Background – Piracy – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to conduct joint naval patrols in the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, to combat piracy and the threat of terrorist attacks on cargo ships.

• Financial Times: Tripartite action to beat Malacca piracy

US Marines – A look at how the Marines prepared for operations in Kosovo

• Marine Corps Gazette: Kosovo Operations

Remember that starting tomorrow, NOSI will have a slightly different appearance???

Indian Navy – India starts to overhaul its Sea King helicopters in order to respond to Pakistan’s new submarine threat.

• The Telegraph: Submarine tracker gets new life

Background – Piracy – As leaders of the NATO military alliance head for a summit at which new measures against shipborne terrorism will be on the agenda, there are worries that world trade may be disrupted by new anti-terror rules for ports and ships that are about to come into force

• The Economist: Perils on the sea

Background – NATO – What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or Nato, really for? It’s a question that has dogged the alliance ever since the ending of the Cold War.

• BBC: Future of Nato under spotlight

Background – Iraq – John Keegan on what America must do in Iraq.

• The Daily Telegraph: The nation-building lessons Washington has to learn

US Navy – Should the number of US attack submarines be decreased?

• Virginian Pilot: Former commander says he is against reducing subs

Background – Iraq – A look at what Lt. General David Petraeus is currently doing in Iraq. Petraeus, the former commander of the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom, was featured in Rick Atkinson’s book entitled “In the Company of Soldiers.”

• New York Times: Biggest Task for U.S. General Is Training Iraqis to Fight Iraqis
• Daily Telegraph: The young commander who could be America’s last chance in Iraq

Royal Marines – 40 Commando is returning to Iraq.

• The Scotsman: Royal Marines called back to southern Iraq

Royal Navy – HMS Exeter makes a port call in China.

• People’s Daily: British royal navy fleet visits China

US Navy – A key House committee sharply rebuked the Navyís shipbuilding program on Wednesday, complaining that ìcontinued shiftingî in the serviceís plans has created ìconfusion and frustrationî in the industry and among lawmakers.

• Virginian Pilot: Navy shipbuilding program heads into wave of criticism

US Marines – A look at what makes a good leader.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: Notebook Reflections on the FACE of Leadership

Background – Military Strength – James F. Dunnigan ranks the world’s armed services.

• StrategyPage: The Ten Most Powerful Armed Forces on the Planet

NOSI is taking a break and will next be updated on Monday June 28. Here are the readings for this weekend.

Background – History – John Ericsson’s effect on the Royal Navy.

• International Journal of Naval History: The Royal Navy, John Ericsson, and the Challenges of New Technology

Background – Geopolitics – Ralph Peters writes that in the US military, the danger of accepting the traditional wisdom has become part of the traditional wisdom. Despite our lip service to creativity and innovation, we rarely pause to question fundamentals. Partly, of course, this is because officers in todayís Army or Marine Corps operate at a wartime tempo, with little leisure for reflection. Yet, even more fundamentally, deep prejudices have crept into our militaryóas well as into the civilian worldó that obscure elementary truths. There is no better example of our unthinking embrace of an error than our rejection of the term ìwar of attrition.î The belief that attrition, as an objective or a result, is inherently negative is simply wrong. A soldierís job is to kill the enemy. All else, however important it may appear at the moment, is secondary. And to kill the enemy is to attrit the enemy. All wars in which bulletsóor arrowsófly are wars of attrition.

• Parameters: In Praise of Attrition

Background – Leadership – A review of the book “The Modern Prince: What Leaders Need to Know Now.”

• US Naval War College Review: There Is No Substitute for Prudence

Background – Diego Garcia – Former residents of Diego Garcia are again refused the right of return to their home.

• The Guardian: Return of Diego Garcia islanders blocked

US Marines – Training pays off as Marine artillery, aviation, and sister Service fire support assets silenced Iraqi indirect fires capability.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Shielding the Blue Diamond: Counterfire Operations in the 1st Marine Division

US Army – An overview of where the US Army is headed.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: It is a Daunting Time to be a Soldier

US Navy – A look at the Seaglider Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

• StrategyPage: The SeaGlider robotic submarine and its components

Background – Piracy – The Strait of Malacca, through which a quarter of the world’s maritime trade passes, makes a tempting target for terrorists and pirates.

• The Economist: Going for the jugular

Malaysian Coast Guard – Malaysia will form its own Coast Guard.

• The Star: New paramilitary unit to guard Straits of Malacca

US Navy – Naval aviation lessons learned from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• Sea Power: Naval Aviators Detail Iraqi Freedom Triumphs, Travails at Air Symposium

Background – Empire – Niall Ferguson, the author of Colossus, laments the emasculation of American imperialism.

• The Atlantic: Our Imperial Imperative

US Navy – The U.S. Navy has awarded a Boeing Co. subsidiary a $3.89 billion contract to develop a long-range patrol plane to replace Lockheed’s P-3 Orion submarine hunter.

• Associated Press: Boeing wins $3.9bn patrol contract
• New York Times: Boeing Wins Navy Contract to Replace Sub Chasers

US Navy – Naval news from around the fleet.

• Sea Power: Bath-Built Destroyer Named for Navy Secretary, Statesman

US Marines – This is the second article outlining the automatic rifle assessment conducted by 2d Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7).

• Marine Corps Gazette: Automatic Rifle Concept: Part IIóReorganizing the Infantry Squad

Background – Iran – Is Iran developing a nuclear weapons program? Whose job is it to know? How can they know? And what’s to be done if the answer is yes?

• New York Times Magazine: The Netherworld of Nonproliferation

Please Note – On July 1, the appearance of the articles posted daily in NOSI will change slightly for the reader. When this happens, the 30 day archive of articles on NOSI’s home page will temporarily be reduced to 1 day; it will then be built back up to a 30 day archive over the next month.

The reason for this change is that it will allow NOSI to automatically generate a valid Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed. More on what an RSS feed is and why you may find it useful when it happens.

North Korean Navy – The navies of North and South Korea communicate for the first time since the Korean War.

• United Press International: Koreas establish first naval radio contact

International Navies – The latest naval news from New Zealand, Chile, Finland, Portugal, and Greece.

• Sea Power: Tenix Defense is Picked for New Zealandís Project Protector

Background – Geopolitics – A review of Bernard Lewis’ writings on the Middle East.

• New Yorker: Lost in Translation

US Navy – The drive to develop pilotless aircraft that can replace manned planes on the most dangerous, or the tedious, combat missions has produced some important technological advances. However, while they may be unmanned, the authority for them to release weapons is likely to remain in human hands.

• Sea Power: Unmanned Combat Planes ëSmarter,í But Finger on the Trigger is Human

US Navy – In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin undertook to build one of the worldís largest navies, a Soviet fleet of battleships and battle cruisers. He did so in the face of well known impediments and shortfalls of geography, finances, and industrial capacity and capabilityóand in the absence of an obvious and compelling strategic rationale. Why?

• US Naval War College Review: Stalinís Big-Fleet Program

Background – US Bases – America is reducing its troop levels in Germany and South Korea, two long-time allies, and is considering repositioning other forces too. Will improved strategic flexibility come at the cost of worsening already-strained relationships?

• Economist: Restructuring the superpower

US Navy – With its sophisticated guidance package, long range and ability to be fired from a variety of platforms, the Joint Common Missile (JCM) will give Army, Navy and Marine Corps aviation crews a powerful new weapon from the air.

• Sea Power: Joint Common Missile Will Bolster Navy, Marine and Army Air Power

Background – History – The Marines hit Saipan hard and found, for the first time in the Pacific, what combat in the cities was all about.

• Leatherneck: Saipan

Background – Transformation – The purpose of the present article is to describe the consequences of overreliance on technologically advanced systems over the course of a single war.

• Parameters: Overreliance on Technology in Warfare: The Yom Kippur War as a Case Study

Background – 4th Generation Warfare – William Lind reviews the 4 generations of warfare.

• Defense and the National Interest: The Canon And The Four Generations

Background – Iraq – Thomas Ricks reflects on the casualties in Iraq.

• Washington Post: Sacrifice In the In-Box

Swedish Navy – The Swedish Navy is testing out a new ship which is believed to be the most “invisible” yet. The Royal Navy and the US Navy both have plans of their own for similarly futuristic “stealth” ships.

• BBC: Stealth ships steam ahead

Royal Navy – A large naval exercise is occuring in the Atlantic.

• Virginian Pilot: U.S., British ships collide during a joint exercise

US Marines – William Lind says the Marines are dividing into two camps – the fighting troops and the Beltway Bandits, and it will eventually lead to the end of the Marines.

• Defense and the National Interest: Two Marine Corps

US Navy – The two top contenders for a novel Navy program to buy robotic planes for ocean surveillance are offering substantially different aircraft ó and operating philosophies ó to earn a larger stake in the militaryís market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

• Sea Power: Aircraft Manufacturers Bring Different Capabilities to BAMS Starting Line

US Marines – An interview with the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.

• Leatherneck: The 15th Man

Background – Empire – Niall Ferguson reviews Why Globalization Works by Martin Wolf.

• Daily Telegraph: Liberty, equality, globalisation

Please note that the shows mentioned yesterday on C-SPAN can be viewed live on the television or later on the Web via streaming video, for which RealPlayer is required.

Israeli Navy – Israel acquires its first cruise missile.

• Jerusalem Post: Janes: Israel acquires its first cruise missile

Royal Navy – Royal Navy experts are preparing secret designs for a new generation of multi-purpose nuclear submarines to replace Britainís Trident fleet at the end of the next decade.

• The Scotsman: Secret plans for Trident replacement

US Navy – Naval surveillance experts envision a future of broader, more persistent coverage of the oceans, faster search and localization of targets, and more lethal response, provided by a smaller force with less manpower and lower life-cycle operational and maintenance costs.

• Sea Power: Navy Moves Toward Goal of More Surveillance With Fewer Aircraft

Background – Geopolitics – Thomas P.M. Barnett’s latest article on our strategy in Iraq.

• Esquire: Mr. President, Here’s How to Make Sense of Our Iraq Strategy