Monthly Archives: April 2006

Better Late Than Never?

In January, Pentagon officials acknowledged that Paul Bremer, the senior U.S. official in Iraq during the first year of the war, told Rumsfeld in May 2004 that a far larger number of U.S. troops were needed to effectively fight the … Continue reading

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Gingrich on Cultural Relativism

""I’m so worried about the fact the marjaiyah [top Shiite clergy] is given so much power," said Hatem Mukhlis, a secular Sunni Arab politician. "The Americans should be really aware of what’s happening. It’s giving a lot of power to … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs | 85 Comments

Ben Franklin Remembered

"Iraqi unity and security are the ingredients for the start of an American military withdrawal, U.S. officials say. The U.S. commander in the country, General George Casey, wouldn’t specify yesterday when a pullout of the 133,000 troops might begin, only … Continue reading

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Emerging Counterinsurgency Doctrine

As we have been discussing here, the subject of "Counterinsurgency" is the flavor of the month in the Army and Marine Corps.  People who could not spell "Counterinsurgency" three years ago are now busy reading TE Lawrence, Mao Tse-Tung and … Continue reading

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“The Adviser” 22 April, 2006

"Ladies and Gentlemen,  Attached is this week’s Advisor for you to review.  Please feel free to pass along to friends, family and colleagues.  If you have any questions or comments please feel free to e-mail us. V/r Staff Sergeant Lucia … Continue reading

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Good luck to him and to us all.

"U.S. and Iraqi officials are hoping that a government representing Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds will be able to quell both the Sunni-led insurgency and bloody Shiite-Sunni violence that has raged during the political uncertainty. If it succeeds, it could enable … Continue reading

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Samuels on the Land LOC

Here we have Sam’s discussion of the land LOC. Download lloc_based_on_the_worstcase.doc Pat Lang

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Naval LOC Problem

Seymour Samuels addressed the Naval LOC problem in the Gulf at my request. Pat Lang Download loc_based_on_the_worstcase.doc (c) 2006 Seymour Samuels, All Rights Reserved

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Open Thread – Cordesman

This the Cordesman paper on Iraq.  This is an open thread. http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/060419_iraqlitany.pdf

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Which Mistake Was the Worst?

I am talking about Iraq of course.  The current candidates are – 1- Invasion of the "Iraq of Our Dreams" rather than the Iraq of objective reality.  Chas Freeman cites this formulation of mine on occasion.  What this refers to … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs | 41 Comments