Senator Lindsey Graham believes that if night raids end then this would be a “disaster” for General Petreaus’ strategy – that in effect, he will fail. The raids, he said, were crucial to the military strategy. Now wait a minute, night raids run counter to COIN principles, so why all the drama? Pull out FM 23-4, the COIN bible Petreaus authored and waxes soothingly to elected officials and policymakers, and ...
Continue Reading →In the starkest terms to date, President Karzai said that the visibility and intensity of US/NATO operations must be reduced and that US SOF night raids end. “It’s not desirable for the Afghan people either to have 100,000 or more foreign troops going around the country endlessly,” he said. These were not off the cuff remarks, but instead provided to reporters in an hour-long sit-down interview (an exasperated General Petreaus ...
Continue Reading →To all the Devil Dogs out there today, congratulations on the 235th Birthday of the Marine Corps!
If there was any question as to whether the M4 Carbine currently issued to Soldiers and Marines will be replaced for a more durable and lethal carbine or not, one only needs ...
Continue Reading →The narrative is set for the Administrations pending Afghanistan Policy Review slated for this December – who to believe whether sufficient progress is currently being made, the lack of viable options to address the ongoing threat that emanates from Pakistan’s tribal regions, and how soon will Karzai’s government be capable of providing security on its own? The following news reports provide background on this Gordian Knot.
In an article published by the Washington Post on November 2, it would appear that the Afghan government falls short in Kandahar. A “learning” experience for the US military.
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In a recent article from Foreign Policy entitled An Unnecessary War – – Afthanistan used to be the central front in the war against terrorism. Now it’s a distraction from it, the author argues that policy makers may be taking their eyes off the “bigger” picture and one that is more critical to US security.
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(Wall Street Journal – Pay to View: Article Obtained via OSINT)
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A young officer I once served with recently changed command and is now attending the Army’s Intermediate Level Education course for field grade officers; when he graduates he’ll report to a new unit and redeploy. His tedious ride from the east coast to Kansas coincided with the sacking of McChrystal. Remember him? After the storm broke and his pension was paid, follow up analysis of the “crisis” revealed that the majority of attributable quotes and “off-the-record” background was provided by ...
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