Defense News – Sean Naylor analyzes retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey’s recent report on Iraq.
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Iraq – Politics Collide With Iraq Realities
Washington Post – Thomas Ricks writes that there are two Iraq wars being waged, according to military officers on the ground and defense experts: the one fought in the streets of Baghdad, and the war as it is perceived in Washington.
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Geopolitics / Iran – Time for DÈtente With Iran
Foreign Affairs – To tame the growing power of Iran, Washington must eschew military options, the prospect of conditional talks, and attempts to contain the regime. Instead, it should adopt a new policy of dÈtente. By offering the pragmatists in Tehran a chance to resume diplomatic and economic relations with the United States, it could help them sideline the radicals and tip Iran’s internal balance of power in their favor.
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History – The rise and fall of navies
New York Times – Paul Kennedy takes a historian’s view of some current naval trends.
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Royal Navy – Britons Speak Publicly on Captivity in Iran
Washington Post – British sailors and marines who were held captive by Iran for nearly two weeks said Friday they were seized in Iraqi waters, held in solitary confinement and subjected to intense psychological pressure, including fear at one point that they were about to be executed.
Royal Marines – Marines swoop into Taliban 'heart of darkness'
Daily Telegraph – With the Royal Marines in action in Afghanistan.
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US Navy – TACAIR Integration Hits the Wall
Air Force – Big plans to combine Navy and Marine Corps air in a single operational force have come apart.
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Royal Navy – British sailors set to come home
BBC – The 15 Royal Navy crew held captive by Iran are preparing to fly home after being freed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a “gift” to the UK.
Daily Telegraph – Questions the Navy chiefs must now answer.
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Royal Navy – Navy accused of failures and complacency
Daily Telegraph – Royal Navy intelligence gathering has been criticised as being “poor” for allowing 15 personnel to fall into the hands of the Iranians.
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Fourth Generation Warfare – US helps fight against Abu Sayyaf
BBC – A look at how the US is successfully fighting non-state actors in the Philippines – Except for Humvees on the beach and armed guards, the US Navy Seals base in Jolo island in the southern Philippines looks more like a hang-out for surf bums than a military base for an elite anti-terrorist task force.
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Iraq – Abizaid's Long View
Washington Post – David Ignatius’ exit interview with General Abizaid of CENTCOM.
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Royal Navy – Power struggle in Iran over hostages
The Times – The fate of the 15 British marines and sailors held in Tehran may depend on the outcome of a power struggle between two of Iranís top generals.
Meanwhile Niall Ferguson puts the crisis in perspective for the UK:
Daily Telegraph – Iran targeted the Security Council’s weakest link: us.
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Chinese Navy – China is accused of fuelling Pacific arms race as submarine orders rise
Daily Telegraph – A dramatic increase in the number of submarines being built in southeast Asia has sparked claims that a new arms race is under way beneath the waves in the Western Pacific.
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History – Help was weeks away as 88 men waited in the Falklands dark for 3,000 invaders
Daily Telegraph – Major Mike Norman shares his memories of defending the islands against an over-whelming Argentine force of 3,000 soldiers.
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Geopolitics / Iraq – Iraq's Civil War
Foreign Affairs – The White House still avoids the label, but by any reasonable historical standard, the Iraqi civil war has begun. The record of past such wars suggests that Washington cannot stop this one — and that Iraqis will be able to reach a power-sharing deal only after much more fighting, if then. The United States can help bring about a settlement eventually by balancing Iraqi factions from afar, but there is little it can do to avert bloodshed now.
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Royal Navy – US rejects Iran captives exchange
BBC – US officials have ruled out a deal to exchange 15 Royal Navy personnel captured in the Gulf for five Iranians seized by American forces in Iraq.
Meanwhile, let David Ignatius put this crisis in context for you???
Washington Post – 15 Britons In a Sea Of Intrigue.
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History – A Very British War
Daily Telegraph – Patrick Bishop, who sailed 8,000 miles with the Task Force to recapture the Falklands, and is the author of Winter War which I think is one of the best histories of the Falklands War, describes the highs and lows of the campaign against the Argentines, and explains how victory transformed the national mood and ushered in the brash new Thatcher era.
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US Marines – Marines Use Wrong Rules
StrategyPage – In an unusual move, the commander of U.S. special operations troops in the region, ordered a unit of 120 U.S. Marines out of Afghanistan on March 23rd. This was because of the way the marines handled a March 4th incident where they were ambushed by a suicide car bomber and gunfire.
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US Navy – U.S. Opens Naval Exercise in Persian Gulf
New York Times – More on the US wargames in the Gulf.
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US Navy – Navy Lacks Plan to Defend Against 'Sizzler' Missile
Bloomberg – The U.S. Navy, after nearly six years of warnings from Pentagon testers, still lacks a plan for defending aircraft carriers against a supersonic Russian-built missile, according to current and former officials and Defense Department documents.
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Royal Navy – Iran TV shows seized UK navy crew
BBC – Iranian state television has broadcast an interview with captured British sailor Faye Turney and footage of the 14 servicemen seized with her.
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US Navy – US Navy starts war games in Gulf
BBC – The US Navy has begun its most extensive manoeuvres in the Gulf region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but denies sabre-rattling aimed at Iran.
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Royal Navy – UK in 'discreet talks' with Iran
BBC – The UK government is attempting to “discreetly” talk to the Iranians to secure the release of 15 Royal Navy personnel.
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Royal Navy – Seized sailors 'held in Tehran'
BBC – The 15 Royal Navy personnel who were seized on Friday are being held at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps base in Tehran.
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Ground Warfare – The Women's War
New York Times Magazine – Many female soldiers have lived through the terrible violence of the war in Iraq. Others have experienced sexual assault – or worse, a combination of the two. They have found themselves struggling to cope with their lives.
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