QUOTE OF THE DAY
If those who lived during World War II were "the greatest generation," this must be the gratingest generation. It's not just the constant meaningless chatter that grates. There is the incessant self-dramatization.
--Thomas Sowell, Washington Times
READY FOR A NEW GLOBAL WAR?
Simon Jenkins, The Times, posits the world is now run by a generation of leaders who have never known global war. Has this dulled their senses?
Is the world drifting towards a new global war? From this week the dominant super-power, America, will for three months pass through the valley of the shadow of democracy, a presidential election. This is always a moment of self-absorption and paranoia. Barack Obama and John McCain will not act as statesmen but as politicians. They will grandstand and look over their shoulders. Their eye will stray from the ball.
Meanwhile, along history’s fault line of conflict from Russia’s European border to the Caucasus and on to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, diplomats are shifting uneasily in their seats, drums are sounding and harsh words are spoken. The world is now run by a generation of leaders who have never known global war. Has this dulled their senses?
Dan McNeill, an American general, was recently interviewed in Kabul on how to beat the Taliban. He was not the first to conclude that this could not be done militarily but only by “winning hearts and minds”. The problem, he said, lay in the answer to the question, “Whose hearts and minds?” Was it those of the Afghan people or was it rather those of the American Congress and voters?
More at The Times.
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS
Top news out of Afghanistan is the the allegation, and US investigation concerning, that a US airstrike killed more than 70 civilians on Thursday. The Washington Post quotes Lieutenant Colonel Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokeswoman for the US military, as saying 30 Taliban insurgents were killed in the operation, which targeted a compound occupied by a local Taliban commander. "We're confident that we struck the right compound," she said. US coalition spokesman, First Lieutenant Nathan Perry, told Voice of America the troops were able to search the compound following the battle to confirm the casualty figures. He says five civilians, who were believed to be related to the militants, were among the 30 people killed in the strike. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the airstrike. The American Forces Press Service (US Department of Defense) report (based on a CJTF 101 press release) follows:
More than 30 militants are dead after Afghan National Army commandos and coalition forces conducted a cordon-and-search operation in Afghanistan’s Laghman province yesterday to disrupt suspected Taliban safe havens and roadside-bombing cells, military officials reported. The operation took place in response to information gathered following a recent attack by militants on NATO International Security Assistance Forces in that area, officials said.
As Afghan and coalition forces approached the area, they were engaged by militants using small-arms fire. About 200 civilians, including women and children, were seen fleeing the area. Once the area was clear of women and children, Afghan commandos and coalition forces returned fire on the militants and called for close-air support, destroying one enemy fighting position.
More than 30 militants were killed in the operation, and the commandos destroyed a large cache of mortar rounds and bomb-making materials. A wounded militant was taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment. No civilian casualties were reported.
More at The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Associated Press.
THE LONG WAR
Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, details the financial war waged against terror organizations in Al-Qaeda Masters Terrorism On the Cheap.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, al-Qaeda has increasingly turned to local cells that run extremely low-cost operations and generate cash through criminal scams, bypassing the global financial dragnet set up by the United States and Europe.
Although al-Qaeda spent an estimated $500,000 to plan and execute the Sept. 11 attacks, many of the group's bombings and assaults since then in Europe, North Africa and Southeast Asia have cost one-tenth as much, or less.
The cheap plots are evidence that the US government and its allies fundamentally miscalculated in assuming they could defeat the network by hunting for wealthy financiers and freezing bank accounts, according to many US and European counterterrorism officials.
More at The Washington Post.
Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D., (In Harmonium) has a new post up at CT Lab - Notes Toward a Theory of Asymmetric Warfare.
For several years now, I've been trying to come up with a model of asymmetric warfare that places it within the more general social scientific rubric of social interaction. It's simple enough to come up with descriptive and explanatory models, but I wanted to create one that had some predictive (or at least post-dictive) capability. And, as an anthropologist, I also wanted the model to be applicable across a wide variety and range of time and space, and cover as many cultural types as possible.
For over a decade, I've been using various forms of evolutionary theory and evolutionary psychology, melded in with concepts of emergence, to look at a variety of different patterns of social interaction. This formed the basis of my starting point. As always, I like to go back to the basics and, with evolutionary theory, this tends to mean looking at the minimal characteristics necessary for a Darwinian system to operate.
More at CT Lab.
SOLAR TECHNOLOGY GOES LONG
Richard Gray, science correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, reports on a solar powered spy plane developed by British scientists has broken the record for the longest time spent in flight after remaining in the air for three and a half days.
With solar panels along its 60ft wingspan, the Zephyr promises to revolutionise military intelligence. The unmanned aircraft stores power from the sun in its batteries, allowing it to continue through the night and, potentially, stay in the air for months at a time.
Unlike conventional spy planes, which need regular refuelling and so make relatively short flights, it will give commanders an unbroken picture of the battlefield. The engineers who created the Zephyr also believe it will have important civilian applications, including search-and-rescue operations and police surveillance.
It has been developed by the British defence company Qinetiq, which will announce the record-breaking flight tomorrow. The plane is designed to provide surveillance and communication support for military personnel on the ground by circling slowly over a battle zone, tracking troop movements with its on-board camera. It can reach 70mph at 60,000ft.
More at The Daily Telegraph.
AMERICAS
The Border Counterinsurgency by David Danelo of the San Diego Union-Tribune
Soldiers patrolled in teams of four with weapons at the ready, wearing masks over their faces to conceal their identities from enemy surveillance. More than 40 checkpoints had been placed around the city; military forces took over for police, screening traffic and maintaining security. Occasionally, firefights broke out between various armed factions. The locals were stuck in the middle, and often played both sides.
Iraq? Afghanistan? The Balkans?
I recently observed this scene unfold in Ciudad JuÁrez, Mexico, less than 50 yards from the United States. Since President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006, more than 4,100 Mexicans have died amid the violence – almost exactly the same number of Americans killed in five years of war in Iraq. From Tijuana to Matamoros, police officers have been bribed, intimidated and assassinated. Throughout Mexico, 40,000 troops struggle valiantly, but often unsuccessfully, to impose order. “It is a war,” Calderón openly declared this past May to reporters.
More at The San Diego Union Tribune.
ANOTHER SOURCE OF 'GOOD STUFF'
John Sullivan, who penned two recent SWJ articles - here and here, was also recently published in the Spanish version of Air and Space Power Journal - Transnational Gangs: The Impact of Third Generation Gangs in Central America (in English). Another good read is Max Manwaring's piece on gangs and other criminal organizations in Central America and Mexico.
BOOKS
Baghdad at Sunrise - Peter Mansoor
This compelling book presents an unparalleled record of what happened after US forces seized Baghdad in the spring of 2003.
The Strongest Tribe - Bing West
From a universally respected combat journalist, a gripping history based on five years of front-line reporting about how the war was turned around–and the choice now facing America.
Tell Me How This Ends - Linda Robinson
After a series of disastrous missteps in its conduct of the war, the White House in 2006 appointed General David Petraeus as the Commanding General of the coalition forces. Tell Me How This Ends is an inside account of his attempt to turn around a failing war.
We Are Soldiers Still - Joe Galloway
In their stunning follow-up to the classic bestseller We Were Soldiers Once... and Young, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway return to Vietnam and reflect on how the war changed them, their men, their enemies, and both countries - often with surprising results.
ENDNOTES
Iraq
Fear Keeps Iraqis Out of Their Baghdad Homes - New York Times
Gunmen Kill a Top Official in Baghdad - New York Times
My Long War - New York Times
Ahmadinejad Foes Need a Shield in Iraq - Washington Times opinion
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
France: Army Deaths Put Sarkozy in Line of Fire - The Times
What Fighting the Taliban is Really Like - Daily Telegraph
Report From a Forgotten War - Washington Times opinion
Iran
Tehran's Web of Silence - Boston Globe opinion
Russia / Georgia / NATO
An Initial Look at Russian Military Performance - Foreign Policy Research Institute
Ukraine Fears Being Next on Kremlin's Hit List - The Times
Russian Forces Stage A Substantial Retreat - Washington Post
Georgia Prepares for Refugees; Russians Declare Pullback Finished - NY Times
Georgian War Captives Tell of Treatment - Washington Post
Enemies Suffer as Russia Trumpets Victory - The Times
Russia May Recognize Georgia's Separatist Regions - Agence France-Presse
Georgian Democracy A Complex Evolution - Washington Post
Moscow Ups the Ante in Poker Game with West - The Times
Rice's Not-Quite-Shining Moment - Washington Post opinion
Putin in the Shadow of the Red Czar - New York Times opinion
A Superpower Is Reborn - New York Times opinion
Bad News From The Caucasus - Washington Times opinion
The Long War
Homeland Security Comes to Vermont - Washington Post
That Troubled Terrorism List - New York Times editorial
How to Target the Extremists - Daily Telegraph opinion
World
Autocrats: They Can Only Go So Far - Washington Post opinion
Africa
Moroccan Terrorism Suspect's Murky Trail - Los Angeles Times
Militants Patrol Captured Somali City - Associated Press
Americas
Drug Cartel Suspects Held in Mexico - Associated Press
Asia / Pacific
Photos Support Account by China of Deadly Attack - New York Times
China Earns Medals, Respect - Washington Times
US Disrupts Olympic Party with Human Rights Attack - Daily Telegraph
US Seeks Immediate Release of Olympic Protesters - Associated Press
In Beijing, Tourists Are Dazzled, Daunted - Washington Post
China's One World? - Washington Times opinion
China's Totalitarian Games - Boston Globe opinion
Inflation Delivers a Blow to Vietnam’s Spirits - New York Times
Middle East
Rights Advocates Defy Israeli Blockade of Gaza - New York Times
Nomads Under Threat in Holy Land - Daily Telegraph
South Asia
Pakistan's Ruling Coalition on Verge of Collapsing - Associated Press
Pakistan Euphoria over Musharraf's Exit Ebbs - Los Angeles Times
Ousting Musharraf May Not Save Pakistan - Daily Telegraph
Pakistan: Bhutto's Widower Declares Pakistani Presidential Bid - Washington Post
Bhutto Widower Proposed for Pakistan President - Associated Press
Pakistan's Uncertain Future - Miami Herald opinion
EVENTS OF INTEREST
11-12 September - DNI Open Source Conferece 2008 (Public Event - Conference). Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Office of the DNI is pleased to announce the "DNI Open Source Conference 2008" to be held on Thursday, 11 September and Friday, 12 September, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. The conference is free; however, all who wish to attend must register online in advance (deadline 31 July). The two-day conference will explore a wide range of open source issues and open source best practices for the Intelligence Community and its partners. We invite participants from the broader open source community of interest including academia, think tanks, private industry, federal, state, local and tribal entities, international partners, and the media to attend. The conference will include speakers from across the broader open source community participating in panel discussions and focus group sessions. Information about the agenda and break-out sessions is now available. The DNI Open Source Conference 2007 was held 16-17 July 2007 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. More than 900 registered participants and speakers attended. Presentations made at the conference break-out sessions are available on the DNI Open Source Conference 2007 website.
16-18 September - 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.
17 September - The Iranian Puzzle Piece: Understanding Iran in the Global Context (Public Event - Symposium). Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. Sponsored by the by the Marine Corps University (MCU) and the Marine Corps University Foundation to enhance the overall understanding of Iran, exploring its internal dynamics, regional perspectives, and extra-regional factors and examining its near-term political and strategic options and their potential impact on the course of action of the United States and the USMC.
