Small Wars Journal Daily Roundup
Defense, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Economics, & More
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USNI Daily - Real Clear Defense - Real Clear World - The Daily Humanitarian
BBC - CNN World - CSM World - LAT World - NYT World - WP World - VOA
WP National Security - WT National Security - American Forces Press Service
Abu Muqawama - Air Force Times - Armed Forces Journal - AOL Defense - Army Times
At War - CSM Backchannels - Battleland - DEFCON Hill - Best Defense - Danger Room
Defense One - Defense Tech - DoD Buzz - The Diplomat - Clausewitz Homepage
Early Warning - Foreign Affairs - Foreign Policy - Fortuna’s Corner
Ground Force Dialogue - David Ignatius - Defense Tech
Early Warning Blog - Feral Jundi - Infinity Journal
Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners
Information Dissemination - The Interpreter - Kings of War - Long War Journal
Marine Corps Gazette - Marine Corps Times - Maritime Executive - Military Review
MountainRunner - National Defense - Navy Times - Parameters - RUSI
Security Clearance - Stars & Stripes - War on the Rocks - Warscapes - Wings Over Iraq
ZenPundit - CNA - CNAS - CSIS - ILW - ISW - Rand - TJF - USIP
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Veterans Day / Armistice Day 2013
Iraq, Afghanistan Change the Face of Veterans Day - Politico
President, VA Secretary Tout Veterans’ Sacrifices, Pledge Support - McClatchy
New York Honors Military on Veterans Day - VOA
WTC Families Unfurl Big US Flag at NYC Vets Parade - AP
WWII Vets Help Unveil Medal of Honor Postage Stamp - S&S
Tuskegee Airmen 'Red Tails' Pilots Honored with Florida Monument - VOA
Europe Commemorates End of World War I on Armistice Day - DPA
A Day by Many Names, Celebrated All the Same - S&S
Typhoon Haiyan
UN: 9.8 Million Affected by Typhoon Haiyan - VOA
Concerns Grow Over Pace of Aid to Victims in Philippines - NYT
Relief is Slow to Reach Victims of Philippine Storm - WP
Tons of Aid in Philippines, But Not Where Needed - AP
US Pledges $20 Million in Immediate Aid to Philippines - AP
US, Britain Sending Warships to Help Philippine Relief Efforts - VOA
Ships Head to Philippines Amid Devastation - BBC
Hagel Orders Aircraft Carrier, Ships to Philippines - AFPS
Marines Provide Disaster Response in Philippines - AFPS
USS George Washington, Marines Sent to Philippines for Relief - S&S
Japan to Send Self-Defense Forces to Philippine Typhoon Zone - Reuters
Filipinos in US Rally to Provide Aid in Wake of Deadly Typhoon - VOA
Emergency in the Philippines - WP Editorial
Philippine Typhoon Showcases US Strategic Edge Over China - BD Opinion
Everyone Hates U.S. Asia Bases Until Disaster Strikes - FP Opinion
Iran
UN, Iran Reach Nuclear Cooperation Deal - VOA
Iran to Give UN Agency More Access to Nuclear Sites - WP
Iran Says It Has Agreed to ‘Road Map’ With UN - NYT
Deal Struck on Wider UN Inspections of Iran Sites - AP
Iran Blames West for Talks Failure - BBC
Iranian Foreign Minister Blames West for Snag in Nuclear Talks - Reuters
Kerry: Delay in Deal Came from Iranian Side - WP
Kerry: Deal With Iran Was 'Extremely Close' - BBC
Kerry Pushes Back Against Israeli Criticism of Iran Nuclear Talks - VOA
After Near Miss on Iran, Kerry Says Diplomacy Is Still the Right Path - NYT
Top US Lawmakers Skeptical of Potential Iran Nuclear Pact - VOA
London Appoints Diplomat to Tehran - UPI
China's Pace at Oil Fields Frustrates Iran - UPI
Iran Nuclear Talks: Unfinished, But Alive - NYT Editorial
France Saves the West from a Bad Iran Deal - WSJ Editorial
Why France's Hard Line on Iran Is Smart Diplomacy - LM Editorial
The US Needs a Better Iran Deal - WP Editorial
A Doable Iran Deal - NYT Opinion
Only the U.S. Can Secure a Deal with Iran - RCW Opinion
Iran Was Never Ready to Deal on Nukes - CNN Opinion
Every Nation Is Just Posturing on Iran - NJ Opinion
A Different Israeli Take on Iran - LAT Opinion
Syria
Syria Rebels Recruiting Fighters at Refugee Camp in Jordan - AP
Leading Syrian Opposition Group Votes to Join Peace Talks - NYT
Assad Opponents Agree on Talks Position - BBC
Opposition Agrees to Peace Talks, With Conditions - WP
Syrian Troops, Rebels Clash South of Damascus - AP
US Department of Defense
Proposal Would Give DoD Year for Plan to Clean Up POW/MIA Agencies - S&S
Running and Gunning Over Blue Waters With the Riverines - S&S
Smarter Ways to Trim the Defense Budget - WP Opinion
United States
Spying Scandal Alters US Ties With Allies, Raises Talk of Policy Shift - NYT
Automatic Spending Cuts Would Bite More in 2014 - AP
The New War on al-Qaeda - Bloomberg Editorial
United Kingdom
US Honors PM Churchill With Statue Dedication - VOA
Scotland Courts Chinese Energy Companies - UPI
And So the 30-year Betrayal of Our Armed Forces Goes On - TT Opinion
United Nations
China, Russia in Line for Top UN Human Rights Body - AP
Africa
M23, Congolese Government Fail to Sign Peace Agreement - VOA
Congo Blames Mediator Uganda for Collapse of Rebel Talks - Reuters
Fight Isn't Over in DR Congo, Oxfam Warns - UPI
M23 Leader: DR Congo Needs Political, Not Military Solution - VOA
Uganda Says M23 Rebel Commander Not Under Arrest - AP
Mauritania Confronts Long Legacy of Slavery - NYT
UN Says Polio Vaccination Efforts Fail in Sudan - VOA
China to Boost Zimbabwe Electricity - BBC
Ivory Coast Opposition to International Court: Release Gbagbo - VOA
Officials: Up to 100 Killed in Somalia Cyclone - VOA
Don’t Save Congo - NYT Opinion
Americas / Caribbean
Venezuela 'to Expand Price Controls' - BBC
Asia / Pacific
China, US Armies to Begin Joint Disaster Exercise - AP
In China, Pro-Bo Party Not Seen a Threat, But a Demand for Rights - VOA
China Leaders Promise Bigger Role for Free Market - AP
Buddhist Monk Self-Immolates in Tibet Protest - VOA
Russia Sends Aid to North Korea - UPI
Japan Ex-Leaders Join Calls Against Nuclear Power - AP
Protests Escalate in Thailand, Rattling Govt & Raising Fears of Clashes - NYT
Thailand's Yingluck on Shaky Ground as Protests Gather Steam - Reuters
Thai Leader Issues Plea to End Protests - AP
Thai Senate Votes Down Amnesty Bill - VOA
World Court Awards Some Territory to Cambodia in Temple Dispute - VOA
ICJ Rules on Thai-Cambodian Temple Access Dispute - UPI
Cambodian Police Open Fire on Protesters; 1 Dead - AP
Buddhists in Burma Protest OIC's Upcoming Visit - AP
Ashton: EU Steady Partner for Burma - UPI
Europe
EU Clinches Deal on 2014 Budget - BBC
EU and US Resume Trade Deal Talks - BBC
Rising Russian Nationalism Sets Off Ethnic Tension - WP
Russia: Greenpeace Activists Arrive in St. Petersburg - AP
Far-right Rioters Leave Trail of Destruction in Polish Capital - VOA
Clashes Mar Poland Independence Day - BBC
Russia Demands Poland Apologize for Violence Against Embassy - Reuters
Russia Demands Polish Riot Apology - BBC
Lawyer for Ukraine Opposition Leader Is Questioned - NYT
Germany to Form Task Force on Looted Art - NYT
Bulgarian Police, Protesters Clash Near Parliament - AP
Croatian Police Arrest Top Businessman for Corruption - Reuters
Obama Has Lost Europe - WSJ Opinion
Middle East / North Africa
Anti-Terrorism Case in US Key Test for Israel - AP
Acquitted Israeli Politician Returns to Job as Foreign Minister - NYT
Lieberman Returns to Israel Cabinet - BBC
Single-Minded Islamic Jihad Grows in Gaza's Shadows - Reuters
Lebanese Pro-Hezbollah Cleric Killed in Drive-By Shooting - Reuters
Gunmen Assassinate Sunni Sheik in Lebanese City - AP
Yemen Sentences 9 for Arms Smuggling - AP
Egypt Plans Extra Stimulus by Year-end, Suez Canal Project - VOA
Egypt 'Worst in Arab Women's Rights' - BBC
Former Rebels in Libya Form Own Oil Company - NYT
Libya Calls on ‘People’ to Liberate Oil Sector - UPI
Libya's Gas Exports to Italy Halted by Protesters, Union Says - VOA
One Killed After Tunisia Police, Islamist Militants Clash - Reuters
Algeria Commits to Presidential Elections - UPI
The Future of Egypt’s Intelligence Service - WP Interview
America Has Nowhere to Go on Egypt - WP Opinion
South Asia
Militant Leader Is Killed in Pakistan - NYT
Pakistan: Senior Militant Leader Shot Dead in Islamabad - AP
US, Pakistani Officials to Discuss Energy Issues - UPI
Torture Claims Cast Shadow Over Sri Lanka's Commonwealth Summit - Reuters
Some Boycott Sri Lanka Commonwealth Meeting - VOA
Comments
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-10/news/43885805_1…
So, the old-fashioned cold warrior "Zbig-<em>ish</em>", "hang onto our favorite strategic asset" types kinda didn't understand the twenty-first century, policy-wise or military-wise, eh?
To be fair, the D.C. dove types always screw up understanding that part of the world too. Opposition to bad ideas is not the same as understanding the "whole of it", dear anti-interventionist peaceniks.
Remember to always look at the world through the habits and emotions you grew up on. Or not.
<blockquote>In 2009, the late Richard Holbrooke was appointed United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He swiftly became India’s bête noire, for trying to absorb the Kashmir dispute into his remit. The implication was that the road to peace in Kabul went through Kashmir: Pakistan’s hostility to India in Afghanistan, and therefore its support for the Taliban, was explained by Indian intransigence rather than Pakistan’s historic meddling.</blockquote>
http://www.caravanmagazine.in/perspectives/talking-taliban#sthash.mm6ce…
Imaginary person: So, you're saying that we should just turn on a dime and follow the Indians completely?
Madhu: When did I ever say that? Haven't I asked people to read American scholars that have written about the US in that part of the world, a scholarship that spans decades? Do you think Hussain Haqqani is the only person to write about these issues? But American foreign policy types can only hear certain truths when they come in a pleasing intellectual package. Strange phenomenon.
Imaginary person: And the U.S. military planners have historically had plans for "strategic" countries in that part of the world, but Galula sorta pushed that historical knowledge out the door, eh?
Madhu: AirSea Battle and China and"South Asian" strategic assets, is that what you are implying?
Imaginary person: Oh, stop, why do you do that? That region is rife with conspiracy theories to begin with. It's mostly ill-thought out muddle, you know that.
Madhu: I know. No, the point is that we have our own history, we can cultivate healthy relationships with more than one country, the sort of "bloc" building ticky-tacky "strategery" that D.C. is used to from decades of thinking this way is totally, what's the word?
Imaginary person: Idiotic?
Madhu: You said it, not me. At any rate, you know the US military and its intellectual cultures watching from afar. Dream worlds of the future must be nurtured over the realities of today.
Imaginary person: You're mean.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/senior-leader-of-haqqa…
<blockquote>U.S. officials have accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of supporting the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network to counter the influence of archenemy India in Afghanistan — an allegation denied by Islamabad.</blockquote>
Why use the word "archenemy" in a straight-up news article? Maybe journalists shouldn't follow the emotional habits and sensibilities of State Department "wallahs" of a certain age and a certain generation so closely?
"Whoever did this, just don't get Mullah Omar, we need someone to negotiate with!"
Ah, I'm just playin' intellectually. I have no idea. Wheels within wheels for the everyday folk, everywhere, all the time.
Remember this book reviewed around here?:
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/book-announcement-an-enemy-we-created-…
The curious thing about watching South Asian analysis as an outsider and non-academic is that everyone in that world seems to look at issues through the one "part of the elephant" that they touch. I do it too, that of an immigrant diasporan, but so few experts seem to do their jobs holistically, stepping back and arraying the "whole-of-it"? I guess lots do in reality, but I bet they are the quiet types, not the screeching think tank tweeters and so forth....I just can't let this go, can I?
(Nothing against the book or the authors that I linked, just wondering about the larger phenomenon, you know?)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/is-india-e…
I wonder if the Western SA analysts that were the most upset with the Indians/Afghans/certain Pakistani factions and others in the region realize how much their nonsense contributed to fears across the region and made other solutions more intractable? What difference does it make. They write one thing in 2011 and then something different in 2013 without so much as batting an eye.