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--Lieutenant General William Caldwell IV - On FM 3.07: Stability Operations
IRAQ
Negroponte Calls Security Deal on Iraq ‘Close’ - Erica Goode, New York Times
Winding up a visit to Iraq that has taken him to six provinces, Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte said Tuesday that American and Iraqi negotiators were close to resolving issues that have stood in the way of a security agreement governing the continued presence of American troops in the country.
Mr. Negroponte said his trip included “fruitful discussions” on a variety of political and economic issues, including the security agreement. But he declined to discuss what sticking points, if any, remained to be negotiated.
He was joined by Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, at a news conference in the fortified Green Zone.
Mr. Zebari said that “new formulations and new language” had allowed progress on the legal status of American troops in Iraq. The question of whether, and under what conditions, American soldiers and military contractors who are accused of crimes should be subject to Iraqi laws, or given immunity from them, has been a central obstacle in the talks. “I think we are very close,” Mr. Zebari said, adding that “no final decision has been made.”
More at the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Voice of America.
AFGHANISTAN
US Inquiry Is Said to Conclude 30 Civilians Died in Afghan Raid - Eric Schmitt, New York Times
An investigation by the military has concluded that American airstrikes on Aug. 22 in a village in western Afghanistan killed far more civilians than American commanders there have acknowledged, according to two American military officials.
The military investigator’s report found that more than 30 civilians - not 5 to 7 as the military has long insisted - died in the airstrikes against a suspected Taliban compound in Azizabad.
The investigator, Brig. Gen. Michael W. Callan of the Air Force, concluded that many more civilians, including women and children, had been buried in the rubble than the military had asserted, one of the military officials said.
The airstrikes have been the focus of sharp tensions between the Afghan government, which has said that 90 civilians died in the raid, and the American military, under Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top American military commander in Afghanistan, which has repeatedly insisted that only a handful of civilians were killed.
More at the New York Times.
Afghan Government Denies Talking with Taliban - Steve Herman, Voice of America
Afghanistan is denying talks have been held with the Taliban or its intermediaries.
The denial follows reports that representatives of the insurgents or former Taliban officials met with Afghan government officials as part of a Saudi royal mediation effort late last month.
Presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada told reporters that while President Hamid Karzai has asked the Saudi King to arrange such discussions, they have not yet occurred.
"The government of Afghanistan is open to speaking with anyone in the opposition and the people who are fighting against the Afghan people and the Afghan government," he said. "But no such talks have happened, as of yet."
Media reports in the region have also quoted a Taliban spokesman as denying that peace talks have taken place.
More at Voice of America.
ASIA PACIFIC
Protesters, Police Clash As Thai Crisis Worsens - Tim Johnston, Washington Post
A six-week-old political standoff in Thailand turned violent again Tuesday as police fired tear gas at protesters attempting to derail the legislative agenda of the new prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat.
At least one person died, a woman, from unspecified chest injuries, and news reports Wednesday indicated more than 350 injured. Demonstrators said that two people lost their legs and two lost their arms when hit by tear gas canisters. The police said two officers were wounded when a protester fired a handgun at police lines.
The day-long confrontation, which lefts streets around the parliament strewn with debris, has undone weeks of quiet attempts at rapprochement by Somchai's government and revived fears that the differences that have paralyzed Thai politics for much of the past two years are beyond reconciliation.
More at the Washington Post, New York Times, The Times, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Daily Telegraph and Voice of America.
EUROPE
Gates, in Kosovo, Highlights US Balancing Act on Russia - Dan Bilefsky, New York Times
The United States will maintain its troop presence in Kosovo until at least late next year, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Tuesday, underlining American support for the country, which declared independence in February in defiance of Serbia and Russia.
Mr. Gates’s visit was the first by a United States cabinet member since Kosovo’s independence declaration and the first here of an American defense secretary since 2001. At a time when Russia has been seeking to assert its political and economic clout in the Balkans and the Caucasus, Mr. Gates’s presence served to reinforce American intentions in the region.
His arrival began a week of meetings with European defense ministers, during which the United States is expected to reassure allies in the former Communist bloc about their prospects for joining NATO and the West, even as Russia seeks to show former Soviet republics and satellites that doing so comes at a price.
Mr. Gates said that the United States wanted to balance the need to show Russia that its war with Georgia in August had altered Russian-American relations, with an effort to keep avenues open for cooperation on significant issues like Iranian nuclear proliferation.
More at The New York Times.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
Diggers 'Probably' Shot Governor - The Australian
Mock Village Prepares US, NATO Forces for Deployment - AFPS
Iraq
For Sunnis, an Uneasy Return - Washington Post
US Turns Away Iraqi Allies - Washington Times
Iran
Iran Withdraws Claim on US Plane - New York Times
The Long War
Countering Jihadists - Washington Times opinion
Homeland Security
Chinese Muslims Ordered Released From Guantanamo - Washington Post
White House "Deeply Concerned" With Guantanamo Ruling - Voice of America
US Department of Defense
Pentagon Doctrine Pushes Nation-building - National Post
An Evolving Role for the Army - Washington Independent
US Peace Corps
Peace Corps to Cut Volunteers - Washington Times
United Nations
UN Faults 7 in Algeria Bombing - Washington Times
UN Says Biofuel Subsidies Raise Food Bill and Hunger - New York Times
Africa
Zimbabwe Chaos Wipes Out Education - The Times
Americas
Killing of Mexico Mayor Sends Message - Los Angeles Times
Colombia Rebels Linked to Mexico Drug Cartels - Associated Press
Asia Pacific
North Korea Reportedly Tests Short-Range Missiles - New York Times
North Korea-China Trade Increases - Voice of America
North Korea: Faith and Famine - Washington Times opinion
US, Vietnam Hold First Political-Military Dialogue - Voice of America
Europe
Russia Appears to Begin Final Georgia Pullout - Associated Press
Gates Meets With Kosovo Leaders, Promises Continued US Support - AFPS
Gates Visits US Troops in Kosovo - AFPS
Belarus Parliamentary Elections Not Up To International Standards - VOA
Germany Frees 2 Terrorism Suspects - Reuters
Common Ground With Russia - Washington Post opinion
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.
The War Within - Bob Woodward
Woodward interviewed key players, obtained dozens of never-before-published documents, and had nearly three hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush. The result is a stunning, firsthand history of the years from mid-2006, when the White House realizes the Iraq strategy is not working, through the decision to surge another 30,000 U.S. troops in 2007, and into mid-2008, when the war becomes a fault line in the presidential election.
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.
Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy - Steven Metz
Today the US military is more nimble, mobile, and focused on rapid responses against smaller powers than ever before. One could argue that the Gulf War and the postwar standoff with Saddam Hussein hastened needed military transformation and strategic reassessments in the post–Cold War era. But the preoccupation with Iraq also mired the United States in the Middle East and led to a bloody occupation. What will American strategy look like after US troops leave Iraq?
EVENTS OF INTEREST
3-7 November - Counterinsurgency Leaders' Workshop (COIN Workshop). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sponsored by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center. This event is a five-day program focused on understanding the fundamentals of insurgency and counterinsurgency. This is a version of the same extremely popular workshop offered to hundreds of military and civilian attendees over the past two years. The COIN Center has expanded the number of slots available to compensate for the high demand of previous sessions. The proceedings are UNCLASSIFED and registration is open to all interested US government and allied personnel.
6-7 December - Boyd Conference 2008 (Conference). Charlottetown, Prince Edward, Canada. There is an opportunity to hold a short, intense seminar on the applicability of Boyd’s ideas, particularly operating inside the OODA loop and grand strategy (sustaining our own morale and attracting the uncommitted), on the weekend of December 6-7 at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI. Canada. The theme would be applying these ideas to conflict in the post-Iraq era, and more specifically to the types of diffused, networked, “open source” armed conflicts that some have called “fifth generation warfare.” We are also interested in exploring solutions, such as the role of “resilient communities” (RC), for countering them. As Oil and food prices have climbed and the mortgage crisis has grown, the need to think more about Resilient Communities has become more urgent. We may have to re-invent our world! We envision this as a working seminar to help shape the policy agenda in the first year of the new administration.