The Flashlight, Dec.15-22, 2006
THE FLASHLIGHT, December 15-22, 2006
Iraq
12-15 PBS, Shields and Brooks: Comments on Rumsfeld’s retirement:
Rumsfeld suppressed debate within the military. He saw the war as a campaign to kill bad guys and control territory. His previous experience did not pay off because the world changed when he was Secretary of Defense. He left the military undermanned and underequiped.
`NYTimes 12-18. Gen. Colin Powell said that the US is losing the civil war in Iraq and that a troop increase would not reverse the situation. He called for a drawdown by mid-2007. He said that the Army is broken and that the war cannot be won militarily.
W Post 12-19. The Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly oppose sending troops even for a short-term “surge” in Iraq. They think this would provoke the entry of more foreign fighters into Iraq. They said that the White House has still not defined a mission for the “surge” troops.
CNN 12-18. Only 12% of the US public favors sending more troops to Iraq.
W Post 12-21. Gold Star Families say they want the troops brought home now.
[Yet President Bush and his small group of loyalists still hunt for a “way forward” to “victory” in Iraq. If the Presidents defies both the experts and the general public, then we may hear increasing talk of blocking Iraq war appropriations and impeachment,]
The Israel-Palestinian Conflict
` CNN 12-19. On TV screens this week were pictures of Palestinians fighting each other in Gaza, Fatah vs. Hamas. Desires for revenge and counter-revenge made the fighting the worst ever. The US is backing Fatah and Syria and Iran are probably backing Hamas.
Counter-Insurgency Methods
New Yorker. 12-19. George Packer, “Knowing the Enemy.” The struggle with radical armed insurgents is fundamentally an information war. Globalized information makes it easier for insurgents to succeed.
The first rule of counterinsurgency fights is to “Know your Turf.” That is far more important than general ideas about Islamic fundamentalism and Al-Qaeda. Successful counterinsurgency is oriented toward a specific time and place, and is not a monolithic response to a global problem. The problem for
counter-insurgents is not to be liked, but to show people that it is in their interest to cooperate with you.
The steps needed to prepare for counterinsurgent operations are:
1. Learn the spoken language of the area of operations.
2. Study the ethnography (a branch of anthropology) of the region, especially social networks and information networks.
3. Use appropriate forms of information technology.
4. Have something to offer people that they want and need; be prepared to protect them if they cooperate with you.
US News
New Orleans
12-21. NYTimes. New Orleans is still a ruin. Very little reconstruction has been done. Despair, mental illness, and crime are up.
The money allocated for reconstruction has either been wasted or is tied up in bureaucracy. Reconstruction in New Orleans has been a fiasco equal to that in Iraq.
Prospects for the Future
NY Times 12-22. Paul Krugman. The Democrats have decided to prevent any increase in the national debt. Should they try to reduce it as well? Or should they launch a new popular program, such as national health insurance?
Krugman says the classical economist approach would be to give priority to reducing the debt. However, political considerations point elsewhere. He says that Democrats need to increase their political capital by launching popular programs. Moreover, if the Democrats focused on creating an annual surplus, that might just play into the hands of the next irresponsible president who might blow the surplus again.
NYTimes 12-22. Tom Friedman says that a critical mass of Americans has embraced environmental concerns, especially recognizing the threat of global warming. Now, he says, greening is “red, white, and blue.” The causes of this change include widespread viewing of Gore’s excellent documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth;” the Katrina disaster, and the awareness that are gas-guzzling vehicles are financing terrorists, extremist preachers, and rogue regimes.
Ron Watson, environmentalist, says, “People see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror. It is not about the whales anymore.”
Iraq
12-15 PBS, Shields and Brooks: Comments on Rumsfeld’s retirement:
Rumsfeld suppressed debate within the military. He saw the war as a campaign to kill bad guys and control territory. His previous experience did not pay off because the world changed when he was Secretary of Defense. He left the military undermanned and underequiped.
`NYTimes 12-18. Gen. Colin Powell said that the US is losing the civil war in Iraq and that a troop increase would not reverse the situation. He called for a drawdown by mid-2007. He said that the Army is broken and that the war cannot be won militarily.
W Post 12-19. The Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly oppose sending troops even for a short-term “surge” in Iraq. They think this would provoke the entry of more foreign fighters into Iraq. They said that the White House has still not defined a mission for the “surge” troops.
CNN 12-18. Only 12% of the US public favors sending more troops to Iraq.
W Post 12-21. Gold Star Families say they want the troops brought home now.
[Yet President Bush and his small group of loyalists still hunt for a “way forward” to “victory” in Iraq. If the Presidents defies both the experts and the general public, then we may hear increasing talk of blocking Iraq war appropriations and impeachment,]
The Israel-Palestinian Conflict
` CNN 12-19. On TV screens this week were pictures of Palestinians fighting each other in Gaza, Fatah vs. Hamas. Desires for revenge and counter-revenge made the fighting the worst ever. The US is backing Fatah and Syria and Iran are probably backing Hamas.
Counter-Insurgency Methods
New Yorker. 12-19. George Packer, “Knowing the Enemy.” The struggle with radical armed insurgents is fundamentally an information war. Globalized information makes it easier for insurgents to succeed.
The first rule of counterinsurgency fights is to “Know your Turf.” That is far more important than general ideas about Islamic fundamentalism and Al-Qaeda. Successful counterinsurgency is oriented toward a specific time and place, and is not a monolithic response to a global problem. The problem for
counter-insurgents is not to be liked, but to show people that it is in their interest to cooperate with you.
The steps needed to prepare for counterinsurgent operations are:
1. Learn the spoken language of the area of operations.
2. Study the ethnography (a branch of anthropology) of the region, especially social networks and information networks.
3. Use appropriate forms of information technology.
4. Have something to offer people that they want and need; be prepared to protect them if they cooperate with you.
US News
New Orleans
12-21. NYTimes. New Orleans is still a ruin. Very little reconstruction has been done. Despair, mental illness, and crime are up.
The money allocated for reconstruction has either been wasted or is tied up in bureaucracy. Reconstruction in New Orleans has been a fiasco equal to that in Iraq.
Prospects for the Future
NY Times 12-22. Paul Krugman. The Democrats have decided to prevent any increase in the national debt. Should they try to reduce it as well? Or should they launch a new popular program, such as national health insurance?
Krugman says the classical economist approach would be to give priority to reducing the debt. However, political considerations point elsewhere. He says that Democrats need to increase their political capital by launching popular programs. Moreover, if the Democrats focused on creating an annual surplus, that might just play into the hands of the next irresponsible president who might blow the surplus again.
NYTimes 12-22. Tom Friedman says that a critical mass of Americans has embraced environmental concerns, especially recognizing the threat of global warming. Now, he says, greening is “red, white, and blue.” The causes of this change include widespread viewing of Gore’s excellent documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth;” the Katrina disaster, and the awareness that are gas-guzzling vehicles are financing terrorists, extremist preachers, and rogue regimes.
Ron Watson, environmentalist, says, “People see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror. It is not about the whales anymore.”
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 2:15 PM
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