Armed Forces Journal - August 2008

Essay Competition: Win T.X. Hammes recommended reading list How: Write and submit a short essay on the book that most changed or helped your career path.Essay competition

A model for modern insurgency Following years of promising gains since 2001, Afghanistan is in a tailspin. Not long ago, a sophisticated Taliban assault on a Kandahar prison freed 1,200 inmates, including 350 Taliban...BY MALOU INNOCENT

Incredible performance TO AIR FORCE acquisition assistant secretary Sue Payton. As the service’s chief weapons buyer, Payton should be held accountable for the debacle of the KC-X tanker competition. The...

Revised war powers TO JAMES BAKER AND WARREN CHRISTOPHER, co-chairs of the National War Powers Commission report, for a practical, fair and balanced proposal that deserves high-priority consideration by the...

Soundbite dispute TO THOSE who rushed to condemn Wes Clark’s remark about Sen. John McCain’s qualifications to be president. What Clark told “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer was...

From our online discussion boards ”MEL1776” COMMENTS ON MAJ. DAVID F. BIGELOW’S “MANAGING MANPOWER” ARTICLE, JUNE AFJ (http://www.armedforces journal.com/2008/06/3486514)

The long recovery On Dec. 19, 2006, Minnesota Army National Guardsman J.R. Salzman was leading a convoy to Tallil Air Base in southern Baghdad when an explosively formed penetrator tore through his truck. The...BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN

Expensive bait The Defense Department faces daunting responsibilities to meet military personnel requirements, just as it did in past periods of extended military operations, and it finds itself in a...BY BRENDA FARRELL

The nonpartisan military In an interview with National Public Radio this spring, Gen. David Petraeus was asked about the prospect of a new president taking office next year who was committed to an expedited...BY CAPT. CHARLES G. KELS

Read different Since the early 1990s, the defense industry has been talking about the revolutionary technological changes taking place across society. It has worked hard to ensure we know what those...BY T.X. HAMMES

Heart of darkness War is the norm of human history, not the exception. Contrary to the Clausewitzian dictum that war is an instrument of policy, much of the world does not regard war as a political act...

Clausewitz’s bad advice Why do nations go to war? Why do their people agree to fight and risk their lives? There are several possible motivations, but we in the West have been conditioned to believe that the...BY PHILLIP S. MEILINGER

War’s irrational motivators The fundamental dictum guiding our diplomats and analysts has been that states and human collectives act in their own rational self-interest. This is utterly wrong, leading us to convoluted...BY RALPH PETERS

Playing for keeps Computers have permeated everyday life, making even the smallest task quicker and more efficient. The problem is that the efficiencies created by computers are costing us our resilience to...BY MARK HERMAN

Flashpoint: As the terror turns The good news is that nearly seven years after Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida appears to be battered. The bad news is that like a prize fighter, it is bloodied, but not bowed — leaving it...BY PETER BROOKES

In this issue Southern Command commander Adm. James Stavridis, in his address to the Joint Warfighting conference in June, offered this appeal to service men and women and defense industry people:...Karen Walker

Joint Force Quarterly -4th Q 2008

JFQ Dialogue
From the Chairman
by Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN
Letters to the Editor
JFQ Staff

Forum
Executive Summary
By David H. Gurney
On Naval Power
By Milan N. Vego
Hobson’s Choice for the American Maritime Industry: The Navy or Nothing
By Douglas T. Tastad
Information Technology and China’s Naval Modernization
By Andrew S. Erickson and Michael S. Chase
China’s New Undersea Nuclear Deterrent: Strategy, Doctrine, and Capabilities
By Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes
Seabased Ballistic Missile Defense
By Alan B. Hicks
Seabasing: Expanding Access
By Douglas M. King and John C. Berry, Jr.

Special Feature
ISR Evolution in the Iraqi Theater
By Raymond T. Odierno, Nichoel E. Brooks, and Francesco P. Mastracchio
Employing ISR: SOF Best Practices
By Michael T. Flynn, Rich Juergens, and Thomas L. Cantrell
Tribal Engagement in Anbar Province: The Critical Role of Special Operations Forces
By Thomas R. Searle
The Imbalance in Iraqi Security Force Transition
By Scott S. Jensen

The Influence of Just War Perspectives: Implications for U.S. Central Command
By Tyler Rauert
Forty Years of COIN: The Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories
By Nathan W. Toronto
Israel’s Survival Instincts and the Dangers of Nuclear Weapons in Iranian Hands
By Richard L. Russell
Integration of Coalition Forces into the USCENTCOM Mission
By John F. Couture
Battling Misperceptions: Challenges to U.S. Security Cooperation in Central Asia
By Roger D. Kangas
Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies: Building Relationships, Enhancing Security
By John D. Lawrence

Commentary
Thinking Total Cost Requires Thinking Up Front
By Adam B. Siegel
The Use of Military Force by the President: Defensive Uses Short of War
By James P. Terry
The Case for JPME Phase Zero: Building a Joint Culture in the U.S. Navy
By David K. Richardson

Interagency Dialogue
An Interview with Admiral James G. Stavridis, Commander, U.S. Southern Command
By David H. Gurney

Recall
Why a Conversation with the Country? A Backward Look at Some Forwardthinking Maritime Strategists
By Karl F. Walling

Proceedings – August 2008

Special
By Major Sharon Tosi Moore, U.S. Army Reserve
You've come a long way, General.

Read, Think, Write,
Admiral Jim Stavridis, U.S. Navy
A four-star combatant commander urges junior officers to air their ideas.

War on (Buzz)Words
By Kate Bateman
You've all read it, and some of you may even have written it. Yes, its bad writing, and it can be a national security issue.

Joint Warfighting 2008 (Members Only)
By James J. Lidington
Senior leaders stress the importance of maintaining a balanced force.

Admiral Allen's Blue Tsunami
By Art Pine
The Commandant shakes up the Coast Guard.

A Perfect Fit for Africa
By Captain Phillip J. Heyl, U.S. Coast Guard
The cutter Dallas recent deployment could serve as the prototype for future interaction with other African nations.

How to (Mis)Handle a Defection (Members Only)
By Lieutenant Commander Eugene R. Fidell, USCGR (Ret.)
A Lithuanian sailors attempted bolt for freedom resulted in a black eye for the Coast Guard.
U.S. Coast Guard Resources (Members Only)

Warlord Loop Reading list
Retired Army Colonel John Collins online discussion group presents books to help you prepare for an uncertain future.

The World is Our Classroom (Members Only)
By Midshipman First Class James C. Billings III, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
A midshipman at the U.S Merchant Marine Academy puts their 360-day sea school requirement in perspective.

The Distance between Selfish and Selfless Leadership (Members Only)
By Second Lieutenant Nicole Fiedler, U.S. Marine Corps
A new Marine officer examines her role as a leader

Simulating the Heat of Battle (Members Only)
By Ensign Rhett Gilman, U.S. Navy
There's no substitute for hands-on training.