Petraeus Moves to Even More Complex Challenge - Al Pessin, Voice of America The top US commander in Iraq will leave his post Tuesday after a momentous year-and-a-half, during which he is widely...

SWJ was very fortunate to have worked with Colonel Steve Boylan, officially and off-line, during his tour as the chief spokesman for General Dave Petraeus at Multi-National Force -- Iraq. Short and...

Charlie Rose Show - A conversation with Thomas Friedman about his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head and wonder out loud (in this case blog) what the hell are they thinking? In this case the "they" is the readership of Phil Carter's Intel Dump over at The...

Can Counterinsurgency Win? - Daniel Pipes, Washington Times opinion When it comes to a state fighting a nonstate enemy, there is a widespread impression the state is doomed to fail. In 1968, Robert...

Linda Robinson, author of Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search For a Way Out of Iraq, in today's Washington Post. He Came, He Cut Deals, He (May) Conquer Iraq still divides...

A big supporter and great friend of SWJ has some news - his wife has written a novel - Tethered by Amy MacKinnon - that is receiving great reviews. Check it out at Jules Crittenden's Forward...

This Time, Things Are Looking Up by Dr. John Nagl, 14 September edition of The Washington Post When I retired from the Army in June, my comrades in arms laughed at my summer vacation plans: another...

The Endgame in Iraq - Jack Keane, Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan, Weekly Standard On September 16, General Raymond Odierno will succeed General David Petraeus as commander of US and coalition...

LTC Jim Crider commanded 1-4 Cavalry in Dora from February 2007 through March 2008; his soldiers conducted classic population control counterinsurgency and completely turned the security situation...

Marc Lynch, Brian Katulis, and Peter Juul have co-authored a new report entitled "Iraq's Political Transition After The Surge," exploring some of the political issues which continue to block national...

The Center for Strategic and International Studies has posted a number of short pieces written by CSIS scholars on the Russia-Georgia conflict and its broader implications. Additionally, CSIS...

Militias, Tribes and Insurgents: The Challenge of Political Reintegration in Iraq - David Ucko, Conflict, Security and Development Journal Fine analysis by longtime SWJ friend Dr. David Ucko, a...

9/11: One Story of Many by Tina Beller Sept. 11, 2001, was a horrific day for Americans. The sights of innocent men and women losing their lives are forever seared in the mind's eyes of our Nation...

The Petraeus Doctrine by Andrew J. Bacevich, The Atlantic, October 2008 issue. Iraq-style counterinsurgency is fast becoming the US Army's organizing principle. Is our military preparing to fight the...

Charlie Rose Show - A Conversation with Steve Coll of The New Yorker. Topics include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and General David Petraeus. Bio Steve Coll is President & CEO of New America...

The War Within - Washington Post series adapted from The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 by Bob Woodward. Part 1 - Doubt, Distrust, Delay. During the summer of 2006, from her...

Phil Carter has been on leave from one of our favorite blogs - Intel Dump - and we've missed his posts on foreign policy and national security issues. Phil will be returning - ETA November 08 - but...

Right at the Edge - Dexter Filkins, New York Times Late in the afternoon of June 10, during a firefight with Taliban militants along the Afghan-Pakistani border, American soldiers called in...

Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, Commander of Combined Joint Task Force-101 and Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, spoke via satellite with reporters at the Pentagon on 5 September...

Dangerous Thresholds: Managing Escalation in the 21st Century - Forrest E. Morgan, Karl P. Mueller, Evan S. Medeiros, Kevin L. Pollpeter and Roger Cliff, Rand Corporation Escalation is a natural...

The Defense Inheritance: Challenges and Choices for the Next Pentagon Team by Michí¨le A. Flournoy and Shawn Brimley, The Washington Quarterly The next U.S. commander in chief will face the...

Managing Foreign Policy and National Security Challenges in Presidential Transitions by Kurt M. Campbell and James B. Steinberg, The Washington Quarterly The process of transferring power from a...

Received via e-mail and posted to SWJ - The August 2008 Consortium for Complex Operations (CCO) Newsletter. The latest on the CCO. This edition of the newsletter includes information on a number of...

Iran: Assessing US Strategic Options - James N. Miller, Christine Parthemore, Kurt M. Campbell, Center for a New American Security Dealing with Iran and its nuclear program will be an urgent...

Counterinsurgency and Military Culture: State Regulars versus Non-State Irregulars by Robert M. Cassidy in the 2008 edition of the Baltic Security and Defence Review, the annual publication of the...

The September -- October 2008 issue of Military Review is now online. Lineup below. Multi-National Force-Iraq Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance - General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army General...

Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search For a Way Out of Iraq After a series of disastrous missteps in its conduct of the war, the White House in 2006 appointed General David...

Coalition in Afghanistan Completes Investigation Into Aug. 22 Engagement - American Forces Press Service BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2008 -- Intense enemy fire justified actions taken by...

Who said Army doctrine writers don't have a sense of humor? Well - okay - but this brought a smile to our small mugs. Kudos CADD and a hat tip to LTC Shawn Stroud for sending this along.