It’s not possible to solve the challenges internal to Afghanistan without addressing the challenges, especially in terms of security, with Afghanistan’s neighbors. A regional approach is required.
--Gen. David H. Petraeus
ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS
Israelis Push to Edge of Gaza City - Griff Witte, Washington Post
Israeli troops pushed deep into the Gaza Strip's most populated area Sunday, producing some of the fiercest fighting of the 16-day war against Hamas as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared that Israel is "close" to achieving its goals but is not there yet.
The Israeli advance marked a possible precursor to a new phase of the conflict, in which Israeli forces engage Hamas and its allies in sustained urban combat. Despite international pressure to halt the fighting, which has wreaked havoc for Gaza's 1.5 million people, it could well grow more intense. Israel announced for the first time Sunday night that reservists had joined the fight and were operating in Gaza.
More at The Washington Post.
Israel Reinforces Army Before ‘Third Phase’ of War in Gaza - Martin Fletcher, The Times
Israel began sending army reservists into Gaza last night in a further escalation of its war against Hamas.
The move came hours after Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, had raised hopes that the offensive could be approaching its end when he told his Cabinet that Israel was “nearing the goals it set” when it began Operation Cast Lead 17 days ago.
Tens of thousands of reservists were mobilised at the beginning of the conflict and have been undergoing intensive training. Over the weekend, Israeli military commanders had pressed political leaders to send them into Gaza, to take the battle into the densely populated urban areas of the Gaza Strip. Major-General Yoav Galant, commander of Israeli forces in Gaza, argued that the Israeli military had a “once in a generation” opportunity to end the threat from Hamas and ensure Israel’s security in the south for many years.
More at The Times.
Israel 'Close to Destroying Military Wing of Hamas' - Damien McElroy, Daily Telegraph
Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, and intelligence chiefs gave a series of positive briefings to a cabinet meeting that agreed to give the military more scope to confront Hamas in the urban battlegrounds of the Strip.
"Israel is nearing the goals that it set for itself," Mr Olmert said. "However, further patience, determination and effort are necessary in order to achieve those goals in a way that will change the security reality in the south."
Heavy fighting continued across Gaza yesterday. The Israeli air force bombed dozens of suspected cross-border tunnels in the south after flying through Egyptian airspace. Heavy machine gunfire was reported on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City and intense shelling was seen on its north edge as it was revealed that wounded Palestinians from Gaza are not receiving hospital treatment in Israel after the Fatah government in the West Bank reversed a long-standing policy by banning all medical transfers to the Jewish state.
More at The Daily Telegraph.
Crisis in Gaza Imperils 2-State Plan - Michael Slackman, New York Times
With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan fear that they will be pressed to absorb the Palestinian populations now living beyond their borders. If Israel does not assume responsibility for humanitarian aid in Gaza, for example, pressure could compel Egypt to fill the vacuum; Jordan, in turn, worries that Israel will try to push Palestinians from the West Bank into its territory.
In that case, both states fear, they could become responsible for policing the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, undermining their peace treaties with Israel.
Moer at The New York Times.
Bush Overrules Rice on Gaza - Betsy Pisik, Washington Times
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visibly frustrated when the White House told her to veto a resolution demanding a Hamas-Israeli cease-fire - a resolution she had spent three days negotiating.
The White House said its decision reflected an understanding reached between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Miss Rice persuaded the White House to abstain from voting on the resolution, which passed by a vote of 14-0, said a US official with firsthand knowledge of last week's events. The official requested anonymity to avoid embarrassing the Bush administration.
More at The Washington Times.
What's the Endgame for Israel and Hamas in Gaza? - Ilene R. Prusher, Christian Science Monitor
Israel and Hamas showed little interest over the weekend in moving toward an internationally brokered cease-fire, as both sides vowed to keep fighting.
As the rockets and missiles fill the skies over Gaza and southern Israel, it sharpens the question: What are the goals – and exit strategies, if any – of each side?
Within the Israeli public, there is a debate about whether the intent of the Israeli military – having already sent large numbers of tanks and ground troops into the Gaza Strip for the first time – is to occupy southern Gaza to prevent smuggling or "go all the way" and topple the Hamas government. Rule of the Gaza Strip might then be turned over to Fatah, the Palestinian party that was ousted in a Hamas military coup some 18 months ago and supports a two-state solution to the conflict.
More at The Christian Science Monitor and:
Israeli Offensive Presses into Gaza City - Los Angeles Times
As Troops Enter Gaza City, Israel Sees an Opening - New York Times
Olmert Says Too Early for Cease-Fire in Gaza - Voice of America
Battered by Israel, Hamas Faces Tough Choice - Los Angeles Times
Israel and Hamas Vow to Press on With Fighting in Gaza - Voice of America
Hamas Split on Cease-fire - Washington Times
War Intensifies in Gaza after Diplomacy Falls on Deaf Ears - The Times
At Least 860 Palestinians Killed, Israel Says Bombings Will Continue - VOA
Israeli Reserve Troops Sent to Gaza - BBC News
Israel Sends in Reservists, Says End May be Near - Agence France-Presse
Israel Accused of Using Illegal White Phosphorus Shells in Gaza - Daily Telegraph
Israel Denies Banned Weapons Use - BBC News
Thousands Rail Against Israel over Gaza - Associated Press
Few in US See Jazeera’s Coverage of Gaza War - New York Times
Silence the Guns in Gaza - Los Angeles Times editorial
Israel's Just Goal: Reasonable Cease-Fire - Chicago Sun-Times editorial
The New Israeli Fatalism - Washington Post opinion
Bridges to Peace in Gaza - Los Angeles Times opinion
No, We are Not all Hamas Now - The Times opinion
Negotiating the Mideast - Los Angeles Times opinion
How the US Magnified Palestinian Suffering - Christian Science Monitor opinion
Only Hamas Is to Blame for the War - New York Post opinion
IRAN
US Rejected Aid for Israeli Raid on Iranian Nuclear Site - David Sanger, New York Times
President Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for specialized bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s main nuclear complex and told the Israelis that he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior American and foreign officials.
White House officials never conclusively determined whether Israel had decided to go ahead with the strike before the United States protested, or whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel was trying to goad the White House into more decisive action before Mr. Bush left office. But the Bush administration was particularly alarmed by an Israeli request to fly over Iraq to reach Iran’s major nuclear complex at Natanz, where the country’s only known uranium enrichment plant is located.
The White House denied that request outright, American officials said, and the Israelis backed off their plans, at least temporarily. But the tense exchanges also prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel and brief Israeli officials on new American efforts to subtly sabotage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, a major covert program that Mr. Bush is about to hand off to President-elect Barack Obama.
More at The New York Times.
AFGHANISTAN
Biden Visits Afghanistan, Meets Karzai, US Officials - Pamela Constable, Washington Post
Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. made a heavily guarded visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, meeting with top Afghan and U.S. military leaders after a quick stop in Pakistan to stress continued US support in the fight against terrorism across South Asia.
The Democratic senator from Delaware, accompanied by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), was briefed by top US military officials as the United States prepares to make a major new commitment of troops and counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, which is facing an aggressive Taliban insurgency.
Biden also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom he has deemed weak and ineffective. Karzai, who is running for reelection, has excoriated US forces for causing civilian casualties during bombing raids and more broadly has sought to distance himself from the foreign defense forces his government invited to help restore order after the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
More at The Washington Post, New York Times, American Forces Press Service, Associated Press, Voice of America, Agence France-Presse and BBC News.
Afghan Militants Cross into Pakistan in Bold Attack - Laura King, Los Angeles Times
Hundreds of militants crossed over from Afghanistan to attack a Pakistani military outpost Sunday, officials said, in an illustration of the merging of the Taliban insurgency on the two sides of the border.
The attack pointed up the growing boldness of militants in the lawless tribal areas abutting Afghanistan as Pakistan has diverted some forces to the frontier with India.
While stepping up their campaign against government troops, the insurgents also employ methods of baroque cruelty to intimidate civilians in the tribal areas. Hospital authorities in Khar, the main town in the Bajaur region, said over the weekend that militants had chopped off the ears of five captured members of a local committee organized to keep the Taliban out of town.
More at The Los Angeles Times.
US will Grab Power from British in Afghanistan - Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter, The Times
The United States is building a command structure in Kandahar that will sideline the British general who takes command of southern Afghanistan in May. Brigadier-General John Nicholson, a senior American officer who previously served in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division, has already arrived in Kandahar to oversee the Afghan “surge”.
Although technically he will be subordinate to the British general who takes command in May, he will in reality have control of all US troops, UK defence sources said last week. Nicholson’s bombproof, rocket-proof command centre will dwarf the British general’s headquarters, which ostensibly controls operations across southern Afghanistan.
The takeover will be complete by the autumn of next year when the US will assume permanent control of the south, which at present rotates between the British, Canadians and Dutch. The move to sideline the British comes amid tensions between the two countries’ armies over what the Americans see as British military failures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More at The Times.
IRAQ
US Troops on Edge as Rules Shift in Iraq - Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post
First Lt. Ilya Ivanov's initial mission of 2009 began with a crucial, if irksome, task: rousing an Iraqi army sergeant out of bed.
After trekking through dark, trash-filled streets in Sadr City, as the crackle of gunfire and the wails of stray dogs echoed in the distance, the 24-year-old infantry platoon leader arrived at the Iraqi army station one hour before midnight on New Year's Eve. The Iraqi soldier was sleeping placidly on an uneven, thin mattress, a layer of freshly applied moisturizing lotion on his face.
"Tell him we would be honored if he joined us in this mission," Ivanov asked his interpreter to relay.
Tens of thousands of US troops in Iraq started the year calibrating their missions to conform with a new security agreement that demands that American combat troops depend more heavily than ever on their often-bungling Iraqi counterparts. Sometimes that means dragging one or two along on patrol.
More at The Washington Post.
NEWS & OPINION NOTES
Afghanistan / Pakistan Tribal Areas
US-Funded Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region - Washington Post
46 Die in Taliban Attack on Pakistani Troops - New York TImes
Defence Force Names Dead Taliban Leader - The Australian
Australians 'Kill Taleban Chief' - BBC News
Troops Avenge Comrade - The Australian
Pakistan Says 40 Militants, 6 Soldiers Killed in Attack in Northwest - VOA
Pakistan Border Clash 'Kills 46' - BBC News
Taliban Kills 'Dancing Girl' - Daily Telegraph
British Marine Killed in Latest Afghanistan Blast - The Times
Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness - Washington Post
Behind the Lines with the Taliban - Los Angeles Times
Drone Bomb Theory on Afghan Deaths - The Australian
Joint Forces Target Foreign Fighters in Afghanistan - AFPS
Pakistan
The Worst Pakistan Nightmare for Obama - New York Times
Iraq
Iraq Detains Alleged Leader of Sunni Insurgent Group - Voice of America
Iraqis 'Capture Leading Militant' - BBC News
More Iraq Parliament Members Pull Out of Sunni Bloc - Los Angeles Times
Iraqi Lawmakers Delay Naming a New Speaker - New York Times
Combined Iraqi, Coalition Forces Seize Weapons in Baghdad - AFPS
Iran
In Interview, Obama Talks of ‘New Approach’ to Iran - New York Times
Barack Obama to 'Engage' with Iran - Daiy Telegraph
Obama Promises New Tack on Iran - BBC News
The Long War
Dilemma in Guantanamo's Waning Days - Los Angeles Times
Obama: Continued Vigilance Critical in Protecting American People - AFPS
Bush: Military Fulfilled 'Hard Tasks' to Protect US Security - AFPS
Cheney: Bin Laden No Longer Effective Leader - AFPS
Bringing Justice to the War on Terrorism - New York Times opinion
Coddling Pirates Aids Terrorists - Washington Times opinion
Beyond Torture Lies a Great Hope - The Australian opinion
United States
Obama Lays Out Agenda for First 100 Days - The Times
Obama Vows to Tackle Middle East 'On Day One' - Agence France-Presse
Obama's Inauguration Gets Test Run in Washington - Voice of America
Servicemembers Rehearse 56th Presidential Inauguration - AFPS
DoS: Bill Clinton’s Donors - New York Times editorial
PTSD and the Purple Heart - New York Times editorial
The Fatigue of Fighting - Real Clear Politics opinion
Ludicrous but Embraced - Washington Times opinion
Continuity We Can Believe In - New York Times opinion
Mideast Dream Team? Not Quite - New York Times opinion
United Kingdom
I Hope MI5 Doesn't Play by the Rules - Daily Telegraph opinion
Africa
Sudan's Security Chief Warns Foreigners of Attacks - Voice of America
Sudan: Bashir Case 'May Spark Attacks' - BBC News
Rebel Force in Congo Shows Signs of Division - New York Times
Somali Islamist Groups Clash, 25 Killed - Voice of America
Islamist Rebels Clash in Somalia - BBC News
S. Africa: Zuma Faces Corruption Battle as Election Looms - The Times
Court to Rule on Zuma Graft Case - BBC News
S. Africa's ANC Unveils Platform for Upcoming Election Campaign - VOA
West African Bloc Suspends Guinea - BBC News
Mugabe's Election Theft and Illegitimacy - Washington Times opinion
Americas
Mexico Murders Soar - Daily Telegraph
US-Mexico Border Reinforced - Daily Telegraph
Cuba: Revolutionary Road's Dead End - Washington Post opinion
Asia Pacific
Ruling Thai Coalition Wins Key Elections - Washington Post
Elections Strengthen New Thai PM - BBC News
East Timor Returns to Stability, Says President - Voice of America
Europe
Russia Says European Gas Deal is Off - Voice of America
Gas Deal in Europe Is Undone and Redone - New York Times
Russia Gas Deal Collapses - Agence France-Presse
EU to Discuss How to Loosen Russia's Gas Stranglehold - Dailoy Telegraph
EU Bid to Revive Russia Gas Deal - BBC News
Nuclear Fears as Danger Plant Reopens in Gas War - The Times
South Asia
UNHCR Says Situation Worsening in East Sri Lanka - Voice of America
BOOKS
The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 - Thomas Ricks
Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began.
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
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.
