AFRICOM To Remain At Stuttgart For Now, (Mideast Stars and Stripes)…John Vandiver, Nov 1, 2008
After a review of numerous potential locations for the establishment of U.S. Africa Command headquarters, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has elected to keep the new command in Stuttgart, at least for now, the Pentagon announced late Thursday.
Use Civilians, Not Soldiers, For Peace(Philadelphia Inquirer)…Reuben E. Brigety, Nov 2, 2008.
…Stung by criticism from nongovernmental organizations and African governments, AFRICOM’s leaders have recognized that conflict prevention is a task requiring close coordination among the three D’s of American foreign policy – defense, development and diplomacy. The military cannot, and should not, do it all.
A Full Plate In January, (Washington Post)…David Ignatius, Nov 2, 2008.
…The candidate who wins Tuesday will face a similar reality check. Indeed, the problems at home and abroad are so serious, and the room to maneuver is so constrained, that you have to wonder why anyone would want the job. The risks of failure will be huge; the opportunities for breakthroughs will be limited.
Who Is For Missile Defense?, (Washington Times)…James T. Hackett, Nov 2, 2008
The effort to defend against Iran’s missiles took a new turn in late September when Washington delivered an X-band radar manned by 120 U.S. personnel to the first permanent U.S. military base in Israel.
The radar sent to Israel is the same as the high-powered transportable model now operating in northern Japan. It is ideal for detecting short- and medium-range missiles such as Iran’s Scuds that can reach U.S. bases in Iraq and its Shahab-3 that threatens Israel. The advantage over Israel’s Green Pine radar is that the X-band radar can track missiles from launch, providing extra minutes to intercept. A Shahab-3 flies about 9 minutes from Iran to Israel, so a gain of several minutes is invaluable.
Some Israelis Feel An Urgency To Attack Iran, (Los Angeles Times)…Ashraf Khalil and Paul Richter, Nov 2, 2008
With international efforts to increase sanctions against Iran at a standstill, many Israelis believe their nation alone stands in the way of Tehran eventually building nuclear weapons.
Officials say other nations quietly want Israel to act unilaterally against Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. But an effective strike would be difficult and could stir up a wider conflict.
A Test That’s Sure To Come, (Washington Post)…Jackson Diehl, Nov 3, 2008.
…There almost always is. In April 2001 — long before Sept. 11 — George W. Bush had to react when a U.S. military surveillance aircraft was forced down in China and its crew detained for 11 days. The episode started as an accident, but Beijing used it to measure a new executive with scant international experience. In 1993 Bill Clinton was blindsided by the “Blackhawk Down” firefight in Mogadishu. After 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush, he abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia — and taught Osama bin Laden not to fear American power.
New Beltway Debate: What To Do About Iran, (New York Times)…Carol Giacomo, Nov 3, 2008
It is a frightening notion, but it is not just the trigger-happy Bush administration discussing — if only theoretically — the possibility of military action to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
One of the most thorough discussions is in a report by the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center, founded by four former senators — the Republicans Robert Dole and Howard Baker and Democrats Tom Daschle and George Mitchell — to devise policy solutions both parties might embrace.
With Iran projected to produce enough fuel for a nuclear weapon by 2010, the next president is going to have to concentrate his mind quickly. We hope he, unlike George W. Bush, will encourage a broader public debate about all of America’s options, and the high cost of another war. I will certainly be a lot more skeptical.
Partnering For Cyberspace Security, (Washington Post)…Walter Pincus, Nov 3, 2008.
In two recent speeches that have attracted little notice, Donald Kerr, principal deputy director of national intelligence, has called for a radical new relationship between government and the private sector to counter what he called the “malicious activity in cyberspace [that] is a growing threat to everyone.”
Kerr said the most serious challenge to the nation’s economy and security is protecting the intellectual property of government and the private sector that is the basis for advancements in science and technology.
Calling for “a fundamental rethinking of our government’s traditional relationship with the private sector,” Kerr said that “a high percentage of our critical information infrastructure is privately owned, and both government and industry must recognize that an individual vulnerability is a common weakness.”
Fighting With Photons Unattributed. November 1, 2008
(Economist)…Unattributed
…The first serious battlefield ray gun is now being deployed. And the next generation, now in the laboratory, is coming soon.
The deployed ray gun (or “directed-energy weapon”, in the tedious jargon that military men seem compelled to use to describe technology) is known as Zeus.
If Zeus works, it will make soldiers’ lives noticeably safer. But what would really make a difference would be the ability to destroy incoming artillery rounds. The Laser Area Defence System, LADS, being developed by Raytheon, is intended to do just that—blowing incoming shells and small rockets apart with laser beams. The targets are tracked by radar and (if they are rockets) by infrared sensors. When they come within range, they are zapped.
If it works, LADS will be a disruptive technology in more senses than one.
It’s time, The Economist print edition, Oct 30th 2008.
For all the shortcomings of the campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama offer hope of national redemption.
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