Archive for September, 2007

When Muslim armies won

Lessons from yesteryear’s jihadi victories

When terrorists or insurgents in Iraq detonate a roadside bomb to draw out our forces in response, or when they stage a small ambush to lure us …

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The dual-role dilemma

The Air Force finds itself at an unwelcome and unexpected crisis at its 60th birthday. Although the service is tremendously successful at its core capacities, as demonstrated in a series of successful …

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Picking up the pieces

The New Republic, Pvt. Beauchamp and the propaganda war

Over recent years, the blogosphere has been its own theater in a propaganda war that has centered on the significance of such individuals …

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Waiting for David

Will the Iraq war commander’s report convince Congress?

‘m going to wait to see what David has to say," President Bush declared.

That was mid-July after the White House released an interim …

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In this issue

It’s especially fitting in this Air Force 60th anniversary issue to include a commentary from retired Brig. Gen. Bill Shields, whose own military career spanned the Air Force’s transformation from an Army …

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Agency dud

TO JIEDDO, THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT’S COUNTER-IED ORGANIZATION. Formed in late 2005 to lead and coordinate efforts to combat roadside bombs, the Joint IED Defeat Organization has been painfully slow to get its …

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Support grows for standing up an unconventional warfare command

An idea that wouldn’t die may be getting a new lease on life. Despite years of the idea being shot down at the highest levels, there are again growing calls from inside …

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Flashpoint: No bungle in the jungle

Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines is getting results

Whether you agree with it or not, it’s likely there will be some changes to the current size and shape of U.S. forces in Iraq over …

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Making generals

The military, historically, is a conservative institution, and no more so than in the general officer corps. Conservatism rises through the ranks, and the survivors tend to embody the conservative values that …

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Building resilience

Rethinking national security to avoid an economic meltdown

A pair of books build on Jared Diamond’s warning in "Collapse" that rigid social structures and environmental mismanagement combined to destroy a society from …

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