The debate over U.S. drone strikes against militants in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has risen in intensity over the past few weeks, following a highly critical report on the strikes’ impact on the region’s civilian population as well as last week’s anti-drone “peace march” to the FATA. However, the focus on drones is unhelpful and legitimizes a narrative that mischaracterizes the real problems in Pakistan. The use of drones is a reaction to militancy that is the product of historical and systemic failures in governance in Pakistan. By making drones the focus of attention, Pakistani institutions can evade [...]
During a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Moscow earlier this week, the two sides announced that Iraq has signed contracts to purchase up to $4.2 billion worth of Russian weaponry. The news was quickly followed by a diplomatic contretemps between Russia and Turkey, when a Syrian Airlines plane that had departed Moscow for Damascus was forced to land in Ankara. The Turkish government subsequently announced that the ostensibly civilian flight had been carrying military equipment. Combined with the news that a visit by President Vladimir Putin to Turkey scheduled for this coming Monday had been postponed, it [...]
Recently, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey released a document entitled, “Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2020,” (.pdf) known by its milspeak acronym CCJO. At first glance, this might not seem noteworthy. After all, the U.S. military churns out concepts and doctrine on a regular basis, most of which only interest the military itself, the defense industry and perhaps security geeks. But the new CCJO is different. American security strategy and the U.S. military are undergoing a major transition, and this document provides an important window into what the armed forces expect to do [...]
