QUOTE OF THE DAY
Why can't someone who subscribes to 'the Petraeus Doctrine', for example, also have sympathy for some of the very legitimate concerns Gian has about the erosion of conventional skillsets? To me, we have to strike a balance between the realities of combat as it's being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and also the longer-term needs of the force.
--Andrew Exum, Abu Muqawama
PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN
Mullen Visits Pakistan as US Raids Stir Tensions - Pamela Constable, Washington Post
The United States' top military officer flew unexpectedly into Pakistan on Tuesday night to meet with senior officials amid a tense confrontation between the two allies over recent US military incursions into Pakistan in pursuit of al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists.
The unannounced visit by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came hours after a spokesman for Pakistan's army was reported as saying that the country's soldiers had orders to "open fire" if US forces attempt a cross-border raid similar to a Sept. 3 commando operation in which about 20 people were killed.
Lt. Col. Gary Tallman, a spokesman for Mullen, said the admiral would focus "on working more closely with the Pakistani military to improve coordination and effectiveness in operations against extremist safe havens in the border regions." It is Mullen's fifth visit to Pakistan since he became chairman nearly a year ago; he plans to meet Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani.
More at the Washingtgon Post, Washington Times, Voice of America and American Forces Press Service.
Pakistan Troops Ordered to Open Fire on US Raiders - Stephen Graham, Associated Press (Washington Post)
Pakistan's army said Tuesday that its forces have orders to open fire if US troops launch another raid across the Afghan border, raising the stakes in a dispute over how to tackle militant havens in Pakistan's unruly border zone.
The new firing orders were disclosed by Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.
Abbas said Pakistani field commanders have previously been tolerant about international forces crossing a short way into Pakistan because of the ill-defined and contested nature of the mountainous frontier.
More at the Washington Post, Daily Telegraph, Long War Journal and ThreatsWatch.
Pakistan Tribal Chiefs Warn US on Raids - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
Leaders of an estimated 500,000 tribesmen who have so far remained largely neutral over the conflict in Afghanistan warned last night they were poised to support al-Qa'ida and the Taliban unless US forces retreated from their strategy of attacking targets inside Pakistan.
In a major jolt to Washington's new policy of allowing cross-border raids in defiance of the Government in Islamabad, key tribal elders were reported to have met and warned that they were also prepared to raise an army to fight coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"If America doesn't stop attacks in the tribal areas, we will prepare a lashkar (army) to attack US forces in Afghanistan," Pashtun tribal chief Malik Nasrullah Khan was reported as saying in Miranshah, the largest town in North Waziristan, which has been the target of repeated US attacks in the past week.
"We will also seek support from the tribal elders in Afghanistan to fight jointly against America."
In the complicated fabric of tribal affiliations along the 1300km Durand Line that nominally separates Afghanistan from Pakistan, Malik Nasrullah is regarded as a powerful figure.
More at The Australian.
AFGHANISTAN
NATO Commander in Afghanistan Seeks to Curb Civilian Deaths - Julian Barnes, Los Angeles Times
The commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan said Tuesday that he had issued new orders aimed at reducing the number of civilians accidentally killed in airstrikes and raids.
Army Gen. David D. McKiernan also said he needed more troops than previously promised. After an additional Army brigade arrives early next year, McKiernan said, he will need three more brigades - potentially more than 20,000 troops once support units are added.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Afghanistan late Tuesday to meet with McKiernan and other US and Afghan officials. The secretary is to talk with US commanders about the use of airstrikes, which have been blamed for rising civilian casualties.
McKiernan, who commands the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's forces in Afghanistan, said that although it's difficult to completely avoid civilian casualties in fighting an insurgency, it's important to limit them so support for the government can grow.
More at the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
IRAQ
Odierno Succeeds Petraeus in Iraq - Thom Shanker and Stephen Farrell, New York Times
In an ornate palace built by Saddam Hussein, the United States military command in Iraq changed hands on Tuesday from Gen. David H. Petraeus, who created the strategy known as the surge, to Gen. Ray Odierno, who oversaw its day-to-day operations across a country in which violence has dropped significantly.
Attending the hourlong transfer ceremony were Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, acting commander of the Central Command; and senior Iraqi government and military officials. Mr. Gates later traveled on to Kabul, Afghanistan.
In his first, brief comments as commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, General Odierno said, “We must realize that these gains are fragile and reversible, and our work here is far from done.”
Formerly the No. 2 commander, he faces the challenge of improving on the hard-earned security gains in Iraq with fewer troops, as the United States begins preparations to withdraw 8,000 troops by early next year. The overall American military presence in Iraq - 15 combat brigades and support and logistics personnel - would then number about 138,000 people.
General Petraeus will soon take over as commander of the American military’s Central Command, responsible for military issues across the strategically important crescent that stretches from Pakistan, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and throughout the Persian Gulf, and includes operations in Iraq and also, most notably, the troubled mission in Afghanistan.
More at the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Voice of America, American Forces Press Service, BBC News and Associated Press.
20 Months in Baghdad - David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion
The night before Gen. David Petraeus turned over command here, a group of senior officers gathered at Camp Victory to say goodbye. It was like a football team's testimonial dinner at the end of a winning season: There were steaks and baked potatoes and a highlight film of the general's 20-month command, scored with rock music, called "Surge of Hope."
The signature line of the video was a statement Petraeus made to Congress when he began what seemed to many people like mission impossible: "Hard is not hopeless." That was his closing comment, too, as he relinquished command in an elaborate ceremony yesterday at the gilded Al Faw Palace. But now, he said, Iraq was "still hard but hopeful."
Petraeus did something astonishing here. It wasn't simply managing the "surge" of U.S. troops, whose precise effects military historians will be debating for years. It was that he restored confidence and purpose for a military that had begun to think, deep down, that this war was unwinnable and unsustainable.
By force of will, Petraeus and his president, George W. Bush, turned that around. They didn't win in Iraq, but they created the possibility of an honorable exit.
More at The Washington Post.
A General for Our Times - The Times editorial
Five years ago a youthful US army general, with a PhD in international relations and a name that seemed plucked from Herodotus, led the 101st Airborne Division into Mosul in northern Iraq. He had taken part in a stunning military victory, but failed conspicuously to celebrate. “This is a race to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people,” he said. “And there are other people in this race. In some cases, they want to kill us.”
General David Petraeus is still not celebrating. But he is leaving Iraq in a state no sober observer would have forecast when he took command of US forces there early last year. He has pacified large parts of a country that had descended into a solar-heated hell of suicide bombings and sectarian carnage. He has salvaged some pride for the US military after Abu Ghraib, and seen himself hailed as America's most trusted and talented commander of the past four decades.
More at The Times.
UNITED KINGDOM
Armed Forces Face Mass Walk Out Over Poor Funding, Report Warns - Thomas Harding, Daily Telegraph
The Armed Forces face a mass walk out with under-funding leading to a "major crisis" in defence, an influential report backed by former military chiefs warns.
They will soon be "paralysed" by the growing number of resignations and will take a decade to recover, the UK National Defence Association paper says.
A “huge burden” has been placed on the Forces with more than 12,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan that has led to an immense strain on both troops and equipment.
All three major political parties must now unite to back the "woefully under-funded" Forces whose budget urgently needs to be increased from the current £34 billion to £50 billion over the next three years, it states.
"The national interest requires the full-hearted engagement of Government and Opposition to rehabilitate our Armed Forces and repair our defences. Now is no longer the time for party politics," said Winston Churchill, the UKNDA's president and grandson of the wartime leader.
He warned that the Forces were "in crisis" with funding the lowest since the Thirties when "inadequate defence provision paved the way directly to world war".
More at The Daily Telegraph.
Immigration Ghurkas and Our Debt of Honour - Daily Telegraph editorial
Lance Corporal Gyanendra Rai served more than 13 years with the 7th Gurkha Rifles and was seriously wounded in the Falklands conflict. Today, lawyers for L/Cpl Rai and other Gurkhas will again be in the High Court challenging the refusal of the British Government to let them settle automatically in this country.
In some cases, they have even been refused entry; others face deportation. Every country needs an immigration policy and we have argued that Labour's has been too lax. But there comes a point where a debt of honour must be paid.
When foreign criminals are allowed to stay here because their human rights preclude their removal and we are not only unable to eject terrorist suspects but even pay them benefits, the idea that men who have fought bravely for this country should have to beg for entry is grotesque.
More at The Daily Telegraph.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Iraq
Female Suicide Bombers Are Latest War Tactic - Washington Post
Iraqi Police Assume Greater Responsibilities - Weekly Standard opinion
The Woodward Way of War - Weekly Standard opinion
Nationalists without Nationalism, Part 1: National Unity - Abu Muqawama blog
Hope - Belmont Club blog
US Sanctions Iranian General for Aiding Iraqi Terror Groups - Long War Journal blog
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
Afghanistan in Backward Slide, Analysts Say - Voice of America
McKiernan Charts Course Forward in Afghanistan - AFPS
Afghan Directive Aimed at Eliminating Civilian Casualties - AFPS
Still Not Enough Troops for Afghanistan - Captain's Journal blog
Pakistan
Joint Chiefs Chairman Makes Fifth Visit to Pakistan - AFPS
Defense Spokesman Reaffirms Good US-Pakistan Relationship - AFPS
Pakistan, It’s Not Iraq - Belmont Club blog
Community Organizing, Pakistani Style - ThreatsWatch blog
The Long War
US to try Canadian Terror Suspect - The Australian
Detainees' Day in Court - Washington Post editorial
Information Warfare
Panel Says DHS Botching Cyber Security - United Press International
Complex Operations / COIN vs. "Conventional Operations"
Back like Jordan, Wearin' the 45 - Abu Muqawama blog
The Maritime Strategy
Ignoring the Strategic Lessons of History - Information Dissemination blog
US Department of Defense
Economic Woes at the Pentagon, Too - Military Watch blog
FBI Anthrax Investigation
FBI to Get Expert Help In Anthrax Inquiry - Washington Post
Africa
Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai says Mugabe Can't be Prosecuted - Los Angeles Times
Mugabe Has Upper Hand - Daily Telegraph
Tsvangirai Moves to Assure Mugabe - BBC News
Easing Mugabe Out - Boston Globe editorial
Americas
US Lists Bolivia as Nation Failing in Fight Against Drugs - Washington Post
Bolivian Troops Arrest Governor of Rebellious Region - New York Times
Bolivia Strengthens Relations with Russia after US Fall-out - Daily Telegraph
S. American Leaders Support Evo Morales Amid Bolivia Crisis - Associated Press
Blasts Kill 7 at Celebration in Mexican President’s Hometown - New York Times
7 Killed in Mexico Grenade Attack - Associated Press
Suspects in Border Tunnel Charged, Mexico Officials Say - Los Angeles Times
Witness Ties Colombian General to Paramilitary - Washington Post
Colombia Then and Now - Washington Times opinion
Asia / Pacific
North Korea Tests Engine of Long-Range Missile, Report Says - Washington Post
North Korea's 'Grail' Quest - Washington Times opinion
Thaksin Relative Elected Thai Leader - New York Times
Malaysian Opposition Leader Seeks Peaceful Transition - New York Times
Europe
NATO Chief Backs Georgia's Claim to Membership - Daily Telegraph
Pro-Western Government Disintegrates in Ukraine - Washington Post
Ukraine: Orange Coalition Falls - New York Times
Ukraine Government Collapses Over Georgia - The Times
Ukraine Accuses Russia of Roguery - Associated Press
Middle East
Chief Hamas Aide Assassinated in Syria - The Australian
11 Dead, 40 Injured as Hamas Battles Clan in Gaza - Los Angeles Times
Eleven Dead in Fresh Gaza Clashes - BBC News
Main Party in Israeli Coalition Set to Choose Leader - New York Times
Israel's Kadima Voting for New Leader - Los Angeles Times
Livni: The Woman Who Could Lead Israel to Peace - The Times
Lebanon Factions Launch Dialogue - BBC News
The Diplomatic Cost of Not Talking to Iran - Washington Times opinion
Conditions for Major Turmoil in Iran - Information Dissemination blog
South Asia
UN Pulls Out of North Sri Lanka - BBC News
BOOKS
In a Time of War - Bill Murphy
The West Point cadets Murphy follows through their baptism by fire are an admirable sample of young American men and women: intelligent, ambitious and intensely patriotic.
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.
EVENTS OF INTEREST
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.
2 October - Civil Affairs Roundtable (Public Event - Roundtable). ROA Headquarters, One Constitution Ave, NE Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Reserve Officers Association. In earlier roundtables, the observation was made that the center of gravity for stability operations is the human population in the area of operations. Civil affairs professionals and information operators are the key national security resources for influencing the human population. Civil affairs professionals assist in humanitarian operations and building civilian capacity. Information operators develop messages and keep the population informed. This roundtable will explore the relationship between the civil affairs and strategic communications functions.
