| Small Wars Journal

An article in Saturday’s New York Times asserted that policymakers in Washington have settled on a new favorite technique to fight terrorists – the missile-firing Predator drone. Last week’s killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen showed, according to the Times, “a cheap, safe and precise tool to eliminate enemies. It was also a sign that the decade-old American campaign against terrorism has reached a turning point … Disillusioned by huge costs and uncertain outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has decisively embraced the drone, along with small-scale lightning raids like the one that killed Osama bin Laden in May, as the future of the fight against terrorist networks.”

In my Foreign Policy column later this week, I will explore what the drone strategy will mean for the Pentagon’s plans. Here, I assert that the drone strikes, along with special operations raids, have become the policymaker’s best friend because they allow these policymakers to show the world that they have the power to strike spectacularly against their terrorist adversaries, something that was in doubt at the beginning of the war. Successful drone strikes and raids are now putting Washington in the lead in the battle over perceptions.

With their attacks on targets ranging from the World Trade Center and Pentagon to brand label hotels, terror planners have revealed their preference for spectacle and symbolism. Washington’s drone strikes and special operations raids are useful at a practical level. But they have now become more important as symbolic acts, showing that the United States government really can strike at adversaries who may have once believed they could torment the West while remaining invisible. Washington’s policymakers have been anxious to show they are not impotent against iconic figures like bin Laden and Awlaki. The Predator drone, supported by a vast intelligence effort, has delivered the potency and relevance these policymakers have longed for.

In order to show they are dominant in the struggle against terrorists, Washington policymakers are attempting to “gain and maintain spectacle superiority.” Washington will achieve the perception that it is winning the war when it achieves more spectacular drone and special operations strikes than do the terrorists. The logical limit will be the killing of all of the most infamous terror figures, with the top of that list currently held by Ayman al Zawahiri. Some have argued that U.S. policymakers should leave Zawahiri in place -- as an allegedly poor and divisive leader, he is thought by some to be more harmful to al Qaeda alive than dead. But the logic of “spectacle superiority” argues that Zawahiri must get a Hellfire missile if only to show the world that no one can escape the CIA’s grasp.

As already noted, there were practical benefits to the strikes against bin Laden and Awlaki. The bin Laden raid resulted in a massive intelligence haul. The strike on Awlaki removed a potentially effective recruiter of “lone wolf” attackers inside the United States. Beyond these effects, the counterterrorism benefits of these and other strikes are much more diffuse and difficult to measure. In the long run, the TIDE database, maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center and supported by interagency and international cooperation, is the most important defense against terror attacks and provides more tangible security than kinetic action overseas. Even so, policymakers in Washington will deem it essential to win the war of perceptions over terrorism, if only to preserve their reputational power.

Killing the last of the notables al Qaeda figures could prompt Washington to declare victory. However, the war won’t be over – the next generation of al Qaeda figures may adapt by to the drone campaign by striving to keep their al Qaeda affiliations secret. Al Qaeda operational security may improve while recruiting and fund-raising for a then completely anonymous organization would undoubtedly suffer. U.S. drone strikes and raids, many also secret, would continue as an increasingly hidden war goes on.

If this describes the end-game, Washington stands likely to win the war of perception, especially if al Qaeda fails to mount another large-scale spectacle inside the United States. Predator drones, supported by an army of intelligence analysts, have gained the initiative and are winning the war of perceptions over al Qaeda. Policymakers in Washington, who live and die in the world of perceptions, should be grateful.

3 October SWJ Roundup

US Naval Institute Daily - USNI

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, West and Allies Fight a Murky Foe - LAT

Americans Raid Byways of Haqqani Insurgents - NYT

Government Ties Killing of ex-President to Pakistan - WT

'Pakistani' Killed Afghan Peace Envoy - BBC

Afghanistan Says Rabbani's Killer Was Pakistani - Reuters

Haqqanis Deny Killing Rabbani - BBC

Afghanistan Urges Pakistan to Take Steps for Peace - AP

Afghan Women Risk Most in Peace Talks - TS

'Threat' to Afghan Women's Rights - BBC

Afghan Bank Crisis Jeopardizes Aid - WP

Bomb Blasts in Southern Afghanistan Kill 3 - AP

Pakistan

Pakistan Denies Involvement in Rabbani Assassination - VOA

Spy Agency Role in Afghan Negotiator's Slaying Denied - LAT

Pakistan Denies Spy Agency Tied to Rabbani Assassination - S&S

Pakistan Denies Spy Agency Tied to Afghan Killing - AP

Angry Pakistan Rejects Afghan Charges on Rabbani - Reuters

Pakistan’s Thousands of Missing - WP

Dreaded Militant Hit Squad Goes Rogue in Pakistan - Reuters

Israel / Palestinians

Israel Accepts Quartet Proposal to Resume Peace Talks - VOA

Israel Supports Proposal to Restart Mideast Talks - NYT

Israel Welcomes Peace Talks Plan - WP

Israelis and Palestinians Embrace Only Parts of Initiative - LAT

Palestinians Accuse Israel of Trickery - TT

Israel Backs Mideast Talks Plan, With Reservations - AP

Panetta to Arrive in Israel to Discuss Iran Nuclear Program - Haaretz

Panetta Warns Israel Against Growing Isolation - AP

Panetta Encourages Peace Talks - LAT

Mosque Torched in Israel; Extremists Suspected - AP

Libya

Libyans Launch Efforts to Stop Deadly Weapons Flow - McClatchy

Civilians Flee Sirte, Red Cross Takes Medicines Into City - TT

Fighting Halts Red Cross Mission Into Libya's Sirte - Reuters

Dire Conditions in Libya Siege City Hospital - VOA

Shortages 'Killing Patients' in Libya Siege Hospital - Reuters

Gaddafi Loyalists Stranded as Battle for Sirte Rages - TT

Hundreds of Civilians Flee Sirte - BBC

Migrants Evacuated From Libyan City to Chad - AP

Many in Sirte Don't Trust Revolutionary Forces - LAT

Libyan 'Revolutionary Jew' to Restore Synagogue - NYT

Gadhafi Son Denies Interpol Allegations - AP

Syria

Opposition Groups Create National Council to 'Overthrow' Assad - VOA

Syrian Dissidents Form Council to Unite Groups - WP

Syria Dissidents Form United Bloc - BBC

Syria Opposition Launches National Council - AP

Assad Opponents Unite and Ask World for Help - Reuters

Syrian Lawmaker Criticizes Opposition Council - AP

Yemen

US Faces Dilemma with Anti-Terror Ally Yemen - VOA

One Islamist Is Dead, but the Battle Goes On - NYT

25 Yemeni Troops Killed by Apparent Friendly Fire, Militants - VOA

Yemeni Jet Bombs Army Post, Killing 30 Soldiers - AP

Yemen 'Air Strike' Kills Troops - BBC

Yemeni Warplane Mistakenly Bombs Soldiers, Officials Say - Reuters

Yemen Says 1,480 Killed Since Beginning of Unrest - DPA

Official: Al-Qaida Bomb Maker Not Killed in Drone Strike - AP

Egypt

Egyptian Military Leader Unfazed by Growing Anger - LAT

In Egypt, Concessions by Military on Politics - NYT

Military Rulers Back Down on Election Law, Concerns Persist - CSM

Egypt Offers Poll Law Concession - BBC

Parties Retract Boycott Threat After Army Concessions - Reuters

Egypt Head Denies Order to Shoot - BBC

Egypt's Ruler Denies Army Told to Shoot Protesters - AP

US Met With Egypt’s Islamists - Reuters

Middle East / North Africa

Bombs Kill 4 Anti-Al-Qaida Fighters in Iraq - AP

At Least 13 Killed After Iraqi Hostage Siege - Reuters

Saudi Arabia Tries Seven Al Qaeda-Linked Suspects - Reuters

Bahrain Lawyer: 14 Sentenced to Life in Slaying - AP

UAE Democracy Advocates Refuse to Appear in Court - TT

Case Against UAE Insider Stuns Political Activists - AP

Don't Fear Us: Tunisian Islamist Leader - Reuters

Morocco Dismantles New Militant Cell - AP

Moderation, Saudi-Style - NR opinion

Al Qaeda / Terrorism

Al-Awlaki’s Killing Seen as Major Blow - WT

Panetta: Al-Qaida Deaths Hurt Plans for Attacks - AP

Al-Awlaki’s Just Demise - NR editorial

US Department of Defense

Economy to Be a Challenge for New Military Chief - NYT

Soldier Not Guilty in Iraq Slaying - KDH

A Broader GI Bill - NYT editorial

United States

Cheney Says Obama Owes Apology to Bush - WP

DHS Tries to Shore Up Nation’s Cyber Defenses - WP

New ATF ‘Fast and Furious’ Docs Released by White House - CBS

Anti-Wall Street Group to Continue Protests After Mass Arrests - VOA

Occupy Wall Street Protest 'People Claiming Some Autonomy' - CSM

Obama’s Drone Danger - WP opinion

Africa

At Least 18 Killed in Nigeria Village Assault - VOA

19 Killed in Communal Clashes in North Nigeria - AP

ICC to Probe Ivory Coast Killings - BBC

Hague Court to Investigate Ivory Coast Election - Reuters

Kenyan Police Arrest 1 After French Kidnapping - AP

Anger Flares at Kenya Kidnapping Response - Reuters

Cameroon: 126 Arrested Over Independence Protest - AP

Guinea President Renews Offer of Talks After Riots - Reuters

Zimbabwe's Mugabe in Singapore for Check-Up - Reuters

Americas

Mexico, US Border: Crossing Over, and Over - NYT

Study: Colombia Anti-Union Violence Undeterred - AP

Guatemalans Live in Fear Again as Drug Gangs Move In - Reuters

Jamaican PM Says Scandal Over Drug Lord Took Toll - Reuters

Asia Pacific

The US Politics of Dealing With China - WSJ

China Gaining Upper Hand in Friendship With Russia - Reuters

Why China Won't Conquer the World - TT

China's Bullet Trains Trip on Technology - WSJ

Malaysian Leader Launches Security Law Overhaul - AP

Filipino Militants Free US Woman, Still Hold Son - AP

Filipinos Still Trapped on Roofs; Typhoons Kill 59 - AP

Europe

Europe's Leaders Weakened When Bold Action Needed - Reuters

Cameron Calls for 'Urgent' Action on European Debt Crisis - VOA

Russia: Putin’s Return Could Strain ‘Reset’ with West - WT

Russia 'Gave Agents License to Kill' - TT

Watch Out for Putin, and Russia - LAT opinion

Greece to Miss Targets on Deficit - BBC

Toil and Trouble Over the Caldron That Is Greece - NYT

Spanish Judge Frees 5 Terror Suspects - VOA

Spain Judge Frees 5 Suspected of Financing Terror - AP

Germany Detains Four Men Suspected of Unification Day Plot - Reuters

Serbia Police Detain 6 Suspected Extremists - AP

Belarus Opposition Candidate Freed From Prison - AP

South Asia

India: Sense of Vindication as US-Pakistan Relations Deteriorate - LAT

India: Gandhi Prayer Ends Public Absence - BBC

Bangladesh Indicts Islamic Leader for War Crimes - AP

Gas Field Found Off Sri Lanka Coast - BBC

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Gangs and Guerrillas

The Fall issue of The Culture and Conflict Review is now available, and I wanted to highlight one specific article that culminates several years of study and collaboration between local police forces and military officers comparing and contrasting domestic gangs/drug issues in Salinas, CA with modern counterinsurgency efforts.

Domestic Insights: Gangs and Guerrillas: Ideas from Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism,

Edited by Michael Freeman and Hy Rothstein

Can counter insurgency strategies be used to fight urban gangs? This question was discussed
in a conversation between the Mayor of Salinas, the Provost of the Naval Postgraduate
School and Representative Sam Farr. It became apparent during that discussion that there
were many similarities between insurgent behavior and gang behavior—similarities that
would make a more rigorous analysis worthwhile.

These similarities are readily apparent when reading General Petraeus’s counterinsurgency
guidance for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan (see Appendix I). In his list of twentyfour
“rules,” many of them resonate, but especially the following: secure and serve the
population; live among the people; help confront the culture of impunity; hold what we
secure; foster lasting solutions; consult and build relationships, but not just with those who
seek us out; walk; act as one team; be first with the truth; fight the information war aggressively;
manage expectations; and live our values. Ultimately, these guidelines intend to reach
the same end state as urban policing does: a safe and secure population.

With this theme in mind, the faculty of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval
Postgraduate School, experts in counterinsurgency operations, were enlisted to address
these similarities and to share their theories, models, and ideas from their own disciplines of
political science, sociology, anthropology, international relations, and more. This collection
of short papers is the result.

The goal of this project is to share the ideas developed to fight insurgents and terrorists and
see if they can be adapted or modified to help the people of Salinas think about their city’s
problem with gangs in an innovative way. Consequently, each chapter is intentionally left
short, as they are intended to stimulate thought more than fully explain any one model or
theory. The direct application of each chapter’s concept is left to the reader.

While this project was put together for Salinas’s use, the ideas developed in these short
papers will be useful not only for the city of Salinas but also for other cities combating gang
violence.

Contributors

John Arquilla, Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Leo Blanken, Assistant Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Doug Borer, Associate Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Dorothy Denning, Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Sean Everton, Assistant Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Michael Freeman, Assistant Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Brian Greenshields, Senior Lecturer, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Heather Gregg, Assistant Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Rebecca Lorentz, Research Associate, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Gordon McCormick, Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Matthew Peterson, Lieutenant Commander, US Navy, Masters Student in the Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Hy Rothstein, Senior Lecturer, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Kalev Sepp, Senior Lecturer, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Anna Simons, Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
David Tucker, Associate Professor, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School
Steve Twing, Professor, Department of Political Science, Frostburg State University
Greg Wilson, Colonel, US Army, Special Operations Forces Chair, Defense Analysis Department, Naval Postgraduate School

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 2

Colombian Intelligence (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad - DAS) Compromised by Drug Traffickers¹

Intelligence Pulse: On 18 September 2011, the newspaper Semana obtained records of the identities of all 6,800 DAS (Colombian intelligence) officials, including undercover agents and their missions, and noted that thousands of intelligence documents were also leaked. The current director of the DAS confirmed the leaks, stating that DAS officials who stole information sold it for personal profit. Semana alleges that the intelligence was passed on to various drug kingpins. President Santos has said he plans the closure of DAS by November 2011.¹

Analysis: While this note may not specifically pertain to the Mexican cartels, it has been included in this series to show the need for robust OPSEC (operational security) and counter-intelligence programs for Western Hemispheric nations threatened by cartel and gang threats. The government of Colombia is considered very sophisticated in responding to these threats given its initial experiences with the Medellin and Cali cartels dating back to the 1980s. This incident represents a severe blow to Colombian intelligence gathering and covert operations capabilities.² Further, well known linkages exist between the narcotics traffickers and criminal groups in Mexico and Colombia and their sharing of intelligence gathering tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Similar threat potentials directed at Mexican and American intelligence organizations focused on the Mexican cartels and the criminal insurgencies taking place in their own respective territories must be considered. These potentials exist for all areas of Mexico and increasingly throughout the US with major threat concentrations in Texas and within the border zones of California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Notes

1. This intelligence pulse— originally titled “Colombia - DAS officials leak intelligence to drug traffickers for profit” — was provided with the permission of Samuel Logan, Director, Southern Post (www.southernpulse.com), and a SWJ El Centro Fellow.

2. Additional reporting suggests that most of this information was leaked in 2009 and that the ongoing breach of security at DAS has continued. See Travis Mannon, “Colombia’s intelligence chief takes responsibility for massive information leak.” Colombia Reports. Monday, 19 September 2011, http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/19057-colombias-intelligence-chief-assumes-responsibility-over-massive-information-leak.html.

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Book Review: The Mission, The Men, and Me

The Mission, The Men, and Me

by Pete Blaber

Published by New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 324 pages, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-425-23657-4 Paperback $15.00

In a time when military officers take leadership cues from Chinese sages, business executives and football coaches, it's clear that notions of leadership are diverse, if not confused. That’s why it is illuminating to read a book containing practical leadership maxims written by a man who has commanded at every level of 1^st SFOD-D (Delta) during campaigns from the Balkans to Iraq and Afghanistan. In The Mission, The Men and Me, Pete Blaber presents his hard-won principles of leadership and illustrates them with intense personal stories and accounts of leadership amidst chaotic modern warfare. The leadership principles ring true and have a commonsense appeal. Also, the “peek behind the curtain” look at Delta should please fans of special operations.

Blaber’s first principle is also the title of the book -- the “three Ms” of leadership. This list of priorities should be familiar to anyone who has served. The Mission comes first, followed by the welfare of the Men. The leader’s welfare, promotion, and career must come last. Blaber puts the Mission and the Men first in Tikrit, Iraq, as Delta battles a large force of Saddam loyalists just prior to the capture of Saddam. It is interesting that his examples of this principle usually included the Delta Commander standing up to a senior officer when the Mission and the Men are on the line. Despite threats, his career remained intact, the missions were accomplished and his men lived to fight another day.

He follows the “three Ms” of leadership with some less conventional gems: “Always listen to the guy on the ground;” “It’s not reality unless it’s shared;” “When in doubt, develop the situation.”

These leadership ideas and their examples seem to be tailor-made for military commanders in the information age. In fact, some of the most memorable lessons learned in this book are rooted in modern dilemmas like tactically-focused Generals, overreliance on technology, information overload, and information-sharing challenges. His treatise on command and control is on point: Many leaders hear, but do not listen to the guy on the ground. “The guy on the ground” is a metaphor for an individual who is physically interacting with their environment. They are the best source of information about the reality of the situation on the ground. Readers of the book will experience total frustration as General Officers ignore the guy on the ground and micromanage tactical operations from air-conditioned offices thousands of miles away. Blaber says that doesn’t turn out well.

The guy on the ground is not given a free pass either. Blaber points out that they are responsible for communicating their tacit knowledge: “It’s not reality unless it is shared.” This means that without communicating or operationalizing tacit knowledge, it doesn’t do any good. He further trumpets the importance of information sharing by declaring that “need to share” is the most important label any file can have. Participants at the 2010 Joint Warfighting Conference agreed. This annual event brings military and industry leaders from 21 nations together to shape future military strategy and warfighting platforms. They named improving information-sharing as a top priority—nearly nine years after Blaber had carried out his first operations in Afghanistan, and thirty years after the same lesson was learned in Delta’s first mission, Operation EAGLE CLAW.

In another head nod to the importance of information in combat, the author urges leaders to take action to find information: “When in doubt, develop the situation.” He contends that while information technology is a great asset, intelligence based on “snapshots of reality, frozen in the past” are not sufficient. The best information is real-time situational awareness based on what is actually happening on the ground right now. As such, it is vital to study and interact with the operational environment. Anyone who uses the management-by-walking-around (MBWA) strategy can appreciate the value of developing the situation. MBWA — in which leaders get out into the trenches and engage with the workforce — was put in to practice by technology giant Hewlett Packard in the 1940s and was made famous in the 1980s by business guru and best-selling author Tom Peters. The basic idea is that nothing is more instructive than seeing what actually transpires in the real world and learning from it.

Blaber’s many ideas about information and command are complimented by his theories on planning and decision-making. His number one decision-making recommendation is to focus on pattern recognition, because “patterns reveal how the real world works.” The idea that life and history repeats itself can be used to understand and master the future. He goes so far as to say the "most effective weapon on any battlefield is our mind's ability to recognize life's underlying patterns." To succeed at pattern recognition, the mind must be saturated with facts about the situation on the ground. Then, time must be taken to incubate so that patterns can be recognized. Finally, when the ‘Eureka’ moment happens and the pattern is illuminated, courage is needed to act upon it. This process is reminiscent of the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act), and it is used to great effect by Delta. In a chapter titled “Gorilla Warfare,” (that’s right-- ‘gorilla’) Delta uses pattern recognition and a costume to catch a high value target.

While it contains some historical details, readers looking for information regarding the origin, training regimens, or specific tactics used by Delta may not be fully satisfied by this book. For a less leadership-oriented, but more organizationally-focused view of Delta, readers should consider Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit co-written by Delta’s founder, Colonel Charlie Beckwith and Donald Knox. For an outstanding compliment to this book, readers should also consider Not a Good Day to Die by Sean Naylor. It provides context as to the role Blaber played in Operation Anaconda.

For a book on leadership, The Mission, The Men and Me is absorbing and well-written by someone who has led under difficult circumstances. Blaber layers the book with characters, humor, and leadership lessons that are reinforced with every good (and bad) command decision made. Judging by the reviews in book, its leadership principles appeal to a broad range of people. A CEO of a large corporation and a Chief Scientist wrote rave reviews. President Barack Obama is said to have read this book and Pete Blaber is still applying these principles as an executive in the world’s largest biotechnology company. Junior officers and Noncommisioned officers will benefit from reading about how Blaber applied his leadership philosophy in the field. The book is compelling because it emphasizes leadership principles that have withstood the test of time and adds new principles needed for leading and Commanding in the information age. Blaber’s book should be labeled, “need to share.”

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The Once and Future War

The Once and Future War

A conversation with Major General Jonathan Shaw, CBE

David Andelman, World Politics Journal

I would start by rejecting the language of “cyberwar,” because it is actually war pursued in cyberspace. I recognize that’s the way it is often phrased. Certainly, if you own Richard’s [Richard Clarke, a counterterrorism adviser under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush] book, Cyber War, it is a much sexier, eye-catching way of grabbing politicians’ attention. I define cyber as having to do with networked computers, and cyberspace as an information-space created by networked computers. “Cyberspace” is a manmade construct, which itself sits within the environment of the electromagnetic spectrum.

This environment is just another medium of delivery. It is similar in some ways to the land, air, and sea environments. The major difference is that cyberspace is not bounded by geography. So cyberwar, cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and cyberespionage are new—but only new insofar as they are new ways of waging war, crime, terrorism, or espionage. And so, it goes back to cyber just being part of a broader concept of warfare—the Chinese idea of unrestricted warfare. It’s just another tool for governments to use. What I see is a blurring of the distinctions between war and peace and what is civilian and what is military. I don’t really like this idea of cyberwar as a phraseology. It puts the emphasis too much on making the operations separate from mainstream activities, whereas we feel it is just another tool in our golf bag of capabilities.

2 October SWJ Roundup

US Naval Institute Daily - USNI

Afghanistan

Karzai: Talking Peace With Taliban Futile - VOA

Karzai Gives Up on Taliban Talks - BBC

Afghan Leader Gives Up Trying to Talk to Taliban - AP

Top Haqqani Leader Captured in Afghanistan - VOA

NATO Says It Caught a Haqqani Clan Leader - NYT

Senior Militant Leader in Afghanistan Caught - LAT

Top Afghanistan Militant Captured - BBC

Senior Haqqani Leader Captured in Afghanistan - Reuters

Hundreds of Afghans Hold Anti-Pakistan Protest - AP

Afghan Prisons, Locked in Failure - WP opinion

Pakistan

Could Pakistan Dump US for 'All-Weather Friend' China? - LAT

US Struggles to Chart Fresh Course With Pakistan - Reuters

US Missiles Kill Pakistani Militant Commander - AP

Dreaded Militant Hit Squad Goes Rogue in Pakistan - Reuters

Kabul Hands Pakistan Evidence on Peace Envoy Killing - Reuters

Pakistani Is Sentenced in Killing of Governor - NYT

Taseer Killer Sentenced to Death - BBC

Militants Kidnap Pakistan Miners - BBC

Don't Give Up on Pakistan - LAT editorial

Talk to, Not at, Pakistan - WP opinion

Israel / Palestinians

Israeli Settlement Plans Decried - WP

Palestinians Say US Pressure Over UN Bid 'Unfair' - AP

Iran Assails Two-State Solution for Palestinians - AP

Israeli Air Strike Wounds Three Palestinians in Gaza - Reuters

Libya

AFRICOM Commander: NATO Mission Could End Soon - AP

Sirte Medical Needs 'Desperate' - BBC

Notorious Libya Prison Now Symbol of Kadafi Era - LAT

Syria

Key Syrian City Takes On Tone of Civil War - NYT

Syrian Army 'Controls Rebel Town' - BBC

Syrian Troops Overcome Rebel Town - AP

Yemen

Al-Qaeda in Yemen Still Poses a Threat - WP

Yemen Notes Its Own Role in US Attack on Militant - NYT

Bomb Maker for Al Qaeda May be Dead in Drone Strike - LAT

Officials: Drone Likely Killed Saudi Terrorist - AP

Yemeni Soldiers Killed in al-Qaida Raid - VOA

Yemeni Jet Mistakenly Bombs Army Post, Kills 30 - AP

Yemen After Awlaki - LAT opinion

Egypt

Egypt's New Democrats Ready to Defend Nile - VOA

Egypt Offers Poll Law Concession - BBC

Egypt Military Proposes Schedule for Leaving Power - AP

Egypt Police Clear Tahrir Square of Protesters - Reuters

Middle East / North Africa

As West Celebrates a Cleric’s Death, Mideast Shrugs - NYT

Iraq Car Bomb Kills 17 at Funeral Near Hillah - LAT

Saudi Cleric Discontent After Women's Rights Move - Reuters

Bahrain Medics Seek UN Probe of Prison Sentences - AP

Campaign Begins for Tunisia Polls - BBC

Landmark Tunisian Election Campaign Kicks Off - AP

Iran's Growing Bluster Spells Danger - LAT opinion

Al Qaeda / Terrorism

Strike Reflects U.S. Shift to Drones in Terror Fight - NYT

US Warns of Possible Retaliation over al-Awlaki Killing - CNN

Awlaki Killing Sparks US Warning - BBC

Aulaqi is First Hit for New Drone Base - WP

Drones Weapon of Choice for Obama War on al-Qaida - AP

Antiterror Measures at Home - NYT editorial

Anwar Awlaki: Targeted for Death - LAT editorial

Awlaki, the Model Moderate Muslim - WT editorial

Anwar al-Aulaqi is Dead - WP opinion

An Illegal and Counterproductive Assassination - NYT opinion

US Department of Defense

Dempsey Outlines Key Themes in Letter to Troops - AFPS

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin Nominated to be Army Vice Chief of Staff - FO

Commanders Looking for Savings Through Consolidation, Cuts - S&S

NM University to Help Develop New UAV - MT

US Department of State

State Department Reeling from Budget Cuts - WP

United States

Supreme Court to Consider Federal Power - WP

Hundreds Of Anti-Wall Street Protestors Arrested in New York - VOA

Strange Sorority Fixation was Link that Led to Anthrax Suspect - CNN

United Kingdom

Army Experts Defuse Bomb in Center of Belfast - AP

Africa

Democracy Steadily Takes Root in Africa - NPR

Nigerian President Pledge to Secure Country - VOA

Nigeria Sect Kills 2 at Wedding With Bomb - AP

Somali Gunmen Abduct Elderly Tourist in Kenya - NYT

French Woman Kidnapped in Kenya - BBC

Kidnappers Escape Kenyan Flotilla, Flee to Somalia - VOA

Thousands of Displaced People Face Eviction in Ivory Coast - VOA

Rwanda Genocide Ministers Jailed - BBC

Zambia Anti-corruption Boss Fired - BBC

Americas

Armed Attackers Say Warriors for Mexico - HC

2 Powerful Cartels Dominate in Mexico Drug War - AP

Perry Suggests Sending US Troops to Mexico - DMN

Perry: Send US Troops to Mexico - BBC

Bolivia Amazon Road March Resumes - BBC

Asia Pacific

Radical Muslim Group Expands in Asia, Targets Educated - AP

Reports Say Tibetans Protest in Southwest China - AP

Jailed China Nobel Winner's Wife Still Silenced - AP

Indonesia: Arrest over Java Church Bombing - BBC

Indonesia Arrests a Most-Wanted Muslim Militant - AP

Philippines Hit by Second Typhoon in Week, 1 Dead - VOA

Europe

Russians Work with EUCOM, NATO on Crisis Response - S&S

Sarkozy to Meet Merkel in Coming Days on Greece - Reuters

Russia: Putin Leaves Tough Jobs to Medvedev in Switch - LAT

Support Organization for Basque Group ETA Disbands - AP

Bulgaria anti-Roma Rally in Sofia - BBC

South Asia

Protests Shut Down Indian State - BBC

Nepal: A Maoist in Manhattan - WP opinion

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Book Review: Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography

Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography

by M. Sukru Hanioglu.

Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 254 pages, 2011.

Reviewed by Youssef Aboul-Eniem

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, will always remain a subject of fascination and study. He packs many controversies, convictions, and ideologies in his quest to preserve the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and transform it into the Republic of Turkey. Professor Hanioglu teaches at Princeton, and has written a deep intellectual expose of Ataturk (a name meaning Father of the Turks), it is a synthesis of many ideas from eastern and western sources that culminate into his worldview. Mustafa Kemal was born in Salonica, current Greece in 1881, and the book’s first chapters deal with his parents disagreements over what type of education he should receive, his father preferred a secular education, his mother a religious one. His father, Ali Riza, a minor bureaucrat, understood the value of modern education that encouraged critical thinking instead of rote memorization. After his death he defied his mother, and enrolled into a military preparatory school that would launch his career into the military.

At the Royal Military Academy, Mustafa Kemal would be exposed to world of ideas and the French defeat by Prussia in 1870, led a renewed interest among Turkish Ottoman military thinkers in German military instruction. Among the German officers who would influence a new generation of Ottoman officers laying the seeds for the Young Turks was Colmar von der Goltz. The German wrote the “Das Volk in Waffen,” (The Nation in Arms) in 1860, the central thesis of the book was since war was inevitable, and required the mobilization of the nation, then a military elite must go beyond its traditional role as guide the ship of state. The young Mustafa Kemal would be a keen observer of the 1905 Japanese victory over the Russians. What distinguishes Mustafa Kemal from the other Young Turks who ran the country, was that while the Young Turks sought to modernize Ottomanism, Mustafa Kemal saw the future in preserving Turanism (the cultivation of a Turkish identity).

As a teenager Mustafa Kemal witnessed Bulgarian and Greek guerilla warfare in Macedonia and in 1912 as an officer saw his own home of Macedonia annexed by Greece in the First Balkan War. He would cultivate not only an appreciation for guerilla tactics, but understood the value of the historic narrative in asserting rights to a territory. The book un-packages the different ideas that Mustafa Kemal absorbed from French, German and Russian social and political thinkers some of it pseudo-science, like Social Darwinism. One concept highlighted is the German philosophy of the time Vulgarmaterialismus, an amalgam of materialism, scientism, and Darwinism that upheld the role of science in society.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk would be among the few successful military commanders amidst the decaying Ottoman Empire, and he would transform these battlefield successes into seizing control of a good portion of Anatolia, the land that it is not modern Turkey. From 1922, the end of the Turkish War of Independence, until his death in 1938 he created a new Republic. His creation of this new Republic would be influenced by a state in which religion would have no place in the public forum, a view inspired by some German philosophers and the French Revolution. This book matters today as some Egyptian army officers ponder the future of the country and see their understanding of Ataturk as a model. This is an insightful volume and highly recommended for those with an interest in the Middle East.

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