Category: National Security

National Security – DIME

Russia, U.S. Missile Defense

Russian Bombers Could Be Deployed To Cuba
(Washington Post)…Peter Finn, July 22, 2008
Pg. 10

Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons could be deployed to Cuba in response to U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, a Russian newspaper reported Monday, citing an unnamed senior Russian air force official.

"While they are deploying the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, our strategic bombers will already be landing in Cuba," Izvestia quoted the source as saying.

The United States says it wants to deploy tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland as a defensive measure against missiles that might be fired from countries such as Iran. U.S. officials insist that the system presents no threat to Russia, which, they say, could easily overwhelm it by launching multiple missiles at the same time.

Afghanistan: Strategy

Afghanistan Doesn’t Need A ‘Surge’
(Wall Street Journal)…Ann Marlowe, July 22, 2008
Pg. 17

Afghanistan needs many things, but two more brigades of U.S. troops are not among them.

…. Is bringing in thousands of American troops the answer?

"No!" the official said. "It’s using Special Forces to get the bad guys who are infiltrating from Pakistan. Our enemy only attacks when they expect to win. If we have to go after them, we need the capacity to hunt them with stealth over trackless mountainsides for which our infantry, cavalry and airborne soldiers are not trained or equipped to operate." Defeating the enemy is best accomplished by highly trained fighters who travel light.

Counterinsurgency is not one-size-fits-all. While there are best practices, they must be applied in a nuanced way. In poorly governed countries where insurgencies are likely to arise, the solution may vary from valley to valley.

Ms. Marlowe is a New York-based writer. This year she completed her 10th trip to Afghanistan and her third embed with U.S. forces there.

Iraq, U.S. Politics, Philippines

Filipino War’s Lessons For Iraq
(USA Today)…Michael Medved, July 22, 2008, Pg. 11

A century ago, success seemed unlikely in an unpopular war — that is, until the tide turned. Can the shift in the Philippines show the way forward today?

…  For one thing, the United States lost 4,234 troops on Filipino battlefields — a close match to the raw number killed in Iraq.

..  In 1900, the inexperienced but charismatic "anti-imperialist" Democrat who challenged the war was 40-year-old William Jennings Bryan, "Boy Orator of the Platte."

… Like 2008, the nation’s leading celebrities decried the "senseless" bloodletting and focused on alleged U.S. atrocities.

… For the most part, America’s volunteer troops maintained high morale, resenting anti-war activists back home because they understood this agitation encouraged the enemy.

Nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Medved is the author of the upcoming book The 10 Big Lies About America. He is a member of USA TODAY’s board of contributors.

Iraq, Good News, Media Coverage

Good News Is No News
(Washington Times)…Paul Greenberg, July 22, 2008, Pg. 23

Have you been keeping up with the good news out of Mosul, al Qaeda’s last urban stronghold in Iraq? The good news is that it’s not an al Qaeda stronghold any more. Thanks to the latest American and Iraqi offensive. But you might not have heard about that welcome development.

… For news of victory, Americans may have to look to the foreign press.

Next-War-Itis: Debate on Strategy

A Pentagon Battle Over ‘The Next War’ (Los Angeles Times)…Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel, July 21, 2008
Pg. 1

Some resist Gates’ focus on guerrilla, not large-scale, fighting.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr … like many officers across the military, believes the armed forces must prepare for a large-scale war against technologically sophisticated, well-equipped adversaries, rather than long-term ground conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.

In public speeches and private meetings, Gates has chastised many commanders as ignoring wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while they plan for speculative future conflicts.

“We should not starve the forces at war today to prepare for a war that may never come,” Gates said in a stinging address last month, one of a series he has delivered. Gates even has coined a term for what he sees as a military disorder: “next-war-itis.”

“I think that nation-state and conventional war is in a state of hibernation,” said Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, who commanded U.S. forces in Fallouja in 2004. “I don’t think it’s gone away, but the most likely threats probably today are not going to be conventional or from another state.”

Mattis argues that the current fight is not an interlude.

In the middle of the debate is Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Mullen has asserted that the military must find a balance between conventional and irregular wars.

The center of gravity in this war has always been the Iraqi people. And when you talk to them, as I have over the past three and a half years, you realize that victory is at hand. They no longer live in fear. Despite sectarian conflicts that are now political rather than military in nature, the feeling of Iraqi nationalism is palpable. Yes, they are Shiites and Sunnis and Kurds, but they are also Iraqis. Just like we are Floridians and New Yorkers, but also Americans.

Taiwan, China, U.S. Diplomacy

Bush Should Keep His Word On Taiwan
(Wall Street Journal)…Dan Blumenthal, Aaron Friedberg, Randall Schriver and Ashley J. Tellis, July 19, 2008, Pg. 9

In 2001, President Bush made a bold and principled decision to offer Taiwan a range of military equipment for its security. In 2008, as he prepares to leave office, the president seems to have reneged on that commitment.

The People’s Republic of China has been expanding its military capabilities at a rapid pace.

The policy of not offending China, no matter what the costs, does not serve U.S. interests in the Taiwan Straits. First, it undermines Mr. Ma’s ability to deal with Beijing from a position of strength, and to that extent it undermines the common objective of peaceful reunification, should the Taiwanese desire it.

Denying Taiwan the minimal capabilities required to cope with China’s massive military buildup also increases the burdens on U.S. forces if they should ever intervene in a future cross-straits confrontation.

Iran and U.S. Diplomacy

U.S. Talks With Iran Exemplify Bush’s New Approaches
(Washington Post)…Dan Eggen

With his moves last week involving Iraq, Iran and North Korea, President Bush accelerated a shift toward centrist foreign policies, a change that has cheered Democrats, angered some Republicans and roiled the presidential campaign.

U.S. Is Present, But Iran Nuclear Talks End In Stalemate
(New York Times)…Elaine Sciolino
International talks on Iran’s nuclear ambitions ended in deadlock on Saturday, despite the Bush administration’s decision to reverse policy and send a senior American official to the table for the first time.

Iraq; Reconciliations

Dealing With Insurgents In Iraq, (FNC)…David Piper, July 16, 2008

…These are members of the 101st Airborne and they’re processing Iraqi suspects from the Balad area here in central Iraq. This is reconciliation Iraqi style. These men have simply walked in to this U.S. forward operating base to announce they want no part of the war anymore.

First of all, these men, who have been sponsored by a tribal leader, are read a ceasefire agreement. They then go through the identification process and their biometric data are taken. They are then urged to admit anything they’ve done. If they have charges to answer to, they will later have to appear before an Iraqi judge and he will decide if they are guilty or not. Up until now, the judges seem to have shown leniency in keeping with the new spirit of national unity and haven’t found any of the over 100 men who have come before them guilty. That is the carrot, but there’s also a very large stick.

All these individuals have been warned if they conduct any types of terrorist offences in the future, they’re likely to spend a very long time in the Iraqi jail. The 101st Airborne have had to make up these identification procedures as they go along. It’s helping them build an invaluable database of who’s who in the area and also a powerful tool to find individuals if they re-offend, and combining it with existing intelligence can unearth hidden treasure. As the soldiers slowly processed these individuals, they discovered among them the second and fourth most wanted men they have been after for months. Number two knows he’s a wanted man, but doesn’t know he’s among Balad’s most wanted.