Youtube video of Devid Kilcullen discussing his latest book at authors@google, with interesting ideas such as « accidental guerilla ». Thanks Andrew Exum.
Also worth reading, from the abovementioned pair, is Death From Above, Outrage Down Below, published in the NYT. To read in conjunction with their Triage: The Next Twelve Months in Afghanistan and Pakistan (pdf).
Archives de l’auteur : kodiak
Toutes les Brigades ne sont pas égales…
Jugez-en :
Arrêté du 4 mars 2008 portant modification de l’arrêté du 18 janvier 2001 relatif aux logements de représentation concédés à des autorités
(…)
Liste des autorités bénéficiant d’un logement de représentation
(…)
Général commandant la brigade du génie, gouverneur militaire de Strasbourg.
Général commandant la 4e brigade aéromobile, gouverneur militaire de Nancy.
Général commandant la 1re brigade mécanisée.
Général commandant la 11e brigade parachutiste.
Général commandant la 27e brigade d’infanterie de montagne.
Général commandant la 6e brigade légère blindée.
Général commandant la 2e brigade blindée.
(…)
[source]
I am monarch of all I survey
I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute;
From the centre all round to the sea,
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
William Cowper, ‘Verses Supposed to be Written by Alexander Selkirk‘ (1782), lines 1-4
links for 2009-07-05
links for 2009-07-04
links for 2009-07-03
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New Zealand's longest-running online daily news and commentary publication, now in its 14th year.
They are not all Taliban
David Tate puts the difference between the different kind of bad guys in A’stan quite bluntly:
…the coalition are fighting two distinct insurgencies in Afghanistan. The first, that keeps those in Regional Command South busy, is certainly a primarily Pashtun-led insurgency that is nationalist and religiously based to an extreme. However, there are also drug dealers, foreigners and criminals also well represented.
In Regional Command East, not only are you dealing with Pashtun nationalists, but wahabbi extremists, islamic revolutionaries, timber barons, drug smuglers, al Qaeda operatives, nationalists, opportunists and, of course, Taliban.
Point is, there are dozens of groups with dozens of issues loosely operating together in a fluidity of rivalry, opportunity and convenience and they are NOT all Taliban [X]
And David to suggest we label the bad guys, all flavors of them, as AGF, for Anti Government Forces.
links for 2009-07-02
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Center for Army Lessons Learned
Commander’s Guide to Money as a Weapons System Handbook
Qui d’autre que la patrie du capitalisme pouvait produire un ouvrage aussi clair, sur comment obtenir son objectif pour moins cher et sans que cela coute des vies ? En achetant l’adversaire plutôt qu’en achetant des munitions pour le contraindre ?
réponse dans le Handbook 09-27 du Center for Army Lessons Learned: