IRAQ

Improved Iraqi Forces Contribute to Four-Year Violence Low - AFPS
Bush Acknowledges 'Learning as We Go' - Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post
Rice to Push Sunni Arabs on Iraq Ties - David Gollust, VOA
Rice: The World Must Do More for Iraq - Associated Press
Iraq Appeals for Development Partners - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
Iraqi Prime Minister to Seek Debt Relief - Associated Press
Sunnis Suspend Talks with Iraqi Government - Associated Press
Sadr City Truce Strains as Militia Leaders Grumble - Associated Press
Forces in Iraq Capture Dozens, Discover Weapons Caches - AFPS
Many Iraqis Just Want to Go Home - Associated Press
Former Bush Aide Stuns Many With New Book - Dan Eggen, Washington Post
Muqtada al-Sadr, Civic Activist? - James Kirchick, Contentions
Iraqi Army Clashes with Mahdi Army - Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
The Warrior King - Abu Muqawama, Abu Muqawama
Muqtada Atari - Dr. iRack, Abu Muqawama
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Pakistan Militants Make New Deal - BBC News
UK: Failing the Troops in Afghanistan - London Daily Telegraph editorial
Following the Marines Through Helmand III - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
24th MEU in Afghanistan - Charlie, Abu Muqawama
Pakistan Strikes Deal with the Taliban - Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal
Miliband Surrenders - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal

IRAN

US Says Iran's Nuke Program Could Produce Disaster - Meredith Buel, VOA
Iran's Leader Jolts Hopes of West - Michael Theodoulou, London Times
President Rival Elected as Parliament Speaker - Fathi and Bowley, New York Times
Iran Speaker Warns Nuclear Agency - BBC News
Bolton: Iran Strike Unattractive Last Resort - Reuters
Ahmadinejad Sets Lance Straight - Robert Ferrigno, National Review opinion
Iran Fails Another Test - Emanuele Ottolenghi, Contentions

THE LONG WAR

US Courts Best for Terror Trials - Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor
When Success Is the Orphan - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review opinion
Fashion Crime - Michelle Malkin, National Review opinion
AQ Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women - Sciolino and Mekhennet, New York Times
Internet Warrior Rallies Women to Support al-Qaeda - Gregory McNeal, The Tank
She Wages Online Jihad - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room
Islamist Feminism - Abe Greenwald, Contentions
The Revolt Against al-Qaeda - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
Informal Networks and Insurgency - Tim Stevens, Ubiwar
Al Qaeda's Civil War? - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Pentagon to Shift Funds to Pay for Iraq War - Reuters
War’s Stresses Take Toll on Chaplains - Sarah Abruzzese, New York Times
Colonel Says Speaking Out Cost a Medal - Josh White, Washington Post
Our American Mind for War - Thomas Bruscino, Claremont Institute book review
US COIN and Institutional Learning - Tim Stevens, Ubiwar
Embracing Opportunity With Soft Power - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
The Tactical Node and the Strategic Network - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
Watchdogs Swamped by Military Spending - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room
Fleet Constitution Evolution For 2009 QDR - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
Tom's Ideas in Naval Strategy Circles - Sean Meade, Thomas PM Barnett
Clueless as a Hog Looking at a Wristwatch - Uncle Jimbo, Blackfive
Academics Target Social Science Project - Sharon Weinberger, Danger Room
Navy Leadership Takes a Broadside - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
GI Twist - Washington Post editorial

AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

Troops 'Ashamed' to Wear Aussie Uniform - Sydney Morning Herald
Australian Soldiers 'Ashamed' at Lack of Action - Paul Larter, London Times
Let Aussies Fight - Max Boot, Contentions

US FOREIGN POLICY

McCain’s Nuke Plan is Good, but Could go Farther - Westhawk, Westhawk
Pragmatism? - Daniel Halper, Contentions

UNITED NATIONS

Let's Join the New Democracy Gang - Rosemary Righter, London Times opinion

AFRICA

Food Relief For Africa 'Insufficient,' GAO Says - Anthony Faiola, Washington Post
Food Crisis May Worsen African Child Mortality - Reuters
UN Rights Boss Condemns Zimbabwe Violence - Reuters
South Africa Weighs Refugee Camps - Dugger and Cowell, New York Times
S. Africa Says to Offer Shelter to African Migrants - Reuters
S. Africa Denies Planning Refugee Camps - BBC News
Darfur Rebels Seek Alliance - Simon Roughneen, Washington Times
Presidential Candidates United on Darfur - Reuters
Sierra Leone War Criminals' Sentences Extended - Associated Press
A Past at Rest in Rwanda - David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion

AMERICAS

Mexico says Bloodshed Shows Progress vs. Drug Cartels - Reuters
Mexico's Federal Police Ask for Better Weapons - Associated Press
Laptop Computers Become Evidence in Colombia - Associated Press

ASIA PACIFIC

Gates to Restate US Commitment in Asia - Associated Press
Gates Begins Asia Swing Focusing on Regional Security - AFPS
Historic China-Taiwan Summit Held - BBC News
New Taiwan Leader Reportedly Cautious with China - Associated Press
Taiwan's New Direction - Washington Times editorial
China: Race to Ease Pressure on Dammed River - Andrew Jacobs, New York Times
China Quake Lakes Threaten 1.3m People - The Australian
Citizens' Groups Step Up In China - Maureen Fan, Washington Post
Eager to Show Can Handle Olympics and Crisis - Ching-Ching Ni, Los Angeles Times
China Asks Japanese Military for Help - Leo Lewis, The Australian
China and Japan: Earthquake Diplomacy - London Times editorial
Already Beijing is Thinking Food Security - Tom Barnett, Thomas PM Barnett
Burma: US Navy Waiting for Aid Permission - William Branigin, Washington Post
Burma Still Nixes US Military Help - AFPS
Catastrophe in Burma - Helle Dale, Washington Times opinion
US, N. Korea Make Progress on Nuclear Declaration - Reuters
US Envoy: Disarming N. Korea in 2008 a 'Challenge' - Associated Press
N. Korea May Face Food Crisis from Cold Weather - Associated Press
Terrorism and the Olympics - Nicholas Kristof, New York Times opinion
Indonesia to Pull Out of OPEC - Associated Press

EUROPE

Tensions for NATO over Georgia and Ukraine - Tony Halpin, London Times
NATO Says Can't be Police Force for Kosovo - Reuters
British Turnabout Key to Cluster Bomb Ban - Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times
Britain will Scrap its Cluster Bomb Stockpile - London Times
Britain Joins a Draft Treaty on Cluster Munitions - John Burns, New York Times
UK Will Ban Use of Cluster Bombs - BBC News

MIDDLE EAST

Search Is Urged for Syrian Nuclear Sites - Warrick and Wright, Washington Post
Israel's Olmert Pressured to Step Down - Griff Witte, Washington Post
Defense Minister Calls for Olmert to Step Aside - Isabel Kershner, New York Times
Call for Israel PM to Stand Down - BBC News
Sunset for Olmert - David Hazony, Contentions
Lebanon President Asks Siniora to Form New Cabinet - Reuters
Lebanese President Reappoints Prime Minister - Associated Press
A Prisoner Deal with Hezbollah? - David Hazony, Contentions

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan's Sharif Says Government to Expel Musharraf - VOA
Pakistan's Sharif Wants Musharraf Ousted and Tried - Reuters
Pak PM: West Must Change Terror Tactics - Zahid Hussain, London Times
Pakistani Islamists Demand Release of Nuclear Scientist - VOA
Hear out Pakistan - Washington Times editorial
Nepal Declares its Republic - The Australian
Nepal Poised for Rebirth as a Republic - Somini Sengupta, New York Times
Nepal Declares Itself a Republic - BBC News
Nepal's Lawmakers Abolish the Country's Monarchy - Associated Press

WORLD

111 Nations Agree to Cluster-Bomb Ban - Sullivan and White, Washington Post
Treaty Seeks to Ban Cluster Bombs Within 8 Years - Associated Press
US Absent as Global Cluster Munitions Ban Agreed - Reuters
Cluster Bombs: Don't Ban Them - Oliver Kamm, London Times opinion

RECOMMENDED READING

Recommended Reading - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner
Propaganda Is Now Officially Hip - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner
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.