by Stéphane Taillat

Foreign Policy

BLUF. The last two days have been murderous for the French contingent in Afghanistan; four paratroopers were killed in a suicide attack in the Surobi district, while a Special Forces soldier was killed during operations in the Alasay Valley, in the province of Kapisa.

The timing of these incidents was hardly accidental: The goal was to strike France and its army during the commemoration of the national and military holiday that is the "14 Juillet" known as Bastille Day in the Anglophone world. But these deaths also illustrate the growing engagement of French units in Afghanistan in more intense kinetic operations. The reconquest of Kapisa, a particularly sensitive region situated on a strategic axis and marked by 30 years of war, has been a particularly costly and difficult task, one that has required French forces to put into practice their tactical knowledge and understanding of "contre-insurrection" or what Americans call COIN.

Much more at Foreign Policy

A new study from the Center for Strategic Research finally reveals how the highly regarded but widely misunderstood Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) accomplishes its mission to disrupt illicit trafficking.

JIATF-South is widely applauded within the national security establishment for its amazing productivity. For example, it has accounted for more than 80 percent of all cocaine disruption by local, state and federal government entities in recent years, and it has done so using a wide array of interagency and international partners. With such a record it is not surprising that the organization is often cited as an inter-agency model to be emulated.

What is surprising, however-indeed stunning-is how poorly understood JIATF-South is. Despite all the plaudits, the organization has only received superficial analysis-until now.

Joint Interagency Task Force--South: The Best Known, Least Understood Interagency Success.

US Begins Drawdown of Troops from Afghanistan - AP

ISAF Needs to Maintain Momentum in Afghanistan, General Says - AFPS

Afghan Politicians Rethink Personal Security - WP

To Track Militants, US Has System That Never Forgets a Face - NYT

UN: Afghan Civilian Death Toll Up 15 Percent - AP

Huge Blast in E. Afghanistan Wounds 22 Coalition Troops - S&S

Suicide Attack Kills 5 French Troops in Afghanistan - VOA

Bomber Kills Five French Troops in Kapisa, Afghanistan - BBC

Bombing Kills 5 French Soldiers in Afghanistan - LAT

Karzai Buries Brother, Quickly Appoints Another as Successor - NYT

Afghan President Leads Mourners at Wali Karzai's Funeral - VOA

Karzai Attends Funeral for Half-Brother - WP

Afghan Leader Mourns Brother, Faces Void in South - AP

Karzai Weeps at Brother's Funeral - BBC

Blast Hits Mosque During Service for President's Relative - NYT

Bomber Targets Service for Afghan Leader's Brother - AP

Female Afghan Military Pilots Making History in US - AP

US Building Jails Across Afghanistan Despite Drawdown - DR

ISAF Operations Roundup - AFPS

Pakistan

Pakistan Spy Chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha in US Visit - BBC

US-Pakistanis Meet Amid Tension, Military Aid Cut - AP

CIA Vaccination Ruse Sparks Fear in Pakistan - AP

Fourteen Killed in Karachi Violence After Minister's Comments - Reuters

Pakistan's Middle Class Extremists - FA

India

Mumbai Blasts Kill 21 in Apparent Terrorist Attack - WP

3 Bombs Hit Crowded Sites in Mumbai - NYT

Three Explosions in Mumbai Kill at Least 21 - LAT

Three Blasts Kill at Least 21 in Mumbai - WT

Mumbai: Explosions Shake India's Financial Hub - BBC

3 Mumbai Bombings Minutes Apart Kill 21, Wound 141 - AP

Obama Condemns Mumbai Attacks, Offers Support - Reuters

Indian Officials Blame 'Terrorists' for Deadly Mumbai Blasts - VOA

India Says No Leads in Mumbai Bomb Attacks - AP

Q&A: Who Could Be Behind the Mumbai Blasts? - Reuters

Iraq

In Shadow of Death, Iraq and US Tiptoe Around Deadline - NYT

Feds Eye CIA Officer in Abu Ghraib Prisoner Death - AP

Syria

US President Sharpens Rhetoric Against Syria's Assad - VOA

Arab League Chief Slams 'Foreign Interference' in Syria - VOA

Syria Activists Say 8 Killed in Past 24 Hours - AP

Syrian Forces Arrest 30 in Damascus Protest - Reuters

Syrian Military Kills Four in Renewed Assaults - Reuters

Syria Calls Pipeline Explosion an Accident - NYT

Libya

Libya Rebels Desperately Short of Funds - LAT

Rebels Briefly Lose Control of Western Libyan Town - NYT

Libya Rebels Retake Village South of Tripoli - Reuters

Rights Group Calls on Libyan Rebels to Protect Civilians - VOA

Human Rights Watch: Rebels Abused Civilians - BBC

Rights Group: Libyan Rebels Loot Seized Towns - AP

Turkey Proposes 'Road Map' to End Libyan Crisis - AP

Rebels Deny Talks with Gadhafi - AP

Preparing for a New Libya - WP editorial

Iran

Russia Lays Out 'Step-By-Step' Approach on Iran - Reuters

The Rise and Fall of Iran's Ahmadinejad - WP opinion

Egypt

Egypt Purges Hundreds of Police Officers as Protests Grow - VOA

Egypt Purges Mubarak-Era Police Officers - NYT

Egypt to Sack 700 Police Over Killing of Protesters - BBC

Egypt Fires Nearly 700 Top Police Officers - WP

Egypt Fires Hundreds of Police as Protests Grow - AP

Egypt Shakes Up Police After Protests - Reuters

Mubarak Denies Ordering Egyptian Protesters Killed - AP

Middle East / North Africa

Israel PM Defends Law Against Settlement Boycott - Reuters

Yemeni Security Forces, Opposition Clash in Taiz - Reuters

Bahrain Puts Protest Poet Under House Arrest - Reuters

Latest Developments in Arab World's Unrest - AP

Obama's Arab Sting - WT editorial

Al Qaeda

CIA Defends Running Vaccine Program to Find bin Laden - WP

Report of Fake CIA Vaccine Could Hurt Real Programs - AP

WikiLeaks

UK: Court Defers Assange Extradition Decision - Reuters

US Department of Defense

Panetta Unafraid of Candor in New Pentagon Role - Reuters

Medal of Honor Recipient Joins Fellow Heroes in 'Hall' - AFPS

Pentagon to Unveil Cybersecurity Strategy - WP

Navy Fleet Needs Funding, Rep. Forbes Says - WT

Lockheed Overruns on Early F-35s Put at $771 M - Reuters

Army Suspends Use of New Square-shaped Parachute - AP

Cleveland Nominated to Head USA Special Operations Command - FO

Services Deliver 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Input - AFPS

United States

Tensions Escalate as Stakes Grow in Fiscal Clash - NYT

23 Senators Press Pentagon Chief on Terror Suspect - AP

Visas Reviewed to Find Those Who Overstayed - WT

Gun Mayhem Along the Border - NYT editorial

US Guns in Mexico: Too Fast, Too Furious - WT editorial

Africa

Sudan: Bashir Invokes Lofty Language to Hint at Fresh Start - NYT

Sudan's South Kordofan Hit by 'New Wave of Bombings' - BBC

China Calls on World to Normalise Ties With Sudan - Reuters

Nigeria Policemen in Court Trial for Boko Haram Killing - BBC

Horn of Africa Drought: Kenya Row Over Somali Refugees - BBC

Americas

More 12 Killed in Northern Mexico Violence - VOA

Mexico Captures Chief Hitman of Knights Templar Drug Gang - AP

Venezuela: Chavez Says 'Fidel is Like a Saint' - WP

Venezuela's Chavez Expects Chemo or Radiation - AP

Critic of Venezuela's Chavez Sentenced for Remarks - AP

Venezuela: Prison Uprising Ends After 27 Days - AP

In Cuba, Reforms Bring Cheers but Also Jeers - Reuters

Asia Pacific

Mullen: North Korea Must Be Stopped From More Attacks - Reuters

Top US Military Officer Warns of N. Korean Threat - AP

Japanese Lawmakers Urge Against US Aid for N. Korea - AP

Japan PM Kan Urges Nuclear-free Future - BBC

China Says It Is Drawing Up Human Rights Plan - AP

Thai Election Commission Postpones Certifying New Prime Minister - VOA

New Thai Government Is Delayed by Legal Challenges - NYT

Philippines: No Word from 2 Americans' Abductors - AP

Burmese Diplomat Defects, Cites Fears for Safety - VOA

Second Burmese Diplomat Defects - WP

Rights Group: Burma Uses 'Convict Slave Labor' - AP

Europe

British PM Cameron Under Fire in News Corp. Scandal - WP

N. Ireland: Second Night of Riots Rock Belfast - VOA

Turkey Detains al-Qaida Suspects - VOA

Turkish Police Say 15 Suspects Plotted Attacks - NYT

Turkey Detains Suspected al-Qaida Militants - AP

Turkey Says EU Ties Will Freeze if No Cyprus Solution - Reuters

Police in Belarus Beat, Detain Activists at Rally - AP

Pact on Adoptions Ends A US-Russian Dispute - NYT

France - US: Vive la Similarité - NYT opinion

South Asia

Tight Security in Kashmir on 'Martyr's Day' - VOA

Starbuck is Wrong by Carl Prine at Line of Departure. BLUF: "Starbuck is wrong. And in his drive to keep getting it wrong, he's trying to rewrite FM 3--24, the military's chief doctrinal publication on counterinsurgency. But that just makes him more wrong. He's wrong about me. He's wrong about what I believe. He's wrong about the literature that informs FM 3--24. He's wrong about what the manual says and he's wrong about what it left out. He's wrong about historiography. He's wrong about how a caste of top officers and diplomats came to understand "strategy" in the wake of the occupation of Iraq."

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Gray Research Center

2040 Broadway Street

MCB Quantico

Quantico, VA 22134

Marine Corps University, in partnership with the Defense Intelligence Agency Center for Language, Regional Expertise and Culture and the Marine Corps University Foundation, is pleased to announce its August 2011 Emerald Express Strategic Symposium, entitled "Shaping for Successful Transition in Afghanistan". The two-day conference brings together military and civilian practitioners, U.S. academics, Afghan policymakers and regional experts to propose and discuss current, as well as alternative, road maps for successful transition of responsibility from NATO-ISAF to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan starting in 2012. General James Mattis, USMC, Commander US Central Command, will ignite the discussion with the day one morning keynote address.

More information and registration can be found here.

Scaparrotti Becomes Commander of IJC in Afghanistan - S&S

French President Says Afghan Mission Changing - AP

France to Withdraw Quarter of Troops in Afghanistan - BBC

Contractor Accused of Negligence in Deaths of US Troops - S&S

ISAF Operations Roundup - AFPS

Ahmed Wali Karzai

Killing of Ahmed Karzai a Setback for US Mission - WP

Afghan President's Half-Brother Assassinated - VOA

Half Brother of Afghan President Is Killed in Kandahar - NYT

Ahmed Wali Karzai, Brother of President, Killed by Trusted Guard - WP

Afghan President's Brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, Killed - BBC

Brother of Afghan President Karzai Killed by Bodyguard - G&M

Karzai's Brother Slain by Guard - SMH

Afghan President's Half Brother Killed in South - AP

Afghan Assassination - Time

Relief and Worry After Slaying of Karzai's Half Brother - LAT

'Big Headache for NATO' - DT

'Dangerous Power Vacuum in South' - AP

'Huge Propaganda Boost for Taliban' - DT

Petraeus Offers Condolences to Afghan President Karzai - AFPS

Half-Brother's Death Deals Blow to Afghan President - VOA

Who Killed Ahmed Wali Karzai? - FP

A Gangster's Death in Kandahar - DR

Why Ahmed Wali Karzai Was a Target - DB

Assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai: Careful What You Wish For - Time

Ahmed Wali Karzai: Reactions and Analysis - WP

Factbox: Reaction to Death of Afghan President's Brother - Reuters

The Afghan Enforcer I Knew - NYT opinion

Pakistan

Pakistan Threatens to Pull Soldiers From Tribal Regions - VOA

Pakistan Threatens to Leave Afghan Border after US Cuts - BBC

Pakistan Might Withdraw Border Troops From Tribal Regions - WP

Suspected US Drone Strikes Kill 42 Militants in Pakistan - VOA

US Drone Strikes Kill 48 Suspected Militants in Pakistan - Reuters

Pakistan Spy Chief Leaves for Washington - AP

Punishing Pakistan May Punish the US Too - LAT editorial

Iraq

Visa Delays Imperil Iraqis Who Helped US - NYT

Iraqis Face Long Wait for US Visas - WP

Iraqi Kurds Accuse Iran of Illegal Border Crossing - AP

Chlorine Leak in Baghdad Sickens Hundreds - AP

Syria

White House, in Shift, Turns Against Syria Leader - NYT

Syria Reform Conference Eclipsed by Showdown with America - WP

US Diplomat Presses Ahead in Syria - WP

UN Security Council Condemns Damascus Embassy Attacks - VOA

US, UN Condemn Syria After Embassies Attacked - AP

Syria Condemns Hillary Clinton's Remarks About Assad - BBC

Getting Tough with Syria - WP editorial

Libya

US Intelligence Reports Say Gaddafi Forces are Struggling - WP

Libyan Rebels Accused of Pillage and Beatings - NYT

Rights Group: Libyan Rebels Loot Seized Towns - AP

France Reauthorizes Libya Bombing Campaign - NYT

Rebels Gaining on Gadhafi Regime - AP

France: Libya's Gaddafi Prepared to Leave - BBC

France Says Libya Political Solution Taking Shape - Reuters

NATO Suggests a Ramadan Cease-fire in Libya - AP

US Backs Russian Mediation in Libya - VOA

Egypt

Post-Revolution Harmony Turns into Acrimony - LAT

Military Leaders Call for Stand Against Protests - WP

Not Satisfied, Protesters Return to Tahrir Square - NYT

Crowds Calling for Change Again Pack Cairo Square - AP

Egyptian Protesters Seek Removal of Military Council - Reuters

Egypt Parliament Vote May Take Place in November - Reuters

Revolution Dims Star Power of Egypt's Antiquities Chief - NYT

Energy Consortium Suing Egypt Over Pipeline Blasts - AP

Middle East / North Africa

Arab World Poll: President Obama Increasingly Negative - WP

Saudi Policy on Yemen and Syria Seen Floundering - Reuters

Factional Fighting Brings Yemen Unrest Nearer Saudi Arabia - Reuters

Yemen Security: 5 Militants Killed in Airstrike - AP

Ex-Lebanese PM Urges Hezbollah to Turn in Members - AP

Abbas: Lack of Mideast Talks' Statement Bad Sign for Peace Prospects - VOA

Israel's High Court Asked to Overturn Boycott Law - AP

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in West Bank - Reuters

Bahrain Shiites Walk Out of Talks with Monarchy - AP

Struggling Tunisian Economy Gets Boost From Libyan Conflict - VOA

Moroccan Rights Group Seeks Reform Referendum Probe - Reuters

Latest Developments in Arab World's Unrest - AP

Al Qaeda / Terrorism

'Fake Vaccines' in Bin Laden Hunt - BBC

Bin Laden Was In on 2005 and 2006 London Plots - Reuters

The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia - TN

Arkansas Jihad - WT editorial

WikiLeaks

WikiLeak's Assange Continues Fight Against Extradition - VOA

Assange Presses Appeal to Head Off Extradition - WSJ

Assange Back at London's High Court - AP

US Department of Defense

Panetta Signals New Tone on US-led Wars - LAT

With Blunt, Salty Talk, Panetta Era Begins - NYT

Pentagon Chief: A Mix of Blunt, Charm, Slip-Ups - AP

Petraeus: Counterinsurgency Strategy Has 'Borne Fruit' - AFPS

Longer Wars, Fewer Medals of Honor - NYT

GAO Continues Criticism of Pentagon Center for PTSD, TBI - S&S

United States

Clinton: Don't Slash Foreign Affairs Budget - WP

Africa

Fear of Islamic Militant Attacks in Nigeria Spreads to Lagos - VOA

Nigeria Boko Haram Attacks: Thousands Flee Maiduguri - BBC

3 Killed in Bomb Blast in Northeast Nigeria -AP

Sudan: Bashir Promises Freer, More Inclusive Govt - LAT

Sudan's President Bashir Announces Austerity Budget - BBC

Rights Activists Warn of Genocide in Sudan - WT

UN Says Struggling With Growing Somali Exodus - Reuters

Horn of Africa Drought: Somalia Aid Supplies Boosted - BBC

Americas

Mexico: 18 Dead in Bloody Ciudad Juarez Day - AP

Mexico Ruling May Send Soldiers to Civilian Courts - AP

Prosecutors: Mob Pushes Mexican Police Off Cliff - AP

US Seeks Mexico Border Gun Sales Details - BBC

Guatemala Arrests Two Over Facundo Cabral Killing - BBC

US Deports Guatemala Massacre Suspect - AP

Asia Pacific

Mullen: US-China Military Efforts Target Mutual Threats - AFPS

China Secures First Top-Level Post at IMF - Reuters

Dissident Chinese Writer Flees to Germany - NYT

China Says It Is Drawing Up Human Rights Plan - AP

North Korean Leader Hosts Senior Chinese Officials - AP

China Rejects Manila Offer to Bring Dispute to UN - AP

Gunmen Abduct 2 Americans in Southern Philippines - AP

Explosion at Islamic School in Indonesia Kills 1 - AP

US Navy Studies Plan to Move Training Off Iwo Jima - AP

Interagency Task Force Confronts Drug Trafficking - AFPS

Europe

Russian FM: Missile Defense Top Irritant with US - AP

Russia Says 'Anti-Russian Hysteria" Sparks Georgian Spy Arrests - VOA

Corruption Eyed in Russian Boat Sinking - NYT

EU Leaders Push to Solve Deep Divide Over Greece - NYT

Moody's Cuts Ireland Credit to Junk, Warns of Second Bailout - Reuters

UK: Cameron Weakened by Phone Hacking Scandal - AP

N. Ireland: Belfast Police, Catholics Clash at End of Parades - AP

Riots Erupt in N. Ireland After Protestant Marches - Reuters

Protesters Enter Cyprus President's Palace Grounds - AP

South Asia

India: Seven Ministers Dropped in Cabinet Reshuffle - BBC

Indian Prime Minister Reshuffles Cabinet - LAT

Group Urges Bangladesh on War Crimes Proceedings - AP

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Army Ranger

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

President Barack Obama today [Tuesday] awarded the country's highest military honor to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, an Army Ranger who was shot in both legs and had his hand blown off while saving his fellow soldiers during a firefight in Afghanistan.

Petry became only the second living veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor, which Obama presented during a White House ceremony attended by Petry, his wife and four children, and more than a hundred of his family members, mostly from his native New Mexico.

Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey also attended the ceremony, as did the members of the legendary Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, with which Petry served.

Calling Petry, 31, "a true hero," Obama recounted how the soldier was on his seventh combat deployment in Afghanistan on May 26, 2008, when he took part in a high-risk daytime operation to capture an insurgent leader in a compound in Paktia province, near the Pakistan border...

More:

Rare White House Ceremony for Medal of Honor - NYT

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry Awarded Medal of Honor - WP

Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Army Ranger - AFPS

Remarks by the President in Presenting the Medal of Honor - White House

Exclusive Interview with Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry - S&S

Afghanistan Veteran Leroy Petry Awarded US Medal of Honor - BBC

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, Live Action Hero - WP

US Army Medal of Honor - Official Web Page

No, not COIN as in Counterinsurgency, though we do that too.  Coin as in challenge

coin -- you know, those little things the Army has been flinging around for many years and the Marine Corps eventually glommed onto as well, and now they're everywhere.  Well, they're finally here now, too.

For your donation of $50, we'll send

you a freshly minted SWJ Challenge Coin as a thank you gift.  Wield it with the vigor and flair appropriate to its magnificence.  For those interested in such details, these are 1 3/4" coins, the perfect size, not too tiny and not too big. Just like most wars.

Small Wars Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Contributions are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

The front image is called Tracking Bin Laden and was painted by U.S. Army Center of Military History, Museum Division's staff artist Sergeant First Class Elzie Ray Golden, U.S. Army. The back image is called After the Battle and was painted by Michael R. Crook; Tan Hep, Vietnam, 1967. Both paintings are part of the U.S. Army art collection.