Via TED - This demo by Pattie Maes of the MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry, was the buzz of TED. Sixth Sense is a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment.
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 SWJ Editors | Thu, 08/06/2009 - 1:02am | 1 comment
Obama's Battle Against Terrorism To Go Beyond Bombs and Bullets - Spencer S. Hsu and Joby Warrick, Washington PostThe US government must fundamentally redefine the struggle against terrorism, replacing the "war on terror" with a campaign combining all facets of national power to defeat the enemy, John O. Brennan, President Obama's senior counterterrorism adviser, said Wednesday.Previewing what aides said will be the administration's most comprehensive statement to date on its long-term strategy to defeat al-Qaeda and other violent extremists worldwide, Brennan said in an interview that the United States will maintain "unrelenting" pressure on terrorist havens, including those near the Afghan-Pakistani border, in Yemen and in Somalia.However, Washington must couple the military strikes that have depleted al-Qaeda's middle ranks with more sustained use of economic, diplomatic and cultural levers to diminish Islamist radicalization, he said, exercising "soft power" in ways that President George W. Bush came to embrace but had trouble carrying out."It needs to be much more than a kinetic effort, an intelligence, law enforcement effort. It has to be much more comprehensive," said Brennan, who will address the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday. "This is not a 'war on terror.' ... We cannot let the terror prism guide how we're going to interact and be involved in different parts of the world."
More at The Washington Post.
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/05/2009 - 9:04pm | 0 comments
Official Explains Process After Afghanistan Assessment
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2009 -- If more resources are required after the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan completes his assessment of the situation there, a separate process would follow, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
The Afghanistan review and reports about Russian submarines patrolling off the East Coast of the United States were among topics Morrell discussed at a news conference.
Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's assessment will not contain any requests for resources, Morrell said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates directed McChrystal to conduct an operations assessment to ascertain what is needed to implement President Barack Obama's new policy for Afghanistan. Gates likely will receive the report late this month or in early September, Morrell said.
The Afghanistan assessment will focus on the situation on the ground and the way ahead, Morrell said. But, he added, "it will not offer specific resource requests or recommendations."
If the review determines that additional resources are required to complete the Afghanistan mission, requests would then go through the normal chain-of-command process, Morrell said, to be validated and forwarded to Gates. Gates then would decide whether to recommend to the president that he commit additional resources for the Afghanistan mission.
Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, flew to Belgium over the weekend to meet with senior U.S. commanders and NATO officials to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The secretary was impressed after viewing a briefing detailing the progress of the Afghanistan review thus far, Morrell said.
Turning to other news, Morrell said the U.S. military was not worried about news reports that Russian submarines were traveling in international waters a few hundred miles off the U.S. eastern seaboard. The U.S. military was aware of the approach and presence of the Russian underwater vessels, he said.
"So long as they're operating in international waters -- as, frankly, we do around the world -- and are behaving in a responsible way, they are certainly free to do so," Morrell said, "and it doesn't cause any alarm in this building."
Related AFPS Articles:
Mullen Calls for Progress in Afghanistan
Commander Briefs Gates, Mullen on Strategy
Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Shares Strategy
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/05/2009 - 8:41pm | 0 comments
Mark Safranski has plenty of recommended reading - here - and here - at Zenpundit. (H/T)
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/05/2009 - 8:24pm | 22 comments
The War We Can't Win: Afghanistan & the Limits of American Power - Andrew J. Bacevich, Commonweal... What is it about Afghanistan, possessing next to nothing that the United States requires, that justifies such lavish attention? In Washington, this question goes not only unanswered but unasked. Among Democrats and Republicans alike, with few exceptions, Afghanistan's importance is simply assumed—much the way fifty years ago otherwise intelligent people simply assumed that the United States had a vital interest in ensuring the survival of South Vietnam. As then, so today, the assumption does not stand up to even casual scrutiny.Tune in to the Sunday talk shows or consult the op-ed pages and you might conclude otherwise. Those who profess to be in the know insist that the fight in Afghanistan is essential to keeping America safe. The events of September 11, 2001, ostensibly occurred because we ignored Afghanistan. Preventing the recurrence of those events, therefore, requires that we fix the place...Fixing Afghanistan is not only unnecessary, it's also likely to prove impossible. Not for nothing has the place acquired the nickname Graveyard of Empires. Of course, Americans, insistent that the dominion over which they preside does not meet the definition of empire, evince little interest in how Brits, Russians, or other foreigners have fared in attempting to impose their will on the Afghans. As General David McKiernan, until just recently the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, put it, "There's always an inclination to relate what we're doing with previous nations," adding, "I think that's a very unhealthy comparison." McKiernan was expressing a view common among the ranks of the political and military elite: We're Americans. We're different. Therefore, the experience of others does not apply.Of course, Americans like McKiernan who reject as irrelevant the experience of others might at least be —to contemplate the experience of the United States itself. Take the case of Iraq, now bizarrely trumpeted in some quarters as a "success" and even more bizarrely seen as offering a template for how to turn Afghanistan around...For those who, despite all this, still hanker to have a go at nation building, why start with Afghanistan? Why not first fix, say, Mexico? In terms of its importance to the United States, our southern neighbor—a major supplier of oil and drugs among other commodities deemed vital to the American way of life—outranks Afghanistan by several orders of magnitude...
Much more at Commonweal.
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 08/04/2009 - 9:28pm | 0 comments
Pentagon Weighs Social Networking Benefits, Vulnerabilities
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2009 -- A Defense Department review is weighing the benefits of social networking and other Web 2.0 platforms against potential security vulnerabilities they create.
In a memo issued last week, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III directed a study of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in hopes of establishing a policy by October, Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.
"We're addressing the challenges from a security standpoint, but also the impact and the value that they have to the department to be able to communicate in a 21st century environment," Whitman said.
Per his deputy's memo, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is slated to receive a report on the threats and benefits of Web 2.0 tools before the end of the month. Both Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have embraced the new technologies.
The Pentagon's chief information officer is taking the lead on the review, which was catalyzed by concerns raised at U.S. Strategic Command, Whitman said. Stratcom is responsible for overseeing the use of the "dot-mil" network.
In the meantime, there are no department-wide orders banning the use of social networking and other Web 2.0 applications, Whitman said, adding that standard local restrictions to such sites may occur due to bandwidth or security concerns.
"But as a department, we recognize the importance of taking a look at this issue because there are legitimate security concerns," he said.
In an interview with a blog site yesterday, Price Floyd, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, emphasized the importance of maintaining operational security, or Opsec, in an era of Web-based social networking.
"Opsec is paramount. We will have procedures in place to deal with that," Floyd told Wired's "Danger Room." "The [Defense Department] is, in that sense, no different than any big company in America. What we can't do is let security concerns trump doing business. We have to do business. ... Companies in the private sector that have policies like us don't dare shut down their Web sites. They have to sell their products and ideas -- and this is how it's done.
"Opsec needs to catch up with this stuff. This is the modern equivalent of sending a letter home from the front lines," he added. "Opsec needs to be considered on this stuff, but the more our troops do this stuff, the better off we are."
More:
What's on the Pentagon's Mind? Facebook - Los Angeles Times
Marines Ban Facebook and MySpace, Pentagon Considers It - Wall Street Journal
Pentagon Studying Social-networking Sites - United Press International
Military is Anything but Uniform - Stars and Stripes
Southcom Embraces Two-Way Impact of Social Media - AFPS
Pentagon Social Media Czar Pushes Web 2.0, Despite Ban Threat - Danger Room
Pentagon Wrestles with Possible Twitter, Facebook Ban (Updated) - Danger Room
Marines Ban Twitter, MySpace, Facebook - Danger Room
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 08/04/2009 - 3:15pm | 0 comments
Small Wars Journal / Small Wars Council's Dave Dilegge, Robert Haddick and Dr. Marc Tyrrell will be attending the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Senior Leaders Conference, 18 -- 20 August. All three will be live-blogging here on SWJ Blog and posting in this forum at SWC concerning issues raised and discussed by TRADOC leadership. We will entertain your questions and comments and pass those along to conference attendees. Stay tuned for more background information on the conference.
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 08/04/2009 - 1:25pm | 0 comments
See Cartoons by Cartoon by Cameron Cardow - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon
See Cartoons by Cartoon by Pat Bagley - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 08/04/2009 - 12:49pm | 0 comments
Commentary: More troops Needed for Afghan War - Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann, CNN.CNN's Barbara Starr reported last week that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, is expected to ask the Obama administration for additional troops and equipment for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as more military resources to deal with roadside bombs and explosives.This impending request appears to conflict with a report earlier in July by The Washington Post's Bob Woodward who wrote that on a trip to Afghanistan, James L. Jones, national security adviser, personally told US military commanders in the country that the Obama administration wants to hold troop levels flat for now.But given the relatively small size of the Afghan army and police - numbering some 170,000 men - and with the total number of US/NATO troops numbering around 100,000, McChrystal's impending request makes a great deal of military sense. While the combined forces total 270,000, classic counterinsurgency doctrine indicates that Afghanistan needs as many as 600,000 soldiers and cops to protect its population of some 30 million.An additional reason why more boots on the ground makes military sense is the large geographic scope of the Taliban insurgency. Estimates of the number of full-time fighters generally do not go above 20,000 men. But according to our analysis of an unpublished threat assessment map provided by the Afghan National Security Forces to the United Nations in April, 40 percent of Afghanistan was either under direct Taliban control or a high-risk area for insurgent attacks...
Much more at CNN.
by Robert Haddick | Tue, 08/04/2009 - 11:53am | 1 comment
Is Foggy Bottom Ready for Irregular Warfare? - Robert Haddick, The AmericanThis decade the U.S. military, led by its mid-ranking and junior leaders, has adapted to the demands of irregular warfare. It has thus renewed centuries of American tradition. Now American statesmen must show similar powers of adaptation.Why has the United States had so much trouble in Iraq and Afghanistan? When U.S. statesmen look at a map, they see national borders and think about their political counterparts in other nation-states. When today's American soldiers look at a map, they see an abstract watercolor of tribal territories, which often run over political boundaries long ignored by the tribal combatants.After years of trial and error, U.S. soldiers in the field now know how to cooperate on common goals with tribes and local leaders—the pacification of Iraq's Anbar Province through the tribal Awakening movement is the most notable recent example of this. But the United States has encountered hostility when it has attempted to enforce a top-down nation-state model on un—tribes and local leaders—the growing insurgency in Afghanistan is evidence of this. In fact, traditional resistance to central national authority is what has caused the chaotic regions the United States has found itself in to be chaotic in the first place.Top-level U.S. statesmen are loath to give up on the nation-state system, which is the foundation for so much of international law and diplomacy, and the basis by which U.S. statesmen do their work. Yet American soldiers have learned from hard experience how to succeed in the parts of the world that continue to function on a tribal basis. U.S. statesmen need to catch up in their thinking to where U.S. soldiers already are. Once they do, the United States will have an easier time achieving its national security objectives...
Much more at The American. Robert Haddick is managing editor of Small Wars Journal, writes SWJ's weekly column at Foreign Policy, and is a former U.S. Marine Corps officer.
by SWJ Editors | Sun, 08/02/2009 - 8:15pm | 1 comment
Think cultural awareness is important? Most of us here do, that's fairly
non-controversial. The operative issue is how at hand is how do you get more of
what we (almost) all agree is needed?
Calling all testers for the Virtual Cultural Awareness Trainer. Info on
the VCAT
here. Opportunity to weigh in on it here:
review the thread (anyone can do that) and, if interested,
send a
Private Messagee to SWC member Nichols (must be
registered and
logged in to SWC to do that) to get a crack at influencing this effort while it
is still at the ground floor. The effort will be conducted outside of SWJ,
we're just a conduit for connecting up folks with something to say about the
subject.
Reviewers should have ~4 hours to dive in to the web-based trainer sometime
in the next ~10 days..
This is an opportunity to get off the sidelines.
by SWJ Editors | Sun, 08/02/2009 - 5:33pm | 6 comments
Officials Identify Gulf War Pilot's Remains
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2009 -- Remains found last month in Iraq's Anbar province are those of Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, who was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet on Jan. 17, 1991, and whose fate until now had been uncertain, Defense Department officials reported today.
Acting on information provided by Iraqi civilians, Marines stationed in Anbar province went to a desert location believed to be the crash site of Speicher's jet, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology positively identified remains recovered there Speicher's.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said. "I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home."
The Navy's top uniformed officer also praised the effort to determine Speicher's fate and expressed gratitude for the fallen aviator's sacrifice. "Our Navy will never give up looking for a shipmate, regardless of how long or how difficult that search may be," said Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations. "We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us."
In early July, an Iraqi civilian told Marines he knew two people who recalled an American jet crashing and the remains of the pilot being buried. One of those people said he was present when Bedouins found Speicher dead and buried his remains. The Iraqis led Marines to the site, and the Marines searched the area. Remains were recovered over several days during the past week and were flown to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for scientific identification by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.
The recovered remains include bones and skeletal fragments. Positive identification was made by comparing Speicher's dental records with the jawbone recovered at the site. The teeth are a match, both visually and radiographically, officials said.
While dental records have confirmed the remains to be Speicher's, officials said, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology DNA Lab in Rockville, Md., is running DNA tests on the remains and comparing them to DNA reference samples previously provided by his family. Results are expected tomorrow.
Links:
Michael Scott Speicher - Wikipedia
US Pilot's Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years - Voice of America
After 18 Years, Remains of Pilot Shot Down in Iraq Found - Washington Post
US Pilot's Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years - New York Times
US Identifies Remains of Pilot Missing in Persian Gulf War - Los Angeles Times
Speicher Remains Found in Iraq, Identified - Washington Times
Sands Hid Fate of Gulf War Pilot Lost Since '91 - Associated Press
Remains of First US Gulf War Casualty Found - Reuters
Remains of First US Gulf War Casualty Solve 18 Year Mystery - Christian Science Monitor
by Robert Haddick | Sun, 08/02/2009 - 11:14am | 0 comments
Bloomberg's Pentagon reporter reports that the Pentagon's comptroller has made an urgent request to Congress to authorize reprogramming current-year funds in order to accelerate the delivery of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000 pound bunker-busting bomb.
Why the sudden request, apparently from CENTCOM and PACOM, to get this capability by next summer? Who prompted an update of the war plans? And why?
by Dave Dilegge | Sat, 08/01/2009 - 6:37pm | 3 comments
Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. took his first plunge into the blogosphere at the USNI blog where he commented:... With respect to your comment concerning participation in the blogosphere and the upcoming milbloggers conference, let me speak pretty plainly - most of the blogs I've dropped in on and read on a regular basis leave me pretty cold. Too many seem to be interested in scoring cheap, and anonymous, hits vice engaging in meaningful and professional exchanges. There is also a general lack of reverence for facts and an excess of emotion that, for me, really reduces the value of the blog. Incorrect/inaccurate data and lots of hype may be entertaining for some, but just doesn't work for me.My best example of a truly worthwhile blog, worthy of our time and intellectual engagement, is the Small Wars Journal. The tone is always professional, the subject matter is compelling and the benefit from participating is significant.All that said, here I am - I recognize the reality of the blogosphere and the potential that exists for worthwhile exchanges that enhance our professional knowledge and overall awareness. My intent is to continue to participate when I can and where I see I can make a contribution to a professional exchange, but my view today is that the bloggers generally see their activity as far more meaningful than I do right now. I do, however, remain hopeful...
Since then, and still finding time to drop in here for a comment or two, Admiral Harvey has been blogging at USNI and most recently, and most importantly, put up his own stake at the US Fleet Forces Command Blog.
First, thank you for your encouragement and your patience as I continue to learn the best way to run this Blog so that we can have an honest and robust dialogue...Welcome aboard Admiral - fair winds and following seas...
by Dave Dilegge | Fri, 07/31/2009 - 9:45pm | 11 comments
Okay, it's Friday night, so relax. Apparently, someone has favorable commentary concerning Kimberly Kagan's The Surge: A Military History. That someone is GrEaT sAtAn'S gIrLfRiEnD who opines:
"The Surge" is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how Iraq was saved from the brink of disaster. Perhaps out of modesty, Ms. Kagan does not stress her own role, as pres and creator of Institute for the Study of War, in pushing for the surge or the role of her husband, Frederick Kagan, in designing (with Gen. John Keane) many of its components."The Surge" challenges existing accounts in two ways.First, although Ms. Kagan is rightly respectful of Gen. David Petraeus, who led American forces during the surge, she avoids celebrating his genius at the expense of other important figures.She draws attention to the pivotal role played by Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who commanded the day-to-day operations of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq. She shows him helping to ensure that co-operating tribal forces submit fingerprints, weapons serial numbers and family details that would make it difficult for them to take up arms again.Honestly, how many times can we beat this dead horse? That said, she has some salient points here. More honestly - the post caught my eye more for the visual, rather than the written word - so sue me. That said, back to the SWJ command bunker, conveniently located along the I-95 parking lot in Northern Virginia.
by Robert Haddick | Fri, 07/31/2009 - 6:24pm | 2 comments
Here is the latest edition of my column at Foreign Policy.
Topics include:
1) Iraq's army thinks about life after the insurgency,
2) Does Afghanistan need the Phoenix Program?
by SWJ Editors | Fri, 07/31/2009 - 5:30pm | 0 comments
Papers are sought on the topics below. Winning entries and select others will be published in future special volumes of Small Wars Journal. For each of the two topics, a $3,000 Grand Prize and two $500 Honorable Mentions will be awarded. Hence $8,000 total purse.
....
Papers are to be submitted by midnight on November 10, 2009, with winners to be announced in January, 2010. One entry per author per question. Standard writing competition mumbo jumbo will apply, we will publish a final announcement shortly with those gruesome details, including detailed submission instructions.
by SWJ Editors | Fri, 07/31/2009 - 4:43am | 0 comments
In Afghanistan, US May Shift Strategy - Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post.The top US commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way US and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase in the size of Afghan security forces and an intensified military effort to root out corruption among local government officials, according to several people familiar with the contents of an assessment report that outlines his approach to the war.Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who took charge of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan last month, appears inclined to request an increase in American troops to implement the new strategy, which aims to use more unconventional methods to combat the growing Taliban insurgency, according to members of an advisory group he convened to work on the assessment. Such a request could receive a chilly reception at the White House, where some members of President Obama's national security team have expressed reluctance about authorizing any more deployments.Senior military officials said McChrystal is waiting for a recommendation from a team of military planners in Kabul before reaching a final decision on a troop request. Several members of the advisory group, who spoke about the issue of force levels on the condition of anonymity, said that they think more US troops are needed but that it was not clear how large an increase McChrystal would seek....
More at The Washington Post.
by SWJ Editors | Thu, 07/30/2009 - 9:19pm | 0 comments
In a memo that has been made public by the New York Times, Col. Timothy Reese, an adviser to the Iraqi military's Baghdad command, calls "for the U.S. to declare victory and go home." Kori Schake, John Nagl, Douglas Macgregor, Jonathan Morgenstein, Stephen Biddle, and Thomas E. Ricks all weigh in at the NY Time's Room for Debate blog.
by SWJ Editors | Thu, 07/30/2009 - 8:20pm | 3 comments
Iraq Social Media Experience Sparks Training for Leaders
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2009 -- Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV discovered the power of social networking in 2007 when he was the U.S. military's top spokesman in Iraq.
It was "probably one of the toughest times in Iraq," Caldwell recalled of his time as Multinational Force Iraq's deputy chief of staff for strategic effects. Mounting U.S. casualties and sectarian violence dominated the news headlines.
Caldwell, who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division before arriving in Baghdad, knew the coverage wasn't telling the whole story.
"Men and women were doing incredibly great things every day, and not just heroic things," he told American Forces Press Service. "They were building schools, helping establish government systems, empowering the Iraqi police forces to take on more responsibility, training Iraqi army forces.
"We were doing a lot of incredibly great things," he continued, "and the stories weren't getting out because they were overshadowed by the kinetic things going on and the loss of American life and the fact that casualty rates were up."
So at the urging of his younger staff, Caldwell took the monumental step of launching Multinational Force Iraq into the world of social networking...
by Robert Haddick | Thu, 07/30/2009 - 12:44pm | 4 comments
After several years of confusion and cultural resistance, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy are now laying out plans to rapidly expand and integrate unmanned systems into their doctrines, force structures, and procurement plans. These plans, especially the Air Force's, will have significant implications for U.S. ground forces. U.S. Army and Marine Corps leaders would do well to pay attention to the Air Force and Navy's plans for unmanned systems and to participate in the formulation of these plans to the extent they can. Getting involved will help ensure that the Air Force and Navy plans integrate effectively with ground force requirements.
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 07/29/2009 - 9:11pm | 1 comment
More US Troops May Be Needed in Afghanistan, says Pentagon Advisor
By Al Pessin
Voice of America
Washington
29 July 2009
A member of the strategic assessment team working with the new U.S. military commander in Afghanistan says the U.S. government and its allies need to be more realistic about what is needed to win the Afghan war, and he says that may include more troops.
Senior Washington analyst Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the United States and its allies need to take the Afghanistan war more seriously. He says they need to be honest about the security and development problems they have allowed to fester in recent years, and about the resources that will be needed to reverse the situation.
"This war has been fought without resources, but above all without realism," he said.
Cordesman is recently back from Afghanistan, where he joined other experts on a team advising the new U.S. commander, General Stanley McChrystal, on how to move forward. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cordesman declined to speak directly about the strategic assessment team's deliberations, but he suggested he believes more U.S. troops are needed.
"If you don't provide those resources and additional brigade combat teams, if you do not, I think, effectively move the Afghan security forces toward doubling them. I think unless we're prepared to commit those resources. If we somehow believe that a civilian surge of 700 people and tailoring our force posture to the views of a completely different set of strategic priorities, this is going to win, the answer is no, it's going to lose," he said...
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 07/29/2009 - 7:49pm | 11 comments
Good stuff at World Politics Review. Judah Grunstein interviews Andrew Exum concerning Ex's recent time in Afghanistan.
Andrew Exum is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and author of the influential counterinsurgency blog Abu Muqawama. He just returned from a month in Afghanistan, where he took part in recently appointed U.S. and Coalition commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal's 60-day review of strategy and operations. He graciously agreed to talk with WPR Managing Editor Judah Grunstein about his impressions from his trip...
The full audio file is available as a WPR podcast here.
... what makes you feel optimistic about the possibility of a successful outcome?
... the U.S. Army's officer corps has undergone a tremendously difficult but ultimately rewarding learning process over the past few years, and there is a keen understanding of the operating environment in Afghanistan. Whether or not we're going to be able to translate our operational prowess into strategic success is very much a question that is yet to be answered. But there was reason for being encouraged.
... what isolated snapshot would make you feel pessimistic about the outcome?
One word: Kandahar... Our intelligence and the way that we gather intelligence continues to be focused on the enemy....
Read the entire interview at World Politics Review.
Update:
Charlie Rose: A look at U.S. strategy in Afghanistan with Andrew Exum, former U.S. Army Ranger and Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.by SWJ Editors | Tue, 07/28/2009 - 9:56pm | 0 comments
How We'll Win in Afghanistan - Bing West, Wall Street Journal opinon.... Strangely, our military leaders rarely talk about the battles here. They urge shooting less and drinking more cups of tea with village elders. This is the new face of war - counterinsurgency defined as nation-building, an idealistic blend of development aid and John Locke philosophy. Our generals say that the war is "80% non-kinetic."Although they welcome the largess provided by coalition forces, the village elders with whom our soldiers drink tea are intimidated by an enemy that prowls at night when our forces return to their bases. The Taliban is a highly mobile, amorphous force, with little popular support. But it is very —to fight. Firefights are infrequent during the harvest seasons for poppy, corn and wheat, indicating that most local guerrillas are poor kids raised in a culture of tribal feuds, brigandage and AK rifles. The enemy leaders, more sinister and gangster-like, slip back and forth across the 1,500-mile border with Pakistan.While our Special Operations Forces launch raids that disrupt the Taliban, our conventional soldiers carry out the less-adventurous "framework" operations—mainly presence patrols. With 80 pounds on their back, day after day they slog through the heat, dust and mud, waiting for the enemy to initiate contact.Overall, too few of the enemy are being killed or captured to sap their morale. It's like fighting Apaches in the 19th century. The hidden guerillas shoot from tree lines or mountainsides, making accurate return fire impossible. And we rarely bomb a compound, despite press headlines to the contrary...
Much more at The Wall Street Journal.
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 07/28/2009 - 9:52am | 0 comments
Counterinsurgency Leadership in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Beyond
23 September 2009
National Press Club
Washington, D.C.
On 23 September 2009, the U.S. Marine Corps University and Marine Corps University Foundation will host a one-day symposium entitled Counterinsurgency Leadership in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Beyond. The event will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and registration for a limited number of seats is now open to the public. Confirmed speakers include General David Petraeus, Brigadier General (select) H.R. McMaster, Dr. Peter Mansoor, Thomas E. Ricks, Dr. Eliot Cohen, Sarah Chayes, and many other distinguished practitioners and scholars.
In addressing the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, symposium speakers will examine how leadership - indigenous and foreign - has often meant the difference between success and failure. They will identify best practices in counterinsurgency leadership and explore methods for leadership improvement. In addition, the symposium will delve into the current debate over the prioritization of counterinsurgency in the development of America's national security organizations and strategy. While much of that debate has focused on the allocation of funding for military equipment or on international politics, this symposium will focus on the formidable leadership requirements for counterinsurgency and other future challenges.
The complete symposium agenda is available on the registration website. Because space is limited, you are encouraged to register as soon as possible.
Point of contact:
Paul Trapp