tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199545082011-10-27T18:28:42.010+02:00Security, Development, Government and More from a Scandinavian Perspective.Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.comBlogger1671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-72971144824185510042008-04-30T08:21:00.002+02:002008-04-30T08:30:23.452+02:00

Is public diplomacy an information operation? It would seem some folks at Pentagon OSD thought so. The New York Times piece on how ex-military analysts were briefed by Pentagon in the period before the Iraq war should perhaps come as little surprise. But neither should the reaction. It isn't rocket science: Nobody likes to get fooled. And deliberate attempts at doing so will only undermine the

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-87024037488815395542008-04-28T23:24:00.003+02:002008-04-28T23:30:11.589+02:00

Africom has caught the eye of the ever-decent CRS guys:The 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in East Africa highlighted the threat of terrorism to U.S. interests on the continent. Political instability and civil wars have created vast ungoverned spaces, areas in which some experts allege that terrorist groups may train and operate. Instability also heightens human suffering and retards economic

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-69886217974600134832008-04-15T07:28:00.008+02:002008-04-15T07:59:14.174+02:00

One of the cold war's major and paradoxical features was always the role of President Eisenhower's military-industrial complex: A sort of cabale of production and R&D and procurement - all dedicated to the cause of freedom, its defense and progress. During the 1990s, and as a result of the post-Vietnam willful doctrinal blindness, this setup had resulted in a tech-driven approach to war. One of

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-65910013726653955842008-04-14T17:57:00.006+02:002008-04-14T18:11:27.580+02:00

In the new issue of Armed Forces Journal, John Nagl argues that we should focus more on host nation training units to meet the demands of the long war. Incidentally, that is one of the things that the new, no-longer-Shaping but CSE or Cooperative Security & Engagement JOC from JFCOM will be about (more on that debacle in this post). The operational elements of this in terms of major conflicts was

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-38396900121161295132008-04-11T13:56:00.005+02:002008-04-11T17:28:41.600+02:00

The Economist has picked up on Africom, but seems not to accept one basic premise of Africom. Namely, that American and African interests may coincide a long way when it comes to protecting globalization: Helpful though these efforts are in a dirt-poor country, they were also a public-relations exercise to persuade suspicious African governments to welcome America's planned Africa Command (

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-32377476299745568382008-04-08T20:55:00.007+02:002008-12-10T08:27:23.558+01:00

There's a new UN CIV-MIL handbook out. The focus is kind of a field manual level - the full title is "The United Nations Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord) Officer Field Handbook". The manual was funded and initiative was taken by both OCHA and the EU's 'ministry' (Directorate General, DG) for humanitarian aid:Jointly launched by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-57332240937344048742008-04-08T10:32:00.006+02:002008-04-08T11:00:03.625+02:00

Unless we understand global politics as a question of the gradual spread of the modern state, we won't get far in understanding patterns of conflict (such as Collier's conflict trap) or the 'state of other people's state). Tom Barnett has a fine piece (Remember when America wasn't so democratic?) on this in the case of the gradual enshrinement of the democratic tradition in the US: Americans

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-43189617879764327262008-04-07T09:26:00.005+02:002008-04-07T12:04:00.361+02:00

According to DangerRoom some people at Pentagon now try to predict (at least parts of the) future through some advanced social science: The University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science just announced that it's been awarded a $7.5 million grant to work in this fast emerging field of network science, which melds everything from mathematics to sociology. Network science is

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-22660965944680647272008-04-01T13:57:00.007+02:002008-04-01T14:33:37.989+02:00

Strategies for dealing with the poppy economy in Afghanistan exist (like this recent one by WB/DfID: Afghanistan: Economic Incentives and Development Initiatives to Reduce Opium Production) but have been notoriously difficult to implement.*Poppies matter in Afghanistan. Can Afghanistan be "fixed" without fixing the poppy economy? Probably not. But is that question actually relevant at all? Do we

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-33101000824086561332008-03-24T17:56:00.006+01:002008-03-24T18:11:32.698+01:00

In a comment, Wiggins at Opposed Systems Design asked how the CRS report on US interventions abroad from 1798-2007 would make one reconsider the Core/Gap concept. Stealing this from my answer in his comments, I'd say that I didn’t mean "reconsider" in the sense of “thinking about discarding”, more like “think about again in broader/historical context”.The Map was made as an extrapolation of data

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-29149377703996412112008-03-23T14:36:00.007+01:002008-12-10T08:27:24.099+01:00

The need for military capabilities other than the perceived essential task of warfighting is evident - indeed it has been central to e.g. what the Marine Corps and the US Army have been doing in practice since at least the mid 19th century.This is something that the Navy and Marine Corps has always done,. LeFevre said, "and now we’re planning doing it."Indeed, the Marine Corps is now counting on

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-18592916944169855102008-03-21T17:15:00.007+01:002008-04-04T22:41:20.868+02:00

(This post is a follow up to yesterday's post, found here).Why do I think that the apparent change in ambitions regarding the Shaping/CSE JOC is a missed opportunity?First, a rehash of events. 1) Iraq: Invasion goes fine. Phase IV/Stabilization and Reconstruction plus handover does not. 2) December 2005, Gordon England signs DoD Directive 3000.05 which puts S&R on par with major combat operations

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-50044545364607580762008-03-21T01:46:00.011+01:002008-12-10T08:27:26.977+01:00

(NB! There's a follow up to this post, here.)The US Defense establishment does not want to do development any more. Or maybe a bit anyway. Those are the signals coming out from JFCOM concerning the - still - coming JOC on 'Shaping'.* Except for the the fact that it will no longer be called 'Shaping' but the much less ambitious 'Military Support to Cooperative Security'. In principle the ambition

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-65366929607516042232008-03-19T17:43:00.005+01:002008-03-19T18:29:17.301+01:00

The text is finally out, here. It is fairly brief, and structured this way: This strategy (...) sets out the guiding principles of our approach (Chapter Two); our assessment of the major security challenges and drivers of insecurity (Chapter Three); our responses to them (Chapter Four); and how we will work together in taking the strategy forward (Chapter Five).Content: Chapter One:

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-7167601188108508412008-03-19T08:33:00.010+01:002008-03-19T09:11:21.239+01:00

The brilliant and insightful Charlie Edwards at GlobalDashboard Monday told us all about today's announcement (not, its not out as of yet) of the new UK National Security Strategy:This Wednesday the British Government will publish the UK’s first ever National Security Strategy. This is a big moment for Gordon Brown and comes with great expectations. Don’t be surprised if there is no Minister on

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-91128855549365642632008-03-01T02:13:00.006+01:002008-03-01T02:48:06.556+01:00

Amazingly, USAF actually awarded its huge ($40 bn) air tanker contract to the Northrop/EADS consortium. According to the Economist, the best man won then. Except that McCain might actually take a beating according to the above analysis - for standing up for US taxpayers: Republican Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) was an early and fierce critic of Boeing's lease scheme. McCain,

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-51452871660308446912008-02-29T18:53:00.007+01:002008-02-29T23:57:16.627+01:00

Light blogging over the weekend, but next week there should be stuff on missile defense and perhaps other things as I will be going to DC. So just two small links. First, while looking up details on conscription and its alternatives this oldish ComingAnarchy post popped up - with British, Russian and Ukrainian "join the army" ads. Not very subtle stuff, especially the Ukrainian.Second, France's

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-76419646805605769962008-02-27T20:43:00.009+01:002008-02-27T21:09:13.542+01:00

Last post today. Just had to recommend Barnett's latest on State Dept and SSTR:I've been hearing a lot about this memo from various political appointees and senior bureaucrats recently, with everyone saying it would be a big deal when it hit the Net. Well, now it's here and while it is truly damning, to me it's just another nail in the coffin of the idea, promoted by the HELP Commission, that

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1018108231036426552008-02-27T20:31:00.007+01:002008-02-27T20:42:02.497+01:00

New Army Field Manual out: This time including SSTR. No time to look at it in detail now, defensetech has the preview here:...the manual has finally taken the step of elevating stabilization operations to the level of offensive and defensive ops. (...) Chapter 3 is the most important chapter in the book; describing the Army's operational concept -- full spectrum operations. Full spectrum

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-30656365510137710862008-02-27T20:06:00.005+01:002008-02-27T20:18:12.728+01:00

One major fault line in global politics is the Chinese foreign policy dictum of non-interference vs. the West-sponsored human rights/enlightenment line which is for e.g. humanitarian interventions or at least believes in the right to humanitarian assistance, i.e. in moral imperatives. (More on China's foreign policy doctrine in this old post and more on China in Darfur in this post).China might

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-44767633164253698122008-02-27T14:03:00.005+01:002008-02-27T20:19:58.659+01:00

For Scandinavian speakers, Norwegian National Television (NRK) broadcast an interesting documentary yesterday. It is a real behind-the-scenes-look at the as of yet not finished decision process about whether to replace the F16s in Norway (a parallel process goes on in Denmark and Holland).Eurofighter left the three-way competition just before christmas, apparently convinced that they were not

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-47813640862311578322008-02-26T14:53:00.003+01:002008-02-26T14:59:53.570+01:00

True to form we not only repeat the TicTacs but also the referrals to MountainRunner who's got the latest inside info on the new African Command. E.g.: I attended USC's AFRICOM conference earlier this month and between panel discussions and offline conversations, I came away with a new appreciation (and hope) for the newest, and very different, command.This is not like the other Combatant

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-79034881645447733742008-02-25T22:30:00.007+01:002008-02-26T00:48:04.080+01:00

Fittingly, somehow, we return to fore with another round of TicTacs. Not so much because these are tiny sweet bits of info, but because that's where we left off.McCain elaborates on the 100-year remark on Iraq. You have to admire his frankness - even though I'd think the base issue has not been bilateraly resolved.Danish aerospace expert Karsten Marrup reads into the shooting down of the

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-14067507300275964372007-07-17T10:03:00.000+02:002007-07-17T17:34:47.409+02:00

Just a quick round up of a couple of central things going on:Exit Strategies.Would Iran Take Over Iraq? Would Al-Qaeda? The Debate About How and When to Leave Centers on What Might Happen After the U.S. Goes.Two GOP Senators Defy Bush On Iraq. Warner, Lugar Propose Troop RedeploymentU.S. Official Defends Pakistan's Efforts Against Al-QaedaBarnett on AFRICOM: The Americans Have LandedThe New NIE (

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-57187379156886876192007-07-10T17:30:00.000+02:002007-07-10T18:28:36.092+02:00

There's a huge need for a civilian planning capacity related to SSTR and post-conflict situations (I have written about this before). This need may be the single most important element in the organizational transformation need to prepare ourselves for the next time around.This blog often takes an American perspective - or looks primarily at American developments. This is because US leadership is

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-60135298903548512232007-07-03T19:27:00.000+02:002007-07-03T19:32:26.548+02:00

Oh, and this week's bonus - the most precise and succinct analysis of that region of applied Max Weber: Scandinavia.Cartoon courtesy of wulffmorgenthaler.com.

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1362883135163187712007-07-03T18:39:00.001+02:002007-07-03T19:02:03.865+02:00

Just to stick to the bad conscience theme: Reading is always sweeter when the book you're flipping through as night falls is not the one you ought to read. Actually, in this case we're talking double bad conscience as The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind was a book that was on my list when it came out. This is not a review, just a recommendation (hereby given) - plus a few general observations

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-81045398337935842552007-07-02T19:41:00.001+02:002007-07-02T19:49:10.660+02:00

New GAO report out on US Stability Operations capability and reform (link here is to pdf). From the exec summary:DOD has taken several steps to improve planning for stability operations, but faces challenges in developing capabilities and measures of effectiveness, integrating the contributions of non-DOD agencies into military contingency plans, and incorporating lessons learned into future

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-78403257027526328662007-06-27T10:25:00.000+02:002007-07-06T13:48:57.272+02:00

The net serves great purposes ... like making life more efficient. That too, for bad conscience. See e.g. this list over the most downloaded articles from the International Security site: This list is updated each day based on the volume of full text downloads. Track Citation for selected articles 1. Why Terrorism Does Not Work (2882 times) Max

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-17337442232323019952007-06-27T10:12:00.000+02:002007-06-27T10:15:28.271+02:00

Whether, how and how far to reform for nationbuilding operations has become the central strategic question in the OECD/NATO camp. We all now we have to contribute to and take the lead in administrating the state system, but how and especially how far do we want to go? Will preparing well mean creating an offer that begets a demand? Will it weaken our resolve in terms of "real war"? Or has modern

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-34631604019853895242007-06-18T18:08:00.001+02:002007-06-18T18:14:09.279+02:00

Failed states are perhaps the best illustration of the convergence between security and development policy. Foreign Policy magazine (in cooperation with the Fund for Peace) has now published its 2007 edition.Go check it out.

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-377291724580718972007-06-01T17:21:00.000+02:002007-06-01T17:28:52.449+02:00

Miami Herald: "Iran aid to Taliban hints at policy shift. U.S. officials suspect that Iranian weapons shipments to the Taliban may be retaliation for U.S. foreign policy."Secrecy News: National Intelligence Council Sponsors Wiki on Global Disease. Students at Mercyhurst College created a wiki-based resource on global disease to support the National Intelligence Council, while demonstrating the

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-34657822265268066062007-05-30T06:52:00.000+02:002007-05-30T11:17:57.307+02:00

Go Big, Go Home, Go Long. Thus were the options scrutinized in JCS Pace's study back in November last year. The first was the logical military solution, the second the somewhat (now: really) pressing political solution, and the third, a little unclearly, represented something between a smart version of the first (through the lens of the COIN manual) and a compromise between the two first - each

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-42689536517221932262007-05-12T23:07:00.000+02:002007-05-12T23:19:11.319+02:00

According to the WashPost the World "Bank May Vote No Confidence in Wolfowitz". One piece of information suggest that diplomatic scheming might be bad news for Ashraf Ghani who's been mentioned as the Bush administration's top of the list candidate to replace Wolfowitz in case this would become necessary:Though prominent officials from Europe to Latin America have publicly called for Wolfowitz to

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-13265842730107379482007-05-10T13:47:00.000+02:002007-05-10T14:08:18.905+02:00

Tom Barnett on John Robb's book Brave New Wars: "John's book is deeply informed by the fact he's a serious technocrat who distrusts politics. Indeed, politics as any form of solution is basically missing in action in this book. When it's referred to glancingly here and there, it's always to catalogue dysfunction or corruption (e.g., America's entire political system is dismissed with a reference

Draconian Observationsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-50614202488774107922007-05-08T20:41:00.000+02:002007-05-08T21:01:56.909+02:00

If the controversial report about Chinese and Russian arms shipments to Sudan in breach of a UN embargo are true, then this post about the rising Chinese influence in Africa seems properly wrought, including the pointy title part about "Proxy Wars Over Good Governance". From the AP via the cutely named Seattle Post Intelligencer: A top human rights group accused China and Russia on Tuesday of

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-5451596027812774612007-05-08T17:27:00.000+02:002007-05-09T12:12:22.106+02:00

Just a few notes on the coming Shaping JOC. There is a remarkably clever graphic in the 2005 JFCOM capstone document which clearly deserves wider attention. It shows the move from a sequential conception of conflict management (like wagons on a train) to a parallel conceptualization; and also a move from a purely military to an integrated, political conceptualization of the conflict phases. Note

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-17035195667914506192007-05-07T03:26:00.000+02:002007-05-07T05:15:53.577+02:00

The USG inter-agency process* is dependent upon the planning capabilities of the Pentagon - and maybe it shouldn't be. Increasingly, the inter-agency process is the center of gravity for the United States' aggregate security capabilities (for simplifying reasons, let's stick here to the functional phases of conflict as conceptualized within US defense - phases zero to IV. Obviously, not all

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-57987985427573664452007-04-24T23:14:00.000+02:002007-04-26T00:46:09.775+02:00

MountainRunner picks apart Gen. Petraeus' security wall in Baghdad: Can the tactical mistakes get any worse? Building a wall around Baghdad's communities, starting with Al a'zamiyah, or Adhamiya? The prime contractor may as well have been Arbeit Macht Der-Frei Gmbh as the idea of partitioning any part of the city devastates any chance for peace, or "victory" if you prefer. This is another brick

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-44622013774761467882007-04-24T14:21:00.000+02:002007-04-24T14:47:27.484+02:00

Launched as a cornerstone notion to replace the GWOT, the "Long War" concept has been with us for few years. Central Command has now, according to the New York Times, dropped it as the aggregate name for what is also known as the GSAVE - Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. Michael R. Gordon also reports that the change comes solely at the level of Central Command, not Pentagon or the White

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-68419999477536520392007-04-23T15:01:00.000+02:002007-04-23T15:22:38.394+02:00

Another round of Tic Tacs - a pick of interesting links: Tom Barnett on "The price of locking in China..."Kilcullen's deadpan picking apart of Luttwak (great big hat tip to MountainRunner)Arms and Influence on the "Hidden costs of the surge"World Bank's Private Sector Development Blog on the "Cost of Gender Inequality "And, finally, a lengthy rebuttal to this Economist piece on the OECD SG ...

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-77024250279444630732007-04-21T14:39:00.000+02:002007-04-21T15:04:07.505+02:00

Ashraf Ghani, the former Afghan contender for the job as UN Secretary General is now in play again - this time as the US candidate to replace Wolfowitz as chief of the World Bank. Having the US's support is the surefire way to get the job as the US traditionally decides who gets the WB top post, while the Europeans in practice appoint the IMF boss. Here from The Australian: THE future of World

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-82923019008395714382007-03-23T10:21:00.000+01:002007-03-23T10:51:52.204+01:00

Just discovered that the ever-prolific Cordesman has a new ppt file up on his site, which deals with the Long War concept. The interesting thing here is that Cordesman is an invaluable resource in terms of present policy analysis but he rarely dabbles in more lofty academic or conceptual stuff. As an example, take Tony Corn's Long War analysis. So it is interesting to see Cordesman's practical

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-89157322427838805432007-03-20T15:05:00.000+01:002007-03-21T20:06:47.598+01:00

The new issue of Foreign Affairs features a fine article on the conflicts – present and lurking – on Africa’s Horn, and the weaknesses of US policy ("Blowing the Horn", subscription required).People at JFCOM currently working on the coming Shaping JOC are well advised to read John Prendergast and Colin Thomas-Jensen’s article. The challenges and solutions that they outline are basically what the

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-70237679341988961822007-03-04T12:45:00.000+01:002007-03-04T20:21:32.574+01:00

Fun invasions are few and far between. But the Swiss seem to have come up with one: Swiss Accidentally Invade LiechtensteinZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein. According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-79661795839651120502007-03-02T17:25:00.000+01:002007-03-04T04:25:37.100+01:00

Stumbled upon this YouTube-find: A long high quality documentary on the Black Hawk Down incident narrated by Mark Bowden himself. It's in several chapters - all named "The truth of Black Hawk Down (part x)". Not sure about the copyright situation.Link to first part (the one above: links to subsequent parts are found here, under 'related').

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-71585258889975336732007-02-11T13:10:00.001+01:002008-04-08T16:20:09.053+02:00

The creation of African Command (AFRICOM) is accompanied by a the development of a new Joint Operating Concept (JOC) with potentially huge ramifications for the continent and for the whole development sector -- including the largest non-American partners, from the national development agencies (DfID, Danida, etc) over the EU and especially the UN to of course the 'host nations' in particularly

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-41083376602389034572007-02-06T17:21:00.000+01:002007-02-11T14:27:08.503+01:00

Apologies to regular readers: As has been the case since new years I will only blog intermittently for the coming month or so. Hope to be back in more extensive shape after that. And thanks for checking in!

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-64221670094170506942007-02-06T17:06:00.000+01:002007-02-06T17:17:37.301+01:00

African Command will be a reality: DEFSEC Gates' statements at today's Senate hearing revealed as much (even if his prepared statement stuck to mostly explaining the rationale behind the Defense budget, here, pdf). The essential characteristic of the new African Command is the essentially political caretaker role that it is designated to have -- as opposed to a combat oriented command: "The

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-35620261700828176862007-01-17T04:46:00.000+01:002007-02-14T13:51:48.563+01:00

On a blogging hiatus -- but this piece of info ... man! Babel won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Maybe Babel is becoming a pet obsession, but oh do I hope for any other film to twart Babel's daft little Oscar hopes. Of course, with my kind of luck -- or perhaps: penchant for criticizing the winners like I did with Crash -- it'll probably just run away with that prize too. The only consolation

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-4556260222578400342007-01-08T00:41:00.000+01:002007-01-08T01:41:36.979+01:00

Introductory portrait of General Petraeus, the American Commander in Iraq, in the Washington Post. Very interesting -- my European readers should read this, not least because it seems that the self-evident truth for any US government watcher that administrative and doctrinal turf wars matter and make the Goliath seem less monolithic than it is is often overlooked -- wilfully? -- by those who

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167912691075508332007-01-04T12:58:00.000+01:002007-01-04T16:25:28.066+01:00

Former EU and UN Balkan envoy and Swedish PM Carl Bildt was named Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sweden back in early October. Bildt is perhaps the Scandinavian politician with the most international experience -- and he is a smart man. As a MFA he held a speech before christmas outlining grand traits of Swedish foreign policy, which is worth the read: comprehensive and straightforward reasoning.

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167810970467510802007-01-03T08:21:00.000+01:002007-01-03T10:18:06.616+01:00

According to AP, new UNSG Ban Ki Moon makes a poignant start in his new job -- by changing the basic direction of the UN from "pro-state accountability" to "anti-interference in domestic affairs": New U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ran into trouble on his first day of work Tuesday over Saddam Hussein's execution when he failed to state the United Nations' opposition to the death penalty and

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167537857433860122006-12-31T04:56:00.000+01:002006-12-31T05:34:59.783+01:00

Abu Ardvaark has a disturbing analysis of the ramifications and details of the Saddam Hussein execution: the Shiite option may actually be on the table as a strategy in Iraq. This would entail siding with the Shia in order to crush the Sunni insurgency.As mentioned earlier in the "Dirty Shiite Option" the crucial element to be on the lookout for is what the intended end-state is -- simply siding

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167537353310336492006-12-31T04:42:00.000+01:002006-12-31T05:08:19.796+01:00

New Chinese defense white paper out as described in this WashPost article: The Chinese views on regional security, articulated in a government white paper on national defense, provided a rare glimpse into the strategic assessments that underlie decisions and priorities of the secretive Chinese military and the Communist Party's policymaking Central Military Commission. In part, the paper was

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167407554138663972006-12-29T16:40:00.000+01:002006-12-30T05:29:00.080+01:00

Following Svenpundit's funny metapost on "Alternate Universe Blogging" I'll allow myself a meta-dabble too, albeit -- as it where -- in a tediously Scandinavian manner. I finally settled on a feed-reader after trying out a few and looking at a few more. Sage it is. Integrates automatically with Firefox, and the two basic functionalities -- update feeds and find feeds on open tab -- work easily.

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167175986625559382006-12-27T00:33:00.000+01:002006-12-27T01:27:29.926+01:00

Central parts of what has gone wrong in Iraq and Afghanistan are only partially tied to Big Issues like military strategy and tactics. Rather, these stem from a not very debated part of security and military studies: the introduction of (perceived) modern management and administration techniques such as outsourcing -- executed in a peculiarly blueeyed way that is glaringly incompetent. This story

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1167167023219251142006-12-26T21:43:00.000+01:002006-12-26T22:21:55.963+01:00

Published in 1917, The Rise of David Levinsky gives a fine cultural portrait of the conditions and workings of US immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century. Levinsky was authored by Abraham Cahan, editor of a leading yiddisch-language journal, Forverts. In the book, David Levinsky -- a poor, orthodox Russian jew -- comes to New York in search of a new life, winding up 25 years later

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166710127856837692006-12-21T14:44:00.000+01:002006-12-27T03:17:05.953+01:00

According to the Boston Globe, a new African Command seems likely to be greenlighted by President Bush in the coming days:The US Africa Command, or AFRICOM, would oversee strategic developments and military operations across the entire continent, where a combination of problems -- natural disasters, civil wars, chronic disease, and the growing presence of Islamic radicals -- has destabilized some

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166700857959320042006-12-21T10:55:00.000+01:002006-12-30T08:25:09.136+01:00

Foreign Policy magazine is a step or two behind Foreign Affairs, which still reigns as the best edited and written current affairs journal. To prove it is lagging, FP has published a quite bewildering "Top 10 Stories You Missed In 2006". Let's look at the list: 10. Hackable Passports 9. What’s Worse Than Bird Flu? The Cure. 8. Petro Powers Drop the Dollar 7. The Gender Gap Gets Smaller 6. Iran

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166546044282021292006-12-19T17:03:00.000+01:002006-12-19T18:15:03.033+01:00

A slew of book reviews from the above-mentioned publication: "Old World Order": ETHICAL REALISM. A Vision for America’s Role in the World. By Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman. 199 pp. Pantheon Books. You can trace the fortunes of this visionary conception of America’s role in the world through recent books. President Bush’s muscular and militarized response to 9/11 was accompanied by its own 21-

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166538098431278532006-12-19T15:15:00.000+01:002006-12-19T15:34:06.986+01:00

The AP reports that a Swedish man has been convicted of war crimes -- things he did as a mercenary in Bosnia in 1993. A Swedish man who served as a mercenary in a Croatian militia was convicted Monday of war crimes during the Bosnian war. The Stockholm District court did not hand down a prison sentence to Jacky Arklov, who was found guilty of abusing and torturing prisoners, because he is already

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166515755923187152006-12-19T09:00:00.000+01:002006-12-19T10:40:17.700+01:00

The price for being occupied with other, mundane things is that one has no chance of keeping up with the virtual Joneses, in this case the incontournable MountainRunner who should be on the reading list of all advanced readers interested in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do go read this post "How Not To Win the Long War" and this post on "The Big Assumption: Numbers Do Not Equal Effect", from which I

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166513611945085402006-12-19T08:24:00.000+01:002006-12-19T08:45:33.736+01:00

The New York Sun reports that the Democrats are gathering behind a position that the US forces should get out of Iraq altogether. Senior Democrats are coalescing behind the view that America should begin withdrawing from Iraq by early 2008, the heart of the next presidential campaign season. (...) The position emerging among the ascendant congressional majority effectively sets a political

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166451847762819682006-12-18T15:15:00.000+01:002006-12-18T19:39:12.520+01:00

A nifty book collection-cum-discussion site is a reality with Shelfari. As proposed by Chirol at Coming Anarchy (hat tip) Shelfari looks likely to get swallowed up or copied by some of the large webbased booksellers like Amazon. Amazon already has both "I own it" including personal ratings plus the possibility of writing reviews -- turning this information into a social site would be easy.One way

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166441214162384662006-12-18T12:14:00.000+01:002006-12-18T12:36:59.503+01:00

The Independent reports that French Mirage F1's have been bombing in the Central African Republic, neigbouring the Sudanese Darfur province. France is not afraid to get involved in the Darfur regional context -- or maybe there is another agenda? Hard to tell without being an area specialist, but at least it is clear that the French are very much involved in a low-key way in the region already --

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166434492987205722006-12-18T10:24:00.000+01:002006-12-18T17:02:52.643+01:00

The Financial Times has published an interesting list of the world's top 150 privately held companies. Dominant sectors are 1) oil & gas (13 out of top 18), and 2) financial services companies in a broad sense including private equity, banking, insurance, asset management, and auditing (65 out of 160). The list was assembled with the help of McKinsey & Co., which a) as a partnership is being

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166429828567359992006-12-18T08:04:00.000+01:002007-03-08T18:29:05.871+01:00

US Special Forces have been operating in NATO-countries without the knowledge of host countries. Already, the level of domestic dismay over CIA-led US counter-terrorism operations on European countries' soil -- at least sometimes without active government acceptance -- is pretty high. These missions, whether apprehension as in Italy and elsewhere or rendition flights as in most of Europe, appear

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166175941862637372006-12-15T10:39:00.000+01:002006-12-30T06:32:19.720+01:00

The movie Babel has been nominated for seven (7) Golden Globes. Nominations for best movie, best director, best script and three supporting actor nominations (including Brat Pitt!). Regular readers will have seen my Babel review already -- here's the link to my diatribe.

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166172141865436212006-12-15T09:26:00.000+01:002006-12-26T19:25:52.990+01:00

The Pace study is finished and Bush has been briefed on the top brass recommendations. Crucially, they agree with the Baker-Hamilton report on turning from combat to training -- plus more focus on and effort in reconstruction. Here, from the Washington Post: The chiefs do not favor adding significant numbers of troops to Iraq, said sources familiar with their thinking, but see strengthening the

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166169568674362232006-12-15T08:39:00.000+01:002006-12-15T09:09:22.386+01:00

An interesting thing about the strategic prevalence of Stabilization & Reconstruction, MOOTWs, peace support ops is that its much more man power intensive than regular major combat ops, especially given the newest advances in NEC. The troops also have to stay longer, adding a tally of three-four times the original required number of combat troops, just to sustain the presence. See for example

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166104962480059472006-12-14T15:02:00.000+01:002006-12-14T16:23:29.153+01:00

Having any kind of overview over the US federal budget is a) interesting, b) impossible for all but the initiated -- that is, until one of those people kindly puts the thing down as a nice graphic explanation. Go see for yourself at The Budget Graph (works best for me at least in IE).

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1166099043406771392006-12-14T12:08:00.000+01:002006-12-30T08:27:30.080+01:00

What's up with the New York Times? Or maybe its the readers that -- faced with a world in flames -- are crawling into themselves and a coddly little world of home improvement and inane children oriented, soft news stories? Let's check out the top 25 most emailed articles' list for the last 30 days. This list tells a story about what the readers really are interested in -- as opposed to what the

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1165574404066225832006-12-08T11:32:00.000+01:002006-12-08T12:28:28.146+01:00

It may be a truism, but it is still an often overlooked fact that almost nothing ever happens in Denmark that hasn't already been invented or introduced somewhere else. (Not that that keeps us from being tenaciously proud of the local cultural produce).So it was that the DCA Give A Goat-campaign already existed in the States in the shape of a campaign with Heifer International. And as things go,

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1165569316930481872006-12-08T10:15:00.000+01:002006-12-08T10:53:07.843+01:00

Letterman has signed up for a few more years at the CBS much to the satisfaction of us here at Dracobs Central. [T]he Late Show" host will remain at CBS through the fall of 2010, which would give him 17 years there. He took up residence at CBS in 1993, after 11-plus years hosting "Late Night" on NBC. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," Letterman says, adding, "At my age you really don't

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1165514071726968752006-12-07T18:43:00.000+01:002006-12-07T18:54:31.850+01:00

Private sector based development projects are all the rage because of the promise of private sector organizational professionalization, market driven innovation for efficient solutions and economically self-sustainable projects. On the other hand, traditional NGOs are also looking for ways to build and sustain development awareness in donor countries ... and some of them are cleverly going with

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1165498400489959422006-12-07T14:31:00.000+01:002006-12-08T10:54:24.636+01:00

The recommendations can only be understood in the context of domestic American politics in combination with the (also domestic) material constraints of the forces. The report’s central function is to propose the possibility of bipartisanship in foreign policy. Few ISG members have any knowledge of foreign policy; the painstaking process of identifying muddy middle positions (like the battle

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1165280830906176922006-12-05T01:03:00.000+01:002006-12-05T02:30:31.606+01:00

Apologies to regular readers for hiatus: new job brought new responsibilities and opportunities. To the heart of the matter: Rummie still doesn't get it. 'Still' as in in not learning from the stupid choice on Phase IV (post-major combat) Ops in Iraq, especially concerning footprint size.The Rumsfeld memo was interpreted by the NYTimes as being an expression of him not knowing he was leacing

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1164045336526600092006-11-20T18:30:00.000+01:002006-11-20T19:05:27.783+01:00

The all-military study group on Iraq led by JCS Chairman Gen. Pace has moved quicker than appeared in last week's news (post on the Pace study) says today's Washington Post in the wrongly entitled "Pentagon May Suggest Short Term Build-Up Leading To Iraq Exit": The military's study, commissioned by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, comes at a time when escalating violence is

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1164012315512966962006-11-20T09:27:00.000+01:002006-11-20T09:52:08.153+01:00

The US abolishment of the draft in 1973 was of course a result of Vietnam, but also rested on another, organizational logic. Namely, that the potential for a more professional Army was higher with an all-volunteer model. This perspective, moreover, fitted absolutely nicely with the transformation agenda of the 1990s: the vision called for far fewer men, empowered through more gadgets and

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163787342451564982006-11-17T19:02:00.000+01:002006-11-17T19:22:17.203+01:00

This Friday evening post only to introduce the troubling collection of perspectives on supporting the Shi'ites in Iraq in this Dan Drezner post: "The quickest and dirtiest path out of Iraq". In that context, please do check out James Fearon's apt House testimony, which Drezner links to. Here's the exec summary: • By any reasonable definition, Iraq is in the midst of a civil war, the scale and

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163594286231760492006-11-15T13:17:00.000+01:002006-12-21T14:48:30.040+01:00

Apparently, the visions working their way around the Pentagon for the expected new African Command are far more colorful than one would have imagined just a few months ago. According to the Voice of America: The U.S. Defense Department established a working group Monday to develop a detailed plan by early next year for a possible new Africa Command in the U.S. military structure. But an official

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163590022095928682006-11-15T12:17:00.000+01:002006-11-15T12:35:24.773+01:00

As an add-on to yesterday's note on the faulty logic behind the rush to the Iraqi exit door after the US midterms, the NYT's Michael Gordon brings this article today "Get Out Now? Not So Fast, Experts Say" quoting, among others, Zinni: Anthony C. Zinni, the former head of the United States Central Command and one of the retired generals who called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163508755457646792006-11-14T13:32:00.000+01:002006-11-14T13:58:39.980+01:00

Danish media are on a rampage to get the Danish troops out of Iraq asap: how else, do they seem to think, can one interpret the outcome of the US midterms? Well, first the Iraq Study Group hasn't come out with proposals yet, neither has the Pace study group (see preceding post). Second, in spite of the probable political impossibility, one model would be the one championed by Senator John McCain,

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163145950199194172006-11-10T08:55:00.000+01:002006-11-10T09:08:39.466+01:00

Amid the fuss about the nomination of Robert Gates, a member of the Iraq Study Group to replace Secretary Rumsfeld, it is very interesting to note (hat tip to Defense Tech) that a Pentagon internal review related to Iraq and the wider war on terror (GWOT or Long War or maybe a new concept) is under way. Lead by General Pace, JCS Chairman, that group includes Colonel H. R. McMaster, the author of

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1163101804741084582006-11-09T20:06:00.000+01:002006-11-09T21:31:00.273+01:00

Countries such as Denmark and Holland which are participating in the development of the Joint Strike Fighter are to sign a MOU concerning the production phase within the next month or so. Predictably, domestic trouble is brewing in the media before this decision -- which is a step on the way to replace the ageing F16s.Danish Minister of Defense Søren Gade today reacted to Danish media reports

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1162744044124403792006-11-05T17:15:00.000+01:002006-11-16T10:57:54.386+01:00

I probably should start by offering my excuses to the gentleman to my right. About half an hour into Babel -- a new movie by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the director of Amores Perros and 21 Grams -- I began yawning, stretching, turning my head, and all the other things you want to but don't when you're in a lit public setting and highly uncomfortable. All through the movie, I resented Babel and

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1161874158890835232006-10-26T16:30:00.000+02:002006-10-26T16:49:19.270+02:00

Concerns about WMD proliferation are just one bit of a larger effect of globalization: Barnettian connectivity and market based efficiency in offer and delivery of off-the-shelf technology will have some interesting ramifications in the coming decades. Indeed, the Israeli-Hezbollah summer war was probably an example of this, more than merely an example Iranian state backing. The price of non-WMD

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1161787516709134862006-10-25T16:39:00.000+02:002006-10-25T16:55:36.990+02:00

Former UN head weapons inspector Hans Blix has gotten some attention for a handful of candid expressions - quoted second hand in a Danish newspaper today. Blix visited the Danish BBC HardTalk equivalent Clement Kontra yesterday: anyone interested in hearing Blix's up-to-date evaluations can see, hear and judge for themselves here (interview's in English, IE recommended).

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1161619745755002672006-10-23T17:48:00.000+02:002006-10-24T19:52:36.333+02:00

The Long War is marked by its accelleration of the politicization of the use of force: the fronts are simultaneously on the ground and at home. Operations happen within two realms: effects are created almost at the same time in the immediate/practical and in the symbolical/communicative realms.Michael Yon in The Weekly Standard (hat tip to Defense Tech) and MountainRunner each have some

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1161599465567986872006-10-23T11:58:00.000+02:002006-10-25T12:01:27.683+02:00

Even while the Economist was dozing on the brink of boredom -- before the change in Editor-in-Chief this spring -- one could always count on the magazine to deliver a healthy dose of sometimes funny and pertinent French-bashing. This week's leader implicitly continues the tradition with its positive evaluation of the legacy of the London Big Bang and a logically concomitant critique of the

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1160144881533614032006-10-06T15:55:00.000+02:002006-10-25T12:02:42.316+02:00

* Forging A World Of Liberty Under Law: U.S. National Security In The 21st Century. Final Report of the Princeton Project on National Security. Co-Directors: G. John Ikenberry and Anne-Marie Slaughter (pdf-file!)Very impressive people behind this: sound conclusions, not all original but a very interesting continuation of the debate about what an American -- and by extension: Western -- security

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1160030747150680312006-10-05T07:17:00.000+02:002006-10-26T11:24:36.046+02:00

As the Pentagon moves further towards officially announding the creation of an African Command -- as proposed early on by Tom Barnett; and suggested close by this Time Magazine piece back in late August -- small signs of the concomitant reorganization of assets can be found ... or am I just looking too hard? Take this item from Stars and Stripes today: KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Nearly a year

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159854220560645522006-10-03T06:34:00.000+02:002007-04-23T15:26:37.925+02:00

Ban emerges as the next UNSG it is clear from last night's straw poll at the UN in New York. Ghani pulled four 'encourage' and no less than 11 'discourage' votes (including three vetos), making him the sole candidate without a 'no opinion' vote. Ghani's candidature, it appears, suffered from entering the race at a late date, little time before the US called for the process to be sped up. The

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159768817468097982006-10-02T07:53:00.000+02:002006-10-02T08:03:55.056+02:00

Matt Bai's promised book on the Democratic Party has been under way for a long time now. But at least he's still getting those long essay-chapter's printed in the NYT Magazine once in a while. This article, "The Inside Agitator", is about Howard Dean and his "50 State" strategy, and raises some interesting points about the Democrat's ideas for winning back the lost ground, and why they got to

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159533031365060402006-09-29T14:06:00.000+02:002007-02-14T13:30:03.997+01:00

In spite of the occassional Herschian blunder, New Yorker's Fact-pieces are often worth reading. This one, by Lawrence Wright, is no exception: "The Master Plan: For the new terrorists, Al-Qaeda is just the beginning". The article retells a story of production of doctrine and ideas where AQ was just one -- a relatively late and sometimes 'moderate' -- element in the larger salafist movement. The

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159414655513415282006-09-28T05:16:00.000+02:002007-04-21T14:51:35.075+02:00

In a fit of desperation for originality, the Draconian Observation name for 'rapid fire' entries will be Tic Tacs - after the spiky sweets my granddad used to buy me.CRS: GWOT Price Tag Exceeds 500 Billion DollarsThrough FY2006, Congress has appropriated a total of about $437 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159269727896760752006-09-26T12:50:00.000+02:002007-02-14T13:30:38.777+01:00

In the ongoing discussion by proxy -- the leaked intel reports -- of the effect of Iraq on the Long War on terror, Mountain Runner has a great post, which emphasizes the problems with the way the Iraq war and post-war has been carried out:Between news of the April NIE indicating Iraq as an engine for extremism and a Pentagon assessment showing Sunni support for the insurgency increasing more than

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1159179307628261882006-09-25T12:14:00.000+02:002007-02-14T13:25:40.142+01:00

Everyone one knows having a Ministry of Defense including armed forces is expensive. But in all likelihood, the new strategic realities makes defense and especially Army budgets even more strained -- rather than less, which was the Rumsfeldian transformation dream just three years ago. Just take this piece from the LA Times, "Army Warns Rumsfeld it's Billions Short":WASHINGTON — The Army's top

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954508.post-1158739968679106812006-09-20T09:27:00.000+02:002007-02-14T13:26:01.009+01:00

Back in January, I concluded a post on Iran and the use of ad hoc groups in international politics with this reflection: [T]he Iran situation has already demonstrated what should have been clear all along for the small EU states about the CFSP - the Common Foreign and Security Policy - project. The formation of the E3 [UK, France, Germany], as proposed by the UK (via Mandelson) before 9/11 is

Draconian Observationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14572473903730165913noreply@blogger.com0