--President Abraham Lincoln - Gettysburg, 1863
WORLD
World Engrossed in Historic Vote - Associated Press (Washington Times)
Around the world, throngs packed outdoor plazas and pubs to await US elections results Tuesday, many inspired by Sen. Barack Obama's promise of change amid a sense of relief that - no matter who wins - the White House is changing hands.
As millions of voters decided between Mr. Obama or Sen. John McCain, the world was abuzz with the sense of bearing witness to a moment of history that would reverberate well beyond American borders.
"America is electing a new president, but for the Germans, for Europeans, it is electing the next world leader," said Alexander Rahr, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations.
In Kenya, Mr. Obama's ancestral homeland, the atmosphere was electric with pride and excitement as people flocked to all-night parties to watch election results roll in.
More at The Washington Times.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghan War to Loom Large for Obama - Laura King, Los Angeles Times
President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a war in Afghanistan that is certain to play a central role in his presidency, a conflict whose cost in blood and money is escalating even as many Afghans speak of a growing sense of peril in their daily lives.
Seven years on, Western military commanders are saying aloud what most were unwilling to acknowledge publicly even a few months ago: that they are struggling as never before to find a winning strategy against an insurgency that has amply proved its determination and durability.
Coalition troops, who now include more than 30,000 Americans, with more slated to arrive in coming months, are dying in greater numbers in 2008 than in any year since the start of the war in 2001. So are Afghan civilians, who are almost always the principal victims of suicide bombings and other attacks aimed at Western troops and Afghan government installations.
More at The Los Angeles Times.
Focusing on Afghanistan - Helle Dale, Washington Times opinion
The two presidential candidates did not agree on much of anything, but they did on the importance of winning in Afghanistan, which has become the politically correct mirror image of Iraq. If you are against the US military presence in Iraq, at least you can burnish your credentials by saying you are for the engagement in Afghanistan. But that is as far as the consensus went. What to do about Afghanistan is a different matter. While Sen. Barack Obama spoke of launching U.S. military incursions into US ally Pakistan, Sen. John McCain advocated an Iraq surge strategy to seize and hold rebel territory in Afghanistan.
In other quarters as well, Afghanistan is characterized as a cause for major concern. The violence is at its highest levels since 2001, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen has said he is "not convinced that we're winning it." Also, Afghans are looking at very bleak prospects as the winter settles in. According to a new report by Britain's Royal United Services Institute, nearly one-third of Afghanistan's population (8.4 million people) is facing a potentially catastrophic food shortage. The failure to improve infrastructure and prepare for winter will leave the Afghan population further disillusioned about the commitment of the international community, the report says. In other words, the effort to "win the hearts and minds" of the Afghan people will have foundered.
More at The Washington Times.
Afghan Rebel Positioned for Key Role - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post
As US and NATO officials revamp their strategy in Afghanistan, a renegade Afghan commander could prove central to U.S. plans to rein in the insurgency through negotiations.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a 61-year-old veteran of Afghanistan's three decades of war who gained infamy for rocketing his own capital during a brief stint as prime minister in the 1990s. More recently, his supporters have carried out several devastating attacks on the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
But with casualties among foreign forces at record highs, and domestic and international confidence in Karzai's government at an all-time low, US and Afghan officials may have little choice but to grant Hekmatyar a choice seat at the bargaining table.
More at The Washington Post.
Police, Locals Implicated In Attack - Associated Press (Washington Post)
A deadly attack on a US outpost in eastern Afghanistan in July was executed with the support of some local police and government leaders, as well as villagers, according to an internal US military report.
The report, released yesterday, recommended that the district's Afghan police chief and governor be replaced, if not arrested and tried for committing crimes against the government. And it said that the incident underscores repeated problems in the volatile mountain region with the local population offering "passive and active support" to the enemy, which also has infiltrated the country's security forces.
More at The Washington Post.
IRAQ
Iraq Looks Ahead to Provincial, National Elections - Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times
Iraq presents Barack Obama with the complicated task of bringing troops home from a deeply unpopular war and determining the role America will play as the devastated country struggles to rebuild.
American forces are slated to pull out of Iraq's cities by June and leave Iraq by the end of 2011, according to a yet-to-be ratified security agreement between the two countries. The US-led invasion began nearly six years ago and has resulted in 4,190 American deaths.
But it is how the troops leave, and the state of the country they leave behind, relatively secure or chaotic, that is sure to be one of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the new administration.
US officials say determining the level of stability in Iraq depends on the much anticipated provincial elections scheduled for late January. Those elections, along with national elections in late 2009, could either push Iraq's religious and ethnic groups toward an elusive reconciliation or further divide them.
More at The Los Angeles Times.
IRAN
Tehran Begins to Feel the Pain of Finance Crisis - Hadi Nili, Washington Times
When the US stock market plunged and venerable New York investment houses fell, some Iranian leaders said the Bush administration was paying the price for its aggressive, unilateral ways.
As the crisis mushroomed into a worldwide phenomenon, officials here are no longer so smug.
Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, still one of Iran's most prominent and influential political figures, told those attending Friday prayers Oct. 24 that Iran should not gloat because one of the major consequences of the crisis has been tumbling oil prices that are hurting the Iranian economy.
More at The Washington Times.
US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Officials Plan for Smooth Transition to New Administration - Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
The Defense Department has made extensive plans for a smooth transition from the present administration to that of the president-elect, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said here today.
Pentagon officials are ready to begin briefing a new president-elect’s transition team as soon as he’s chosen, Whitman said.
The transition between administrations comes when the United States is at war, the first time this has happened since 1969, when the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson transitioned to that of President Richard M. Nixon in the midst of the Vietnam War.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has launched early preparations to minimize disruptions as the administrations change, Whitman said. Gates has created a transition task force that will operate under five guiding principles:
-- Maintaining continuity of operations;
-- Assuring efficient and effective transition of outgoing leadership;
-- Assuring the efficient and effective in-processing of the incoming leaders;
-- Facilitating the transfer of information to the new administration; and
-- Sustaining focus on existing programs and processes while allowing the incoming administration to focus on its governing processes.
“One of the important components of this is ensuring that we’ve identified and highlighted some of the key department events, actions [and] milestones that a new administration will face in its first 90 days,” Whitman said.
More at American Forces Press Service.
Petraeus: Commitment to War Effort Will Stand Firm, Regardless of Who Wins Presidency - Scott Heidler, FOX News
As Americans went to the polls Tuesday to chose the next president, Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that whatever the outcome, the US will continue its commitment to battling Al Qaeda.
"Both candidates have been clear about the priority they place [on the war on terror]. So there is truly bipartisan support for [what] I think can be described as a sustained and substantial commitment to Pakistan and Afghanistan," Petraeus told FOX News.
More at FOX News.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
Report Alleges Police Aided Taliban in Attack that Killed Nine - AFPS
Troops Kill Five Insurgents in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province - AFPS
Trauma Rife Among UK Troops in Afghanistan - The Times
Iraq / OIF
Sheiks Pursue Peaceful Solutions in Iraq - AFPS
Coalition Forces Apprehend 11 Suspected Terrorists - AFPS
14 Killed in Separate Bomb Blasts in Baghdad - Voice of America
Bombs Kill 15 as Violence Rises in Baghdad - New York Times
Baghdad Bombing Misses Iraqi Official but Kills 2 Others - Washington Post
Iran
Iranian Parliament Begins Impeachment of Interior Minister Ali Kordan - VOA
Interior Minister Kordan Sacked for Fake Oxford Degree - The Australian
Minister’s Dismissal Is Setback for Iranian Leader - New York Times
Iran Interior Minister Ousted Over Phony Degree - Los Angeles Times
Africa
UN: Rwanda Backing Congo Rebels - The Australian
Fears Rise of Wider Conflict in Congo - Associated Press
United Nations Delivering Critical Supplies to Displaced Congolese - VOA
Teenage Somali Rape Victim Stoned to Death for Adultery - Agence France-Presse
Americas
Colombian Army Commander Resigns in Scandal - New York Times
Colombia's Army Chief Steps Down - Washington Post
Colombian Army Chief Resigns After Killings Probe - Reuters
New Cuban Escape Route: Via Mexico - Christian Science Monitor
Crash Kills Mexico's Interior Secretary - Washington Post
Asia Pacific
Beijing, Taipei Ink Trade Pact - Associated Press
Indonesia: Threats Ahead of Bali Executions - The Times
Scores Injured in Market Bombing in Southern Thailand - The Times
US Envoy to Meet North Koreans in New York - Voice of America
N. Korean Media Reports Leader's Visits to Military Units - Kyodo
Indonesia: Naked Islamism - Wall Street Journal editorial
Europe
Bin Laden Son Seeks Asylum in Spain - The Australian
Financial Crisis Leaves Romania Reeling - Washington Post
Middle East
Hamas: Israeli Troops Move Into Gaza Strip - Associated Press
Israel: The War Within - New York Times editorial
Lawfare Against Israel - Wall Street Journal opinion
Rare Saudi Arabia Protest Tests Limits of Political Speech - CS Monitor
BOOKS
Why Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned - Rufus Phillips
Phillips details how the legendary Edward G. Lansdale helped the South Vietnamese gain and consolidate their independence between 1954 and 1956, and how this later changed to a reliance on American conventional warfare with its highly destructive firepower. He reasons that our failure to understand the Communists, our South Vietnamese allies, or even ourselves took us down the wrong road. In summing up US errors in Vietnam, Phillips draws parallels with the American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan and suggests changes in the US approach. Known for his intellectual integrity and firsthand, long-term knowledge of what went on in Vietnam, the author offers lessons for today in this trenchant account.
Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq - Peter Mansoor
This is a unique contribution to the burgeoning literature on the Iraq war, analyzing the day-to-day performance of a US brigade in Baghdad during 2004-2005. Mansoor uses a broad spectrum of sources to address the military, political and cultural aspects of an operation undertaken with almost no relevant preparation, which tested officers and men to their limits and generated mistakes and misjudgments on a daily basis. The critique is balanced, perceptive and merciless - and Mansoor was the brigade commander. Military history is replete with command memoirs. Most are more or less self-exculpatory. Even the honest ones rarely achieve this level of analysis. The effect is like watching a surgeon perform an operation on himself. Mansoor has been simultaneously a soldier and a scholar, able to synergize directly his military and academic experiences.
The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq - 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. We interpret reality through the clouded prism of our own experience, so it is unsurprising that Bing West sees Iraq through the lens of Vietnam. He served as a Marine officer there, and he thinks politicians and the media caused the American public to turn against a war that could have been won. Now a correspondent for the Atlantic, West has made 15 reporting trips to Iraq over the last six years and is almost as personally invested in the current conflict as he was in Vietnam; this book, his third on Iraq, is his attempt to ensure that the "endgame" in Iraq turns out better than in his last war.
Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq - 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. Linda Robinson conducted extensive interviews with Petraeus and his subordinate commanders and spent weeks with key US and Iraqi divisions. The result is the only book that ties together military operations in Iraq and the internecine political drama that is at the heart of the civil war. Replete with dramatic battles, behind-doors confrontations, and astute analysis, the book tells the full story of the Iraq War’s endgame, and lays out the options that will be facing the next president.
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 - 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 US troops in 2007, and into mid-2008, when the war becomes a fault line in the presidential election. As violence in Iraq reaches unnerving levels in 2006, a second front in the war rages at the highest levels of the Bush administration. In his fourth book on President George W. Bush, Bob Woodward takes readers deep inside the tensions, secret debates, unofficial backchannels, distrust and determination within the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the intelligence agencies and the US military headquarters in Iraq. With unparalleled intimacy and detail, this gripping account of a president at war describes a period of distress and uncertainty within the US government from 2006 through mid-2008. The White House launches a secret strategy review that excludes the military. General George Casey, the commander in Iraq, believes that President Bush does not understand the war and eventually concludes he has lost the president's confidence. The Joint Chiefs of Staff also conduct a secret strategy review that goes nowhere. On the verge of revolt, they worry that the military will be blamed for a failure in Iraq.
We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam - Harold Moore and 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. It would be a monumental task for Moore and Galloway to top their classic 1992 memoir. But they come close in this sterling sequel, which tells the backstory of two of the Vietnam War's bloodiest battles (in which Moore participated as a lieutenant colonel), their first book and a 1993 ABC-TV documentary that brought them back to the battlefield. Moore's strong first-person voice reviews the basics of the November 1965 battles, part of the 34-day Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. Among other things, Moore and Galloway (who covered the battle for UPI) offer portraits of two former enemy commanders, generals Nguyen Huu An and Chu Huy Man, whom the authors met - and bonded with - nearly three decades after the battle. This book proves again that Moore is an exceptionally thoughtful, compassionate and courageous leader (he was one of a handful of army officers who studied the history of the Vietnam wars before he arrived) and a strong voice for reconciliation and for honoring the men with whom he served.
In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point' Class of 2002 - 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. Most come from career military families and hold conservative opinions. Murphy describes their four years at West Point with respect even when discussing their love lives and marriages. All yearn for battle, and most get their wish. The book's best passages describe the confusion of moving to Iraq or Afghanistan and fighting insurgents, for which they lack both training and equipment. All feel something is not right but concentrate on the job at hand; some inevitably die or are grievously wounded.
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? Metz concludes that the United States has a long-standing, continuing problem “developing sound assumptions when the opponent operates within a different psychological and cultural framework.” He sees a pattern of misjudgments about Saddam and Iraq based on Western cultural and historical bias and a pervasive faith in the superiority of America’s worldview and institutions. This myopia contributed to America being caught off guard by Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, then underestimating his longevity, and finally miscalculating the likelihood of a stable and democratic Iraq after he was toppled. With lessons for all readers concerned about America’s role in the world, Dr. Metz’s important new work will especially appeal to scholars and students of strategy and international security studies, as well as to military professionals and DOD civilians. With a foreword by Colin S. Gray.
EVENTS OF INTEREST
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.
13 January - The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948: Past, Present, and Future (Symposium). Washington, D.C. Mark your calendar for January 13, 2009. That is the confirmed date for “The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948: Past, Present, and Future”, a symposium to discuss the legislation on which America’s arsenal of persuasion is anchored. The one-day event will be hosted in Washington, D.C., with the location and co-sponsor all but confirmed. The format is four 90 minute panels and will emphasize Q&A, discourse, and debate and not presentations or monologues. The four panels will focus on past, present, future, what to do, respectively. Panelists will be drawn from practitioners (State and Defense Departments), academics, Congress, and the media. The event is free and open to the public but registration will be required (see below). This is a first of its kind in-depth discussion into the legislation that continues to set the parameters of our global engagement. Enacted at the beginning of the First War of Ideas, it is long past time to discuss it ten or more years into the Second War of Ideas, a struggle that goes beyond terrorism and insurgency and into economic and financial power.
