US Marines – The Marines take over in Fallujah.

• Associated Press: Marines take over Iraqi city from U.S. paratroopers, but problems expected to persist

US Marines – Contrary to a recent preliminary U.S. Army War College study that downgraded the importance of speed in Operation Iraqi Freedom last year, the Marine Corps strongly believes that speed was absolutely essential in the rout of Saddam Husseinís forces.

• Sea Power: Corps Combat Assessment Team Cites Need for Speed in Iraq

Background – Iraq – This piece is the first in a series of periodic Inside the Command Center articles on the 2003 war in Iraq. The author spent six weeks of the war as an ìembedded reporterî at the Coalition Force Land Component Command headquarters at Camp Doha, Kuwait.

• Inside the Pentagon: Inside the Command Center – Decision to Hasten Ground Attack into Iraq Presented New Risks

Background – Wargames – James F. Dunningan on what can be learned from wargaming the war with Iraq?

• StrategyPage: Wargames and the War in Iraq

Russian Navy – The flagship of Russia’s Northern Fleet – the cruiser Peter the Great – has been ordered back to port as it is said to be too dangerous to be at sea.

• BBC: Russian flagship ordered to port
• Daily Telegraph: Russian nuclear warship ‘could blow up’

Russian Navy – The decline of Russia’s armed services has been unmistakeable for more than a decade, but it is the crisis in the navy that has been most conspicuous of all.

• BBC: Russia’s rusting navy

Argentinian Navy – Argentina is accused of interferring in the Falkland’s economic zone.

• Merco Press: Falklanders anger over ìAlmirante Irizarî incident

US Navy – There are nagging doubts about the ability of the U.S. naval shipbuilding and repair industry to meet the demands of the century ahead. Some elementsóprimarily those associated with small boats and high-speed ferries and the offshore oil and barge industriesóare faring well, but the future is far less sanguine for many of the larger yards and their subcontractors.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: U.S. Shipyards Navigate between a Rock and a Hard Place

Background – Spain – William Lind looks at one of historyís shortest and most successful strategic bombing campaigns.

• Defense in the National Interest: Successful Strategic Bombing

US Navy – The US plans to permanently station an Aegis destroyer in the Sea of Japan as part of its ballist missile defense shield.

• Reuters: U.S. to deploy destroyer as missile defense ramps up

US Navy – An IT analysis of the disaster the Navy Marine Corps Intranet has become.

• I Cringely: A Lose – Lose Situation

US Navy – Many critics in Washington predicted more than a year ago that the realignment of the Navyís integrated warfare systems (IWS) under one acquisition umbrella would not last because its size and complexity would pose impassable barriers to success. Today, Rear Adm. Charles T. Bush, the program executive officer in charge of IWS, offers this news: programs have been tightened, support costs are down, and open architecture ó the conversion of the serviceís diverse information system protocols into a universal network ó is becoming reality.

• Sea Power: Integrated Warfare Systems Office Consolidates Programs, Cuts Costs

Bangladeshi Navy – Bangladesh will increase the size of its navy.

• The Daily Star: Govt to buy four subs, fighters

US Marines – Our Nation has become so dependent on spectrum-based services that it would be difficult to win a war without them.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Where Is My Frequency?

Background – Warplanning – William Arkin looks at the current state of warplanning in the Pentagon.

• Los Angeles Times: War Plans Meaner, Not Leaner

Background – Afghanistan – An interesting look at the current state of affairs in Afghanistan, followed by a Question and Answer session with the author.

• The New Yorker: Letter From Afghanistan: Road Rage
• The New Yorker: The Afghan Road

Royal Navy – Aboard a Royal Navy frigate in the Gulf, hunting Al-Qaeda.

• Daily Telegraph: The Royal Navy closes one of al-Qa’eda’s last escape routes

US Navy – Is the title of the Secretary of the Navy about to change?

• Copley News Service: Secretary of the Navy may fold the Marines into his official title

US Navy – After delays of about two years and significant cost overruns, the Navy considers the new LPD 17 amphibious transport dock ship to be on schedule now, with the first of 12 ships set for delivery early in the next fiscal year.

• Sea Power: LPD 17 Leads to Dramatic Changes In Design, Systems Integration

US Navy – The world order anchored by the U.S.-German relationship has integrated Germany into Europe without more bloodshed, brought the transformation of communist Europe, and visited prosperity on a part of the world that could easily have been embroiled in strife. That world order, however, is being severely eroded by misunderstanding and rhetoric on all sides. A statecraft is needed that comprehends the nature of military power and what a given country can and cannot do to defend itself.

• US Naval War College Review: Germany and the United States in the Age of Terror

Background – Bases – George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld have pledged to change the way America’s armed forces are distributed around the globe. What do they have in mind?

• The Economist: The next American empire

Chinese Navy – A look at how and why the Chinese Navy is increasing in size.

• Washington Post: With Taiwan in Mind, China Focuses Military Expansion on Navy

US Marines – Patroling at night in Port-au-Prince with the Marines.

• Associated Press: Marines Face Danger on Haiti Night Patrol

US Navy – Aboard the USS George Washington in the Persian Gulf.

• Virginian Pilot: Single U.S. carrier, GW, keeps watch

US Navy – Naval lessons learned from Iraq.

• Virginian Pilot: Military learns lessons from the war in Iraq

Background – Iraq – John Keegan looks back on the invasion of Iraq, one year later.

• Daily Telegraph: Brilliant coalition operation to topple the regime

Background – Iraq – A look at how 4th Generation Warfare is being conducted in Iraq.

• Defense in the National Interest: Iraq: Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) Swamp

Background – History – The paths of two powerful men crossed in the early 1920s, and their actions shaped the future of the Navy and Marine Corps.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Lejeune and Denby: Forging a Marine Corps Doctrine

Background – War on Terror – The Bush administration has literalized its “war” on terrorism, dissolving the legal boundaries between what a government can do in peacetime and what’s allowed in war. This move may have made it easier for Washington to detain or kill suspects, but it has also threatened basic due process rights, thereby endangering us all.

• Foreign Affairs: The Law of War in the War on Terror

Nigerian Navy – Nigeria sends a ship to patrol off of Equitorial Guinea.

• Agence France Presse: Nigeria deploys warship off Equatorial Guinea amid coup fears

Canadian Navy – Canada’s commando force, JTF-2, prepares for naval missions.

• Ottawa Citizen: Elite troops train for terror from sea

Chinese Navy – Is China building several aircraft carriers, to a modified Admiral Gorshkov design?

• Federation of American Scientists: PLAN Project 9935 (PDF format)

US Navy – In 2004, the Navy is poised at an important juncture, with its forces having been restructured following Operation Iraqi Freedom, and its leadership executing new plans for how the fleet will organize and deploy in support of the ongoing global war on terrorism. The transformation under way calls for enhanced capabilities and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is building the platforms that will redefine the fleet well into the next century.

• Sea Power: Sea Change: NAVSEA Charts Course for Navy of 21st Century

Russian Navy – Russia successfully test fires a submarine launched intercontinental ballistic missile.

• Hi Pakistan: Russia test-fires ICBM after two failures

NATO – NATO widens its antiterrorism patrols to the entire Mediterranean Sea.

• Associated Press: NATO allies expanding antiterror naval patrols

Background – Geopolitics – Meet Colonel Tom Wilhelm, one of a new breed of soldier-diplomats that has come into being since the end of the Cold War. An essay by Robert D. Kaplan

• The Atlantic: The Man Who Would be Khan

Royal Air Force – Nimrod maritme patrol aircraft are being used for overland surveillance in Iraq.

• The Herald: Nimrods spy on the roadside bombers

Royal Navy – More design changes to the Royal Navy’s new carriers.

• Daily Telegraph: A Forth Bridge too far for Navy’s new carriers

French Navy – More on the exercises between the French and Chinese navies.

• Financial Times: France joins China in naval exercises as Taiwan prepares to go to the polls

US Navy – The USS Kitty Hawk battlegroup is exercising off of Korea.

• Xinhua: US aircraft carrier arrives S.Korea for joint military

US Navy – Will the 6th Fleet help provide security for the Olympic Games?

• Associated Press: U.S. Sixth Fleet commander visits Athens as Greece boosts Olympic security

US Marines – The Marines begin nation building in Haiti.

• Reuters:
  Marines Begin Battle for Hearts in Haiti

US Marines – Mines and IEDs in expeditionary maneuver warfare environments: obstacles or nuisances? Fixing MAGTF mine countermeasures is essential.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Movement and Maneuver of MAGTFs in Mine Environments: Gordian Knot or Not?

US Navy – Are P-3 Orions operating in support of troops in Chad?

• The Guardian: US sends special forces into north Africa
• CNN: U.S. backs Chad against extremists

Background – Piracy – An update on piracy at sea.

• San Mateo County Times: The scourge of modern piracy

Background – Taiwan – Background briefings on the current dispute in the Taiwan Strait.

• Virtual Information Center: China -Taiwan Dispute Primer
• Virtual Information Center: A Taiwan Strait Crisis in the Making? – A Special Press Summary

Background – Russia – A further look at Russia’s exercises last month.

• Virtual Information Center: Russiaís Show of Force – A Special Press Summary

US Navy – American civilian and military leaders must dismiss the fatally flawed theory that time is on China’s side in the struggle over the fate of Taiwan. The real danger of a PRC attack is in this decade, when Taiwan is most vulnerable, not in the next. Closer military ties with Taiwan, more cautious dealings with China, a strengthened U.S. naval and air presence in the western Pacific, and complementary nonmilitary measures are needed.

• US Naval War College Review: China’s Closing Window of Opportunity

French Navy – The French and Chinese navies will exercise next week.

• UPI: China, France plan joint naval exercise

French Navy – The French and Indian navies will exercise next month.

• Times of India: Indo-French naval exercises next month

US Marines – Leathernecks of 1st Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment have been on a fast track since their return from Iraq. Now they are headed back.

• Leatherneck: Operation Iraqi Freedom – Fixing it, Not Breaking It

Background – History – War produces many strange results. The submersible aircraft carrier was one.

• Air Force: Flights From the Deep

New Site – BiodefenseEducation.org – In brief, a new site, similar in concept to NOSI, but dedicated to the topic of biodefense and biological warfare, that we are working on for the National Institutes of Health. Below is the formal description:

The biodefense field and biodefense information is growing rapidly, and keeping current is challenging.

BiodefenseEducation.org is a Biodefense Digital Library and Collaboratory which is intended to serve as a source of continuing education on biodefense affairs.

BiodefenseEducation.org is designed to serve several different populations: the current and next generation of biodefense investigators and trainees, medical personnel, first responders, and other interested parties.

BiodefenseEducation.org has three components:

1. News Library – An annotated list of links to biodefense news stories are posted daily after scanning over 100 international news sources. The purpose of this News Library is to serve as a source of daily biodefense education and continuing professional development for biodefense investigators and trainees and to define a biodefense learning curriculum.

2. Collaboratory – Discussions about the biodefense news stories or any other biodefense topic is encouraged. The purpose of this Collaboratory is to bring together online individuals interested in biodefense so they may freely and easily discuss the numerous issues in biodefense research, education, or patient care.

3. Reference Library – The reference library serves as a biodefense knowledge management system, connecting the individual interested in biodefense faced with a question with the right information at the right time so they can make the right decision.

BiodefenseEducation.org can be found at: http://www.biodefenseeducation.org

BiodefenseEducation.org is funded in part by a grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

BiodefenseEducation.org is a work in progress, and we welcome your comments which may be sent via our online Comment Form at http://www.biodefenseeducation.org/sendcomments.

Thank you for your consideration,

Donna M. D’Alessandro, M.D. and Michael P. D’Alessandro, M.D.

US Navy – A U.S. Navy strategic missile from the USS Georgia was damaged during a mishap at a submarine base last year, nearly striking a nuclear warhead.

• Washington Times: Nuclear missile damaged in submarine base mishap

Iraq – Will US learn from the lessons taught to the British during their occupation of Iraq starting in 1920?

• Chistian Science Monitor: What the British learned in 1920 by not leaving Iraq

Indian Navy – The Admiral Gorshkov is formally turned over to the Indian Navy.

• Pakistan Times: Russia Hands-over Aircraft Carrier to India

Canadian Navy – An update on the status of the Upholder-class.

• Halifax Herald: New subs years off schedule, MP says

US Marines – The rules of engagment in Haiti are broadened.

• Washington Post: U.S. Rules of Engagement Shift in Haiti

US Navy – At least 22 commanding officers have been fired in the past 13 months ñ nearly as many as in the three previous years combined.

• Virginian Pilot: Increasing number of Navy officers getting fired

Royal Navy – The cause of HMS Trafalgar’s grounding during Perisher training in 2002 is revealed.

• Daily Telegraph: Crashed sub’s screens were concealed by Post-it notes

US Marines – The Marines are taking a new version of the M-16 back to Iraq with them.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Army, Marines await updates of combat rifles

Background – Leadership – Part 3 of Rick Atkinson’s first hand account of what it was like for Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus to lead the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.

• Washington Post: After Chaos in the Capital, Losses Climbed

US Marines – William Arkin takes a look at some of the nonlethal weapons the Marines are taking to Iraq.

• Los Angeles Times: The Pentagon’s Secret Scream

Background – Leadership – Part 2 of Rick Atkinson’s first hand account of what it was like for Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus to lead the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.

• Washington Post: Shifting Sands and Shifting Plans

Background – Defense Spending – Is the Bush defense buildup untenable?

• Washington Post: Military Spending Sparks Warnings

US Marines – With the Marines in Haiti again???

• Daily Telegraph: ‘Why don’t they turn the electricity back on? It looks like they are here on vacation

US Navy – The U.S. Navy’s traditional missions are generally less relevant today than in recent decades, because of advances in technology and changes in the global environment. To meet the radically altered requirements now placed upon military forces, the Navy must transform itself, mission by mission. It is a tall order.

• US Naval War College Review: Is the U.S. Navy Being Marginalized?

Background – Leadership – Part 1 of Rick Atkinson’s first hand account of what it was like for Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus to lead the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.

• Washington Post: The Long, Blinding Road to War

US Marines – Marines move their patrols beyond Port-au-Prince.

• BBC: US forces deploy in north Haiti

Background – Pakistan – Seymour Hersch provides insight into how the Pakistani nuclear physicist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has enabled worldwide nuclear proliferation and goes on to ask why the US is doing nothing about it???

• The New Yorker: The Deal

Background – Al Quaeda – An Algerian journalist who infiltrated a terrorist cell in France reveals how a clash of cultures has turned Muslim immigrants into radical Islamist militants.

• Foreign Affairs: The Secret Agents: Life Inside an al Qaeda Cell

US Marines – Patroling with the Marines in Haiti.

• Associated Press: Marines Receive Mixed Reaction in Haiti

US Navy – Congress looks more closely at the Littoral Combat Ship.

• Virginian Pilot: Lawmakers want Navy to float numbers for new ship program

US Marines – Marines are aggressively patrolling in Port-Au-Prince.

• BBC: Haitian rebels ordered to disarm
• New York Times: U.S. Patrols Start in Haiti, but Residents Remain Wary

Russian Navy – The Russian navy plans to sail to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean this year.

• Associated Press: Russian Navy Squadrons to Go on Voyages

US Navy – The U.S. Navy plans to begin testing a prototype for an unmanned underwater glider with a flying-wing design – the Flying Wing Underwater Glider.

• Wired: Underwater Travel Takes Wing

US Navy – The Chief of Naval Operations comments on the progress being made on the Littoral Combat Ship.

• Virginian Pilot: Clark moving fast to develop versatile combat ship design

Pakistani Navy – The navies of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are exercising together.

• Pakistan Times: Pakistan-Saudi joint naval exercises Conclud

Taiwanese Navy – The Taiwanese Navy will receive its last locally-made Cheng Kung Class frigate, the Tien Tan (PFG 1110) next week.

• Taiwan News: Navy expects last frigates to be delivered next week

US Marines – More on the Marines in Haiti.

• New York Times: Military Still Able to Respond to New Crisis
  

US Marines – The US is rapidly sending by air a Marine Expeditionary Unit to Haiti for peacekeeping.

• BBC: UN approves Haiti security force
• CNN: U.S. Marines land in Haiti

Canadian Navy – Canada’s new submarines will not be cheaper to operate than their predecessors.

• Candian Press: New subs to cost more than expected

Background – Transformation – James F. Dunnigan explains what transformation means, in plain English.

• StrategyPage: The Seven Pillars of Transformation

Iraqi Coast Guard – A look at the embryonic Iraqi Coast Guard, being trained by the US.

• Richmond Times Dispatch: Keeping Iraq secure, from ‘coast’ to ‘coast’

US Navy – The Navy stands up the Fleet Anti-submarine Warfare Command, to focus on ASW.

• Copley News Service: Waickwicz named San Diego ASW commander

US Navy – A look at the relationship between enlisted sailors and midshipmen at the US Naval Academy.

• Washington Post: 2 Navies Separated By a Gulf Of Wisdom

US Navy – Sun Tzu’s adage of “bearing down on the enemy” seems to encapsulate the current approaches of both the United States and China to their space programs. China does not have to be an enemy of the United States, but it is certainly destined to be a competitor, if the United States continues to exploit the obvious military advantages of space and China feels compelled to respond.

• US Naval War College Review: China’s Manned Space Program: Sun Tzu or Apollo Redux?