Blog Posts

"A lot can happen in 15-yrs, and lessons get stale fast... What have we learned since the start of that war? We don’t know – and that is a problem."

In 1918, the world had never seen such killing. Between 15-19 million people died during World War I, and another 23 million were wounded. The industrial age had industrialized death and Europe became the factory floor for new weapons and new means of killing from tanks and airplanes to gas and machine guns. The war had started in 1914, and the killing continued without letup until Nov. 11, 1918, when the Allies and the Central Powers signed an armistice that ended the slaughter.

"Logistics capabilities that were second nature during the Cold War have deteriorated. Mobility impediments include narrow rail and road tunnels, varying gauges of rail track and legal restrictions on shipping ammunition across borders. Many European road- and rail-bridges are too low for hulking military vehicles to drive under or too weak to support a convoy of 100-ton battle tanks, officials say."

"The war in Afghanistan hit the seventeen-year mark for the United States and its partners this month. Soldiers in the US-led coalition have been fighting and killing and dying for almost eight years longer than the Soviets occupied Afghanistan. The reasons for this protracted stalemate are manifold, but the momentum that would bring the war in Afghanistan to an end remains elusive in large part because the coalition has until now been unable to link the grammar of war to the political object it seeks. For the logic of strategy to work, ends should drive means, not the other way around."

"The death of an Army soldier after a blast in southern Afghanistan this month was the result of a series of oversights by a military unit that frequently used a small strip of desert as a patrol route and observation post, prompting Taliban militants to bury explosives nearby, military officials familiar with the matter said."

“The Afghan security force effort to hold Taliban violence at bay is “working,” a Defense Department spokesman said Monday, amid a spate of insider attacks and violence linked to this weekend’s parliamentary elections. A Pentagon spokesman cites a two-thirds decrease in attacks since the war’s peak eight years ago.”

"To understand how the United States is countering Iran’s expansion across the Middle East, consider the outpost at Tanf. This tiny garrison, a jumble of dirt-filled blast barriers and tents surrounded by the immense desert of southern Syria, was established to roll back the Islamic State’s once-vast domain."

"Despite the presence of multiple militant groups in the Philippines who have made pledges of allegiance, or bayah, to Islamic State, the Philippine’ government and Armed Forces (AFP) have downplayed this threat. The statements they’ve made continuously ignore the reality of ISIS in the Philippines. This is partially due to the AFP deliberately downplaying the threat from ISIS by making false statements, something they’ve admitted to. At the same time, the Philippine government and the AFP have also managed to genuinely underestimate ISIS, likely in part due to the public downplaying of the threat as well as systematic intelligence failures."

"The U.S. Senate has recently passed two bills sanctioning the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Once signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the sanctions will target foreign nationals and companies that provide financial, material or technological support to Hezbollah and its affiliates in the region. The Lebanese militant group has footprints beyond Lebanon in places like Syria, but analysts believe that with increasing U.S. pressures, the militant group would be forced to reduce its military activities outside of Lebanon."

“The study’s very existence is little known outside the Army. The Wall Street Journal pieced together its history through dozens of interviews with former and current officials familiar with the effort, and from reviews of internal memorandums and emails. In the past few months alone, Army officials debated whether the study should be embraced or disowned. After a high-level review last month, Army officials issued instructions to remove a foreword noting the study had been “commissioned” by the Army and to scrub it of other signs that it had top-level sponsorship.”

General David Petraeus in The Times - The growing “judicialisation” of conflict should concern Britain, just as it concerns me. “Lawfare”, as it’s also known, has resulted in many British soldiers being accused in court, sometimes decades after the events in question have taken place.

"International and regional forces have all but deprived the Islamic State (IS) of its territory, yet its apocalyptic ideology allows it to continue fighting despite these losses. IS’s goal to prepare the world for the end times does not require territory and will serve as a justification for its surviving members to maintain insurgencies in the Middle East and elsewhere."

“Turkish and American troops could begin conducting joint patrols in a matter of days around the northern Syrian city of Manbij within the coming days, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East said Sunday.”

Carl Prine at Navy Times - "Charged earlier this month with multiple war crimes in connection with the 2017 stabbing death of a detainee in Iraq, Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher vows to fight for his freedom."

“The Khashoggi crisis has called attention to a largely overlooked Saudi-led war in Yemen. On a rare trip to the front line, we found Yemenis fighting and dying in a war that has gone nowhere.”

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley strongly condemned Iran for its alleged recruitment and use of child soldiers in battlefields across the Middle East.

Bloody Week in Afghanistan Brings Back Memories of Never-Ending War by Amb. Jonathan S. Addleton at Global Atlanta - "Striking such a high-level security forum among senior military officials sent a strong message, both to the Afghan government and to the international community: We can strike anywhere and even the most senior of your military leaders cannot escape our reac"

General Abdul Raziq, known to sport traditional garb and a mischievous smile, was nominally the police chief of the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. But the charismatic 39-year-old was also one of the most powerful security and political figures in Afghanistan, and a formidable adversary to the Taliban in the militant group’s southern heartland.

“U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday the killing of a powerful police chief in southern Afghanistan just days before national elections is unlikely to fundamentally weaken the security situation. Mattis commented on the attack in Kandahar during a break in meetings at an Asian security conference in Singapore.”

The run-up to Afghanistan’s October 20 parliamentary elections is taking its toll on the field. Ten candidates have been slain, two abducted, and four wounded -- both before and after the 20-day campaign period started on September 28, according to Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission.

"Because of their importance in the war effort, Afghan pilots are targeted for assassination and often struggle to keep themselves and their families safe. Threats bring the war from the skies, where Kabul and the West have technological superiority, to the ground, where the Taliban and other militants use guerrilla tactics like ambush and murder."

U.S. officials said Tuesday they will keep working to stabilize areas they helped liberate from Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. With IS's so-called caliphate crumbled, the U.S. and its allies now seek long-term solutions for the region, emphasizing that the next phase will focus on providing local partners the means to ensure sustained stability in areas previously held by the terror group.

"A consideration of partner nation incentives is central to the success of future advisory efforts, but to change these incentives advisers need the ability to provide and withhold resources in the field."

"The stakes for this election are high. Not because parliament matters so much in a country where much of the political power is held by the executive branch. But they are a test run for the more critical presidential elections scheduled to be held six months later. If the parliamentary elections are plagued by major controversy the presidential election date could slip, and with it the fragile political stability that is needed to pursue an acceptable political settlement with the Taliban that the Trump administration’s South Asia strategy envisions."

"In a surprise announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump has called for government spending to be cut 5 percent across every federal department, leaving next year’s military budget in confusion."