Washington Post – Thomas Ricks on how if the U.S. effort in Iraq ultimately is successful, one reason may be the small school started recently on a military base here by Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq. Called the COIN Academy — using military shorthand for “counterinsurgency” — the newest educational institution in the U.S. military establishment seeks, as a course summary puts it, to “stress the need for U.S. forces to shift from a conventional warfare mindset” to one that understands how to win in a guerrilla-style conflict.
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Daily Archives: February 22, 2006
Geopolitics – Send In the State Department
New York Times – Robert Kaplan writes that whatever the future holds for Iraq, within a year or two there will be far fewer American troops there, and the debate over whether our military is overstretched may subside. Yet because of a bloody counterinsurgency that no one in the military wants to repeat, Iraq has profoundly affected the Pentagon’s deployment strategies as it shifts toward a greater emphasis on the Pacific Rim while still facing a profusion of terrorist-related threats not just in the Middle East but also in Africa and elsewhere.
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Indian Navy – Indo-US naval exercise off Sri Lanka coast
Indian Express – What was planned as a simple passage exercise between aircraft carrier INS Viraat and the American USS Ronald Reagan supercarrier three days ago off Sri Lanka spontaneously became a full-fledged, joint-maritime war game???The message is clear: the two Navies can easily combine assets with minimum preparation in the event of a war-like scenario.
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NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 