The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
The Real Deal–Gripping Details & Lessons Learned & Lost November 21, 2009 Thomas Leo Briggs I served with the author in the clandestine service, saw the galley of this book in its early form, and was delighted when I received a copy of the finished book in the mail. This is an absorbing detailed reference …
Continue reading “Review: Cash on Delivery–CIA Special Operations During the Secret War in Laos”
What If We Fail in Afghanistan? Steve Coll The New Yorker November 16, 2009 What would be the consequences of a second Islamic Emirate? My scenarios here are intended analytically, as a first-draft straw-man forecast: The Nineties Afghan Civil War on Steroids Momentum for a Taliban Revolution in Pakistan Increased Islamist Violence Against India, Increasing …
Berto Jongman recommends…. Understanding History’s Seven Stages of Jihad by Sebnastian L.v. Gorka CTC Sentinel October 2009 V 2 I 10 pp. 15-17 Phi Beta Iota: The Counterterrorism Center (CTC) at West Point has been doing extraordinary work of very high value to the U.S. Central Command, with an emphasis on understanding. Click on the …
U.S. Needs Hit Squads, ‘Manhunting Agency’: Spec Ops Report Noah Shachtman November 3, 2009 CIA director Leon Panetta got into hot water with Congress, after he revealed an agency program to hunt down and kill terrorists. A recent report from the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations University argues that the CIA didn’t go far enough (.pdf). …
Continue reading “Journal: One Man – One Bullet on the Table”
Editors Did Great, Could Have Gone Extra Mile October 31, 2009 Zhao Ziyang Most people miss the two bottom lines that I found engaging: 1. China’s government is a screwed up bureaucracy with petty egos just like ours. 2. China produced moderate pragmatist Premier Zhao Ziyang, promoted him, and empowered him. With all due respect …
Continue reading “Review: Prisoner of the State–The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang”
Highlighting by Chuck Spinney High Cost, Low Odds by STEPHEN M. WALT The Nation October 21, 2009 http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091109/walt/print Deciding what to do in Afghanistan requires a hard-nosed assessment of the costs of the war, the alleged benefits of victory and the likelihood of success. We know the price will be high. The United States has …
Continue reading “Journal: Chuck Spinney Sends….Afghanistan”
In my opinion, it is now almost certain that Afghanistan will wreck the presidency of Barack Obama. As I feared, Mr. Obama has allowed the US military and its allies in the Democratic wing and Republican wing of the national-security apparat (there is no real difference between these wings) to ensnare him in the wreckage …
Continue reading “Journal: Demise of Obama in Afghanistan Part I”
