David A. Shunk 28 July 2009 Click here to download (628 KB PDF) [CR note: As readers of this blog know, I don’t see much possibility of conventional war between nuclear-armed powers.  This doesn’t rule out some occasional sparring, like the P-3 incident that occurred near Hainan Island in April 2001, but I don’t understand […]

William S. Lind 21 July 2009 Ideas as Weapons is the title of a new book, a collection of essays edited by two Marine Corps officers, G.J. David Jr. and T.R. McKeldin (the publisher is Potomac Books). Subtitled “Influence and Perception in Modern Warfare,” the volume is dedicated to exploring the aspect of war most […]

In case you missed it, COIN’s Siren Song: In its fullest form the doctrine can be reduced to three basic elements: 1-Political warfare designed to eliminate the symbolic causes of revolt. This would include such efforts as a reduction of public corruption, adequate representation in government for all parts of the population, etc. … IMO, […]

Two ways to answer this question: Deploy the Mark I Ouija board Study what his closest associates are writing. I can’t help you much on Alternative 1, but if you’re interested in the second, I recommend Chuck Spinney’s piece in today’s Counterpunch.  Here’s a short sample: The information suggests the Taliban’s strategic aim is to […]

William S. Lind 7 July 2009 According to the July 3 Cleveland Plain Dealer, President Barack Obama said something very interesting last week. He told the AP that he has “a very narrow definition of success when it comes to our national security interests” in Afghanistan. “And that is that al-Qa’ida and its affiliates cannot […]

As officers, we are sworn to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  But what if the Constitution is already dead? Fabius Maximus examines the health of the  Constitution in a brilliant post, a revision of one that he did three years ago.  Whether you agree with his thesis or not, he raises […]

According to a paper on the Small Wars site: Six Reasons Insurgencies Lose: A Contrarian View, by Donald A. Stoker. Insurgencies generally lose, not win. The Dupuy Institute, using a database for an ongoing research project that includes 63 post-World War II insurgencies, found that the insurgents only win 41% of the time. I would […]

Would be a Sun Tzu Seminar.  Looks like there’s going to be a good one late next month in New York: Transforming Chaos and Conflict— James Gimian and Barry Boyce, of Shambhala Sun magazine and the Denma Translation Group. Jim and Barry gave an abbreviated version of this program at the Boyd 2008 Conference last […]