Iraq – U.S. Counterinsurgency Academy Giving Officers a New Mind-Set

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Washington Post – Thomas Ricks on how if the U.S. effort in Iraq ultimately is successful, one reason may be the small school started recently on a military base here by Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq. Called the COIN Academy — using military shorthand for “counterinsurgency” — the newest educational institution in the U.S. military establishment seeks, as a course summary puts it, to “stress the need for U.S. forces to shift from a conventional warfare mindset” to one that understands how to win in a guerrilla-style conflict.
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Geopolitics – Send In the State Department

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New York Times – Robert Kaplan writes that whatever the future holds for Iraq, within a year or two there will be far fewer American troops there, and the debate over whether our military is overstretched may subside. Yet because of a bloody counterinsurgency that no one in the military wants to repeat, Iraq has profoundly affected the Pentagon’s deployment strategies as it shifts toward a greater emphasis on the Pacific Rim while still facing a profusion of terrorist-related threats not just in the Middle East but also in Africa and elsewhere.
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Indian Navy – Indo-US naval exercise off Sri Lanka coast

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Indian Express – What was planned as a simple passage exercise between aircraft carrier INS Viraat and the American USS Ronald Reagan supercarrier three days ago off Sri Lanka spontaneously became a full-fledged, joint-maritime war game???The message is clear: the two Navies can easily combine assets with minimum preparation in the event of a war-like scenario.
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Information Warfare – Invasion of the Computer Snatchers

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Washington Post – Hackers are hijacking thousands of PCs to spy on users, shake down online businesses, steal identities and send millions of pieces of spam. If you think your computer is safe, think again.

Think of the military implications of this???the article documents the activities of civilian hackers???but there would be obvious military applications of these processes.
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Disarmament – U.S. Policy on Small Arms and Light Weapons

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Naval War College Review – The United States has for over a decade pursued a cautious and incremental approach to limiting the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. It has led, supported, and devised valuable initiatives and procedures, but it has characteristically refusedólargely for reasons of domestic politicsóto participate in formal, legally binding international arrangements. This approach could harm both unstable regions and perceptions of American commitments among allies and partners.

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Iraq – The Lessons of Counterinsurgency

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Washington Post – The last time the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment served in Iraq, in 2003-04, its performance was judged mediocre, with a series of abuse cases growing out of its tour of duty in Anbar province. But its second tour in Iraq has been very different, according to specialists in the difficult art of conducting a counterinsurgency campaign — fighting a guerrilla war but also trying to win over the population and elements of the enemy. Such campaigns are distinct from the kind of war most U.S. commanders have spent decades preparing to fight. Thomas Ricks writes about the work of Colonel H.R. McMaster.
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Iraq – Next Act

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Defense and the National Interest – Wars, most wars at least, run not evenly but in fits and starts, settling down into sputtering Sitzkrieg for long intervals, then suddenly shooting out wildly in wholly unpredicted directions. The war in Iraq has fallen into a set pattern for long enough that we should be expecting something new. William Lind identifies three factors ñ there may be more ñ which could lead to some dramatic changes, soon.
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