A Second Hand Conjecture

This brief originally cruised the stalls over at The Conjecturer.

Defense & the War

• A look at withdrawal strategies for Iraq. Most interesting in it from my end was John “OMG REALISM AND ISRAEL” Mearsheimer talking about the role domestic politics play in foreign policy, a decided break from his entire body of scholarship.
• Speaking of withdrawal strategies, how super awesome is it that President Bush is now supporting the same plan those useless Defeatocrats drew up last year with a few uninformed experts? Those silly liberals, always trying to undermine our President.
• The DoD is now admitting that the Chinese military initiated an attack on their computer networks. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise—China has been probing DoD network vulnerabilities for at least several months, and probably for several years. Just as we do to them. I doubt SecDef Gates was much affected by it, however—the man doesn’t use email.
• I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, or if I’m really late to the game, but it has seemed that over the past several months David Axe has become increasingly frustrated with the DoD bureaucracy, even outright angry. Most recently, he has noted that the military is actively violating its own anti-media rules concerning photographs of the MRAP, that overpriced bomb magnet they think will magically solve IEDs. He also lays in on the curious, and equally frustrating, strategic myopia of the Air Force. I can’t say I blame him for being so frustrated… though I’ve come to expect such silliness from the Pentagon. Anyway, what gives, DoD?
• The potential genius of David Corn? I need more time to think on this.

Around the World

• Thanks to my posting at Global Voices Online, I’ve been made aware of From the Frontline, a UK blog about independent journalists reporting from war zones. Of particular interest to me is Vaughan Smith and his videos and reports of the fighting in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is a fascinating look into how the Taliban fight, and why a lot of our current methods might not be the most effective.
• Speaking of which, Péter Marton wonders just how accurate the U.S. CENTAF action reports are. He shouldn’t question the troops.
• I also learned of another blog I’ve come to love: Abu Muqawama, who has a killer series of posts on the curious mess of General Odierno (including the necessary rejoinder that Iraq is not World War II), Kimberly Kagan’s commentary on her husband’s Surge strategy and reckless war mongering (on which, to be fair, she is not alone), and the truly frightening prospect of a Vice President Franks.
• So in North Korea people are being executed for possessing South Korean films.
• The heroin-dealing chief of Afghanistan’s anti-corruption agency thinks he’s just like George W. Bush. Yes, he meant that as a defense.

Back at Home

• I SRSLY cannot wait for Larry Craig’s new campaign. Maybe he’ll wipe the floor with his broad stance on issues of substance, or something. I dunno. I tried to make a pun.
• Well, are YOU surprised Second Life is really only for “Furries to Cyberpunks to Neo-Luddites to Sex Slaves to the King of the Hobos”?
• Because what else would you expect from Mitt Romney?
• Republicans hate that naggy GAO report calling them all liars for their claims that the war is going well when no one can point to any concrete evidence it is… even though they ordered it be made. Classy! I mean, obviously, the White House/Petraeus report will be less biased, and Democrats are just trying to lose the Iraq so they can hurt America.

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