19 December News and Reports
Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq — DoD Quarterly Report
These reports are submitted to Congress pursuant to the section entitled “Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq” of House Conference Report 109-72 accompanying H.R. 1268, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005, Public Law 109-13.
Executive Roundtable for Economic Reconstruction – Proceedings Report
Organized at the request of Major General (sel.) John F. Kelly, Commanding General of I MEF (Fwd), this senior level roundtable was held over the course of two-days at Quantico, VA on September 19 and 20, 2007. It focused on interagency issues and private sector engagement. The roundtable featured an address by General James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, a briefing on the current status of II MEF (Fwd) from Major General (sel.) John Allen, Deputy Commanding General of Multi National Force — West, and a private sector initiatives address by Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation, Paul Brinkley. The roundtable also included presentations from the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, Commerce, Treasury, and Justice, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the NGO and IO community, and Washington Post reporter and author of “Fiasco” Tom Ricks.
Strategy Making Iraq Safer Snubbed for Years — USA Today
A change has swept across Iraq, and attacks using improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have declined steadily for eight months. Casualties from the bombs are at their lowest point since 2003, the first year of the war. Troops have seized twice as many weapons caches this year as they did all of last.
2007 Person of the Year Runner-up — Time Magazine
General David Petraeus has not failed, which, given the anarchy and pessimism of February, must be considered something of a triumph. The sketchy progress he has made is the result of equal parts luck and skill. The Sunni tribal revolt against the violent grip of Salafist extremists (most notably, al-Qaeda in Iraq) was already under way when Petraeus arrived. But he was smart enough to encourage and fund the Anbar Awakening, even though Iraq’s Shi’ite-dominated central government was opposed. The pacification of Anbar, the most violent province in 2006, has been the signal success of 2007.
Officer Retention: The Army’s Other Crisis — Washington Monthly
In the last four years, the exodus of junior officers from the Army has accelerated. In 2003, around 8 percent of junior officers with between four and nine years of experience left for other careers. Last year, the attrition rate leapt to 13 percent. “A five percent change could potentially be a serious problem,” said James Hosek, an expert in military retention at the RAND Corporation. Over the long term, this rate of attrition would halve the number of officers who reach their tenth year in uniform and intend to take senior leadership roles.
