Blog Posts

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A Strategy of Tactics: Population-centric COIN and the Army by Gian P. Gentile

Beyond Population Engagement: Understanding Counterinsurgency by Heather S. Gregg

Conventional Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age by Michael S. Gerson

Playing for the Breaks: Insurgent Mistakes by Lincoln B. Krause

Filling Irregular Warfare's Interagency Gaps by Lew Irwin

The Defense Identity Crisis: It's a Hybrid World by Nathan Freier

To Stay a Soldier by Chuck Callahan

Review Essay

Editor's Shelf

Book Reviews

More at The Washington Post.

More at The Washington Post.

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us."

"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best."

"Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789."

--President George Washington, 3 October 1789

Secretary Issues Holiday Season Message - American Forces Press Service.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today issued a holiday season message giving thanks to the military men and women who put their lives on the line every day.

"This time of year calls on Americans to reflect on and give thanks for the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy. Of course, we can only do so because of those who put their lives on the line every day: the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who bear repeated deployments, hardships, and danger -- without fail and without complaint.

"Many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our nation will always honor their memory. For the loved ones of the fallen, I offer my deepest sympathies and prayers for your loss. And, in the wake of the shootings at Fort Hood, know that I am committed to ensuring that our home bases are safe and secure.

"I know the holiday season can be especially difficult for service members and their families, who may be separated from each other by thousands of miles. To the families of our men and women in uniform: know that the American people are indebted to you for the sacrifices of your husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters.

"This will be my third holiday season spent as Secretary of Defense. During these years nothing has impressed me as much as the determination, resilience and good humor of those who defend our nation. This holiday season, along with "Happy Thanksgiving," "Happy Hanukkah," and "Merry Christmas," I would add two words on behalf of millions of your countrymen: "Thank you."

Obama, Mullen Send Thanksgiving Day Messages - American Forces Press Service.

President Barack Obama and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, released Thanksgiving messages today.

Obama recalled that President George Washington proclaimed the first public thanksgiving, and President Abraham Lincoln established the annual Thanksgiving Day holiday to mend the nation during the Civil War.

It is Thanksgiving as a unique American tradition that "binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings," the president said.

Obama added, "As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year.

"In doing so, we pay tribute to our country's men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day."

Mullen's Thanksgiving Day message follows in its entirety.

"On behalf of the Mullen family, I wish all of you serving in uniform today -- as well as your families -- a very safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.

"We certainly have much for which to be grateful. Today, due in no small measure to your dedication, our nation -- indeed the world -- is a safer place to live. All around the globe and in all manner of ways, you stand a vigilant watch. From Afghanistan to Iraq and a thousand places in between, you help ensure peace and stability in places that have historically known neither. Giving hope to those in need and pause to those who threaten us, you make sure the fight remains on the enemy's doorstep and that lives torn asunder by war and natural disaster are restored and renewed.

"The people you have helped are grateful ... Americans everywhere are grateful ... and I am grateful for your service.

"That service, of course, can and does demand the highest of sacrifices. We should be especially mindful this year of those families who will have one less chair at the table, as well as those who have no chair at all, much less a home in which to keep it. Theirs will be a particularly poignant holiday, and I ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

"We live in a country that doesn't force its young men and women to pick up arms. You do it willingly, even eagerly -- not because you enjoy danger or killing or sacrifice, but rather in spite of those things. You and your families serve and work so hard so that someday perhaps your children and grandchildren might not have to. That is the greatest gift you can give a grateful nation.

"Again, from my family to yours, thank you for all you do."

The Los Angeles Times ran a story on Richard Padilla Cramer, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who then spent over two decades working for U.S. Customs on the Mexican border. To his colleagues, friends, and family he was the ultimate warrior against the drug smugglers, having worked undercover, busted corrupt officials, and held an important diplomatic post in Mexico. Now it is Cramer who stands accused of corruption and will stand trial for having secretly been himself a drug mafioso.

Writing in The Atlantic, Philip Caputo, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and author of A Rumor of War, ventured south of the border to see Mexico's war for himself. Everyone is now counting on Mexico's army to fight the war Mexico's police long ago abandoned. But Caputo hears rumors that the army may now be in the drug business as deeply as any cartel is. Caputo reports that in Mexico it is dangerous to know, let alone say, the truth.

Finally, at FPRI, George Grayson, one of the leading scholars on Mexico's drug violence, writes about the rise in self-organized defense, aka vigilantism, in Mexico. Some such groups have come out in the open. Grayson predicts that vigilante self-defense organizations in Mexico will soon become a major growth industry.

More at USA Today.

Old Soldiers Never Cash Out - New York Times editorial.

More at The New York Times.

Retired Generals Getting Rich from Conflicts of Interest - Tom Ricks, Foreign Policy's Best Defense.

More at Best Defense.

The Greed of the Generals (II): Two Questions - Tom Ricks, Foreign Policy's Best Defense.

More at Best Defense.

David Brostrom:

John Bernard:

Much more at Newsweek.

More at The New York Times.

Pricing an Afghanistan Troop Buildup is no Simple Calculation - Christi Parsons and Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times.

More at The Los Angeles Times.

More at The Weekly Standard.

More at The Washington Post.

More at The New York Times.

Download Joint Doctrine Publication (JDP) 3-40: Security and Stabilisation: The Military Contribution.

Topics include:

1) What happens when the U.S. and Pakistan split up?

2) America's Asian allies examine their options.

What happens when the U.S. and Pakistan split up?

How close is the U.S.-Pakistan security relationship to a break-up? Self-interest, not affection, seems to keep the partnership going. That's fine until a better arrangement for one side comes along or emotion overrides logic. An even larger U.S. military expedition in Afghanistan will be at the mercy of this fragile bond.

The reasons for cooperation are well known. The United States could not prosecute its war in Afghanistan without access through Pakistan. Washington hopes the Pakistani government will deliver up more al Qaeda terror suspects to join Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The U.S. engages Pakistan on a variety of levels to keep Pakistan's nuclear weapons stockpile under control. Indeed, notable U.S. analysts such as Stephen Biddle and Steve Coll believe that stabilizing Pakistan is the best justification for continuing the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan.

For its part, Pakistan counts on the United States to moderate its friction with India. More recently Pakistan has exploited its intelligence and military connection to the U.S. to target the Islamists at war with Pakistan's government. But Pakistan's enduring interest in America seems mostly to be about money.

Click through to read more ...

West Point's Combating Terrorism Center's CTC Sentinel - The November 2009 issue includes the following articles: Lashkar-i-Tayyiba: One Year After Mumbai, Success of the Meta-Narrative: How Jihadists Maintain Legitimacy, AQIM and the Growth of International Investment in North Africa, Allah's Domestic Containment and Regional Expansion Strategies, Jihadist Radicalization and the 2004 Madrid Bombing Network, The Past and Future of Deobandi Islam, Maintaining the Message: How Jihadists Have Adapted to Web Disruptions, and Recent Highlights in Terrorist Activity.

On the Knife's Edge: Yemen's Instability and the Threat to American Interests - Read this new Center for a New American Security policy brief by Andrew Exum and Richard Fontaine. This brief addresses the deteriorating situation in Yemen, which includes a growing al-Qaeda presence, a separatist movement in the South, and an active insurgency in the North, and the authors' opinion that the situation demands immediate U.S. attention.

New DoD Social Media Hub - Right now mostly feel good stuff and warnings - "How to Avoid Internet Coal in Your Stocking" is an example. That said and possibly of good use is the site's registry of DoD social media sites. RUMINT has it that the new DoD social media policy may make its debut here in the near future -- or not. Will check back and file a full report.

David Petraeus For D.C. Metro Police Chief - On the lighter side, or maybe not - might be a "progressive" and great idea - Spencer Ackerman spins off a Washington Times op-ed "lavishing praise on the greatest Army officer of his generation for his farsightedness in demonstrating how a thorough security presence/posture combined with bolstered support for a host nation's institutions of governance and rigorous subsidization of the tools for economic prosperity leads to a situation where a community comes "together to oppose and to confront the extremists."" Salinas, CA, seems to think this type of approach has merit.

More at The Washington Times.

What should be that response? How should Western societies respond to the generalized problem of terrorism, especially the domestic variety? Constitutional law professor and former National Security Council staffer Philip Bobbitt attempted to provide a comprehensive answer in his grandly ambitious book Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-first Century. In a message that ruffled feathers on every point on the political spectrum, Bobbitt argued that in order to defend Western values of liberty and the rule of law, both domestic and international law would need to become more muscular. Bobbitt rejected that there is a trade-off between civil liberties and government power. In a future world of "market-state terrorism" he fears we are headed to, Bobbitt argued that more law authorizing more surveillance and more foreign intervention would be the only way to protect basic liberties.

After an initial flurry of attention, Terror and Consent seems to have been shelved to collect dust. Without another 9/11 or even any small ball terrorism inside the U.S., no one has had any need for Bobbitt's theories.

Major Hasan's case may reintroduce us to Terror and Consent. Many want to know why the electronic surveillance over Hasan was not used to stop him in advance of his rampage. A fair question. Are there other Major Hasans who have similarly self-radicalized and are preparing to strike? Or about to self-radicalize even if they don't know it yet? Is there a government agency responsible for monitoring and preventing this? If so, what should be an acceptable level of false positive identifications and apprehensions?

Bobbitt attempted to address these and other questions in a dense and theoretical way. But maybe it won't be just theory for much longer.

Much more at The New York Times.

Debate Shifts to Afghan Exit Plan - Peter Spiegel and Yochi J. Dreazen, Wall Street Journal.

Much more at The Wall Street Journal.

Understanding the Surge from ISW on Vimeo.

The Surge: the Untold Story is a 34 minute documentary produced by the Institute for the Study of War. This video documents the Iraq Surge as part of a population-centric counterinsurgency approach and features many of the top commanders and others responsible for its implementation - including GEN Jack Keane (Ret.), GEN David Petraeus, Amb. Ryan Crocker, GEN Raymond Odierno, GEN Nasier Abadi (Iraq), COL Peter Mansoor (Ret.), COL J.B. Burton, COL Ricky Gibbs, COL Bryan Roberts, COL Sean MacFarland, COL James Hickey, COL David Sutherland, COL Steven Townsend, LTC James Crider, and LT James Danly (Ret.).

More at Voice of America.

Afghan Minister Accused of Taking Bribe - Joshua Partlow, Washington Post.

More at The Washington Post.

Ridding Afghanistan of Corruption Will Be No Easy Task - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times.

More at The Los Angeles Times.