counterinsurgency

Brennan Will Be White House Counterterrorism Czar

One thing that’s not conference-related: The New York Times reports that John Brennan, the controversial ex-CIA official who abruptly withdrew as Barack Obama’s CIA director in November, will become White House director of counterterrorism. Brennan came under fire from Salon’s Glenn Greenwald for statements that took a soft line on rendering terrorism detainees to the [...]

The Third Lebanese War Won’t Be in Lebanon

There’s no sugarcoating this. Israel is looking like a country that is quickly losing its mind. Consider this statement:
In an interview Tuesday, Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said Israel’s main goal is to “destroy completely” what she called a “terrorist gang.”
I truly truly hope this is empty rhetoric. Because the evidence is accumulating that Israel is determined [...]

Pakistani Forces Moving From Afghan Border to Indian Border

Via Matthew Yglesias, the post-Mumbai climate of increased Indo-Pakistani tensions is causing the Pakistani military to redeploy forces from the northwest frontier province, where the task is allegedly combatting Pakistani militants and preventing exfiltration to Afghanistan, to the Indian border. Whether or not the Mumbai attacks were planned in the Pakistani tribal areas by Pakistani [...]

Update 2 on Detainee Deaths in Afghanistan: No Official Comment Until Inquiry Is Complete

In the interest of keeping you updated on the strange case of two detainees dying Dec. 18 in a Zabul Province prison — it’s unclear whether they were in the custody of U.S. troops or Afghan police — here’s a response I received early this morning from a spokesman for the U.S. military command in [...]

A Progressive Blueprint for Obama’s Military

The report, issued by the Center for American Progress, a group heavily involved in the transition, recommends that the Obama administration’s defense policy break from the last eight years and include a clear set of priorities.

CNAS Co-Chair Is Helping Run Obama’s Pentagon Headhunting Team

Just as my piece on Saturday predicted, look who the Obama people just announced would help lead their Pentagon headhunting team. From an Obama press release:

Counterinsurgents Really, Really Love Bob Gates

More Gates-love. This is a post written by Dave Dilegge, editor of the invaluable counterinsurgency blog Small Wars Journal, the day after Obama’s election:

Another Year’s Worth Of Gates?

So says Yochi Dreazen of The Wall Street Journal:

Obama’s Afghanistan Refocus

The Afghanistan war is about to focus on al-Qaeda again:

Obama’s Pentagon-in-Waiting

Though not two years old, the defense think tank has emerged as an influential center for studying contemporary national-security issues. If its fellows join the new administration, expect counterinsurgency to be a major focus in policy.