanford, London Times
New President Rises on Army's Neutrality - Hussein Dakroub, Washington Times
Lebanese Parliament Elects Army Chief as President - Associated Press
Lebanese Parliament Elects Suleiman as President - Reuters
Lebanon Vote Ends Leader Deadlock - BBC News
America Should Help Lebanon - Gary Anderson, Washington Times opinion
Carter Says Israel Had 150 Nuclear Weapons - Bronwen Maddox, London Times
When Rockets Go Slam - Joel Mowbray, Washington Times opinion
Resurgent Syria Keeps Region Guessing - Martin Chulov, The Australian
Saudi Activist on Hunger Strike After Arrest - Associated Press
Egypt Plans to Extend Emergency Law - Reuters
A Homemade Peace in the Mideast - Barbara Slavin, Los Angeles Times opinion
The Iran-Syria-Hizballah-Hamas Alliance - J. Peter Pham, The Tank
Talking to the Brotherhood - Dominic Moran, Diplomatic Courier
SOUTH ASIA
Leaders Duel in Battle for Pakistan - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
Indian Tribal Clashes Kill Dozens - BBC News
9 Killed in Fresh Sri Lanka Fighting - Associated Press
RECOMMENDED READING
Whose Face to the World? - Marc Lynch, Abu Aardvark
Recommended Reading - Mark Safranski, ZenPundit
Adding to My “Antilibrary” - Mark Safranski, ZenPundit
UK CT & COIN Features - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group
EVENTS OF INTEREST
29 May 2008 - Occupational Hazards: Success and Failure in Military Occupation (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Book forum hosted by The Cato Institute. Featuring the author David M. Edelstein, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, with comments by Robert M. Perito, U.S. Institute of Peace and Christopher Preble, Cato Institute. What makes military occupations more or less likely to succeed? Drawing on 26 cases since 1815 where outside powers have seized territory without a claim to its sovereignty, David Edelstein attempts to determine why some occupations succeed and why so many seem doomed to failure. Edelstein combines detailed case studies with a theoretical approach and concludes that occupations face a paradox: Success requires a long-term and massive commitment of resources and attention; however, such large-scale occupations can elicit nationalist responses from the occupied populace. Further, as the occupier faces difficulty, discontent grows at home, and pressure builds to remove occupying forces. Examining the history of occupation as a component of grand strategy, Edelstein offers warnings for today’s policymakers, who seem tempted to include military occupations as part of the approach to countering terrorism. Please join the author and our distinguished commentators for a discussion of this timely and pathbreaking book.
4-5 June 208 - 2008 Joint Symposium - Strategic Re-Assessment: From Long-Range Planning to Future Strategy and Forces (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Institute for National Strategic Studies, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and US Joint Forces Command. Fundamental to the development and implementation of a successful future defense posture is a foundation comprised of a well-reasoned assessment of the future security environment, a clear understanding of the “realm of the possible” for and limitations of military forces, and an understanding of the nation’s security objectives. Developing an appropriate assessment of the future security environment is not something done in a vacuum as it is impossible to fully separate purely military or national security issues from other elements of the national and global environment. This is particularly true for the United States. Technical innovation and adaptation, the rise and decline of other actors on the international stage, domestic politics, globalization and its effects on trade, migration, communications, and the power of nonstate actors all, bear heavily on any security assessment. There is no shortage of assessments of the future security environment. In the last decade, National Defense University itself has produced several, most recently, Strategic Challenges – America’s Global Security Agenda. The objectives of this symposium are to examine some of these strategic assessments, to review our success at incorporating their key elements into strategic and operational plans, and to propose ways to institutionalize best practices into the process for future force development and joint force planning. We will explore these issues through a series of panel discussions and keynote addresses. Featured speakers will include military officers, government officials, and experts from research institutes.
17-19 June 208 - 3rd Annual North American Security Colloquium: Wars Without Borders (Public Event). Kingston, Ontario. Sponsored by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Queen's Centre for International Relations, and Defence Management Studies at Queen's University, and the Canadian 'Forces' Land Doctrine and Training System. The conflicts today in Iraq and in Afghanistan are examples of what some leading scholars and many commanders have termed “continuous wars among the people.” This type of conflict is developing or occurring in other regions of the world, in Africa and in Latin America for example. In many of these situations traditional and legal borders no longer define or contain the conflict, nor do obvious sovereign entities control belligerents. International commitments to control these conflicts necessarily demand complex, multi-dimensional diplomatic, military, police, and humanitarian responses. What has been learned about such conflicts from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan may to some degree be transferable to conflicts in other regions. Assuming that the international community may well face future operations characterized by regional, borderless “wars among the people”, the centres at Queen’s University and their partners propose convening a distinguished group of approximately 200 experts from academic, military, governmental, and international institutions to examine how best to prepare commanders, military units and governments to plan for and conduct complex, multi-dimensional stability campaigns in this new environment.
16-18 September 2008 - The U.S. Army and the Interagency Process: A Historical Perspective (Public Event - Conference / Call for Papers). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute. The symposium will include a variety of guest speakers, panel sessions, and general discussions. This symposium will explore the partnership between the U.S. Army and government agencies in attaining national goals and objectives in peace and war within a historical context. Separate international topics may be presented. The symposium will also examine current issues, dilemmas, problems, trends, and practices associated with U.S. Army operations requiring close interagency cooperation.
