C.J. Cheevers from the New York Times has been a go-to 24/7 resource for the SFTT news project; CJ also recently published the definitive history of the Avtomat Kalashnikov this past year in “The Gun.” his NYT blog is a new entry that he will update periodically that the SFTT news team directs your attention to.
The first video blog provides an upfront and personal look at an aero-medevac of ...
Continue Reading →How ironic that intelligence officials can be targeted so readily in Kabul by a suicide bomber. That kind of intelligence is supposed to be secret. You know, the fact that there are intelligence service employees and a top intelligence official in a specific vehicle in downtown Kabul. Coincidence? Nah. Inside information of a personnel manifest in a vehicle on a specific route at a certain time was passed along. That’s pretty ...
Continue Reading →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 the President, then to the Pentagon, and then to CENTCOM, and finally to Congress – standard operating procedure back then. The result? The “surge” into Iraq and the “reversal ...
Continue Reading →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 Department report which points to increased success by the Taliban and Al Qaeda against NATO troops ...
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 is simply ridiculous.
Another US/NATO servicemember was killed over the weekend by an IED…the grind continues.
Key Highlights:
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 for the Pentagon, military contractors, lobbyists and armaments manufacturers. While the traditional beltway insiders continue to benefit from the Pentagon’s largess, the ultimate sacrifice will be paid for the the ...
Continue Reading →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 Transition Command in Iraq, acting commander of U.S. Central Command, and is currently serving as Commander, Training and Doctrine Command.
In summary, ...
Continue Reading →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 major news organizations have reported on the systemic failure of the US Army and DoD to follow established test procedures when evaluating protective gear fielded by our young men and ...
Continue Reading →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 for Taliban reintegration will not be intended targets if these former members reconsider their newfound allegiance. It is a risk, plain and simple, like throwing caution to the wind.
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 rich environment for CERP related projects given the effects of over 30 years of war and the lack of government capacity to provide services, CERP is sometimes the only ...
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