Category Archives: Notes on the war

Iraq – We’re Winning!!!

A funny thing happened on the way to Iraq, President Obama declared that we’re winning. Anyone who’s been keeping up to date knows we’ve been making great progress, and I say, winning in Iraq. President Obama acknowledges the courage and … Continue reading

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Abuse and Confession

While I’m certainly not in disagreement that maintaining a ban on torture techniques in military interrogations should be an objective of the incoming Obama administration, Joe Klein’s pitch for it in his latest column takes us somewhere far beyond the … Continue reading

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The Captives of Years

On Monday the United States officially returned all security duties for Anbar province to Iraqi police and military. The collapse of the Sunni insurgency there now appears to be almost total, with attacks having declined 90% from only two years … Continue reading

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Recent History – Republic of Georgia

I’m doing this for my own benefit, as I’ve not followed the goings on in the Republic of Georgia, except to note when it’s in the news, not our Georgia. April 18, 2008 Georgia sought the backing of NATO and … Continue reading

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Bobby Begins

Rumors have it that Bobby Jindal will deliver the keynote address at the RNCC. Shlok Vaidya thinks the GOP intends to position Jindal for 2012, the way the Democrats managed Obama in 2004. Interesting and possible, although such things are … Continue reading

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A Paranoid on Paranoia-Last updated 1:06 CST

After 9/11 itself, the anthrax attacks were probably the most consequential event of the Bush presidency. One could make a persuasive case that they were actually more consequential. You could? The 9/11 attacks were obviously traumatic for the country, but … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Glenn Greenwald's Carnival of Fisking, History, Lance's Page, Media, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Bin Ladenism in the Balkans

The irreplaceable Michael Totten is now in the Balkans tracking down the influence of al Qaeda and the mujahideen. They seem to be having trouble inculcating their values. Exhibit 1: “Most people know nothing about your country,” I said to … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, Notes on the war | 1 Comment

Chuck Hagel wants to change the subject-Updated

From The Huffington Post, where this kind of BS is applauded: “Quit talking about, ‘Did the surge work or not work,’ or, ‘Did you vote for this or support this,’” Hagel said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. “Get … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Setbacks”

We see this kind of thing in the press all the time: U.S. and Afghan troops have abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine American soldiers earlier this week, officials said Wednesday. Compounding the military setback, … Continue reading

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Politics and Maliki’s Timetable

Not the same thing as a Harry Reid Timetable (HT: McQ): A deadline should be set for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Iraq, and the pullout could be done by 2011, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday. … Continue reading

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Sometimes We Get Lucky

We probably wont know what’s behind this, unless there’s some indictments handed down. Just goes to show though that the fight against terrorism hasn’t completely left our country. However, the second article shows that many of those we are fighting … Continue reading

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What’s A Legal Arms Deal Anyway?

There are times when I’m kind of ashamed to work in the military-industrial complex: Former congressman Curt Weldon is helping broker deals between Russian and Ukranian weapons suppliers and the Iraqi and Libyan governments as part of his new job … Continue reading

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Boumediene — The Great Sandbagging

UPDATE: Welcome QandO readers. Please look around after you’ve finished with this post, but McQ says you have to go back over to QandO when you’re done … but I won’t tell if you won’t. _____________________________________________________________ The recent Supreme Court … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Law, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

(Relatively) Measuring Success

This is the most recent of a series of posts on Registan.net where I explore some of the fundamentals of conflict within the tribal areas of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. At the end of this post is a link to the … Continue reading

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From the Horse’s Mouth, So To Speak

Today, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight heard testimony from Sheikh Khalaf al-Ulayyan of the Sunni Accordance Front and Nadim al-Jaberi of the Shiite (and anti-Moqtada, anti-Maliki) Fadhila Party. Both oppose a long-term presence … Continue reading

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Fallon and Petraeus sitting in a tree…

I was catching up a bit on my reading, and thanks to McQ found this interview with Admiral Fallon. As McQ points out, the conversation did not go the way Kyra Phillips was trying to steer it. Given our own … Continue reading

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Of “Battle Fatigue” and National Caveats

Posted first to Registan.net, your one-stop shop for all things Central Asia, this is a tangent to a really excellent theme I’ve been tracking the past few weeks—the flow of press releases masquerading as journalism from Afghanistan to our largest … Continue reading

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The Danger of Funding Thugs

Sure it’s nice when you pay them to pretty please stop attacking us, but what of the consequences? This is the dark side of the CLC/Sons of Iraq/Awakening bandwagon we jumped on, and it’s one I’ve been mocked repeatedly for … Continue reading

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Two Iraqi Jokes

Both via Major John at Miserable Donuts, a milblog. First, a joke as told by an Iraqi Army captain: President Jalal Talibani summoned the leaders of the Iraqi parliament to his office for a meeting. In the middle of the … Continue reading

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Failed Wars = Great Strategies!

One thing I’ll never understand about the military is how it looks to failed wars to prove the truthiness of its current strategy. What baffles me more is how earnest scholars, like Max Boot of the Council on Foreign Relations, … Continue reading

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Roads, More Roads, and Still More Roads Indeed!

This is the latest post in a running commentary on a new meme to emerge from the PR folks in Afghanistan: the security benefits of building roads. The argument, advanced by a few American reporters and one David Kilcullen, is … Continue reading

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Forgive the Self-Promotion

I honestly don’t have the time to reformat everything for several cross-posts, so this is a summary of posts at my other blog, Registan.net, where I’ve been discussing some interesting topics related to counterinsurgency and reconstruction in Afghanistan, as well … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Josh's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunni Bloc To Rejoin Government

This is a positive development: Iraq’s largest Sunni bloc has agreed to return to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s cabinet after a nine-month boycott, several Sunni leaders said on Thursday, citing a recently passed amnesty law and the Maliki government’s … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Media, MichaelW's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

From the Horses’ Mouths (so to speak)

Whatever could this guy be going on about? “Saddam had his big castles; they symbolized his power and were places to be feared, and now we have the castle of the power that toppled him,” says Abdul Jabbar Ahmed, a … Continue reading

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Welcoming Signs of Progress

Security improvements bringing people back to their homes in South Baghdad… With security improving, local economies flourishing and community reconstruction underway, Iraqis who once fled their South Baghdad homes in fear are now returning to the villages they deserted. This … Continue reading

Posted in Keith's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

More Like This Please

I was pleasantly surprised, and mildly irritated, to see that Condi Rice basically called Muqtada al-Sadr a coward while she was in Baghdad recently (via: Instapundit): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward on … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

But He Knows the Military!

Cross-posted to Registan.net. The Air Force Times reports on a rather surprising gaffe from the foreign policy Commander-in-Chief-to-be: Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona may not have been paying the closest of attention last week during hearings on … Continue reading

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What Is ASHC?

There seems to be some confusion on the part of some as to exactly what sort of place ASHC is: I was rather surprised to read this dubious and scornful appraisal of Michael Yon’s Wallstreet Journal editorial at A Second … Continue reading

Posted in Blogs, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Victory Is Always Six Months Away

Back in December of 2006, the blogger Fabius Maximus compiled a rather handy anthology of our great foreign policy lights in the darkness, boldly predicting we’d know for sure whether or not the Iraq project would succeed in 2003. And … Continue reading

Posted in Notes on the war | 6 Comments

Squirming Like A Stuck Pig

Technically, Doug Feith is right: no one ever said it would be a cakewalk. Of course, that still doesn’t mean he’s not a big, fat liar desperate to rewrite history with someone else as the villain.

Posted in Around the Web, Notes on the war | 5 Comments

Back-Stabbing Amongst the Warmongers

Stephen Hayes, when even Doug Feith (who is renown for his honesty) won’t stand up for your articles on the Iraq-Al Qaeda connection, it might be time to admit you were wrong.

Posted in Around the Web, Notes on the war | 8 Comments

What Is Iraq’s Largest Humanitarian Organization?

Moqtada sl-Sadr’s Army. This implies something very significant: much like how Hezbollah and HAMAS maintain enormous humanitarian operations that undercut the central government and keep their support base strong, al-Sadr has a reputation among the millions of Iraqis misplaced by … Continue reading

Posted in Around the Web, Notes on the war | 7 Comments

Victory Ill-Defined

Michael Yon wants more troops, more surging, more progress in Iraq toward inevitable victory. Of course, what that “victory” is, if it is even remotely like what we thought it would be in 2003, if it is in fact achievable … Continue reading

Posted in Notes on the war | 15 Comments

Those Magnificent Men

I was sent this via e-mail from my Uncle Pat, also known as Colonel Alfred H. Paddock. Uncle Pat is a story in and of himself, but I’ll tell you a little more about him after the e-mail. Let it … Continue reading

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Quotes of the Day

First: Here’s the sorry reality: Such occurrences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the “arc” of territory that the Bush administration has, in a mere few years, helped set aflame are the norm. Our “mistakes,” that is, are legion and, … Continue reading

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What They Won’t Ask Petraeus

3. Recent Senate testimony by General William Odom and journalist Nir Rosen presented a portrait of Iraq that is at odds with the more rosy picture painted by the Bush Administration. General Odom has said “the decline in violence reflects … Continue reading

Posted in Military Matters, Notes on the war | 9 Comments

Is Disabling JAM a Good Idea?

Lost in the hoopla over the intra-Shia fighting in Iraq is a rather fundamental question: is it even a good idea? Is it something we should be poking our fingers into? Augustus Norton, a professor of International Relations at Boston … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Notes on the war | 2 Comments

Political Progress in Iraq

This will be good news if it happens… http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/07/sadrs-political-universe-continues-to-shrink/ Iraq’s major Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to force anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to disband his Mahdi Army militia or leave politics, lawmakers and officials involved in the … Continue reading

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We Fund Terrorists

Woops. The Badr Organization is the military arm of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI previously known as SCIRI). Now ISCI is closely aligned with Maliki government and is arguably the most significant player in the current central government. … Continue reading

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“The Iraq Narrative”

Abu Muqawama looks at the unconditionally rosy pictures of Iraq painted by Fred and Kim Kagan and sees nothing but disaster for the future civil-military relations: Why is this dangerous? Because when the next president — Obama or McCain — … Continue reading

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The Torture Memos

Well I’m sure you’ve all seen the declassified “torture memos” written by Deputy AAG John Yoo (part 1, part 2, both PDF). They laid the legal foundation for the use of expanded interrogation techniques, the horrid euphemism used by the … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Notes on the war | 10 Comments

Operation Lost Cause

Let’s see, the Mahdi Army is in retreat, and the ISF is continuing operations, and sending reinforcements. Isn’t it OBVIOUS that Maliki is loosing. Update – This puts things into perspective… Mission accomplished has been duly declared, although the JAM … Continue reading

Posted in Keith's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Iran Saves the Surge

Iran was integral in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to halt attacks by his militia on Iraqi security forces, an Iraqi lawmaker said Monday. Afghanistan hyper-expert Barnett Rubin says: “en Iran Revolutionary Guards helped the U.S. destroy al-Qaida’s bases in … Continue reading

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The Question on Everyone’s Mind Is…

… why are we backing an Iran-friendly movement in Basra against Iraqi nationalists? Lest I be accused of a selective reading, this is the sort of question being posed by a huge range of people, from the usual suspects (like … Continue reading

Posted in Notes on the war | 17 Comments

Nice work if you can get it

A 22-year old kid and his 25-year old ex-masseuse brother run a company called AEY, Inc. They won a rather sizable contract to supply the Afghan National Army with ammunition for their fight against the Taliban. Along the way they … Continue reading

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AQI’s Last Stand?

Al Qaeda’s efforts in Iraq have been less than successful over the past year, due in large part to the Anbar Awakening and the related Councils of Concerned Citizens/Sons of Iraq movements, and the support offered those movements by Petraeus’ … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why grow poppy?

Posted first on Registan.net, this is the latest in a series I’ve been writing there for the past two years on the many problems with our counternarcotics operations in Afghanistan, and how bad policy has fueled the insurgency to record … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Foreign affairs, Notes on the war | 1 Comment

Benchmarks

U.S. deaths in Iraq reach the 4,000 mark as rockets and mortar rain down on the Green Zone and the Sons of Iraq grow restless. On the flip side of things, Totten tells us of the liberation of another pile … Continue reading

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A Retrospective of Retrospectives

Five years past the invasion of Iraq, every body has been posting their own recollections—with a surprisingly small number of mea culpas. Over at Cynic’s Party, “Blogenfreude” summarized the roundup on Slate quite ably: “How Did I Get Iraq Wrong? … Continue reading

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The Left, McCain And The War

The inestimable Oliver Kamm provides a glimpse at the value our British friends find in a potential John McCain presidency: Two points about McCain stand out. He’s not a conservative and he’s been right all along about Iraq. These are … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments