Is the tide turning in southern Afghanistan ? Back in the fall of 2006, the Kagans, Frederick and Kimberly, from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), peddled the “surge” on a set of Power Point slides via General (Ret.) Jack Keane.  First to the Office of the Vice President, then to ...

Ever since Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, US Army Chief of Staff General William Westmoreland and his Asst. Chief of Staff for Intelligence when big chunks of the wall began to be knocked down as East German border guards walked off the job. What is to make of the latest Defense ...

Afghan insurgents match surge with more IEDs The US surges 30,000 troops (plus 1,400 US Marines from the 26 MEU) to Afghanistan.  The Taliban threat surges thousands of roadside bombs and IED’s.  Quid pro quo. But attributing a recent increase to “a mild winter” that has kept mountain passes open ...

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates unveiled a new plan which calls for significant cuts in our military budget.   In a Washington Post article published today, Secretary Gates and the administration agreed to of less than 2.7% based on the 2012 military budget of $553 billion. This represents a major victory ...

Gates Recommends Dempsey as Next Army Chief of Staff Secretary of Defense Gates has recommended General Martin E. Dempsey to be the next Chief of Staff of the Army. An armor officer General Dempsey previously served as commander of the 1st Armored Division in OIF, Commander of the Multinational Security ...

In yet another glaring example of sloppy body armor test procedures, the Inspector General says that the US Army "cut corners" when testing body armor according to Richard Lardner of the AP.  This is not the first time - nor is it likely to be the last - that SFTT and ...

Reintegrated Taliban Join Afghan Police While reintegrating former Taliban members into the general Afghan community and allowing them to join the Afghan Police may be well intentioned.  Prudence is required considering the increased Afghan security force blue-on-blue incidents resulting in numerous US/NATO murders.  Unfortunately provincial, district, and tribal elders vouching ...

U.S.-funded infrastructure deteriorates once under Afghan control, report says Since 2001, the Commanders Emergency Relief Program (CERP) in Afghanistan has provided commanders quick and readily available resources to fund projects – to build schools, to build local government facilities, purchase generators, pave roads, etc.  And because Afghanistan is a target ...

Busy With Afghanistan, the U.S. Military Has No Time to Train for Big Wars Clearly the US military, and especially our infantry-centric units, are on the “margins” when only one brigade combat team has been able to break away from COIN focused training this past decade and conduct full-spectrum operations ...

Insurgents Set Aside Rivalries on Afghan Border Four primary threat streams emanate from the Pakistan – the Mullar Omar Quetta Shura Taliban, the Haqqani network, the Hekmaktyer organization, and AQ.  For almost a decade these distinct groups have co-existed and operated exclusively with AQ parceling support from each.  It does ...

Iraq Wants the U.S. Out: Prime Minister, in Interview, Says Troops Must Leave Next Year as Planned Lest we forget that close to 50,000 US troops remain in Iraq supporting Operation New Dawn.  At least the Iraqi Prime Minister made it abundantly clear that all US troops must leave at ...

U.S. troops battle to hand off a valley resistant to Afghan governance Some truth finally from the battlefield.  An infantry battalion commander concludes that his task force is “locked in an endless war for an irrelevant valley.”   Ask any Soldier and Marine that has served in the Pech Valley, Kunar ...