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IRAQ
Sadr City Cease-fire Signed After Weeks of Fighting - Associated Press
Shi'ite Gunmen in Baghdad Ignore Truce - Reuters
Clashes in Sadr City Kill 11 - Associated Press
Iran Hard-liners Come Out Against Iraqi-US Deal - Associated Press
Missile Is Fired at Copter Over Baghdad - Farrell and Gordon, New York Times
More Gains in Iraq - New York Post editorial
Remember Basra? - Peter Wehner, National Review opinion
Rethinking the Iraq Critics - Michael Barone, Washington Times opinion
Maliki Stands Firm - Max Boot, Contentions
Iraqi Troops Subdue Basra - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room
Cracking Sadr City - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
Enforcing the Rule of Law - Dr. iRack, Abu Muqawama
In Pictures: Patrolling the Shorja Market - Bill Ardolino, The Long War Journal
The General in His Labyrinth - Max Boot, Washington Post book review
Sanchez: An Orthodox Officer - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS
12 Militants Killed in Southern Afghanistan - Associated Press
Senior Afghan Officials Suspended - BBC News
Taleban Dead Returned to Pakistan - BBC News
A Counterinsurgency Grows in Khost - Ann Marlowe, Weekly Standard opinion
Pakistani Taliban, Iraqi al Qaeda Killed - Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
Taliban Spring Offensive: Pointless Bickering - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
Senior Afghan Officials Sacked - Matt Dupee, The Long War Journal
IRAN
Smuggling to Iran Rife in Dangerous Gulf Waters - Reuters
Iran Says to Sue US and Britain Over Mosque Blast - Reuters
From the Mouths of Mullahs - Jules Crittenden, Forward Movement
THE LONG WAR
The 'Long War' Fallacy - Andrew Bacevich, Los Angeles Times opinion
Why We Need Nukes and Gitmo - Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times opinion
Shielding Official Leakers - Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times opinion
Counterfeiting: A Matter of National Security - Jay Fraser, Threats Watch
Owning ‘the Means of Communication’ - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group
Regulating Complex Terrain in COIN - Michael Innes, Complex Terrain Laboratory
Blood Debts and Exotic Others - Patrick Porter, Kings of War
Prisons in Counterinsurgency - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
Media Power and Terrorists - Brigitte Nacos, Complex Terrain Laboratory
US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
“Burying the Ghosts of Vietnam” - Bob Cassidy, Small Wars Journal
The Ghosts of Vietnam - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
More Armor for MRAPs - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room
Vietnam Ghosts - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
Gates in Touch with the Future, But... - Tom Barnett, Thomas PM Barnett
So Near Yet So Far - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
Force Structure for Small Wars - Andrew Pavord, Small Wars Journal
Contracting Out Iraqi Army Advising - Peter Singer, The Brookings Institution
Top US Commando Says Strain of War Limits Forces - Associated Press
Personal Responsibility - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
AFRICA
Sudan Briefly Arrests Islamist Leader - Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times
Sudan: Islamist Leader Arrested - Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post
Bin Laden Host Held After Raid on Khartoum - Rob Crilly, London Times
Sudan Briefly Detains Islamist for Alleged Rebel Links - Associated Press
Darfur Rebel Leader Vows Attrition War - Associated Press
Sudanese Troops Hunt for Rebels in Khartoum - Reuters
Official: Chad Closes Border with Sudan - Associated Press
Zimbabwe Rejects Western Poll Observers - Reuters
Kenya: Back to the Land, Warily - Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post
US Revives Reward Plan for Rwanda Suspects - Reuters
AMERICAS
Venezuela Takes Over Steel Firm - BBC News
Roots of Haiti's Food Crisis Run Deep - Carol Williams, Los Angeles Times
Haiti Lawmakers Reject PM Nominee - Associated Press
Bolivia's Morales Approves August Recall Vote - Associated Press
6 Charged in Shooting of Officer in Mexico - James McKinley, New York Times
Mexico Police say Drug Cartel Killed No. 2 Cop - Associated Press
Mexican Rebels Reject Direct Talks with Government - Reuters
US Role in Mexico Assassination - Mary O'Grady, Wall Street Journal opinion
Could Mexico’s Rot Spread North? - Westhawk, Westhawk
ASIA PACIFIC
Quake Kills Thousands in W. China - Hooker and Yardley, New York Times
Quake in China Kills Thousands - Jill Drew, Washington Post
Death Toll in China Put at 10,000 - Magnier and Demick, Los Angeles Times
At Least 10,000 Dead in China - Jane Macartney, London Times
Deadly quake strikes China - Chris O'Brien, Washington Times
China: 'Tens of Thousands' Dead - Spencer and Moore, London Daily Telegraph
‘No Hope’ for Children Buried in Earthquake - Edward Wong, New York Times
Death Toll Rises in China Quake - BBC News
UN Leader Tells Burma to Hurry on Aid - Hoge and Mydans New York Times
American Admiral Takes Plea To Burma - Kazmin and Lynch, Washington Post
Burma Accused of 'Crime' Against Its People - Leo Lewis, London Times
UN Frustrated at Burma Response - BBC News
Burma Crisis: UN Must Step Up - London Daily Telegraph editorial
The United Nations Can Save Burma - Daadler and Stares, Boston Globe opinion
Burma: Case for Intervention - David Aaronovitch, London Times opinion
Gunboat Diplomacy for Burma? - James Kirchick, Contentions
Ghost of Macarthur Lands in Burma - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
Dalai Lama Expects Talks to Resume - Somini Sengupta, New York Times
Who's Afraid of Big Bad China? Why? - Chris Patten, London Times opinion
The Challenge From China - Mark Helprin, Wall Street Journal opinion
The Right Path With N. Korea - Hecker and Perry, Washington Post opinion
Hanoi on Trial - Wall Street Journal editorial
EUROPE
Putin Chooses Cabinet, Retains Key Officials - Peter Finn, Washington Post
Putin in Control as Russia Names Cabinet - Reuters
Georgia in Peril - Washington Times editorial
Serbia Braces for Electoral Showdown - Dan Bilefsky, New York Times
Serbia Begins Postelection Talks - Associated Press
Serbia in Coalition Scramble After Ambivalent Vote - Reuters
Good Morning Serbia - London Times editorial
Victory in Serbia - Max Boot, Contentions
MIDDLE EAST
In Lebanon, a Call for US Action - Erdbrink and Wright, Washington Post
Druze Plead for US Help in Lebanon - Sara Carter, Washington Times
Army Says It Will Use Force to Quell Fighting - Robert Worth, New York Times
Bush Offers Help for Lebanon Army - BBC News
Fighting in Tripoli, Beirut Calm - Associated Press
Lebanese Army Says will Intervene from Tuesday - Reuters
From Lebanon to Hezbollahstan - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal opinion
What’s Wrong in Lebanon - Claudia Rosett, National Review opinion
Civil War in the Video Age - Abu Muqawama, Abu Muqawama
Jordan Charges Man in Honor Killing of Sister - Associated Press
Bush's Inauspicious Visit - Washington Post editorial
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistani Party Quits Cabinet Over Justices - Pamela Constable, Washington Post
Sharif’s Party Leaves Cabinet in Pakistan - Jane Perlez, New York Times
Pakistan Plunges into Fresh Political Crisis - Zahid Hussain, London Times
Pakistan Government Set to Split - BBC News
Fighting 'Continues' in Kashmir - BBC News
Nine Dead in Indian Rebel Attack - BBC News
WORLD
Spread of Nuclear Capability Is Feared - Joby Warrick, Washington Post
While the IAEA and Security Council Dither... - Westhawk, Westhawk
RECOMMENDED READING
COIN Book Club # 9 - Kip, Abu Muqawama
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
UK CT & COIN Features - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group
EVENTS OF INTEREST
13 May 2008 - After the Iraqi Offensive: An Address by Colonel H. R. McMaster (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. The government of Iraq has made great strides both militarily and politically over the past year and a half. After dramatically reducing al Qaeda in Iraq’s operational capability, the Iraqi Security Forces have successfully undertaken operations to reclaim segments of Basra and Sadr City from Shiite extremist elements. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al Maliki has won increasing support from the major Sunni, Kurdish, and Shiite blocs due to his leadership in this offensive. Moreover, in a sign of bottom-up reconciliation, nearly 90 percent of Sunnis polled declared their intention to participate in the October provincial elections. How will Iraqi political dynamics evolve as operations against Shiite extremists continue? How will the security situation in Iraq evolve as the July drawdown in U.S. forces approaches? How have recent events in Iraq influenced our understanding of nation-building strategy? Having recently returned from working with Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus in Iraq, Colonel H. R. McMaster will address these and other questions at AEI on May 13. Following his address, Michèle Flournoy of the Center for a New American Security and AEI’s Thomas Donnelly will join Colonel McMaster for a discussion of these issues.
15 May 2008 - Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. In Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (AEI Press, May 2008), AEI scholars Thomas Donnelly and Frederick W. Kagan pose a series of urgent questions for policymakers: What is the strategic role of American ground forces? What missions will these forces undertake in the future? What is the nature of land warfare in the twenty-first century? What qualities are necessary to succeed on the battlefields of the Long War? What is the ideal size and configuration of the force--and how much will it cost? On Thursday, May 15, Donnelly, Kagan, and Kathleen Hicks of the Center for Strategic and International Studies will discuss these and other questions about the size, shape, and costs of the land forces the United States will require in the years ahead.
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.