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I have four colossal disagreements with how President Barack Obama cut the deal for the prisoner swap of five senior Taliban leaders for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl; the former, the White House itself admits, could "absolutely" rejoin terrorist cells. Sure, I have far more than four issues with how it all went down -- for example, the absolute avoidance and disregard of constitutional submission and congressional consent. But this administration seems to have little regard for proper protocol with anything, so I'm going to focus here on a few different angles of argument. No one is overlooking or minimizing...

Agree or disagree with the proposed no-fly zone over Libya, in order to make the no-fly zone safe you must prevent the enemy from endangering friendly aircraft. The purpose of the launch of Odyssey Dawn strikes is to degrade the Qadhafi regime’s ability to resist future allied air operations. Operation Odyssey DawnThe initial air and guided missile strike operations in Libya are designed to destroy Qadhafi’s Air Defenses. The primary targets were airfields and fixed anti-aircraft missile (SAM) batteries. The second strikes were aimed at disrupting Command and Control Communications networks and military operations against opposition forces in Benghazi. Future...

USNORTHCOM has admitted that they are preparing military operations within the United States. This is the first time in history this has been done and they will be working with DHS, state and local law enforcement on U.S. soil.

Role of air power in the Iraq conflict and lessons for Pakistan Air Commodore (Retd) JAMAL HUSSAIN discusses what lessons we can draw from Iraq. The On- Going Conflict in Iraq The on-going conflict in Iraq has proven once again, if any further proof was required, the dominance of air power in the modern battlefield. While it may be premature to draw any major conclusions from a conflict that is still raging, the all pervading effect of Coalition air power and its near total absence by the Iraqi forces is too obvious to ignore. Imagine, a force of about a...

We are being warned by journalists, now that we are all the way into day eight of the war, that the U.S. is getting bogged down in a bloody quagmire. Not to make light of the daunting task that faces our nation, but considering that after eight days of armed conflict the U.S. known loss of life (40+ dead) is still less than the number of lives lost in the Rodney King rioting in L.A. that lasted less than 3 days (53 dead), this may be a bit premature. For reference, consider the following recent successful U.S. military operations: Grenada....

AMMAN 1970, A MEMOIR By Norvell De Atkine This is the first in a series of memoirs on the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s. Norvell de Atkine was one of the first Middle East experts trained by the U.S. military. He attended the American University in Beirut, became a U.S. military attache in Jordan, and spent many years working in the Arab world. I had just completed my studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1970, as part of the US Army Foreign Area Specialist program, when Major Bob Perry, assistant U.S. army attaché in Jordan,...

Hymn Before Action by Rudyard Kipling 1896 The earth is full of anger, The seas are dark with wrath, The Nations in their harness Go up against our path: Ere yet we loose the legions -- Ere yet we draw the blade, Jehovah of the Thunders, Lord God of Battles, aid! High lust and froward bearing, Proud heart, rebellious brow -- Deaf ear and soul uncaring, We seek Thy mercy now! The sinner that forswore Thee, The fool that passed Thee by, Our times are known before Thee -- Lord, grant us strength to die! For those who kneel beside...

War Plans and Pitfalls by MICHAEL T. KLARE [from the October 21, 2002 issue] After months of internal wrangling over tactics and strategy, it now appears that the White House has settled on the basic design for the US invasion of Iraq. President Bush was given a detailed plan for the assault on September 10, and it appears that key combat units have been moved to the Middle East or are being readied for deployment to the region. Although most of the world is still focused on the diplomatic whirlwind at the United Nations, American military personnel are behaving as...

Fayetteville (NC) Observer October 5, 2002 Injuries To 82nd Division Soldiers Increase By J.S. Newton, Correspondent BAGRAM, Afghanistan - As the U.S. military steps up combat operations in the frontier regions of eastern Afghanistan, injuries among American troops are increasing. Several 82nd Airborne Division soldiers have been among those recently hurt in accidents and combat operations. Military officials say casualties are a part of war. "We are operating in a very dangerous place,'' said Maj. Rich Patterson, the division's top spokesman. "Very austere. The bottom line is military operations are hazardous by nature.'' Since the division's arrival earlier this year,...

National Journal October 5, 2002 Pg. 2866 The Iraq Buildup, II The U.S. military has spent a decade getting ready for a second Gulf war. And its preparations have accelerated rapidly since 9/11. By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. The Marines land in Kuwait. The Air Force bombs Saddam Hussein's command posts. Covert teams slip into Iraq. Army tanks rehearse crossing the Euphrates River. Navy crews race to ready their warships for sea. Transport vessels laden with supplies steam unheralded toward the Persian Gulf. Factories churn out precision weapons at an ever-accelerating pace. The world may not be ready to accept...

Managing Taiwan Operations in the Twenty-first Century Issues and Options -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jianxiang Bi © 1999 by Jianxiang Bi TAIWAN IS PART OF CHINA. Debates on this well-established concept have now created a backlash. Beijing’s rapidly increased political, economic, and military power has strengthened its belief in the ideal of “one China” and its determination to reunify the country. But how it would attain this end is ambiguous. The concept of “one country, two systems” is designed to integrate peacefully the de facto entities separated by the Strait, allowing Taiwan to preserve its political, economic, and social systems, distinct from those...

Washington Times September 30, 2002 Pg. 21 Vision Of World War IV By Arnaud de Borchgrave Wake up America, you are already in World War IV. That is the staccato rat-tat-rat message coursing through television talk shows by those who see themselves as latter-day Winston Churchills. The theoretician in chief is R. James Woolsey, a former CIA director during the Clinton administration, whose lucubrations bear serious examination. The U.S. and its allies fought three world wars — two "hot" and one "cold" — in the 20th century. The first world war of the 21st century is not a war against...

U.S. troops find women hiding automatic weapons, grenades... Posted by Afgha.com on Monday, September 23 2002 @ 14:15:00 CEST Associated Press - via Yahoo News Mon Sep 23, 4:22 AM ET By KIKO ROSARIO ...in eastern Afghanistan BAGRAM, Afghanistan - U.S. forces conducting searches in eastern Afghanistan ( news - web sites) over the weekend found grenades and automatic weapons hidden by Afghan women, including some weapons concealed under their all-encompassing burqas, a U.S. military spokeswoman said Monday. Lt. Col. Carla Sylvester said the weapons were found Sunday in searches near the Afghan towns of Khost and Deh Rawood. "We've...

DefenseWatch (sftt.org) September 18, 2002 The Hidden Casualties Of Gulf War I By David H. Hackworth Back in 1990, a few months before the bombs started dropping on Baghdad, an Army pal slipped me a Pentagon study based on World War II experiences estimating that U.S. forces would suffer 50,000 casualties during the projected six-month campaign. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf's staff later predicted a still-staggering 20,000 dead or wounded. Because Stormin' Norman's forces brilliantly zapped Saddam Hussein's mob in a record-breaking 100-hour ground war, actual U.S. casualties were a mere fraction of these two estimates – 147 KIA and 457 WIA....

Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily September 18, 2002 Iraqi Move To Accept UN Weapons Inspectors Unlikely To Severely Disrupt US Strategic Momentum Analysis. By Gregory R. Copley, Editor. A move on September 17, 2002, by the Government of Iraq to agree to admit United Nations (UN) weapons inspectors, in a bid to undermine US efforts to win UN Security Council approval to act militarily against the country, seemed unlikely to do more than delay slightly US steps to attempt to remove Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi move was designed to undercut support for the US position in the Security...

War hero shares IT lessons learned BY Dan Caterinicchia Sept. 17, 2002 Special operations troops deployed in Afghanistan have had to wage war in some of the most challenging environments imaginable, and for the most part, their information technology tools have performed admirably. But something must be done to lighten soldiers' battlefield loads, which can exceed 140 pounds, with more than 73 percent of that weight coming from equipment, according to Air Force officials who have had to carry those packs. "It's absolutely unacceptable that we have to walk with that much weight with the technology we have today," said...

New York Daily News September 13, 2002 Invasion 'Bloody Mess'? Expert worried by nukes, lack of U.S. postwar plan By Richard Sisk, Daily News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - The U.S. would win a war with Iraq, but the battle and victory itself would have consequences that President Bush should think very hard about, a respected military analyst said yesterday. "Could this be a bloody mess? Yes, it could," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "And what do we do after we win?" In a briefing on his 100-page analysis of Iraq's military, Cordesman said war...

<p>WASHINGTON -- Intensifying its preparations for a possible attack on Iraq, the Bush administration is asking Britain to house stealth bombers at an Indian Ocean air base, while Saudi Arabia indicated it may allow bases there to be used against Iraq.</p>

New York Times September 16, 2002 Pg. 1 Saudis Indicating U.S. Can Use Bases If U.N. Backs War By Todd S. Purdum WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 — The Saudi foreign minister indicated this weekend that his country would let the United States use its military bases in a United Nations-backed attack on Iraq, a sign that Arab nations may be dropping their resistance to an attack on Saddam Hussein. The Saudi minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said that if there was a Security Council resolution backing military action, all United Nations members would have to honor it. In a CNN interview from...

Pentagon considers a hit before buildup Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 9/6/2002 The U.S. military would need 60 to 90 days to put a full invasion force of troops, tanks, ships and warplanes in position to attack Iraq, if President Bush authorizes an assault to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. But the president could authorize a different kind of military buildup. Rather than following the World War II doctrine of positioning forces for months before attacking, the United States could begin an assault with forces now in the region, then bring in more troops. About 100 U.S. and British...