News and Miscellany Smorgasbord!
I hope the handful of people who read them enjoyed the articles about Iran and Turkey/Armenia/Iraq. As I continue writing articles, I'll keep posting them here; I'm on a two week schedule. In the mean time, there are a couple of stories in the news lately that are worth looking at.
* * *
As I've noted previously, spurred on by journalists such as Michael Yon and Michael Totten, the Iraq War has taken a dramatic turn in our favor in recent months. Another story stub is here. No one is claiming victory quite yet, but the decline in both military and civilian deaths, the decline in attacks, and the increasing pacification of former militant strongholds like Anbar (Ramadi, Fallujah) and Diyala (Baqouba) provinces gives reason for hope. Although critics downplay impacts like the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein, and the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the situation in Iraq has changed drastically in the last few months.
One of the big stories in military circles early last week was that senior leaders in the Marine Corps have suggested that the Marines, who have until now been concentrated largely in the Anbar Province of Iraq, be relocated to Afghanistan (Washington Post, Military.com). Since the outset of the Iraq War, the Marines have demonstrated themselves to be particularly well-suited for engaging in counterinsurgency operations. (The new joint Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency manual written by General Petraeus (Army) and Lieutenant General Amos (USMC) can be read here.) Personally, I think that this is a great idea, but for those who haven't worked with Marines, it may seem a bit brazen. It's worth a bit of explanation.
Part of the issue here is that the Marines have, for most (not all) intents and purposes, completed their mission. Although they could be deployed in large numbers to other parts of Iraq, this could cause more disruption to the overall situation. Moreso than most of the other services, the Marine Corps ethos directs Marines to desire work to do: not always combat, per se, but some sort of operation related to national security. As Afghanistan has increased in difficulty over the past few years, the Marines see not only a continuing mission for which they're well suited, but an opportunity to continue their mission of operating to support national security.
The other element is part of the culture of the Marine Corps. Although a contingent of Marines has existed since 10th November 1775, there have been numerous attempts to disband the Marine Corps. Following World War I, General John A. Lejeune recognized the vulnerability of the Marine Corps, and institutionalized a sort of political self-preservation instinct into the culture of the Marine Corps. As far as strategy, this was accomplished by recognizing the need for a specialized amphibious force; the result of this transformation was seen in the famous "Island Hopping Campaign" of World War II. Since that time, the leaders of the Marine Corps have consistently sought out opportunities to serve national security while simultaneously proving and reproving the indispensability and uniqueness of the Marine Corps. With all due respect to the Army, this unique ethos and indispensability is demonstrated by the high quality of the majority of Marines, relative to members of the other uniformed services.
In the case of Afghanistan, I believe that senior Marines see an opportunity to continue the fight against militant Islam while simultaneously continuing to demonstrate the unique strengths of the Marine Corps in fighting the war against Islamist terrorism. The NATO-led task force has encountered mounting difficulties on the Pakistani border. While only a handful of NATO countries have actually authorized their troops to participate in combat operations (most notably the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands), the Taliban and (to a lesser degree) al Qaeda have used the porous southern border region to regroup and stage attacks and kidnappings within Afghanistan. The logic of sending several thousand American Marines, who have proven their capacity for counterinsurgency and civil military operations, to shore up or even take the lead in the ISAF force, is apparent.
Not surprisingly, this has led other services, most notably the Army, to raise questions regarding both the legitimacy and feasibility of the proposal. Given the current paradigm of joint operations, a single service taking such an open lead on an operation like this is contrary to the current military zeitgeist. The focus on joint operations is a good one, but identifying the Marines as uniquely qualified to engage in counterinsurgency in Afghanistan is also important.
* * *
Valerie Plame, the former CIA operative who, along with diplomat husband Joe Wilson, became embroiled in a major controversy regarding the Iraq War, has written a book. Both Wilson and Plame have been outspoken critics of the war. According to the article, Plame claims:
Now, I'm not going to take pot shots and throw personal digs at Valerie Plame. What I will point out is that these claims, particularly about the Swift Boat Veterans, have no substance. The fact that she makes a point of defending Senator Kerry, as opposed to focusing on her own situation, suggests to me an inherent bias that deprives her of credibility.
* * *
The Fly: Crap, I have a week to get a futon. And maybe another chair.
LSG: lol
The Fly: My buddy Don is coming to visit overnight.
LSG: sounds fun
LSG: i have no plans
LSG: b/c im a loser
LSG: well i get to try to find a halloween costumes
LSG: but it seems that the theme for female adult costumes is to take an everyday occupation and make it slutty
The Fly: LOL
The Fly: Yeah, don't we live in a great world?
* * *
There appears to be more evidence that Iran is fueling the Afghan insurgency.
Meanwhile, GCHQ (the British equivalent of the NSA) is placing adverts in video games in a recruiting effort. While I'd imagine that most of the folks who play games like Splinter Cell aren't particularly interested in signals intelligence, I actually think this is a fairly innovative way to recruit for the intelligence services - particularly given the skills that some nerds display in editing and recoding games like these in order to gain an advantage. Some of the target audience are exactly who GCHQ and the NSA ought to be looking for.
* * *
Remember all of those SNL sketches featuring Will Ferrell as Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray? You folks have to see this.
Having helped scores of soldiers learn proper checkpoint and traffic stop techniques, I found this particularly entertaining. It's amazing what a little bit of comedy will do to ease a difficult situation.
* * *
Upcoming events for this week:
Laud crashes at Van Dieman's Station overnight on Thursday (yes, Gus, that Laud); there will be pictures
Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival on Saturday; I'll be wearing my new Desert Watch kilt, and there will be pictures
That's it for now, but I have a few topics to write about in coming days. Stay tuned.
As I've noted previously, spurred on by journalists such as Michael Yon and Michael Totten, the Iraq War has taken a dramatic turn in our favor in recent months. Another story stub is here. No one is claiming victory quite yet, but the decline in both military and civilian deaths, the decline in attacks, and the increasing pacification of former militant strongholds like Anbar (Ramadi, Fallujah) and Diyala (Baqouba) provinces gives reason for hope. Although critics downplay impacts like the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein, and the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the situation in Iraq has changed drastically in the last few months.
One of the big stories in military circles early last week was that senior leaders in the Marine Corps have suggested that the Marines, who have until now been concentrated largely in the Anbar Province of Iraq, be relocated to Afghanistan (Washington Post, Military.com). Since the outset of the Iraq War, the Marines have demonstrated themselves to be particularly well-suited for engaging in counterinsurgency operations. (The new joint Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency manual written by General Petraeus (Army) and Lieutenant General Amos (USMC) can be read here.) Personally, I think that this is a great idea, but for those who haven't worked with Marines, it may seem a bit brazen. It's worth a bit of explanation.
Part of the issue here is that the Marines have, for most (not all) intents and purposes, completed their mission. Although they could be deployed in large numbers to other parts of Iraq, this could cause more disruption to the overall situation. Moreso than most of the other services, the Marine Corps ethos directs Marines to desire work to do: not always combat, per se, but some sort of operation related to national security. As Afghanistan has increased in difficulty over the past few years, the Marines see not only a continuing mission for which they're well suited, but an opportunity to continue their mission of operating to support national security.
The other element is part of the culture of the Marine Corps. Although a contingent of Marines has existed since 10th November 1775, there have been numerous attempts to disband the Marine Corps. Following World War I, General John A. Lejeune recognized the vulnerability of the Marine Corps, and institutionalized a sort of political self-preservation instinct into the culture of the Marine Corps. As far as strategy, this was accomplished by recognizing the need for a specialized amphibious force; the result of this transformation was seen in the famous "Island Hopping Campaign" of World War II. Since that time, the leaders of the Marine Corps have consistently sought out opportunities to serve national security while simultaneously proving and reproving the indispensability and uniqueness of the Marine Corps. With all due respect to the Army, this unique ethos and indispensability is demonstrated by the high quality of the majority of Marines, relative to members of the other uniformed services.
In the case of Afghanistan, I believe that senior Marines see an opportunity to continue the fight against militant Islam while simultaneously continuing to demonstrate the unique strengths of the Marine Corps in fighting the war against Islamist terrorism. The NATO-led task force has encountered mounting difficulties on the Pakistani border. While only a handful of NATO countries have actually authorized their troops to participate in combat operations (most notably the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands), the Taliban and (to a lesser degree) al Qaeda have used the porous southern border region to regroup and stage attacks and kidnappings within Afghanistan. The logic of sending several thousand American Marines, who have proven their capacity for counterinsurgency and civil military operations, to shore up or even take the lead in the ISAF force, is apparent.
Not surprisingly, this has led other services, most notably the Army, to raise questions regarding both the legitimacy and feasibility of the proposal. Given the current paradigm of joint operations, a single service taking such an open lead on an operation like this is contrary to the current military zeitgeist. The focus on joint operations is a good one, but identifying the Marines as uniquely qualified to engage in counterinsurgency in Afghanistan is also important.
Valerie Plame, the former CIA operative who, along with diplomat husband Joe Wilson, became embroiled in a major controversy regarding the Iraq War, has written a book. Both Wilson and Plame have been outspoken critics of the war. According to the article, Plame claims:
"It was classic Karl Rove: go after your enemy's strong point," Plame writes, saying Bush's former political adviser was behind both efforts. "In Joe's case it was that he told the truth; in Kerry's case, it was his exemplary military service."
Now, I'm not going to take pot shots and throw personal digs at Valerie Plame. What I will point out is that these claims, particularly about the Swift Boat Veterans, have no substance. The fact that she makes a point of defending Senator Kerry, as opposed to focusing on her own situation, suggests to me an inherent bias that deprives her of credibility.
The Fly: Crap, I have a week to get a futon. And maybe another chair.
LSG: lol
The Fly: My buddy Don is coming to visit overnight.
LSG: sounds fun
LSG: i have no plans
LSG: b/c im a loser
LSG: well i get to try to find a halloween costumes
LSG: but it seems that the theme for female adult costumes is to take an everyday occupation and make it slutty
The Fly: LOL
The Fly: Yeah, don't we live in a great world?
There appears to be more evidence that Iran is fueling the Afghan insurgency.
Meanwhile, GCHQ (the British equivalent of the NSA) is placing adverts in video games in a recruiting effort. While I'd imagine that most of the folks who play games like Splinter Cell aren't particularly interested in signals intelligence, I actually think this is a fairly innovative way to recruit for the intelligence services - particularly given the skills that some nerds display in editing and recoding games like these in order to gain an advantage. Some of the target audience are exactly who GCHQ and the NSA ought to be looking for.
Remember all of those SNL sketches featuring Will Ferrell as Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray? You folks have to see this.
Having helped scores of soldiers learn proper checkpoint and traffic stop techniques, I found this particularly entertaining. It's amazing what a little bit of comedy will do to ease a difficult situation.
Upcoming events for this week:
That's it for now, but I have a few topics to write about in coming days. Stay tuned.
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