The gunshots came out of the blue. An Army psychiatrist, trained to treat soldiers under stress, allegedly opened fire Thursday in a crowded medical building at Fort Hood, Tex. When the assault ended minutes later, the attack had become what is believed to be the largest mass shooting ever to occur on a US military base. Twelve were killed, 31 wounded. Nidal M. Hasan, 39, a major who had made a career in the military, fired a pair of pistols, one of them semiautomatic, in the soldier readiness facility, dropping and scattering people as they waited to see doctors.

-- Washington Post

UNITED STATES

Lethal Rampage at Fort Hood - Yochi Dreazen and Ana Campoy, Wall Street Journal. A US Army major allegedly opened fire Thursday on fellow troops in the heart of the giant army base here, killing 12 people and wounding at least 31 in one of the worst incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence in US military history. The shooting rampage by Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan was halted by a female civilian police officer who shot him, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the top military commander on the base. The woman is expected to recover from wounds sustained in the gun battle, he said. Maj. Hasan, 39 years old, also was hospitalized after the shooting, Lt. Gen. Cone said, and "his death is not imminent." Names of the victims were not released. The alleged shooter is a psychiatrist, originally from Virginia, who had been recently promoted to major and transferred to Fort Hood from the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. His professional specialties include post-traumatic stress disorder, combat stress and other emotional issues common to the troops implicated in earlier incidents of military fratricide. Maj. Hasan was slated to serve for the first time in Iraq in coming weeks, military officials said. An official at the Pentagon added there were indications that Maj. Hasan was deeply upset about the pending assignment. Maj. Hasan's cousin, Nader Hasan, told Fox News that his cousin was deeply traumatized about seeing wartime service.

Rampage Kills 12, Wounds 31 - Peter Slevin, Washington Post. The gunshots came out of the blue. An Army psychiatrist, trained to treat soldiers under stress, allegedly opened fire Thursday in a crowded medical building at Fort Hood, Tex. When the assault ended minutes later, the attack had become what is believed to be the largest mass shooting ever to occur on a US military base. Twelve were killed, 31 wounded. Nidal M. Hasan, 39, a major who had made a career in the military, fired a pair of pistols, one of them semiautomatic, in the soldier readiness facility, dropping and scattering people as they waited to see doctors, according to authorities. Hasan and a civilian policewoman exchanged fire, they said. Both were hit. Both survived. When the gunfire stopped, soldiers schooled in battlefield medicine ripped their clothes to make tourniquets and bandages. Someone hustled to seal off an auditorium in the same building where 138 troops were marking their graduation from college. Sirens typically used to warn of tornados sweeping across the plains alerted residents, schools locked down and the Fort Hood community struggled to understand what had just happened. In the aftermath, a string of unanswered questions remained about the shooter's motives, his background and whether the military was aware that he posed a risk to his colleagues.

Army Doctor Held in Fort Hood Rampage - Robert D. McFadden, New York Times. An Army psychiatrist facing deployment to one of America’s war zones killed 12 people and wounded 31 others on Thursday in a shooting rampage with two handguns at the sprawling Fort Hood Army post in central Texas, military officials said. It was one of the worst mass shootings ever at a military base in the United States. The gunman, who was still alive after being shot four times, was identified by law enforcement authorities as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, who had been in the service since 1995. Major Hasan was about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas. Clad in a military uniform and firing an automatic pistol and another weapon, Major Hasan, a balding, chubby-faced man with heavy eyebrows, sprayed bullets inside a crowded medical processing center for soldiers returning from or about to be sent overseas, military officials said. The victims, nearly all military personnel but including two civilians, were cut down in clusters, the officials said. Witnesses told military investigators that medics working at the center tore open the clothing of the dead and wounded to get at the wounds and administer first aid. As the shooting unfolded, military police and civilian officers of the Department of the Army responded and returned the gunman’s fire, officials said, adding that Major Hasan was shot by a first-responder, who was herself wounded in the exchange.

13 Killed at Texas Army Base; Psychiatrist Accused - Ben Conery, Washington Times. An Army officer opened fire on his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, killing 13 and injuring 30, authorities said. The massacre left investigators scrambling to figure out what may have driven a mental health professional to go on such a rampage. Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the commanding officer at Fort Hood, identified the shooter as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist who had lived in Virginia and Maryland. Gen. Cone had said shortly after the shooting that Maj. Hasan was killed by a police officer at the scene, but late Thursday said that turned out not to be the case. "Preliminary reports indicate there was a single shooter that was shot multiple times at the scene. However, he was not killed as previously reported," Gen. Cone said. "He is currently in custody and in stable condition." Initial information that a female civilian police officer who had shot Maj. Hasan was also killed similarly turned out not to be the case, Gen. Cone said. That officer also survived the attack, he said. Gen. Cone said most of those injured and killed were soldiers. He said the seriousness of the injuries varied significantly.

Army Psychiatrist Blamed in Fort Hood Shooting Rampage - Robin Abcarian, Ashley Powers and Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times. An Army psychiatrist who was about to be deployed to Iraq allegedly armed himself with two guns and opened fire Thursday afternoon on the grounds of Ft. Hood, the country's largest military base, killing 12 people and injuring 31 others. Officials said that soldiers and civilians ripped apart their clothes to make bandages for fallen colleagues, many of whom were waiting at the base's Soldier Readiness Center for medical and dental exams before deployment. The attack shocked the country and raised questions about base security. The suspected gunman, who initially was thought to have died, was wounded and in stable condition under guard at a hospital. Identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, he worked at the Darnall Army Medical Center, Ft. Hood's hospital. The facility has an extensive program to help soldiers deal with the stress of returning from war. Base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said at a news conference Thursday evening that Hasan was shot multiple times by a female civilian Army police officer, who was also injured. The suspect reportedly had not spoken with investigators, and Cone would not say anything more about him. A senior US counter-terrorism official said Thursday night that the Army and FBI were looking into whether Hasan, who is Muslim, had previously come to the attention of federal law enforcement officials as the suspected author of inflammatory Internet comments likening suicide bombers to heroic soldiers who give their lives to save others.

Suspect, Devout Muslim from Va., Wanted Army Discharge, Aunt Said - Mary Pat Flaherty, William Wan and Christian Davenport, Washington Post. He prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, a devout Muslim who, despite asking to be discharged from the US Army, was on the eve of his first deployment to war. Yesterday, authorities said Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, a 39-year-old Arlington-born psychiatrist, shot and killed at least 12 people at Fort Hood, Tex. In an interview, his aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, said he had endured name-calling and harassment about his Muslim faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military. "I know what that is like," she said. "Some people can take it, and some cannot. He had listened to all of that, and he wanted out of the military, and they would not let him leave even after he offered to repay" for his medical training. An Army spokesman, Lt. Col. George Wright, said he could not confirm that Hasan requested a discharge. As authorities scrambled to figure out what happened at Fort Hood, a hazy and contradictory picture emerged of a man who received his medical training from the military and spent his career in the Army, yet allegedly turned so violently against his own. Hasan spent nearly all of his professional life at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District, caring for the victims of trauma, yet he spoke openly of his deep opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan, who was shot while being taken into custody, was reported in stable condition at a hospital Thursday night, authorities said.

Suspect Was ‘Mortified’ About Deployment to War - James Dao, New York Times. Born and reared in Virginia, the son of immigrant parents from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem, he joined the Army right out of high school, against his parents’ wishes. The Army, in turn, put him through college and then medical school, where he trained to be a psychiatrist. But Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday’s mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., began having second thoughts about a military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia. He had also more recently expressed deep concerns about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Having counseled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and more recently at Fort Hood, he knew all too well the terrifying realities of war, said a cousin, Nader Hasan. “He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy,” Mr. Hasan said. “He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier became aware of Internet postings by a man calling himself Nidal Hasan, a law enforcement official said. The postings discussed suicide bombings favorably, but the investigators were not clear whether the writer was Major Hasan. In one posting on the Web site Scribd, a man named Nidal Hasan compared the heroism of a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to protect fellow soldiers to suicide bombers who sacrifice themselves to protect Muslims.

Web Post by Fort Hood Gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan Could Shed Light on Motives - Philippe Naughton and Chris Ayres, The Times. Investigators trying to understand why a US army psychiatrist launched into a shooting spree on a military base in Texas will be poring over an internet posting he is thought to have made comparing the sacrifice of Islamist suicide bombers and American military heroes. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 were injured when Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood yesterday afternoon in a part of the base where soldiers are prepared for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq. The gunman himself was shot four times and was reported last night to be unconscious and on a ventilator in a nearby hospital. The female officer said to have shot him is also in hospital. Major Hasan, 39, whose job involved counselling soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after overseas tours, had himself fought a long and unsuccessful campaign against deployment to Iraq - which a cousin described as "his worst nightmare". As President Obama said in his first statement on the slaughter, the killings were all the more "horrifying" for having happened at an army base on American soil. But Major Hasan's background - he is a Muslim of Palestinian descent - prompted immediate speculation that the attack was a premeditated act of terror. It was reported that Major Hasan had come to the attention of the FBI after a user named NidalHasan posted on the Scribd.com website in May, comparing the actions of an American soldier who threw himself on a grenade in Iraq with those of Islamist suicide bombers. No action was taken against him.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN

Obama Faces Competing Demands on Afghanistan Strategy - Greg Miller and Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times. As President Obama struggles over a new military strategy for Afghanistan, his advisors are trying to satisfy sharply divergent demands: assuring Americans that any military buildup will be limited while convincing Pakistan and other wary allies that the US presence is substantial and not about to end. The difficulty in determining a strategy that can mollify both these conflicting constituencies helps to explain why the administration's months-long search for a new approach to Afghanistan remains unresolved. On the domestic front, Obama risks alienating a political base that has become increasingly impatient with the 8-year-old war. At the same time, the president faces potentially serious setbacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan if the heads of those governments - not to mention the leaders of the Taliban insurgency - see any indication of a wavering US commitment. "This is precisely what muddles their strategic discussion," said Juan Zarate, who served as deputy national security advisor in the George W. Bush administration. "They have to thread a needle here. [Obama] can't be seen domestically to be articulating a 20-year commitment to Afghanistan, while at the same time, he can't be signaling a quick exit to our allies and enemies on the ground and in the region." Pakistan is key to the debate because of concerns that its powerful intelligence service would ramp up support for Afghan Taliban militants as part of a hedge strategy aimed at preserving Pakistani influence next door in the event of a US exit from the region.

Going Tribal in Afghanistan - James Dao, New York Times. In Washington, the debate over Afghanistan seems to center around two broad ideas: counterinsurgency versus counterterrorism. Should the United States add troops for a more population-centric strategy, as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal advocates? Or should it use a less ground-heavy approach, disrupting Al Qaeda with Special Operation Forces and unmanned drones, as Vice President Joseph Biden argues? There is, of course, no shortage of other ideas, many of them afloat in the blogosphere. Among the more provocative ones has been posted on Steven Pressfield’s blog, It’s the Tribes, Stupid, and it comes from an Army Special Forces major who has spent much time in both Afghanistan and Iraq training indigenous fighters. The 45-page paper, “One Tribe at a Time” by Maj. Jim Gant, argues that one way to undermine the insurgency is to return, in part, to the strategy that ousted the Taliban to begin with: Embed small, highly skilled and almost completely autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan. Much like the Green Berets who worked with the Northern Alliance to drive out the Taliban in 2001 and 2002, the units, which Major Gant calls Tribal Engagement Teams, would wear Afghan garb and live in Afghan villages for extended periods, training, equipping and fighting alongside tribal militias.

Reviews Raise Doubt on Training of Afghan Forces - Thom Shanker and John H. Cushman Jr., New York Times. A series of internal government reviews have presented the Obama administration with a dire portrait of Afghanistan’s military and police force, bringing into serious question an ambitious goal at the heart of the evolving American war strategy - to speed up their training and send many more Afghans to the fight. As President Obama considers his top commander’s call to rapidly double Afghanistan’s security forces, the internal reviews, written by officials directly involved in the training program or charged with keeping it on track, describe an overstretched enterprise struggling to nurse along the poorly led, largely illiterate and often corrupt Afghan forces. In September, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American and allied commander in Afghanistan, recommended increasing the Afghan Army as quickly as possible - to 134,000 in a year from the current force of more than 90,000, instead of taking two years, and perhaps eventually to 240,000. He would also expand the police force to 160,000. The acceleration is vital to General McChrystal’s overall counterinsurgency plan, which also calls for more American troops but seeks more protection against the Taliban for the Afghan population than the Pentagon could ever supply. While General McChrystal knew of the latest assessments when he wrote his plan, their completion just as President Obama considers the general’s proposal has given fresh ammunition to doubters.

Brown Stands Firm on Afghanistan - Associated Press. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday that Afghanistan's government is corrupt and he will not risk more British lives there unless it reforms. Mr. Brown said in a speech that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had assured him "that the first priority of his new government would be to take decisive action against corruption." Mr. Brown said the government of Afghanistan has become a by-word for corruption, "and I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption." Britain has promised to send 500 more troops to Afghanistan. But Mr. Brown said it was dependent upon progress in governance. Seven British soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the past week, including five shot by an Afghan police officer. Despite increasing doubt over the country's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, Mr. Brown links military action there to safety on Britain's streets. "We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security," Mr. Brown said.

UN Official Admonishes Karzai to Enact Reforms - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times. The top United Nations official in Afghanistan on Thursday issued an unusually pointed warning to President Hamid Karzai to enact major political reforms or risk losing the support of the international community. "There is a belief among some that the international commitment to Afghanistan will continue whatever happens because of the strategic importance of Afghanistan," Kai Eide, the UN special representative, said at a news conference. "I would like to emphasize that this is not correct. "It is public opinion in donor countries and in troop-contributing countries that decides the strength of that commitment," Eide said, "and the debate we have seen over the last few weeks and months underlines that we are at a critical juncture." Underscoring the fragility of that commitment, UN officials said the world body was temporarily pulling hundreds of staff members out of Afghanistan while it reviews security arrangements after an attack last week on a guesthouse in Kabul, the capital, that killed five UN employees and three Afghans.

Keep Us Safe or We’re Off for Good - Tom Coghlan, The Times. The head of the United Nations in Afghanistan threatened a complete pullout yesterday after half of his staff were evacuated following last week’s terrorist attack, in which five UN personnel died. In a blunt message to the newly re-elected President Karzai, Kai Eide, the UN Special Representative, said: “There is a belief that the international community [presence] will continue whatever happens because of the strategic importance of Afghanistan. I would like to emphasise that that’s not true.” The Afghan Government must show a willingness to reform and address rampant corruption, he said. “We cannot afford any longer a situation where warlords and powerbrokers are playing their own game.” The UN temporarily pulled out 600 of its 1,100 foreign staff yesterday. The move was prompted by the attack on the Bakhtar guesthouse on October 28, in which five UN personnel were killed by gunmen and suicide bombers in police uniforms. Security forces in Kabul remain on high alert as intelligence “chatter” has suggested that militants linked to the Taleban and al-Qaeda will try more attacks soon.

UN's Afghanistan Mission Moving Workers for Safety - Joshua Partlow, Washington Post. The UN mission in Afghanistan is relocating hundreds of staff members, including sending many outside the country, after an attack last week on a UN guesthouse in Kabul that killed five members of its international staff. The UN decision was another sign of the Taliban's ability to use violence against civilians to curtail humanitarian and development work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. International staff members from many aid organizations, both public and private, have limited their movements and activities as attacks on civilians have increased in the region. The United Nations has about 1,100 international staff members in Afghanistan, and about 600 of them will be moved to more-secure locations, said Aleem Siddique, a UN spokesman. Some will be moved from their homes to fortified UN compounds, provincial offices or a hotel in Kabul, while others are being sent elsewhere in Central Asia or to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. "There's going to be a lot of upheaval, but the priority has to be the safety of the staff," Siddique said.

UN Relocates Foreign Staff in Afghanistan - Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan announced plans on Thursday to relocate hundreds of foreign staff members, sending some out of the country, in the wake of a lethal attack on its workers at a guesthouse last week. The relocation of its workers here, while temporary, is one more signal of mounting pressure on United Nations operations as security deteriorates around the region. The move comes four days after the United Nations announced that it was withdrawing its international workers from northwestern Pakistan, where insurgents are fighting Pakistani troops and have carried out a string of attacks. In recent weeks, United Nations workers on both sides of the border have been singled out in deadly attacks, in what appears to be a deliberate campaign by insurgents to undercut international support for the embattled Afghan and Pakistani governments. Five United Nations workers for the World Food Program were killed in a suicide attack at the program’s offices in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in early October. Last week in Kabul three insurgents dressed in police uniforms scaled the front gate of a guesthouse where United Nations staff members were staying to mount a terrifying two-hour siege. Five of the United Nations’ staff members were killed, along with two Afghan security officials and the brother-in-law of a prominent Afghan politician, before the attackers were shot and killed. The strike was the biggest on the United Nations in Afghanistan in its half-century of work here and forced the organization to lock down its operations as it reviewed security nationwide.

Powerful Afghan Governor Challenges President - Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal. An escalating quarrel between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a powerful governor is stoking fears of bloodshed in one of the country's more peaceful and prosperous provinces. During this year's presidential election, Balkh Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor was alone among Afghanistan's 34 governors - all of whom were appointed by Mr. Karzai - to openly back challenger Abdullah Abdullah. Mr. Karzai's victory last week, declared by an election commission after months of controversy, has Mr. Atta steaming, and tensions rising over the prospect that Kabul will try to reassert central authority in this province of two million people. "Karzai is a thief of people's votes. Democracy has been buried in Afghanistan. He's not a lawful president," Mr. Atta said in an interview in his vast rococo-styled office, as turbaned supplicants lined up to petition for his help in resolving court cases and disputes with local authorities. Mr. Karzai was declared the winner after Dr. Abdullah withdrew from the race, claiming that the election commission was biased. Dr. Abdullah has yet to concede defeat, and is seeking a broad say in policy making.

Rare Virus Poses New Threat to Troops - Sara A. Carter, Washington Times. US military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus. Dr. Jim Radike, an expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Role 3 Trauma Hospital at Kandahar Air Field, told The Washington Times that Sgt. Robert David Gordon, 22, from River Falls, Ala., died Sept. 16 from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick. The virus is transmitted by infected blood and can be carried by ticks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Radike, who is with the Navy, said the medical team "will be taking blood samples and the results may take several weeks to get back." He called it "a precautionary measure." Dr. Radike did not say how many individuals would be tested or why the military had waited until now to act. The unit involved is the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division, A-Company 2-1 Infantry. The news comes as the Pentagon disclosed that it has sent 150,000 doses of vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu virus to Qatar for distribution to US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - half of what US Central Command has requested. More than a half dozen Afghans have died of the disease, which apparently was transmitted to the country by foreigners.

Obama's Unrealistic Afghan Assumptions - Elise Jordan, Wall Street Journal opinion. 'The proof is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds." That is how the White House summed up what Barack Obama told Afghan President Hamid Karzai after a runoff election was called off recently, handing the Afghan leader a new term in office. That's an interesting marker and one Mr. Obama would do well to heed himself. The surest path to better governance in Afghanistan is a US military strategy that gives Mr. Karzai's government a little breathing room. Instead, Mr. Obama's words and deeds have revealed a profound misunderstanding of both our Afghan partners and the on-the-ground realities of holding elections in a war zone. They have also undermined Mr. Karzai and led allies to wonder if the US was willing to stand by Afghanistan in its war against radical extremists. In a speech in March detailing his thinking on Afghanistan, Mr. Obama mentioned democracy only in reference to Pakistan and never spoke of victory in Afghanistan. Soon after the speech, senior administration officials were talking about the need to find a "credible partner" in Afghanistan. The implication - that Mr. Karzai was not a credible partner - was damaging, especially because Mr. Karzai eventually won another five-year term. The US questioning the legitimacy of Afghanistan's fledgling democracy does as much to weaken that democracy as any instance of corruption. In the end, much of what the Obama administration has complained about is based on unrealistic assumptions. Some degree of electoral fraud is pretty much the norm in underdeveloped countries.

IRAQ

Iraqis Again Fail to Approve Election Law - Timothy Williams and Sa'ad Izzi, New York Times. The Iraqi Parliament failed again on Thursday to approve a law to regulate a national election in January, deepening doubts about whether the nation can hold the vote on schedule. American military officials have said a postponement of the country’s Jan. 16 parliamentary election could delay the withdrawal of American troops out of fear for Iraq’s political stability. Hamdia al-Hussaini, a member of the Independent High Electoral Commission, which organizes elections here, said she would wait until Parliament met Sunday to decide whether to postpone the election. Earlier in the week, Faraj al-Haideri, the head of the electoral commission, warned that if a law was not passed by Thursday, he would recommend a delay because there would be insufficient time to print ballots and make other preparations. The stalemate continued to be caused by one of the most thorny of Iraq’s problems: the divided city of Kirkuk in the north. Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens are all seeking control of the surrounding province, which sits atop billions of barrels of oil. For a short time on Thursday, it appeared as if Parliament had found a solution. The chairman of the body’s legal committee, Bahaa al-Araji, briefed reporters on a complex, if tentative, deal that included awarding Turkmens and Arabs one extra legislative seat each. And as a benefit to Kurds in the province, 2009 voter registrations would be used to determine eligibility.

Exxon Mobil-led Consortium to Develop Major Iraqi Oil Field - Liz Sly, Los Angeles Times. The Iraqi government Thursday signed a deal with a consortium led by US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop a major oil field in southern Iraq, marking the first entry by an American-dominated group into Iraq's oil industry since it was nationalized in 1972. The deal coincides with a flurry of activity this week that suggests major oil companies are finally poised to return to Iraq, more than six years after the US-led military invasion raised firms' hopes of gaining access to some of the world's largest and most underdeveloped oil reserves. This week, a group led by Italy's Eni that includes the US company Occidental Petroleum Corp. initialed a preliminary agreement, and China National Petroleum Corp. and Britain's BP finalized an accord to develop oil fields in the south. The deals are service contracts. That means the consortia will invest money to improve the yields of the fields and receive in return a fixed fee. The agreements came after the oil companies dramatically lowered their fees to match those offered by the Iraqi government at a public auction in June. The Exxon Mobil-led consortium, which includes Royal Dutch Shell, will receive $1.90 per barrel of extra oil produced, down from the $4 it asked for in June. The consortium, 80% controlled by Exxon Mobil, will invest $25 billion to improve the yield of the West Qurna 1 field from 290,000 barrels a day to 2.3 million barrels a day, Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said at the signing ceremony.

IRAN

Iran Holding Up Nuclear Deal with Demand for Reactor Fuel, Diplomat Says - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post. Iran is demanding full delivery of reactor fuel before it gives up its stash of low-enriched uranium and has balked at further efforts to hold international talks on its nuclear program, according to a senior European diplomat. The diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive diplomacy involved, said prospects for a breakthrough with Iran have narrowed dramatically since a high-level meeting in Geneva on Oct. 1, when Iran tentatively approved a deal to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium and agreed to hold another set of talks by the end of October. Instead, the reactor deal appears to be falling apart, and there are no prospects for talks before the governing body of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meets this month to consider whether Iran violated international obligations by building a nuclear facility near the city of Qom. Such a finding would probably result in yet another referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, the diplomat said.

Tehran Gains Time - Washington Post editorial. It's been five weeks since the Obama administration announced that Iran had agreed to ship most of its enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for fuel rods for a research reactor - a deal that promised to delay Tehran's nuclear program by a year or so. But there have been no shipments; instead, Iran rejected the technical terms proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is trying to change the deal in a way that would remove the slight benefit it offered to the West. And it is continuing its refusal even to discuss the central demand of the UN Security Council, which is that it suspend uranium enrichment. So far there has been no visible reaction to Tehran's stance from the Obama administration, other than statements insisting that Iran go through with the uranium swap as originally agreed. The administration appears to be hoping that what officials believe is a debate inside the regime will be won by proponents of a rapprochement with the West. They also want to ensure that, if there is a breakdown in the negotiations, Iran is blamed by all concerned - including Russia and China, whose support would be needed for new UN sanctions.

THE LONG WAR

The War Against the War on Terrorism - Wall Street Journal editorial. Armando Spataro cut his teeth as a prosecutor hunting down Red Brigade terrorists in Italy. But Wednesday in Milan he secured the conviction of 23 Americans charged with kidnapping and spiriting out of the country Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasr in 2003. Their conviction and sentencing - in absentia - is one more dubious milestone in the legal war against the war on terror. In 2005, Mr. Spataro secured an arrest warrant for Mr. Nasr, charging him with running a terrorist-recruitment network in Europe. Mr. Nasr had been under surveillance by the Italian authorities since 9/11. We recount this history to underscore that Mr. Spataro is no naif when it comes to terrorism cases, nor does he harbor any illusions about Mr. Nasr. He also knows, from his involvement in the Madrid case, that Americans are not the only targets of Islamist terror. And yet Mr. Spataro now insists that Mr. Nasr's rendition - to Germany and later to Egypt, where Mr. Nasr claims he was tortured - was a crime against Italian sovereignty. No matter that the Americans convicted this week were, by Mr. Spataro's own account, working in active and close cooperation with Italian intelligence officers. Mr. Spataro had originally charged five Italians in the case as well, but they were either acquitted or had the charges dropped. The Italian Supreme Court ruled that the bulk of the evidence against them were state secrets and so inadmissable in court. The prosecution argued, in fact, that the decision to spirit Mr. Nasr out of the country was made at the highest levels of the Italian government, and at one point threatened to call Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a witness.

The Right Place to Try Terrorists - Michael B. Mukasey, Washington Post opinion. Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who by his own account came to this country most recently in 2001 to help organize a second wave of attacks after the Sept. 11 atrocities, received a jail sentence on Oct. 29 that could free him within six years. This again prompts the question of whether it is wise for the administration to cancel the military trials of those held at Guantanamo Bay and charged with planning the Sept. 11 attacks and, instead, to bring them to the United States to be charged anew and tried in civilian courts. Marri acted on the direct order of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of Sept. 11 among other accomplishments, to enter the United States not later than Sept. 10, 2001. He entered on a student visa and stayed in touch with his mentor, Mohammed, by cellphone and through coded messages sent via e-mail accounts in fictitious names. Marri used his computer to research the toxicity, availability and price of various cyanide compounds, as well as the location of dams, waterways and tunnels where such compounds could be used with lethal effect.

AFRICA

International Prosecutor to Seek Inquiry Into Kenya Violence - Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times. Members of the political elite in Kenya, a nation where top leaders have long escaped prosecution for corruption and other crimes, could now face an international investigation into the violence that shook the country after disputed elections last year. After months of stonewalling by Kenyan politicians, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Thursday that crimes against humanity had been committed during the postelection period and that he would seek a formal investigation into them. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor, flew into Kenya on Thursday and met with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whose intense rivalry set the stage for a wave of neighbor-on-neighbor killings that left more than 1,000 dead. A vast majority of Kenyans support his involvement because they had little faith that Kenya’s leaders would ever go after their own, despite pressure from major allies like the United States. No top politician has ever been prosecuted for corruption in Kenya, although it is one of Africa’s most notoriously corrupt nations. Few, if any, culprits from last year’s bloodbath have been convicted of murder, even though many of the killings happened in front of police officers. Several of the prime suspects, accused by human rights groups of masterminding the violence, are high-ranking government ministers.

Tsvangirai Calls Off Cabinet-Meetings Boycott - Celia W. Dugger, New York Times. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe announced at the conclusion of a gathering of southern African leaders late Thursday night that his party had called off its boycott of cabinet meetings with President Robert Mugabe, but it was unclear what Mr. Tsvangirai received in return for backing down. His spokesman, James Maridadi, said in an interview that leaders from the Southern African Development Community, meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, had agreed to monitor progress in resolving bitter disputes between Mr. Tsvangirai and Mr. Mugabe over crucial appointments in the government, with the aim of settling them within 30 days. Mr. Tsvangirai was also encouraged by the personal involvement of President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the region’s richest, most powerful nation, in seeking to resolve the problems in Zimbabwe, Mr. Maridadi said. Mr. Zuma, in office six months, attended the meeting in Mozambique and will visit Zimbabwe within 15 days to follow up on negotiations, Mr. Maridadi said. “Now there are time frames, and Jacob Zuma has said when he comes to Zimbabwe it will not be business as usual,” Mr. Maridadi said. He added, “Look, he’s a fresh pair of hands with a fresh perspective on the issue.”

AMERICAS

Amid Rising Violence, Mexicans Fight Back - David Luhnow and Jose de Cordoba, Wall Street Journal. Mexico's war on drugs took a grim twist this week, as a prominent mayor said he had created an undercover group of operatives to "clean up" criminal elements - even if it had to act outside the law. Underscoring why the mayor may have felt compelled to take such steps, the new police chief in a neighboring town, a retired brigadier general, was shot and killed Wednesday, four days after taking up his post. The events shed light on the state of Mexico's battle to try to control powerful drug cartels and stop the turf wars between rival gangs that have killed an estimated 14,000 people since President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006. Frustrated with the government's approach, Mexicans are searching for other solutions. Mayors and state governors across the country say they feel powerless to control the traffickers, who have corrupted local and state police to such a degree that they are considered part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. Mr. Calderón has sent 45,000 army troops to various Mexican states to try to stem the violence, but the killings have continued, with more than 6,300 people dead in drug-related violence so far this year, according to Mexican newspaper estimates.

Ideologues Hijack a Compromise - Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post opinion. Adults learn that human conflicts are seldom black and white. So the way the international community jumped to punish tiny Honduras for the ouster of its president, without knowing the facts, was foolish. That some Senate Republicans have been extremist in the other direction borders on galling. Opposing a US-brokered agreement reached a week ago by Hondurans to defuse the crisis, the senators, led by South Carolina's Jim DeMint, have been grandstanding on principles that have little to do with reality, contributing to looming chaos in that Central American country and undermining US policy in the region. In this, the age of fundamentalist ayatollahs, the knee-jerk cold warriors among the Senate Republicans are no better than the knee-jerk anti-military officials in the Organization of American States. The compromise leaves egg on the face of the OAS and an intelligentsia that refused to see Honduras as more than a banana republic that somehow could infect the region, only to be confronted by a Senate cabal that treats Honduras as ... a banana republic that somehow could infect the rest of the region.

ASIA PACIFIC

Scant Details on Reaction to US Envoys' Burma Visit - Tim Johnston, Washington Post. After a rare trip by high-level US diplomats to Burma, there was little indication from either nation Thursday about how the Obama administration's overture of engagment had been received. Burmese state media merely noted that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel met with Prime Minister Thein Sein during the visit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The pair are the highest-level US officials to visit Burma, also known as Myanmar, in 14 years. Marciel declined to say how the government, the opposition or Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader they also met with, received their visit. "The main purpose of the visit was to explain to the key parties there - the government, political parties, the opposition, ethnic minorities - the context of our recently completed policy review, but also to hear from them their views and their ideas," Marciel told a seminar on his return to Thailand. The policy review left US sanctions in place while promoting engagement with the prospect that progress toward democratic principles would be rewarded.

A Rebel Stronghold in Myanmar on Alert - International Herald Tribune. Conquering armies of centuries past avoided this remote, mountainous area along the present-day border with China, a place once described by a British colonial official as “an unpenetrated enclave of savage hills.” Inhabited by the Wa, an ethnic group once notorious for headhunting, neither the British colonial overlords nor the Burmese kings who preceded them saw much point in controlling the area. But to Myanmar’s military government this rebel region is an irritating piece of unfinished business and an impediment to the long-cherished goal of national unity. Myanmar’s generals are demanding that the Wa disband their substantial army here and fully subjugate themselves to the central government, a call that has so far gone unheeded. Both sides are bracing for potential conflict. The tensions here might be glossed over by outsiders as yet another arcane dispute in strife-ridden Myanmar between the government and a mistrustful minority, except that the Wa have a well-equipped army of at least 20,000 full-time soldiers - about twice the size of Ireland’s armed forces - and are considered by the United States government as hosts to one of the world’s largest illicit drug operations.

Thailand Recalls Its Ambassador to Cambodia - Thomas Fuller, New York Times. The Thai government announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador to Cambodia to protest Cambodia’s appointment of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as Thailand’s prime minister, to a high-profile position. The moves put new strains on already tense relations between the countries. Mr. Thaksin was removed in a coup in September 2006 and now helps lead the Thai opposition movement from abroad. The Thai Foreign Ministry said the appointment of Mr. Thaksin as economic adviser to Cambodia’s prime minister represented a “failure to respect Thailand’s judicial system.” “The Royal Thai Government cannot stand idly by and has to take into consideration the sentiment of its people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Thai government appears particularly dismayed at the idea that Mr. Thaksin, who now spends much of his time in Dubai, might be able to galvanize his supporters from just across the border. Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, has offered Mr. Thaksin a residence in Cambodia. Mr. Thaksin, who retains a loyal following here, is wanted in Thailand for a conviction in a politically charged case involving land that his wife purchased while he was prime minister.

What Obama Should Say to North Korea - Melanie Kirkpatrick, Wall Street Journal opinion. Now that the Obama administration is talking directly to the rulers of North Korea, it would be fitting if it also had a message for the people these leaders oppress. Instead, as is the case with human-rights abusers in most of the world's benighted spots - think Tibet, Burma, Vietnam, Iran, Sudan - the administration remains largely silent. President Obama's visit to Seoul this month would be a good moment to speak out. There would be no better advocate to have by his side than South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who, unlike his recent predecessors, has publicly condemned the North for its abusive treatment of its citizens. The atrocities perpetrated by Kim Jong Il's regime are well known. But three reports, all out in recent days, provide a chilling reminder.

EUROPE

Karadzic Gets Delay, and Lawyer, in War Crimes Trial - Marlise Simons, New York Times. Judges ordered Thursday that a lawyer be imposed on Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader on trial in The Hague for war crimes and genocide, but halted the trial until March 1, to give a lawyer time to get ready. Their decision effectively gave Mr. Karadzic, who has insisted on representing himself, almost four additional months to prepare his defense, which is more than an appeals court gave him when it ordered the case to begin. “We need time to digest this decision,” said Marco Sladojevic, one of the lawyers assisting Mr. Karadzic. “We will try to find a constructive answer when the team meets with him tomorrow.” Since his trial before the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague opened Oct. 26, Mr. Karadzic has forced the court’s hand by staying in his cell. He showed up briefly for a procedural hearing on Tuesday, only to argue again that he needed more time to deal with the great load of materials relating to the charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. The judges said Mr. Karadzic’s obstruction “has effectively brought the trial to a halt, which is evidently his purpose.” But they said it would not be “in the interest of justice” to continue without the defendant or a counsel representing him, because it would prevent “truth-seeking.”

2 Held in Deaths of Russian Lawyer, Reporter - Philip P. Pan, Washington Post. Russian authorities said Thursday that they had solved one of their country's most notorious crimes, charging two alleged neo-Nazi gang members in the brazen killings of a human rights lawyer and a journalist in central Moscow in January. The arrests, announced by a top law enforcement official in a televised meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, came amid mounting criticism of the government's failure to find and punish culprits in a string of contract-style killings of reporters and human rights activists. Stanislav Markelov, 34, a prominent lawyer who often clashed with the government's security services, and Anastasia Baburova, 25, a student journalist, were fatally shot on a sidewalk not far from the Kremlin after leaving an afternoon news conference. On Thursday, investigators identified Nikita Tikhonov, 29, wanted in connection with the 2006 fatal stabbing of a young anti-fascism campaigner in Moscow, as one of the suspects in the January killings. Markelov had represented the victim's family in court and repeatedly pressed the authorities to find Tikhonov.

MIDDLE EAST

Top Palestinian Rules Out Race for Re-election - Ethan Bronner and Mark Landler, New York Times. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, warned on Thursday that he would not seek re-election, the latest sign that the Obama administration’s drive to broker a Middle East peace accord, one of President Obama’s key foreign policy goals, has fallen into disarray. Mr. Abbas, 74, has threatened to step aside before, but coming immediately after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to the region aimed at reviving a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, his announcement laid bare the deepening tensions over the administration’s failure to extract an Israeli settlement freeze or any concessions from Arab leaders. Mrs. Clinton’s visit, which she characterized as a success, sowed anger and confusion among Palestinians and other Arabs after she praised as “unprecedented” the offer by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to slow down, but not stop, construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In a televised speech from his office in Ramallah, Mr. Abbas, who replaced Yasir Arafat five years ago as president of the Palestinian Authority, said, “I have told my brethren in the PLO that I have no desire to run in the forthcoming election,” referring to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas Rejects Reelection Bid - Howard Schneider, Washington Post. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, citing dismay over the progress of US-brokered peace initiatives, said Thursday that he does not want to run for reelection when his term ends in January, potentially upending the Obama administration's strategy for the region. Abbas's announcement follows months of failed attempts by the United States to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. A weekend trip to the region by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accentuated the impasse, as the Obama administration announced that it was scaling back its expectations and Palestinians charged that there is a growing pro-Israel tilt to US policy. In a 15-minute address on Palestinian television, Abbas remained equivocal as to whether he actually intends to leave office in a matter of weeks. Such a move would throw an already chaotic Palestinian political system into full disarray. But advisers and analysts said it was possible he was merely venting frustration over a dialogue with the United States and Israel that has undercut him politically without any marked progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state. "I do not wish to run for the upcoming presidential elections," the 74-year-old leader said. "This decision is not for negotiation or maneuver.

Saudis Strike Yemeni Rebels Along Border - Robert F. Worth, New York Times. Saudi warplanes bombed a group of Yemeni rebels late Wednesday on the countries’ remote border, a day after the rebels overran a strategic hilltop and killed a Saudi border guard. The airstrikes appeared to signal an expansion of the war against the Houthi rebels, who have been fighting the Yemeni government intermittently for more than five years. In August, the Yemeni government began a renewed offensive against the Houthis, and thousands have been killed in the fighting. The Saudis struck on Wednesday after evacuating several villages along the border, and the Saudi Army began reinforcing its presence in the area, said a Saudi security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. There was no word from either side on deaths or injuries in the strike. Early on Thursday, there were media reports that Saudi fighter jets had struck Houthi forces inside Yemen or had even invaded the country. But Yemeni officials later denied those reports, and suggested that they might have been a deliberate distortion by the Houthis.

Saudi Fighter Jets Reportedly Strike Rebel Targets in Yemen - Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times. Saudi Arabian warplanes attacked Shiite rebel strongholds in northern Yemen on Thursday in a surge of fighting along the border that followed the death of a Saudi security official at the hands of insurgents, according to news reports. Saudi fighter jets targeted as many as six rebel positions in Yemen and along the mountainous border. Saudi troops reportedly were heading toward the region to secure villages and prevent further cross-border incursions by Houthi rebel forces, which have been sporadically battling the Yemeni government since 2004. Saudi airstrikes "began on their [rebel] positions in northern Yemen" late Wednesday afternoon, an advisor to the Saudi government told Reuters. The advisor asked not to be named because operations were still underway. "There have been successive airstrikes, very heavy bombardment of their positions, not just on the border but on" rebel camps around the northern city of Saada. The Yemeni government has not released a statement on the Saudi offensive, but Al Jazeera news channel quoted a Yemeni Defense Ministry official as saying, "Saudi Arabia did not hit targets in Yemen."

Saudi Jets Bomb Rebels in Yemen - Ahmed Al-Ha, Associated Press. Saudi Arabia sent fighter jets and artillery bombardments across the border into northern Yemen on Thursday in a military incursion apparently aimed at helping its troubled southern neighbor control an escalating Shi'ite rebellion, Arab diplomats and the rebels said. The Saudis - owners of a sophisticated air force they rarely use - have been increasingly worried that extremism and instability in Yemen could spill over to their country, the world's largest oil exporter. The offensive came two days after the killing of a Saudi soldier, blamed on the rebels. Yemen denied any military action by Saudi Arabia inside its borders. But Yemen's president is a key ally of the Saudis, making it highly unlikely the kingdom would have launched the offensive without tacit Yemeni agreement. A US government official said the Yemenis were not involved militarily in the fighting. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The offensive immediately raised concerns of another proxy war in the Middle East between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a key US ally. Shi'ite Iran is thought to favor the rebels in Yemen while Saudi Arabia, which is Sunni, is Iran's fiercest regional rival.

SOUTH ASIA

India Restricts Media on Visit by Dalai Lama - Jim Yardley, New York Times. The Indian government moved Thursday to restrict media coverage of the Dalai Lama’s trip next week to a disputed Himalayan region, a visit that has become a sore point between India and China at a time when diplomatic relations are already fraying between the Asian giants. On Thursday, several foreign news organizations planning to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh next week were told that travel permits approved earlier by the state government had been canceled by the central government in New Delhi. They included The New York Times. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia issued a statement saying it was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision and also by the failure of the central government to approve other applications. “Despite numerous requests over the past few weeks, India’s central government has not granted a single foreign journalist permission to travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh during the Dalai Lama’s visit,” the press club said in a statement released on Thursday evening. For weeks, the Dalai Lama’s trip, which is to begin on Sunday, has caused a diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Beijing. The two countries have a longstanding border dispute, and China has become increasingly outspoken about its claims to sections of Arunachal Pradesh, a center of Tibetan Buddhism.

EVENTS

The US Military Academy’s Department of History is pleased to invite you to a West Point Symposium on the History of Irregular Warfare, 18-20 November 2009. The symposium will feature the scholarship of five cadet panel presenters with commentary by distinguished guest scholars, including: Dr. Stephen Biddle as our keynote speaker, Dr. Jeremy Black, Col. Robert Cassidy, Dr. Conrad Crane, Dr. George Herring, Dr. Brian Linn, and Dr. Peter Mansoor. Additionally, Dr. James Le Sueur (Uncivil War: Intellectuals and Identity Politics, 2005) will present a special lecture on Algerian society since 1963. Col. Gian Gentile, a History faculty member, will participate as part of the “Visiting Scholars Panel” with Dr. Crane, Dr. Mansoor, and Col. Cassidy. (Invitation and POC Information) (History of IW Symposium Agenda)

BOOKS

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan - Doug Stanton.

Horse Soldiers tells the important story of the Special Forces soldiers who first put American boots on the ground in Afghanistan in 2001. Fighting alongside the Northern Alliance, the troops, often riding on horseback, achieved several important victories against the Taliban.

War 2.0: Irregular Warfare in the Information Age - Thomas Rid and Marc Hecker.

War 2.0: Irregular Warfare in the Information Age argues that two intimately connected trends are putting modern armies under huge pressure to adapt: the rise of insurgencies and the rise of the Web. Both in cyberspace and in warfare, the grassroots public has assumed increasing importance in recent years. After the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, Web 2.0 rose from the ashes. This newly interactive and participatory form of the Web promotes and enables offline action. Similarly, after Rumsfeld's attempt to transform the US military into a lean, lethal, computerized force crashed in Iraq in 2003, counterinsurgency rose from the ashes. Counterinsurgency is a social form of war - indeed, the US Army calls it armed social work - in which the local matrix population becomes the center of strategic gravity and public opinion at home the critical vulnerability.

The New Counterinsurgency Era: Transforming the US Military for Modern Wars - David H. Ucko.

Confronting insurgent violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US military has recognized the need to "re-learn" counterinsurgency. But how has the Department of Defense with its mixed efforts responded to this new strategic environment? Has it learned anything from past failures? In The New Counterinsurgency Era, David Ucko examines DoD's institutional obstacles and initially slow response to a changing strategic reality.

Journey into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda - Thomas P. Odom.

In July 1994, Thomas P. Odom was part of the US Embassy team that responded to the Goma refugee crisis. He witnessed the deaths of 70,000 refugees in a single week. In the previous three months of escalating violence, the Rwandan genocide had claimed 800,000 dead. Now, in this vivid and unsettling new book, Odom offers the first insider look at these devastating events before, during, and after the genocide.

Joker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage - Donovan Campbell.

Donovan Campbell, first as a Marine and then as a writer, shows us that the dominant emotion in war isn’t hatred or anger or fear. It’s love. His story stands as a poignant tribute to his men–their courage, their dedication, their skill, and their love for one another, even unto death.

The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America's Power and Purpose - Anthony Zinni and Tony Koltz

The intellectual complement to Zinni and Clancy's bestselling Battle Ready (2004), a narrative memoir salted with specific policy recommendations, this volume provides the former US Central Command chief's analysis of America's current global position. Zinni begins by asserting that America's status as "the most powerful nation in the history of the planet" has created a de facto empire. The US has no choice: if it fails to take the lead, nothing significant happens. At the same time, Americans must recognize that, in a global age, there can be no zero-sum games.

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education - Craig Mullaney

The Unforgiving Minute is the ultimate's soldier's book - universal in its raw emotion and its understanding of the larger issues of life and death. Mullaney, a master storyteller, plunges the depths of self-doubt, endurance, and courage. The result: a riveting, suspenseful human story, beautifully told. This is a book written under fire - a lyrical, spellbinding tale of war, love, and courage. The Unforgiving Minute is the Three Cups of Tea of soldiering.

Great Powers: America and the World after Bush - Thomas P.M. Barnett

In civilian and military circles alike, The Pentagon’s New Map became one of the most talked about books of 2004. “A combination of Tom Friedman on globalization and Carl von Clausewitz on war, [it is] the red-hot book among the nation’s admirals and generals,” wrote David Ignatius in The Washington Post. Barnett’s second book, Blueprint for Action, demonstrated how to put the first book’s principles to work. Now, in Great Powers, Barnett delivers his most sweeping - and important - book of all.

The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One - David Kilcullen

A remarkably fresh perspective on the War on Terror. Kilcullen takes us "on the ground" to uncover the face of modern warfare, illuminating both the big global war (the "War on Terrorism") and its relation to the associated "small wars" across the globe: Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Chechnya, Pakistan and North Africa.

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.