Foreign Affairs – By rushing into Iraq instead of finishing off the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Washington has unwittingly helped its enemies: al Qaeda has more bases, more partners, and more followers today than it did on the eve of 9/11. Now the group is working to set up networks in the Middle East and Africa — and may even try to lure the United States into a war with Iran. Washington must focus on attacking al Qaeda’s leaders and ideas and altering the local conditions in which they thrive.
more…
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
US Navy – U.S. fires at al Qaeda target in Somalia
CNN – U.S. Navy destroyer off the coast of northern Somalia Friday fired on a suspected al Qaeda operative believed to have been involved in the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. There was no immediate word on the results of the attack, which was carried out using one of the destroyer’s 5-inch guns.
more…
Ground Warfare – How I Spent the War
New Yorker – Nobel laureate Gunter Grass reflects on how he spent World War II – with the Waffen SS.
more…
US Marines – Marines Battle Bureaucrats and Plead for High-Tech Gear
Wired – A look at how difficult it is for Marines to field new weapons???
more…
Chinese Navy – Chinese build five nuclear subs
Financial Times – China has surprised the Pentagon with the pace of development of a new class of submarine that threatens the nuclear balance by providing Beijing with a more robust nuclear deterrent. The Chinese navy is developing a fleet of five nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The Jin class submarines would provide a much stronger nuclear deterrent because they would be armed with the new long-range JL-2 missile.
more…
Chinese Navy – China's Military Buildup
US Navy – How the Navy Bought a Lemon from Northrop Grumman
Aviation Week – The General Accountability Office explains in a new report how the Navy’s Advanced SEAL Delivery System program got so messed up that the service had to cancel its orders last year in favor of an ASDS improvement program. GAO says the Navy paid $885 million over 13 years for the first and only ASDS which is so flawed that it’s only available for limited operational use, prompting Congress to ask for a detailed investigation.
more…
Iraq – Iraqi tribes shift from hurdle to help
Navy Times – Sean Naylor reports that tribes that once resisted the coalition are now volunteering to become police???a potentially extremely positive development???a very interesting analysis of the current situation on ground in Iraq.
more…
Chinese Navy – China intent on aircraft carrier
Washington Times – The new commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific and Asia says he found Chinese military leaders intensely interested in acquiring aircraft carriers during a recent visit to that country.
more…
Geopolitics – U.S. Africa Command Brings New Concerns
Washington Post – The creation of the Defense Department Africa Command, with responsibilities to promote security and government stability in the region, has heightened concerns among African countries and in the U.S. government over the militarization of U.S. foreign policy.
more…
Information Warfare – War Fears Turn to Cyberspace in Estonia
New York Times – Another look at the cyberwar between Estonia and Russia.
more…
Geopolitics / Russia – Reviving the evil empire
Los Angeles Times – Niall Ferguson documents how the Soviet Union is being recreated.
more…
Editorial Note – NOSI will be on break until Tuesday May 29
NOSI is taking a short break and will next update on Tuesday May 29. See you then!
more…
Information Warfare – Newly nasty
Economist – Defences against cyberwarfare are still rudimentary. That’s scary.
more…
Information Warfare – Cyber War! – An Interview With John Arquilla
PBS Frontline – A fascinating interview from 2003 to read with the man who coined the term cyber war, especially in light of this month’s events in Estonia.
I also recommend the fictional account he wrote in 1998 of the first cyber war???very insightful fiction:
Wired – The Great Cyberwar of 2002.
more…
Royal Navy – Chagos Island exiles win right to return home
Daily Telegraph – Families expelled from the Chagos Islands by Britain to make way for an American airbase won their legal battle to return home yesterday. The only island that they will not be able to resettle under original High Court orders allowing their return will be Diego Garcia, where the airbase is situated.
more…
US Navy – Oldest U.S. carrier makes last voyage
Seattle Times – The USS Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Navy’s oldest ship in full active service, embarked on its last major deployment Wednesday before being decommissioned next year.
more…
US Navy – Eisenhower strike group returns after long deployment
Virginian Pilot – Several thousand sailors from the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and three smaller ships arrived in Norfolk Naval Station on Wednesday, weary from an extended, nearly eight-month deployment fighting wars and securing seas in the Middle East.
more…
Information Warfare – CyberWar I – What the Attacks on Estonia Have Taught Us About Online Combat
Slate – An early lessons-learned article on the Russian-Estonia cyberwar.
more…
Royal Navy – Nimrods exceeded planned flying hours for 2 years before fatal crash
The Scotsman – The RAF’s Nimrods are worn out???
more…
Information Warfare – Estonia Computers Blitzed, Possibly by the Russians
New York Times – Russia wages the first country-on-country cyberwar, against Estonia.
Washington Post – Cyber Assaults on Estonia Typify a New Battle Tactic.
more…
Geopolitics / Economics – The End of National Currency
Foreign Affairs – Global financial instability has sparked a surge in “monetary nationalism” — the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.
more…
US Navy – Not-Quite-Secret Radar
Aviation Week – A look at a new AESA radar for the P-3 Orion.
more…
Miscellaneous – NATO eyes naval patrols to secure oil facilities
Reuters – NATO is talking to oil and gas producing companies and countries about how it could help combat security threats to energy infrastructure???the likely measures would involve providing sea-borne rapid reaction forces to combat attacks on facilities, hostage taking and piracy in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
more…
Iraq – The Flight From Iraq
New York Times Magazine – War has displaced millions in Iraq, creating the largest refugee problem in the Middle East since 1948. As they flee their country, are they taking the war with them?
more…
You must be logged in to post a comment.