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--Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
NATIONAL DEFENSE / FOREIGN POLICY
A Handpicked Team for a Foreign Policy Shift - David Sanger, New York Times
When President-elect Barack Obama introduces his national security team on Monday, it will include two veteran cold warriors and a political rival whose records are all more hawkish than that of the new president who will face them in the White House Situation Room.
Yet all three of his choices - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the rival turned secretary of state; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, as national security adviser, and Robert M. Gates, the current and future defense secretary - have embraced a sweeping shift of priorities and resources in the national security arena.
The shift would create a greatly expanded corps of diplomats and aid workers that, in the vision of the incoming Obama administration, would be engaged in projects around the world aimed at preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states. However, it is unclear whether the financing would be shifted from the Pentagon; Mr. Obama has also committed to increasing the number of American combat troops.
More at The New York Times.
Joint Chiefs Chairman 'Very Positive' After Meeting With Obama - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went unarmed into his first meeting with the new commander in chief -- no aides, no PowerPoint presentation, no briefing books. Summoned nine days ago to President-elect Barack Obama's Chicago transition office, Mullen showed up with just a pad, a pen and a desire to take the measure of his incoming boss.
There was little talk of exiting Iraq or beefing up the US force in Afghanistan; the one-on-one, 45-minute conversation ranged from the personal to the philosophical. Mullen came away with what he wanted: a view of the next president as a non-ideological pragmatist who was willing to both listen and lead. After the meeting, the chairman "felt very good, very positive," according to Mullen spokesman Capt. John Kirby.
As Obama prepares to announce his national security team early this week, he faces a military that has long mistrusted Democrats and is particularly wary of a young, intellectual leader with no experience in uniform, who once called Iraq a "dumb" war. Military leaders have all heard his pledge to withdraw most combat forces from Iraq within 16 months -- sooner than commanders on the ground have recommended -- and his implied criticism of the Afghanistan war effort during the Bush administration.
More at The Washington Post.
Obama's Strong-willed National Security Team - Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
President-elect Barack Obama says he wants to lead an administration where strong-willed senior officials are ready to argue forcefully for differing points of view. It appears that in two months, he'll get his wish, and then some.
Obama's new national security team is led by three veteran officials who have differed with each other -- and with the president-elect -- on the full menu of security issues, including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, nuclear weapons and Arab-Israel conflict. The president-elect is expected on Monday to begin introducing a team that includes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), whom he has chosen as secretary of State; retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr., tapped to be the new national security advisor; and Robert M. Gates, who has agreed to stay on as Defense secretary.
Their collaboration isn't likely to be as contentious as the first-term Bush administration battles between Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney. Clinton, Gates and Jones have worked smoothly, with the only visible clashes coming between Clinton and Gates' deputies over Iraq. But Obama will have some clear choices among their views, which differ in nuance in some cases and more starkly in others. Obama appears to be determined to keep them in line; advisors say he believes the Pentagon has become too strong in the Bush years, and he wants to reassert White House control.
More at The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Times, USA Today, The Times, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Agence France-Presse and Voice of America.
US HOMELAND SECURITY
Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security - Spencer S. Hsu and Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post
The US military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.
The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.
There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.
More at The Washington Post.
INDIA
India's Government Reels in Wake of Terror Attacks - Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post
Four days after gunmen brutally struck in India's financial capital, killing at least 174 people, officials in New Delhi began grappling with both the political and diplomatic fallout of India's deadliest terror attack in 15 years.
Faced with a mounting chorus of public criticism about intelligence failures and delays in the security response, India's highest-ranking internal security official, Shivraj Patil, resigned Sunday after taking "moral" responsibility for the Mumbai tragedy.
The resignation was a powerful indication that the government is trying to calm a restive public, especially in the lead-up to elections. "Our Politicians Fiddle as Innocents Die," read a headline Sunday in the Times of India newspaper.
More at The Washington Post.
Pakistan Makes Troops Threat Over India Standoff - Jeremy Page and Rhys Blakely, The Times
Relations between India and Pakistan were on a knife edge today as Indian authorities combed through the wreckage of last week's attacks on Bombay and interrogated the one Pakistani militant captured.
A senior Pakistani security official has warned that Pakistan would pull back troops fighting Islamist militants on the Afghan frontier if India builds up its forces on Pakistan's border, as it did after an attack by Pakistani militants on India's parliament in 2001.
He said the next 48 hours would be crucial for the two nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars since winning independence from Britain in 1947, and almost went to a fourth after the Indian parliament attacks.
More at The Times.
Religious Head Incited Killers - Bruce Loudon, The Australian
The al-Qa'ida-linked Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists suspected over the Mumbai massacre were trained in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and were incited by speeches from their leader in Lahore.
As the sole surviving terrorist was interrogated in Mumbai, security sources told The Australian that 10 terrorists were picked by LET for the suicide mission. They were ordered to "kill until your last breath" and murder up to 5000 people. They did so after provocative speeches by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed last month in Lahore, capital of the Punjab. Saeed, described as LET's supreme religious and political head, declared in one speech: "The only language India understands is that of force, and that is the language it must be talked to in."
The email claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attack minutes after it started last Wednesday was generated on a computer based in Pakistan. And a satellite telephone captured from the terrorists revealed calls made to numbers in Pakistan during the attacks, reports said.
More at The Australian and:
Gunmen Methodically Spread Terror in City - Washington Post
Systemic Failure Seen in India's Response to Attacks - Los Angeles Times
Pakistan Warns India of Troop Redeployment - Washington Times
India Raises Security Footing to 'War Level' - Daily Telegraph
As Dust Settles, Tensions in India Deepen - Globe and Mail
At War Level: India Raises Security Status Amid Grief - Guardian
Pakistan Militants Linked to Siege - Toronto Star
Deccan Mujahideen Email Threatens Delhi - Times of India
A Quick Backgrounder on Lashkar-e-Taiba - Weekly Standard
Group Accused in Mumbai Attacks Flourishing Despite Ban - Washington Post
Top Indian Security Official Resigns as Toll Eclipses 180 - New York Times
Mumbai Attacks Pose Test for India - Christian Science Monitor
India's Home Minister Resigns Following Mumbai Attacks - Voice of America
Minister Quits as Tension with Pakistan Increases - Daily Telegraph
Official Quits Amid Public Anger at India's Leadership - Washington Post
US, India Face Pak Blackmail on Terror - Times of India
India Considers Anti-terror Body - BBC News
Pakistan Warns West: We Cannot Fight al-Qaida if Crisis Escalates - Guardian
Mumbai Police Bought Luxury Cars Not New Weapons - Times of India
Mumbai Eager to Bounce Back After Deadly Terror Attack - Voice of America
Steadfast, Mumbai Begins Picking Up the Pieces - Christian Science Monitor
Stench of Death is Overwhelming - The Australian
After Mumbai, Debating Security at Luxury Hotels - New York Times
Bush Offers Support For Mumbai Investigation - Voice of America
Mumbai Attacks ‘Were Ploy to Wreck US Plan’ - The Times
It's Time to Stand by Bloodied India - The Times editorial
Dateline: Mumbai - Baltimore Sun editorial
The Scourge of Terror - Jerusalem Post editorial
Best Ways to React to India's '9/11' - Christian Science Monitor editorial
Nuclear Threat Hangs Over Subcontinent - Daily Telegraph editorial
The Horror in Mumbai - New York Times editorial
Go To The Source - Times of India editorial
Make The Case - Times of India editorial
The New India Will Prevail - Globe and Mail editorial
Delhi’s Blunders in Fighting Terrorism - The Times opinion
Terrorists Join Forces -The Australian opinion
Let Bombay Remind Us: They Haven't Gone - Daily Telegraph opinion
Fallout From Mumbai - Washington Post opinion
A Cloud Over India's Muslims - Los Angeles Times opinion
New India in the Crosshairs - National Review opinion
From New Delhi - National Review opinion
An Idea Lost on Fanatics - Los Angeles Times opinion
It’s Not the Cold War - National Review opinion
Mumbai Could Happen Just About Anywhere - OC Register opinion
Terror Changes Course, With the Same Deadly Results - The Australian opinion
India Is Pointing in the Right Direction - Der Spiegel opinion
Was the Real Target Indo-Pak Peace? - New York Post opinion
We Must Not Lose Sight of the Real Enemy - The Times opinion
Deepak Blames America - Wall Street Journal opinion
Devils in Mumbai - New York Post opinion
Muslims: India's New 'Untouchables' - Los Angeles Times opinion
IRAQ
The Thrill of Victory - Investor's Business Daily editorial
Nineteen months after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the war "lost," a freely elected Iraqi Parliament signs a security pact with the United States. We won. It is the terrorists and their appeasers who lost.
While Americans sat down for Thanksgiving dinner deciding what they were thankful for, the Iraqi parliament Thursday passed an agreement with the US that set a date certain for American withdrawal, as war critics wanted. But it was based on conditions on the ground, as the Bush administration insisted.
The conditions on the ground are that the jihadists are a spent force that lost the war as well as the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Province after province has been returned to Iraqi control, and the young Iraqi nation appears both willing and able to defend itself.
Under the terms of the agreement, US forces will withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities by June 30, 2009, and the entire country by Jan. 1, 2012. The deal could still be rejected by the Iraqi people in a referendum scheduled for July 30, a key Sunni demand to get their agreement, but by then US troops will no longer be a visible presence in urban areas.
More at Investor's Business Daily.
AFGHANISTAN
Australians Fight on for a Better Future - Paiul McGeough, Sydney Morning Herald
Embarking on Australia's new Afghan assignment to mentor some of the men of the country's fledgling army, this hand-picked group of 67 has become an OMLT - operational mentor and liaison team.
After more than three decades of war it is no surprise that Afghans are courageous in combat. But their wars have been wild, brutal affairs, in which boys were given guns and told they were soldiers. They fought when they had to; they went home or hung in the bazaar when they did not.
The OMLT program is a crash-course for the ranks and the leadership of the 70,000- strong Afghan National Army in the finer, if more mundane aspects of soldiering - organisation and command structures; tactical planing and discipline, logistics and supply lines. Not the kind of stuff on which mujahideen militias rely for their oomph.
Up close, this OMLT is like every other aspect of Australia's experience in Afghanistan. It is executed with enthusiasm and professionalism, but it remains part of a project that was under-manned and underfunded even before the recent decision to double the size of the ANA.
More at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Mercenaries Join Forces With Taliban - Cameron Stewart, The Australian
Islamic extremists from Chechnya are taking part in attacks on Australian troops in Afghanistan, according to secret intelligence assessments. The Chechen fighters, radicalised and battle-hardened by years of war in their homeland, are reported to be joining the Taliban in attacks on Australian patrols in Oruzgan province. The same intelligence report claims Iran is supplying logistical support and tactical guidance to the Taliban in the region.
The information is contained in a confidential plan obtained by The Weekend Australian for a military-style US-funded operation to wipe out the opium fields near Tarin Kowt, where Australia's military contingent is based. The report, written in October last year by officials of the US-government funded Poppy Elimination Program, says: "Recent intelligence indicates the Taliban and Chechens have been joining forces to carry out larger-scale attacks on coalition force patrols and bases (in Oruzgan).
More at The Australian.
IRAN
Iran Open to Wider Talks - Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal
Iran's top diplomat for nuclear issues said his government would welcome a broad dialogue with US President-elect Barack Obama's administration, but offered few signs that Tehran is willing to slow its expanding nuclear program.
Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, said in an interview that if Mr. Obama makes good on his campaign pledge to drop preconditions on talks with Tehran, it could pave the way for a significant cooling of tensions between the US and Iran.
"If these changes are really genuine, and not cosmetic, then there would be optimism that there would be a change" in US foreign policy, Mr. Soltanieh said at IAEA headquarters here. "We are fully prepared to sit at the negotiating table with all countries provided that there are no conditions and all are on equal footing."
More at The Wall Street Journal.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
Will NATO Do More For Obama? - Christian Science Monitor
45 Taliban Militants Killed in Afghanistan - Voice of America
Coalition, Afghan Troops Kill 17 Terrorists, Capture 10 Suspects - AFPS
Suicide Blast in Kabul Kills 2 Civilians - New York Times
Laura Bush Urges Continued US Support for Afghanistan - Voice of America
NATO, Afghan Troops Train Together - Stars and Stripes
2 Attacks in Northern Pakistan Kill 10 - Associated Press
Karzai's Many Demands - Toronto Star editorial
Pakistan
Ethnic Clashes Kill 17 in Pakistan - Voice of America
Iraq
UN: Militants Will Try to Disrupt Iraqi Elections - Voice of America
Iraqi Bid to Hasten Exit of US Forces - Agence France-Presse
More Iraqi Dead Last Month, but Fewer Than Last Year - New York Times
In Iraq, Corrupt Often Go Free - USA Today
US, Iraqi Forces Seize Suspects, Weapons in Baghdad Raids - AFPS
Road Map in Iraq - Washington Post editorial
Obama’s Iraq Inheritance - New York Times opinion
Tortured by What I Saw in Iraq - Washington Post opinion
Iran
Protecting Iranian Dissidents - Washington Times opinion
The Long War
Panel Fears Use of Unconventional Weapon - New York Times
Report: US Vulnerable To Bioterrorism Attack - Washington Post
Status of the Case Against Ft. Dix Defendants - Philadelphia Inquirer
Trial of Muslims Grips Australians - Washington Times
Police Must Hunt the True Enemy Within - Daily Telegraph editorial
Terrorism That’s Personal - New York Times opinion
Jihad’s True Face - New York Times opinion
Avoiding Guantanamo II - Washington Post opinion
Playing Games at Gitmo - Washington Times opinion
Judging Detainees on the Facts - Boston Globe opinion
Information Warfare Matters - Wall Street Journal opinion
Probing of Doomsday - Washington Times opinion
US Department of Defense
Russian Hackers Penetrate Pentagon Computer System - Daily Telegraph
Cluster-bomb Bombast - Washington Times editorial
NATO
NATO Plays it Cool over Georgia and Ukraine - The Times
NATO Duel Centers on Georgia and Ukraine - New York Times
Georgia and Ukraine to Get NATO Advice - Reuters
Expand NATO Prudently - Washington Post opinion
United Nations
Susan Rice is Advocate of Strong Action Against Mass Killings - NY Times
The UN's Obsession with Demonizing Israel - Boston Globe opinion
Educated Force Key to Success - Miami Herald opinion
Piracy
Ransom Deal Has Reached for Pirated Ukrainian Freighter - New York Times
Pirates 'to Release Ukraine Ship' - BBC News
To the Shores of Tripoli... Weekly Standard opinion
PMCs
Soldier of Misfortune - Washington Post
End of Immunity Worries US Contractors in Iraq - New York Times
Government by Contractor Is a Disgrace - Wall Street Journal editorial
My Husband Was a Blackwater Hero - Washington Post opinion
United States
One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex - New York Times
US Media Thrive Worldwide, but Not US Image - New York Times
The Next Attorney General - Washington Post editorial
Before He Goes - Weekly Standard opinion
Powell, Rice: Bush Broke Important Ground - Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion
World
Crystal Ball for World Affairs - Boston Globe editorial
Africa
Calm Gradually Returns to Nigerian City After Riots - Voice of America
Deadly Nigeria Clashes Subside - New York Times
Nigerian City Tense After Riots - BBC News
UN Chief Backs EU Force for DR Congo - Agence France-Presse
Congolese Rebel Leader Threatens War if No Talks - Voice of America
Congo: Hutus 'Will Always Kill Tutsis' - Daily Telegraph
Zimbabwe Says Cholera Has Killed 425 - Voice of America
Mugabe Regime Arrests Soldiers Amid Fears of Pay Revolt - Daily Telegraph
Students Beat the Odds in Somalia - Reuters
Remember Darfur Genocide? - Washington Times opinion
Americas
Drugs Turf War Turns Mexico's Tijuana into Death Zone - Daily Telegraph
Mexico Drug Suspects Extradited at Record Pace - Los Angeles Times
Mexican Diners Killed by Gunmen - BBC News
9 Bodies Discovered in Tijuana - Reuters
Chavez Proposes Reelection, Eyes Presidency Through 2021 - AFP
Chavez Renews Reelection Ambition - BBC News
Colombia: Mass Desertions from FARC - Daily Telegraph
Colombians Call for an End to Kidnapping - Daily Telegraph
Hostage Families in Colombia Ask Betancourt to Represent Them - AFP
Asia Pacific
Counter-Demonstrations Boost Tensions in Thai Capital - Voice of America
Thai Government Supporters Gather in Bangkok - Washington Post
Thai Protesters and Police Meet - New York Times
Thai Protesters Let Empty Planes Go - New York Times
Protesters at Paralysed Bangkok Airport Threaten Fight to Death - The Times
Thailand Chaos Strands 5,000 Britons - Daily Telegraph
Court May Not be Able to End Thailand Crisis - Los Angeles Times
Tension Grows Over Thai Blockade - BBC News
Thai Political Crisis Heightens with New Rallies - Associated Press
Standoff in Bangkok - Wall Street Journal editorial
North Korea Clamps Down on Border Crossings - Los Angeles Times
China: A Reluctant Superpower - Washington Post opinion
Europe
Russia Building Missiles to Counter US Space Defences - Agence France-Presse
Romania Election Outcome Unclear - BBC News
Russia, Georgia: Digging Trenches - Washington Post opinion
Middle East
Clinton State Dept: Israelis and Arabs Retool Expectations - Los Angeles Times
Israel Approves Prisoner Release - BBC News
Egypt's Jew Haters Deserve Ostracism in the West - Wall Street Journal opinion
South Asia
Sri Lanka: Tamil Tiger Leader Makes Defiant Speech - BBC News
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: A Discourse to Shape America’s Discourse (Symposium). Washington, D.C. – at the Reserve Officer’s Association at the intersection of First Street and Constitution Avenue, NE. The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 was passed as the U.S. was beginning a "war of ideology... a war unto death," as America's Ambassador to Russia described it at the time. But, beginning in the 1970's, instead of promoting international engagement through information, cultural and educational exchanges, the law was distorted into a barrier of engagement. From its propaganda and counter-propaganda intentions, it transformed into an anti-propaganda law for reasons that had little to nothing to do with concerns over domestic influence and far removed from the original intent of the law. Keynotes will be given by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy James K. Glassman and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Support to Public Diplomacy Michael Doran. There will be four 90 minute panels – past, present, future, and Congress – that will emphasize Q&A, discourse, and debate and not presentations or monologues. Registration is free, open to the public, and required to attend. The event will be on the record with a transcript available after the event. A public report based on the proceedings will be produced. Registration and other information can be found at http://mountainrunner.us/symposium.
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.