The Washington Post's defense obsession in the ME

"A more dubious, and risky, assumption of Mr. Obama’s plan is that the United States will no longer conduct operations like those of the last decade: “long-term nation-building with large military footprints.” Though counterinsurgency has produced results in both Iraq and Afghanistan, it — and the troop levels required for it — will be retired; the size of the Army and Marines will be returned to prewar levels. This, too, is not a new concept: After Vietnam, the Pentagon abandoned counterinsurgency and planning for troop-intensive operations."  Washpost Editorial Board

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It is to be expected that the neocon editorial page board and staff of the Washington Post would be upset with the newly announced national defense strategy.  This strategy will inevitably result in two things these people do not like: 1- Fewer conventional ground troop will be available for "reforming" foreign countries in COIN campaigns like Iraq and Afghanistan and 2- The strategy will begin a dilution of our decades long obsession with the Middle East and Europe.

As I say, this was to be expected.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/president-obamas-defense-strategy/2012/01/06/gIQAKm5pfP_story.html

Comments

[walrus]

Col. Lang,

Your website won't survive and your voice won't be heard if legislation like SOPA and PIPA pass Congress.

http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html

[turcopolier]

walrus

Don't get your shorts knotted up. they havn't been passed yet. pl

[rkka]

Freddie Hiatt the WP editorial page editor and shameless Iraq war cheerleader wants more of the same? No surprise there.

As I recall, war propagandists faced charges at Nuremburg, though not the main one "conspiracy to wage aggressive war" If we were a sane country, that's where the likes of Hiatt would be.

On the other hand, if we were a sane country, we wouldn't have elected Dubya Bush, or re-elected him.

[William R. Cumming]

Well any of the US protectorates be changed under the new policy?

[turcopolier]

WRC

What are the US protectorates? Saudi Arabia, Israel and South Korea? pl

[confusedponderer]

rkka,
American Exceptionalism holds that Americans are not to be held to that standard. American war propagandising is per se virtuous.

What you will call the most shameless of liars are in fact misunderstood paragons of virtue - heroes in error who, led by the great moral clarity that distinguishes them from petty scoffers like yourself, "did the right thing" - toppling the evil villain Saddam Hussein - never mind all the little white lies and the carnage necessary to achieve that noble goal.

[turcopolier]

confused ponderer

I like the "petty scoffer" thing. I prefer to think of my self as a modern Diogenes but you are right. The number of people who think of me as I do is very small. I am editing "Down the Sky," and will see if I can work your phrase in somewhere. pl

[Neil Richardson]

Dear Col. Lang:

God save the United States Navy

http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/01/cnas-john-nagl-stepping-down.php?mrefid=site_search

John Nagl, president of the Center for a New American Security, the liberal-founded think tank that helped staff President Obama's Pentagon, is stepping down...Nagl will become a research fellow at the U.S. Naval Academy, teach counterinsurgency to midshipmen, and "investigate the influences of culture upon warfare." He will maintain a status with CNAS as a non-resident senior fellow.

[turcopolier]

NR

You may remember that I told Nagl that he would go down with COIN. pl

[Neil Richardson]

Dear Col. Lang:

Yes. That's the reason why I posted it.

[confusedponderer]

Mr. Lang, I would be pleased.

[turcopolier]

CP

Then I will do that. pl

[turcopolier]

CP

"In the late afternoon of the 18th of October, 1864 a council of war sat in a room adjacent to the Telegraph Office of the War Department on 17th street in the District of Columbia.

President Lincoln habitually spent much of his time in the telegraph office, but he was not there when the meeting began.

Sunlight streamed through the second story windows. There were birds in the branches of the street trees. They looked cold in the unseasonable cold that had prevailed for the last week. They seemed to peer through the dirty panes at the men seated around a table. The walls were flat white. There was a lithograph of the president. A national flag was in one corner. The wooden furniture was of the sort that the Quartermaster’s Department bought from the lowest bidder.

Major General Philip Sheridan, the Commanding General of the Army of the Shenandoah looked down the table at Edwin Stanton. “I think you are exaggerating Early’s capacity,” he said to the secretary of war…

Stanton was at the head of the table as befitted his authority. He was determined to put Sheridan in his place. “Well, gentlemen,” he said. “We can only rejoice in Sherman’s success at Atlanta. And now he is preparing to march to Savannah and turn north into Lee’s rear. Things are progressing nicely. The petty scoffers in the press and the Copperheads are quiet now.”

Major General Henry Halleck, the chief of staff of the US Army was at his right. “Old Brains” was Halleck’s nickname in the army. He seemed interested in some object near the ceiling.

“We have beaten Early hollow every time he has faced us,” Sheridan said. “My cavalry went all the way south to Waynesboro in the Valley. We destroyed the valley district’s farms. Early can’t live anywhere north of Waynesboro. There is no food, and no livestock. We took or destroyed it all, all of it. Whatever force he has left will starve if he tries to come back to the area around Strasburg. I can leave a small force along Cedar Creek where Major Kimball is pointing on the map and bring the rest of the troops back to General Grant at Petersburg.”

[William R. Cumming]

PL agree with your three picks and would add others (Taiwan)?. But I would follow all those with oil that US covets or needs and also follow the money under not the Foreign Assistance Act but the Military Assistance programs.

[turcopolier]

WRC

"oil that US covets or needs." I never understand this kind of thinking. Oil that the US covets or needs? Buying and selling has nothing to do with political alignments. It's business. Ask Romney and a lot of the Republicans I see on TV. They advocate capitalism "red n fang and claw," a capitalism without condscience. I guess Sister Margaret Mary go to me. I don't know how Santorum can call himself Catholic. p lpl

[confusedponderer]

I like it!

[William R. Cumming]

PL! With 90% of proven reserves of oil held by the NOCs [national oil companies] the USA must deal with the countries not independent producers and marketers. I would argue that USA policies towards OPEC made those countries de facto protectorates. There are enough of them and enough non-OPEC oil producers so that the USA can put its blinders on from time to time.

The Romans were skillful users of protectorates to protect their Empire.

[Fred]

So he's going to teach a bunch of middies how to do COIN? That'll almost be as much fun as sending them all on a hunt for relative bearing grease on their summer ops.

"investigate the influences of culture upon warfare." Now that part is downright funny.

[turcopolier]

WRC

The holders of long term contracts from the NOCs must sell their products in a world market set by market forces and the spot market for crude. I have dealt with several NOCs and I never saw anything but greed as a motivator. The last times anyone restricted oil production and sales as a weapon were the oil embargo of 1973 (a total failure)and Saudi harassment of the Bush (43) administration. Also, governments do not normally hold the long term NOC contracts that you speak of. what are you saying, that the oil supply chain runs the world? pl

[Neil Richardson]

I was surprised that he chose the USNA over West Point. Perhaps the proximity to the Beltway could've been a reason. "Relative bearing grease"? That's funny. I suppose that comes right after a bucket of steam from the boiler room

[William R. Cumming]

What I am saying is that even looking just at the demand side Japan, China, and India may well make US embargo efforts on Iran exports of oil and gas de minimus as to impact.

And personally I view Iran as more of an Asian nation-state than any other geographic cluster. Perhaps even as a culture.

[turcopolier]

WRC

"an Asian nation-state" Nothing like that. Iran and Persia are not the same thing. The Persians are the majority people in Iran but the Iranian state is an empire built by force of arms by several dynasties of Shahs, There are various Tukic peoples, Arabs, Turkomans, Armenians etc contained within the borders of this ecumenical empire. pl