Reference: Walter Dorn on UN Intelligence in Haiti

UPDATE:  Superceeded by final published version a tReference: Intelligence-Led Peacekeeping Phi Beta Iota: Dr. Walter Dorn is one of a tiny handful of truly authoritative academic observers of UN intelligence, a pioneer in his own right, and perhaps the only person who has followed UN intelligence from the Congo in the 1960’s to the creation …

Review: A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq (Yale Library of Military History) (Hardcover)

Brilliant but Narrow, Simplifies A Bridge Too Far December 19, 2009 Mark Moyar EDIT of 21 Feb 2010:  A colleague in COINSOC has pointed out that I missed one key aspect of this book and I hasten to add it: “Moyar’s point that we are applying peacetime personnel policies by putting people in place based …

Journal: Jewish Bible versus Palestinian Land Records

Palestinian village caught amid Israel settlements By BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 17, 5:29 pm ET QARIOUT, West Bank – In this West Bank village surrounded by Israeli settlements, a Palestinian farmer says he has documents proving he owns his land. On a nearby hill, Jewish settler Batya Medad says she too has proof of ownership — …

Reference: Countries at the Crossroads

Countries at the Crossroads is an annual survey of government performance in 70 strategically important countries worldwide that are at a critical crossroads in determining their political future. The in-depth comparative analyses and quantitative ratings – examining government accountability, civil liberties, rule of law, anticorruption efforts and transparency – are intended to help international policymakers …

Review: Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction (Paperback)

Utterly Brilliant Synthesis, Vital First Step–US Violates Every Single Principle December 18, 2009 United States Institute of Peace This book is a six-star special and will be so rated at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where I cluster like non-fictions books in 98 categories, one of which is Stabilization & Reconstruction. At its …

Journal: Muslim Tide Arousing US Heartland Anger But Loss of Moral Legitimacy Via Israel and Loss of National Intelligence Shackles America

Nazi Eurabia, and America’s Fate By Jim O’Neill Thursday, December 17, 2009 “The Crusader would have been quite justified in suspecting the Muslim even if the Muslim had merely been a new stranger; but as a matter of history he was already an old enemy. The critic of the Crusade talks as if it had …

Review: The Compassionate Instinct–The Science of Human Goodness

Extraordinary Collection, Unique, Timely, No Notes December 16, 2009 Dacher Keltner, Jason March, Jeremy Adam Smith This is a truly extraordinary collection of essays from the magazine Greater Good, a magazine I had no idea existed. The editors have done a tremendous job in selecting 35 essays (click on the cover above to see the …