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--Robert Haddick, Small Wars Journal
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS
Karzai Offers Passage to Taliban Leader for Talks - John Burns, New York Times
Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, said Sunday that he would guarantee the safety of the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar if Mr. Omar agreed to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the worsening conflict in the country.
Mr. Omar, a fugitive with a $10 million American bounty on his head, has been in hiding since the Taliban were toppled from power in 2001, and is believed by Western intelligence agencies to be living somewhere in the region of Quetta in western Pakistan.
At a news conference in Kabul, the Afghan capital, Mr. Karzai coupled his offer of safe passage to Mr. Omar with a warning to the Western nations that support his government, saying that if they opposed an assurance of safety for Mr. Omar they would have to remove Mr. Karzai as president or withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.
Bush administration officials on Sunday were skeptical of the proposal, although they did not reject it outright.
More at the New York Times, Washington Post, Voice of America, BBC News and Daily Telegraph.
Afghan Taliban Prepare Response to Karzai Safety Vow - Reuters
Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents said on Monday they were drawing up a response to an offer from President Hamid Karzai of safe passage for insurgent leaders who wanted to talk peace.
Karzai, back from a trip to Britain and the United States, said on Sunday he would guarantee the safety of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar if he was prepared to negotiate.
With the Taliban insurgency intensifying seven years after the hardline Islamists were forced from power, the possibility of talks with more moderate Taliban leaders is increasingly being considered, both in Afghanistan and among its allies.
The Taliban have ruled out any talks in the past as long as foreign troops remain in Afghanistan, but Karzai said on Sunday that condition was unacceptable.
More at Reuters.
Pakistan Shuts NATO Supply Line - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
Pakistan cut off the main NATO supply route into Afghanistan yesterday, citing Taliban and al-Qa'ida attacks on the Khyber Pass, the perilous mountain trail that carries most supplies into the war-torn country for the 35,000-strong coalition force.
Taliban fighters have been trying to strangle NATO's mission in Afghanistan by stepping up attacks on convoys in the Khyber Pass, and yesterday forced Pakistan to suspend all traffic along the route.
More than 350 trucks and oil tankers use the pass each day, carrying NATO supplies that have been shipped to the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
But government officials in Islamabad said last night the suspension of the important land route had become inevitable because of intensified militant activity in the Khyber Tribal Agency.
Any long-term closure of the road would make the problem of resupplying coalition troops in Afghanistan very difficult.
More at The Australian, Washington Post and Associated Press.
US Supply Trucks Resume Travel in Pakistan Pass - Riaz Khan, Associated Press (Washington Times)
Security forces escorted container trucks and oil tankers through the Khyber Pass on Monday after Pakistan reopened the route critical to transporting supplies to NATO and US troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistan suspended the vehicles from the passageway for a security review last week after militants hijacked several trucks whose load included Humvees bound for the US-led coalition.
On Monday, a dozen or so paramilitary pickups joined a convoy of around 30 vehicles as part of new security measures. The escort trucks bore rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns. Earlier, the transport trucks travel with little or no security.
More at The Washington Times and BBC News.
IRAQ
Iraq's Cabinet Approves Security Pact With US - Edward Yeranian, Voice of America
The Iraqi government's council of ministers has voted to approve a three-year military pact with the United States, despite the bitter opposition of several hardline Shi'ite leaders. The agreement, which replaces a UN mandate that expires on December 31, must be ratified by the Iraqi parliament.
The Iraqi Cabinet voted overwhelmingly to approve a new military pact with the United States, after weeks of bitter debate and fiery opposition from several influential shi'ite leaders.
The new three-year pact will be put to a parliament vote on November 24, according to the legislative body's deputy speaker. The new pact, which calls for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq completely by the end of 2011, replaces the UN mandate that expires December 31.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Debbagh underscored the proviso in the text that all US forces would withdraw from the country by the end of 2011, although he said it is up to the government, at that point, to reach a new agreement.
More at Voice of America, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Christian Science Monitor, BBC News, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
Mask Ban Upsets Iraqis Hired as US Interpreters - Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post
The US military has barred Iraqi interpreters working with American troops in Baghdad from wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, prompting some to resign and others to bare their faces even though they fear it could get them killed.
Many interpreters employed by the US government and Western companies in Iraq do everything they can to avoid being recognized on the job because extremists have tortured and killed Iraqis accused of collaborating with the enemy.
"The terps are the number one wanted here," said A.J., a 36-year-old military interpreter, using the shorthand for his profession. "More than the Americans. More than anyone."
The interpreters have come to symbolize the bravery of Iraqis who have aided the American project in Iraq. About 300 US military interpreters have been killed since 2003, said Kirk W. Johnson, a former official in Iraq with the US Agency for International Development who has fought to make it easier for interpreters and other Iraqis to come to the United States.
More at The Washington Post.
MIDDLE EAST
Nobel Winner Seeks World Peace - John Zarocostas, Washington Times
Martti Ahtisaari, Finland's former president and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, said it's "high time" for world leaders to solve frozen conflicts such as the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
"I think our real challenges are issues like the Middle East. Because if we can't solve it - and I see no reason why we can't - it has an effect on issues like Afghanistan, Iraq [and] Iran," he said.
Mr. Ahtisaari, 71, who as an international envoy successfully brokered peace accords for Kosovo; Aceh between Indonesia and the rebels; and Namibia's independence, said:
"It's high time that an issue that is actually causing more harm, for those who should be looking for solution in [the] Middle East, and one could be referring to the United States and Europe."
More at The Washington Times.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
Afghan Acid Attack Victim Vows to Continue Schooling - Toronto Star
UK Soldier Killed in Afghanistan - BBC News
Violence in Pakistan Leaves 8 Dead - Associated Press
Pakistan
Pakistan Turns to ‘Friends’ in its Hour of Need - The Times
Iraq / OIF
Troops in Iraq Kill Two Suspected Terrorists, Capture 14, Seize Weapons - AFPS
Hip, New Baghdad Hangout is a Byproduct of War - Christian Science Monitor
Being Shown the Door is Probably the Best Way Out - The Times opinion
Iran
Obama Brings Hope of Iran Talks, Says Peres - The Times
Iran Denies Report 10 Spies Detained Near Pakistan - Reuters
UN: Defining Jew-Hatred Down - Weekly Standard opinion
NATO
The Remaking of NATO - Boston Globe editorial
Cyberwar
The Dark Art of Cyberwar - Foreign Policy
United States
Obama: Economy, Security Top Priorities - Voice of America
The Global Grand Bargain - Foreign Policy
Kissinger says Hillary Clinton Would Be Outstanding Diplomat - Voice of America
One Cabinet Job Would Put Focus On Two Clintons - Washington Post
Africa
UN Envoy Meets Rebels as New Fighting Flares in DRC - Voice of America
Rebel Leader Tells UN Envoy of Ceasefire But Fighting Engulfs Congo - The Times
Congo: Militant Leader Vows to Honor UN Cease-fire - Associated Press
Head Rebel 'Backs DR Congo Peace' - BBC News
New Fighting Erupts in Congo - Associated Press
Lust for Resources Driving Conflict in Congo - Toronto Star
Somali President Says Government Near Collapse - Voice of America
Somali Head Admits Militant Gains - BBC News
Somali Pirates Free Ship, Seize Another - Voice of America
Pirates Seize Cargo Ship With 23 Crew Off Somalia - Associated Press
Americas
Latin Jitters Over Obama's Free-trade Policies - Christian Science Monitor
For Mexico’s Wealthy, Expenses Include Guards - New York Times
Asia Pacific
Prison Terms Devastate Burma's Democracy Movement - Associated Press
Crusading Filipino Broadcaster Shot Dead - Associated Press
Europe
France Holds 'ETA Military Head' - BBC News
France Arrests Suspected ETA Leader - New York Times
Medvedev Hopeful of Better Relations With the New Team - The Australian
Germany’s Green Party Elects First Ethnic Turk as Leader - New York Times
Socialist Party in France Fails to Pick Leader - New York Times
Middle East
Israeli Air Strike Kills More Palestinians in Gaza - Voice of America
Israel Kills 4 Militants in Gaza Strip - New York Times
Israeli Airstrike Kills 4 Gaza Militants - Associated Press
Few Places to Relax in Battle-scarred Gaza - Toronto Star
Analysis: Hamas, Israel Trying to Rewrite Truce - Associated Press
Lebanon: Puritanical Sunnis and Reputed Playboy Team Up in Politics - LA Times
Freedom Agenda In Flames - Washington Post opinion
Saudi Arabia's UN Masquerade - New York Post opinion
South Asia
Unusual Rush of Voters in Kashmir - BBC News
Sri Lankan Army Wins Key Town from Tamil Tigers - Daily Telegraph
Tibetans Will Ponder a New Strategy - New York Times
What Tibet Wants - Wall Street Journal editorial
A Narrow Window for Tibet - Wall Street Journal opinion
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.
8 December - Counterinsurgency Leadership Seminar (Seminar). Quantico, VA. On 8 December 2008 the US Marine Corps Center for Irregular Warfare (CIW) will host a Counterinsurgency Leadership Seminar at Little Hall (Base Theater), Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, featuring Colonel Stephen Davis (USMC), Colonel David Maxwell (USA) and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling. This seminar is cosponsored by CIW, US Joint Forces Command Irregular Warfare Center (IWC), the US Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center (COIN Center) and Small Wars Journal (SWJ). Seminar Panel Members: Colonel Stephen Davis, USMC. Col Davis is currently the Deputy Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Previously, Col Davis commanded Regimental Combat Team 2 in Iraq. Colonel David Maxwell, USA. COL Maxwell is currently the G-3 (Operations Officer) of the US Army Special Operations Command. Previously he commanded the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling, USA. LTC Yingling is the Commander of 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery and is currently deployed to Iraq performing detainee operations. He has served two previous tours in Iraq, and has also deployed to Bosnia and Operation Desert Storm. Colonel Daniel Kelly, USMC, will moderate. Col Kelly is the Director of the US Marine Corps Center for Irregular Warfare. He has held a wide variety of command and staff billets and participated in numerous operations to include Operations Restore Hope / Continue Hope (Somalia), Operations Allied Force / Joint Guardian, (Kosovo) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF I and II).
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.
26-28 February - Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA) (Conference). Texas A&M University - Memorial Student Center Complex, College Station, TX. Sponsored by Texas A&M University. The Student Conference on National Affairs at Texas A&M is in its 54th year. This years conference topic is US Interventions in Problematic Area's Around the World. It will take place from February 26th to the 28th. While the conference activities are focused toward Graduate and Undergraduate students, the speakers we have are open to the general public. Two of the at least five speakers we have confirmed are, Joe Galloway, Author of We Were Soldiers Once and Young, and James Olson, former Director of Counter Intelligence for the CIA. The other speakers will be the best individuals we can find in military, humanitarian, and business issues. We are currently interested in any individuals with a background in Humanitarian issues to speak, or individuals with professional knowledge on the topic to facilitate our student delegate roundtables. More information can be found at scona.tamu.edu and interested parties can contact scona.information@yahoo.com.