Last fall, I returned from a six-month deployment to Iraq with the Navy, in which I worked as a tribal and leadership engagement officer in the Fallujah area. By the end of my deployment, Fallujah had changed from an area rife with al-Qaida's presence and upward of 750 security incidents a month to one where al-Qaida was on the run and security incidents were down to about 80 a month. I saw what was needed to convincingly defeat an insurgency as we worked with local tribes and Iraqi security forces to clear and hold each of Fallujah's 10 neighborhoods and numerous surrounding villages.

As security became the norm in the city, the educated middle-class re-asserted its leadership, and the men with guns who had so long dominated politics in the post-Saddam era transitioned to a civilian-controlled police force. By the end of my tour, engineers, architects, teachers and doctors were dominating the city council's meetings, asking for more power and authority from US forces to administer their affairs as we began initial planning to draw down our forces.

As much as it heartened me to witness the positive changes taking place in Fallujah, it also saddened me because it demonstrated just how inadequate our efforts are in Afghanistan and how far away we are from victory. It also prompted me to reflect upon my time in Afghanistan, where I worked as a political officer with the State Department for a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in 2005 and 2006 and on the strategies that are now being talked about to stabilize Afghanistan...

Much more at Armed Forces Journal.

The book that most changed my career path was The Army and Vietnam by Andrew Krepinevich. Krepinevich's book fundamentally altered the approach I took as a company commander during my second Iraq tour in 2006.

When I returned to Germany in 2004, fresh from my first 15-month tour in Iraq, I was convinced there had to be a better way to fight this kind of conflict. A year of operations in Baghdad and three months fighting the first Sadr rebellion made it clear to me that our strategies and methods were inadequate to meet the demands of the environment. As a new company commander, I had an obligation to become as educated as possible on counterinsurgency. Unfortunately, I didn't know where to begin. As an armor officer, my professional military education to this point included great detail on how to fight at the National Training Center or in the Fulda gap but contained absolutely nothing on counterinsurgency...

Much more at Armed Forces Journal.

Seth Kaplan is a business consultant to companies in developing countries as well as a foreign-policy analyst. His book Fixing Fragile States: A New Paradigm for Development (2008), critiques Western policies in places such as Pakistan, Somalia, Congo (Kinshasa) and West Africa, and lays out a new approach to overcoming the problems they face (More at the Fixing Fragile States official web page).

From A New US Policy for Syria:

The American foreign-policy establishment seems deeply divided over how to deal with Syria. No one in Washington doubts that Damascus plays a pivotal role in the Middle East, helping to shape events in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine while influencing calculations in Jerusalem, the capital of its principal foe, and Tehran, the capital of its principal ally. But there is considerable disagreement within Washington on how to approach Damascus.

Should Syria be isolated until its economy and its leadership crack under the strain, as the Bush administration has long favored? Should it, to use fashionable parlance, be forced into a "hard landing" - bullied into abandoning its disruptive behavior on the regional stage and softening its internal political complexion? Or should the United States help Syria achieve a soft landing, as many commentators outside the White House now propose? Should engagement with President Bashar al-Asad's authoritarian regime be the order of the day, with carrots as well as sticks employed to persuade Syria of the benefits of a more cooperative relationship with its neighbors and the West and of more democracy at home?

This debate seems set to run indefinitely...

Much more at A New US Polciy for Syria: Fostering Political Change in a Divided State.

Congratulations on your hard-won victory in this historic election. As they say, now the really hard part begins.

We published the following as an open letter to the next Commander-in-Chief on 13 June and believe it remains sage advice.

The Honorable Robert M. Gates must continue on as the Secretary of Defense in your administration.

Our Nation and Armed Services require his leadership and a continuation of the policies he has set in motion.

Thank you for your consideration and again, congratulations,

Small Wars Journal

Barack Obama has been elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American elected to the office.

In Grant Park in Chicago, hundreds of thousands of supporters reacted with screams of joy as American television networks projected Barack Obama as the next U.S. president.

In Phoenix, Arizona, losing Republican candidate Senator John McCain conceded the race, telling his somber supporters they had reached the end of a long journey.

"The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly," said McCain. "A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love."

A short time later, Senator Obama mounted the stage in Chicago with his wife and two daughters, then spoke to his supporters in a televised address that was seen around the world.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America," he said.

The election is historic. When Mr. Obama takes office in January, he will become first the African American president in the nation's 232-year history. His election ends eight years of Republican control of the White House under President George W. Bush.

As the vote count progressed, the Democrat far outpaced his rival in the state-by-state tally of electoral votes. The winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes. Senator McCain fell far short, as Mr. Obama won such contested states as Ohio and Pennsylvania, which many saw as crucial for a McCain victory.

In his victory speech in Chicago, Mr. Obama spoke of the challenges facing the nation, which include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, what he called a planet in peril and the worst financial crisis in a century.

"There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build and threats to meet, alliances to repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep," said Mr. Obama. :We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."

As Senator Obama called for unity in the face of the country's problems, Senator McCain pledged his support, despite the differences the two men expressed in the campaign.

"No doubt, many of those differences remain," McCain said. "These are difficult times for our country and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face."

In cities around the United States, there were gatherings to celebrate the historic election. VOA's Kane Farabaugh was in the crowd in Chicago.

"There's a few tears, but many more smiles," said Farabaugh. "I would say the atmosphere here is jubilant."

In Washington, D.C., Edward Badu, who was born in the African nation of Ghana, was thrilled. Senator Obama has African links himself. His father was born in Kenya. Badu said he can scarcely believe what has happened.

"It looks like it's a dream, you know. Yeah, it is like a dream," he said. "I still can't believe it."

Angela Young, from Atlanta, was in Washington on business, and says she felt the same excitement.

"I think it's wonderful. I mean, just the sense of pride for America, period. And, a lot of hope," she said. "Real hope."

This presidential race aroused intense interest around the world. Senator Obama had a message for those who are viewing events in America from a distance.

"And, all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared," said Mr. Obama. "The new dawn of American leadership is at hand."

President-elect Obama will enter office with a sympathetic Congress. Democrats strengthened their grip on both the House of Representatives and Senate in Tuesday's election, winning Republican-held Senate seats in Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire and North Carolina. They fell short of the 60 Senate seats they had hoped for, which would have allowed them to avoid procedural blocks known as filibusters. This will be the first time since 1995 that the Democrats have held the presidency and a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Defense Department has made extensive plans for a smooth transition from the present administration to that of the president-elect, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said here today.

Pentagon officials are ready to begin briefing a new president-elect's transition team as soon as he's chosen, Whitman said.

The transition between administrations comes when the United States is at war, the first time this has happened since 1969, when the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson transitioned to that of President Richard M. Nixon in the midst of the Vietnam War.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has launched early preparations to minimize disruptions as the administrations change, Whitman said. Gates has created a transition task force that will operate under five guiding principles:

-- Maintaining continuity of operations;

-- Assuring efficient and effective transition of outgoing leadership;

-- Assuring the efficient and effective in-processing of the incoming leaders;

-- Facilitating the transfer of information to the new administration; and

-- Sustaining focus on existing programs and processes while allowing the incoming administration to focus on its governing processes.

"One of the important components of this is ensuring that we've identified and highlighted some of the key department events, actions [and] milestones that a new administration will face in its first 90 days," Whitman said.

More at American Forces Press Service.

Petraeus: Commitment to War Effort Will Stand Firm, Regardless of Who Wins Presidency - Scott Heidler, FOX News

As Americans went to the polls Tuesday to chose the next president, Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that whatever the outcome, the US will continue its commitment to battling Al Qaeda.

"Both candidates have been clear about the priority they place [on the war on terror]. So there is truly bipartisan support for [what] I think can be described as a sustained and substantial commitment to Pakistan and Afghanistan," Petraeus told FOX News.

More at FOX News.

David Petraeus Makes Pakistan a Priority - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

The US's preoccupation with Pakistan was strongly underlined last night as General David Petraeus, newly responsible for Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, made Islamabad his first port of call, and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama signalled a change of policy if he wins tomorrow's election.

The security deterioration in the nuclear-armed nation was dramatically demonstrated shortly after General Petraeus's arrival, when jihadi militants staged a rocket attack on the airport in the city of Peshawar, capital of the al-Qa'ida and Taliban stronghold of North-West Frontier Province, which he was scheduled to visit yesterday.

More at The Australian.

New US President Should Keep Troops in Philippines - Associated Press

The next US president should keep American counterterrorism troops in the southern Philippines, where they have helped prevent the emergence of a key base for al-Qaida-linked militants, a military official said Tuesday.

The Philippine government expects no major changes in its close ties with Washington, whoever wins the US elections. But some Filipino analysts have speculated that a victory by Democrat Barack Obama could lead to a reduction or even a withdrawal of US troops from the southern Mindanao region, where the Philippine military has been battling a decades-long Islamist insurgency.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, who heads the 8,000-strong Philippine Marines at the front line of counterterrorism efforts in Mindanao, said militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Washington, still pose a threat despite US-backed offensives that have crippled the militants and destroyed their strongholds.

More at The Associated Press.

US Troops on Front Lines of War Track Election - Denis Gray, Associated Press

US soldiers on the front lines tuned in Tuesday to CNN and the Internet to track the presidential election that will decide the future of their mission. But for many, the day was spent like so many others on patrols, repairing equipment and other mundane tasks of war.

Troops in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan mailed in absentee ballots long ago—if they voted. So by the time election day arrived back home, there was nothing for them to do but await the results.

"We can't stop doing what we have to do. We got to keep running," said Maj. Gary Dangerfield of Chicago, spokesman for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in the northern city of Mosul.

Before heading out on missions, some soldiers here at Camp Marez watched a giant television screen airing CNN's election reporting. Others followed the voting on the Web if they were on bases with Internet service.

More at The Associated Press.

Many Americans and Iraqis think of the recent surge in Iraq as simply the temporary addition of more US troops to the war effort in 2007 and the first half of 2008. This is incorrect. It is also dangerous.

Partly because they misunderstand the true nature of the surge, many American and Iraqi political leaders now seem to want American forces out of Iraq as fast as possible. Iraqi leaders also now seem un—to accept a reasonable Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to govern the actions of US troops in their country after the current UN Security Council mandate expires at the end of the year.

In fact, the basic logic of the surge continues - and must continue - even now that the increase in US combat formations in Iraq has come to an end. At its core, the surge has been about cooperatively protecting the Iraqi civilian population. This is the central point policymakers in Baghdad, Washington and other capitals around the world need to appreciate.

More at The Washington Times.

Few outside the Beltway defense community have ever heard of Joe Collins, a retired army colonel who now teaches at the National War College after a stint, from 2001 to 2004, as a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Rumsfeld Pentagon. But, over the years, I have found him to be a consistent source of clear-eyed thinking about some of our most pressing security challenges. His latest essay on the Small Wars Journal website only confirms that reputation. In it, he pours some cold water on the overheated hopes expressed by so many in recent weeks that negotiations with the Taliban can somehow magically turnaround a failing war effort.

He points out that such talks would have scant prospect of success when the Taliban and related extremists are on the offensive and making gains. "If the Afghan government sits down with the Taliban now, it does so from a position of increasing weakness, and diminished strength," he writes. "To increase the prospects for Kabul's success in negotiation, we will have to reverse that condition. How should we proceed?"

Much more at Contentions.

It was 40 years ago, on Oct. 31, 1968, when a turning point came in the Vietnam War. President Lyndon B. Johnson went on national television.

"I have now ordered that all air, naval and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam cease as of 8 a.m. Washington time, Friday morning," Johnson said. "And I have reached [this decision] in the belief that this action can lead to progress toward a peaceful settlement of the Vietnamese war."

The bombing halt came not long after a new American commander took over in Vietnam and came up with a military strategy that echoes to this day...

Abrams saw the fight differently — in a counterinsurgency. The important thing isn't enemy body counts. It's protecting the population, training local Vietnamese forces, providing money and programs for a better life. "It's the government presence with its people all over the country, reasonable security and so on," he explained to his staff at a meeting in 1969.

For Abrams, the right strategy was not "search and destroy." He saw it as "clear and hold," words that echoed four decades later as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, President George Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates grappled and searched for a new strategy, for another insurgency, this time in Iraq...

More at Morning Edition.

* Tom Bowman and John Nagl will be discussing Vietnam, Iraq, and defense challenges for the next administration on NPR's Talk of the Nation between 3:15 and 4 PM EST tomorrow (4 November).