Missed an important op-ed this morning by Pete Mansoor and Max Boot - Winning in Afghanistan in the Los Angeles Times. BLUF: "The buildup of U.S. forces, completed only this fall, is already having a considerable positive impact, although public opinion hasn't caught on yet."
Blog Posts
SWJ Blog is a multi-author blog publishing news and commentary on the various goings on across the broad community of practice. We gladly accept guest posts from serious voices in the community.
by Dave Dilegge | Thu, 12/16/2010 - 7:40am | 0 comments
15 Top Stories:
Obama, on Eve Of Review, Cites Afghan War Progress - Reuters
Afghan Report Sees July Troop Pullouts Despite Perils - New York Times
Afghan Report to Fault Pakistan Safe Havens - Washington Times
Afghanistan: Size of Troop Drawdown Likely to Trigger Debate - Washington Post
Taliban Reach Grows in North Afghanistan - New York Times
NATO Push Deals Taliban a Setback in Kandahar - New York Times
Red Cross Offers Bleak Assessment of Afghan War - Washington Post
Another Tet? - Washington Post opinion
Pakistan: Tug of War on Insurgents - Washington Post opinion
Clinton Announces State Review Stressing Conflict Prevention - Washington Post
Clinton's Vision for Foreign Policy on a Tight Budget - Christian Science Monitor
Arabs Reject Middle East Peace Talks Without U.S. Plan - BBC News
U.N. Security Council Ends Key Iraq Sanctions - Los Angeles Times
'Stuxnet Virus Set Back Iran's Nuclear Program by 2 Years' - Jerusalem Post
Iran Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 39 - Los Angeles Times
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 12/15/2010 - 7:44am | 0 comments
Face of Defense: Grandson Continues 'Band of Brothers' Tradition
By Army Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
FORT BRAGG, N.C., Dec. 14, 2010 -- Even at 80 years old, Frederick "Moose" Heyliger was an enormous man, according to his grandson, who serves with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade.
Army 1st Sgt. Mark D. Heyliger, first sergeant of Company B, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, often is asked by young soldiers who "put 2 and 2 together" whether he knows "that guy in that movie," and he says he does.
Heyliger, a veteran of five deployments, learned of his grandfather's World War II exploits as a first lieutenant with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" the same way the rest of America did --- by reading the book and seeing the HBO mini-series, "Band of Brothers."
Continue on for more.
by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 12/15/2010 - 7:02am | 0 comments
15 Top Stories:
War Review Cites Strides, Less Confident of Governance - Washington Post
Intelligence Reports Offer Dim Views of Afghan War - New York Times
Classified Reports Counter Optimism on Afghan War - Los Angeles Times
U.S. Officials See Progress, Problems in Afghan War - Associated Press
Taliban Down But Not Out In Afghanistan's Kandahar - Reuters
Holbrooke's Death Leaves Major Void in Afghan Strategy - Washington Post
North Korean Nuclear Ability Seen to Far Outpace Iran's - New York Times
Reports Suggest Additional N. Korea Nuclear Facilities - Voice of America
Raid on Islamic Groups in Germany - New York Times
World Pays Tribute to Holbrooke: 'The Bulldozer' - Associated Press
Poll: Americans Say WikiLeaks Harmed Public Interest - Washington Post
Wikileaks Founder Assange Bailed, But Release Delayed - BBC News
Mexican Border City Hits 3,000 Dead in Drug War - Associated Press
Politics Enables Mexican Fugitive to Defang a Law - New York Times
Referendum on Oil-rich Sudan Province Likely Delayed - Washington Times
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Robert Haddick | Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:34pm | 0 comments
According to the New York Times, the Japanese government will soon release new defense policy guidelines that will redirect its military's primary attention away from the Russian threat from the north and toward the Chinese threat from the south. The new defense guidelines will also direct Japan's military forces to improve their coordination with the United States, Australia, and South Korea. Japan's shift toward China is a response to what it sees as the more ominous threat. What China's leaders need to ponder is whether their more assertive policies are actually improving China's security.
Click through to read more ...
by Dave Dilegge | Tue, 12/14/2010 - 7:41am | 0 comments
Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke - April 24, 1941 -- December 13, 2010
Richard C. Holbrooke, 1941-2010 - Foreign Policy
Veteran U.S. Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies - Voice of America
Veteran U.S. Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies - Washington Post
Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies at 69 - Los Angeles Times
U.S. Envoy Richard Holbrooke Dies - BBC News
Veteran Diplomat Richard Holbrooke Dies - NPR
Holbrooke: Strong American Voice in Diplomacy and Crisis - New York Times
Richard Holbrooke: Archetype of American Diplomacy - Time
Richard Holbrooke, Colossal and Subtle - Politico
Richard Holbrooke's Vexing Afghan Challenge - Wall Street Journal
Holbrooke's Death Leaves Major Void in Afghan Strategy - Washington Post
Holbrooke's Last Words Call to End Afghan War - The Age
Snap Analysis: Holbrooke was Key U.S.-Afghanistan Diplomat - Reuters
America Will Feel the Loss of an Astute Diplomat - Sydney Morning Herald
Obama: Holbrooke 'a True Giant' of Foreign Policy - USA Today
Holbrooke the Dove - Foreign Policy
A Forceful Advocate for U.S. Interests - Wall Street Journal
Richard Holbrooke's Diplomatic Memoir - Los Angeles Times
World Leaders Praise Late Ambassador Holbrooke - Voice of America
World Pays Tribute to Holbrooke - Associated Press
World Leaders Mourn Holbrooke's Death - CNN News
Richard Holbrooke Dies: World Reaction - Daily Telegraph
Holbrooke's Relentless Work - Washington Post
Holbrooke: An Extraordinary Man - Washington Post
Holbrooke: A Force of Personality - Washington Post
Richard Holbrooke's Op-Eds - Washington Post
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Robert Haddick | Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:09am | 4 comments
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the United States government's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died tonight after a brief, acute illness. He was 69 years old.
Ambassador Holbrooke led a very full life. After college, he joined the Foreign Service, learned Vietnamese, and reported for duty in the Mekong Delta during the war with an assignment with the CORDS pacification program. He later worked at the embassy in Saigon for Ambassador Maxwell Taylor (John Negroponte was his roommate), was a junior representative at the Paris peace talks, and wrote one volume of the Pentagon Papers. He managed the Peace Corps mission in Morocco. He then spent five years as editor of Foreign Policy Magazine, where, nearly forty years later, I am proud to appear once a week. Just two weeks ago, he spoke at a Foreign Policy event and said that his years as editor were among the most important of his career.
Holbrooke may have been the most qualified man never to become Secretary of State.
Click through to read more ...
by Dave Dilegge | Mon, 12/13/2010 - 7:58pm | 0 comments
Lots of e-mails today, here are several that caught my attention and/or interest - continue on for Monday's odds and ends...
by Mike Few | Mon, 12/13/2010 - 4:00pm | 10 comments
To those directly involved in small wars during the last decade,
Ultimately, this may be the most important project that I've pursued while commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. This project is my attempt to pay it forward.
Continue on for SWJ's request for information concerning modern small wars and in particular - counterinsurgency...
by Dave Dilegge | Mon, 12/13/2010 - 5:55am | 0 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
15 Top Stories Quick-look:
As U.S. Assesses Afghan War, Karzai a Question Mark - Washington Post
6 Americans Killed by Bomb at a New U.S.-Afghan Outpost - New York Times
Taliban Small-arms Attacks Nearly Double - USA Today
Pakistani Forces 'Hamper' U.S. Embassy - Washington Times
Suicide Bomber Kills 13 in Iraq's Anbar Province - Los Angeles Times
Iranian President Increasingly Grabbing Power from Parliament - Washington Post
Opposition Leader: Cables Show Iran 'Vulnerable' - Associated Press
Clinton Policy Speech Not Well Received in Middle East - Voice of America
Netanyahu Says Welcomes Shift In U.S. Peace Effort - Reuters
How North Korea and Iran Test U.S. Diplomacy - Christian Science Monitor
New Japanese Defense Plan Emphasizes Threat of China - Washington Post
Stockholm Blasts: Sweden Probes 'Terrorist Attack' - BBC News
Swedes Shocked by 1st Terror Attack in 3 Decades - Associated Press
Mexico: U.S. Guns Tied to Crime South of Border - Washington Post
Haiti: Good Intentions, Unexpected and Unfortunate Results - Los Angeles Times
by Dave Dilegge | Sun, 12/12/2010 - 4:31am | 2 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
15 Top Stories Quick-look:
Nawa Proving Ground for U.S. Strategy in Afghan War - Washington Post
Violence Flares Anew in Southern Afghanistan - New York Times
Dozens of Afghan Insurgents Killed in Rare Wintertime Fighting - Washington Post
Jailed Afghan Drug Lord Was Informer on U.S. Payroll - New York Times
Karzai Signs Deal on Gas Pipeline Project - Los Angeles Times
North Korea Sends Top Diplomat to Russia - Voice of America
Corruption Sweep in Mexico Unravels in the Courts - Los Angeles Times
Holbrooke in Critical Condition After Surgery to Repair Heart - New York Times
Sudan's Former Rebel SPLM Backs Independence for South - BBC News
Sweden: Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning - New York Times
Venezuela Acquires 1,800 Antiaircraft Missiles from Russia - Washington Post
Keeping Secrets WikiSafe - New York Times
WikiLeaks' Advocates are Wreaking 'Hacktivism' - Washington Post
The First Global Cyber War Has Begun, Claim Hackers - The Guardian
Assange Supporters Plan Protests Worldwide - The Guardian
by Bill Nagle | Sun, 12/12/2010 - 12:29am | 1 comment
Our site has been unstable for the last couple of weeks, and the sunspots have been particularly active for the last few days. My apologies to all of you who are having your small wars experience interrupted. We are working with a new team of system administrators and our hosting provider to harden things up and restore stable and reliable service. We're not out of the dark yet, but we have glimmers of hope.
To the few of you who may not have noticed, disregard what I just said, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, and consider focusing your good luck into a lottery ticket purchase.
(Nothing more follows)
by Dave Dilegge | Sat, 12/11/2010 - 5:50pm | 3 comments
American Pie: History of Rock & Roll, at least until the late '60s; Don McLean, released in '71:
On the Dark Side with Eddie & the Cruisers (John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band):
Continue on for more....
by Dave Dilegge | Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:28am | 1 comment
Bleak Afghan and Pakistan intelligence reviews by Kimberly Dozier and Anne Gearan of the Associated Press. AP's strict copyright rules dictate that I can't even provide a short excerpt here. So take my word, worth reading and thinking about. Also see Former Afghan spy chief says Taliban must disarm before talks, says Pakistan backs militants by Kimberly Dozier.
For an in-depth discussion of the two "Achilles heels in the current strategy: Afghan governance and insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan" see the CNAS report Responsible Transition: Securing U.S. Interests in Afghanistan Beyond 2011, by Lieutenant General David Barno (USA ret.) and Andrew Exum.
by Dave Dilegge | Sat, 12/11/2010 - 9:56am | 0 comments
The collision of small wars and cyber wars is not a wikileaked Internet by Sam Liles at his blog Selil. BLUF: "It is not supported through research or evaluation that the events of Wikileaks and Anonymous rise to the level of cyber warfare. Hyperbole though fully invested within the press does not provide the evidence of the act. Annoying, destructive, and likely criminal would all describe the attacks perpetrated by the Anonymous group. It is not in the best interest of the United States population to lower the bar of war to the point these acts could be described as war."
by Dave Dilegge | Sat, 12/11/2010 - 9:30am | 0 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Robert Haddick | Fri, 12/10/2010 - 8:11pm | 2 comments
By standing up for Kim Jong Il, Beijing only finds itself more isolated than ever.
Here is the latest edition of my column at Foreign Policy:
Topics include:
1) With North Korea, China aims at its foot and pulls the trigger
2) Both sides in the WikiLeaks cyberwar are firing blanks
With North Korea, China aims at its foot and pulls the trigger
Admiral Michael Mullen, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited South Korea this week to reinforce the United States security alliance with Seoul. While meeting with South Korea's top defense officials, Mullen criticized the Chinese government for its "tacit approval" of North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island and the torpedo attack earlier this year that sunk a South Korean warship. Mullen asserted that China has a "unique responsibility" to rein in the North before more aggression occurs.
China's North Korea policy has been steady and consistent -- and that is the bad news for China. Beijing's ham-fisted approach to the North Korean issue is causing other countries in East Asia to rally around the United States in alarm over Chinese intentions, a result exactly contrary to China's long term policy goals in the region. With no change in its policy toward North Korea, China should prepare for more diplomatic isolation and a stepped-up security response by the United States and its neighbors.
Click through to read more ...
by Dave Dilegge | Fri, 12/10/2010 - 8:02pm | 0 comments
Arlington Wreaths Event Continues Holiday Tradition
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2010 -- For nearly 20 years, a group of dedicated volunteers and sponsors have ensured that servicemembers and other prominent Americans at rest at Arlington National Cemetery are not forgotten during the holiday season.
Andrea Rodway will be among the more than 7,000 volunteers who will gather at Arlington tomorrow to place wreaths on more than 24,000 gravesites in sections 28, 38, 43 and 60.
Servicemembers killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried in Section 60. About 9,000 fallen Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are buried in Arlington.
Continue on for more...
by Dave Dilegge | Fri, 12/10/2010 - 7:57am | 2 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Robert Haddick | Thu, 12/09/2010 - 1:42pm | 1 comment
Writing in the December 4th Wall Street Journal, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz laments how WikiLeaks will cause top decision-makers to refrain from taking contemporaneous notes, with disastrous consequences for historical analysis. Shultz explains:In the wake of this affair, the amount of candid written material related to the daily conduct of American foreign policy will surely diminish. We will lose our capacity to learn from our experiences, whether positive or negative. Historical memory will slowly be eradicated.
Click through to read more ...
by Dave Dilegge | Thu, 12/09/2010 - 4:30am | 0 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.
by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 12/08/2010 - 6:03pm | 9 comments
Here are various recent news items. Full SWJ WikiLeaks coverage can be found here.
Fraction of 1 Percent of WikiLeaks Cables Released - CNN News
Analysts: WikiLeaks Following New Strategy in Document Release - VOA
Thousands Download Hacker Software in WikiLeaks Cyber-War - VOA
Web Attackers Point to Cause in WikiLeaks - New York Times
Amazon, PayPal Fend Off Hacker Attacks over WikiLeaks - Washington Post
Teen Arrested in Cyber-attacks; Others Pursued - Washington Times
Protests, Cyber-skirmishes Rage over WikiLeak - Associated Press
WikiLeaks Backers Threaten More Cyber Attacks - Reuters
Despite Arrest, Assange Extradition Faces Hurdles - Associated Press
Europeans Criticize Fierce U.S. Response to Leaks - New York Times
WikiLeaks Avoids Shutdown, Supporters on the Offensive - Washington Post
Hackers Avenge WikiLeaks Leader with 'Operation Payback' - Voice of America
Hacker Threatens More Attacks on "WikiLeaks Foes" - New York Times
WikiLeaks 'Enemies' Targeted by Hackers - Daily Telegraph
'Anonymous' Sets Sights on WikiLeaks Opponents - Agence France-Presse
WikiLeaks Supporters Step Up Cyber War - Agence France-Presse
'Anonymous' Launches DDoS Attacks Against WikiLeaks Foes - PC Magazine
Cyberattacks Are Retaliation for Pressure on WikiLeaks - New York Times
Swedish Government Website Attacked Over WikiLeaks Link - Wall Street Journal
Hackers Strike at MasterCard to Support WikiLeaks - Associated Press
WikiLeaks Sympathisers Attack Websites - Reuters
Hackers Hit Mastercard and Visa over Wikileaks Row - BBC News
Operation Payback Cripples MasterCard Site in Revenge - The Guardian
Mastercard.com Taken Down by Pro-WikiLeaks Forces - Wired
WikiLeaks Backlash Humbles MasterCard Website - USA Today
PayPal Cut WikiLeaks Account Because of U.S. Position - Agence France-Presse
State Department Asked PayPal to Cut WikiLeaks - Christian Science Monitor
Hackers Give Web Companies a Test of Free Speech - New York Times
The 'Anonymous' Hackers Behind WikiLeaks Defence - Daily Telegraph
WikiLeaks: Who are the Hackers Behind Operation Payback? - The Guardian
Hundreds of WikiLeaks Mirror Sites Appear - New York Times
PayPal Joins Internet Backlash Against WikiLeaks - The Guardian
WikiLeaks Loses PayPal Revenue Service - CNN News
Paypal: WikiLeaks Loses Major Source of Revenue - Associated Press
Swiss Supporters: WikiLeaks Server Goes Down - Associated Press
WikiLeaks Site's Swiss Host Dismisses Pressure to Take it Offline - The Guardian
Bolivia Hosts WikiLeaks 'Mirror' - Associated Press
Amazon Cites Terms of Use in Expulsion of WikiLeaks - New York Times
Amazon.com Stops Hosting WikiLeaks on its Servers - Washington Post
WikiLeaks and Amazon: A Free Speech Issue? - Christian Science Monitor
WikiLeaks Struggles to Stay Online After Attacks - New York Times
U.S. Domain Name Service Boots WikiLeaks - Washington Post
WikiLeaks Dropped by Domain Name Provider - Associated Press
by Mike Few | Wed, 12/08/2010 - 2:50pm | 3 comments
Lawrence Sellin presents a critque on modern military culture in his latest Human Events essay, Afghanistan and the Culture of Military Leadership.
BLUF: "It has always seemed odd to me that the US military spends billions of dollars on service academies, war colleges, graduate programs and other forms of education in order to train people to think, but then places them inside a bureaucracy that prevents them from doing so."
Lawrence Sellin, PhD, is a recently retired colonel with 29 years of service in the US Army Reserve. He is a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq.
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 12/08/2010 - 1:37pm | 3 comments
A Tribute to Captain Travis Patriquin:
America's "Lawrence of Arabia" in Ramadi
by Chad M. Pillai
December 6, 2010 marked the 4th anniversary of the loss of America's "Lawrence of Arabia" in Ramadi. On that day, U.S. Army Captain Travis Patriquin along with Marine Corps Major Megan McClung and Army Specialist Vincent Pomante III were killed in Ar Ramadi by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The tragedy marked the end of Travis's remarkable career and tireless efforts to win the "Battle of Ramadi" in 2006. Travis was a unique and unconventional thinker whom I had the pleasure of working with, we worked together as Brigade Operations Planners and in Iraq as Civil-Military Operations Officers. He arrived at the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division (Ready First Combat Team) with an extremely valuable skill set needed for a successful counterinsurgency campaign -- fluent in the local languages and cultures. Travis's experience as an enlisted intelligence analysis with the Special Forces serving in South America and subsequent language and cultural immersion training in Jordan created an officer fluent in Spanish, Arabic, and Pashtu. Immediately after 9-11 and the start of Operation Enduring Freedom, Travis deployed to Afghanistan and served during Operation Anaconda and the U.S. push to remove the Taliban from power.
Major Chad M. Pillai, FA 59 currently serves as a strategic planner for HQDA G-3/5/7 War Plans Division. He served as the Civil-Military Operations Officer for Task Force 2-37, 1st Brigade/1st Armored Division (Ready First Combat Team) from 2005-2007 alongside Captain Travis Patriquin. Major Pillai earned a Masters Degree in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Major Pillai published "Adult Education in Afghanistan" July-August 2009 Military Review and "Tal Afar and Ar Ramadi: Grass Roots Reconstruction"
March-April 2009 Military Review.
Continue on for the full tribute to "CPT Trav".
by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 12/08/2010 - 8:06am | 0 comments
Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion links.