Petraeus at Atlantic Council
[caption id="attachment_26018" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Lt.Gen. Brent Scrowcroft, GEN David Petraeus, and Atlantic Council President and CEO Fred Kempe"][/caption] I had the privilege of sitting in on an Atlantic Council meeting with General David Petraeus this afternoon. He's making the rounds in Washington in preparation for taking over CENTCOM. He mostly came to listen to selected members of our Strategic Advisors Group ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on October 9, 2008 16:25
VP Speculation Heats Up
All indications are that Barack Obama has made his choice for running mate and will announce it today. Through some combination of clever public manipulation to throw people off the scent and wishful thinking on the part of those with a stake in the outcome, the guesses as to who it'll be are all over the map. Obama's stated criteria: "I want ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 22, 2008 08:11
McCain: Effects Precede Causes in Iraq
Here's an interesting Q&A from Katie Couric's interview with John McCain. Kate Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 23, 2008 12:31
Al Qaeda in Iraq Defeated?
Al Qaeda in Iraq [AQI] is all but defeated, Marie Colvin reports for The Sunday Times. A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10. Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 6, 2008 07:56
Obama: Willing To Meet Ahmadinejad But Not Petraeus?
Jim Geraghty, commenting on Barack Obama's dismissal of John McCain's invitation to tour Iraq with him as "a political stunt," muses, [I]sn't Obama vulnerable to the argument that a man who's pledged to meet unconditionally, one-on-one, face-to-face with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really ought to meet at least once one-on-one with Gen. David Petraeus? It's simultaneously superb polemic and rather silly. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 28, 2008 13:36
Petraeus: Diplomacy, Not Force, With Iran
David Petraeus says force should be our last option in solving our disputes with Iran. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, President Bush's nominee to lead U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, supports continued U.S. engagement with international and regional partners to find the right mix of diplomatic, economic and military leverage to address the challenges posed by ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 22, 2008 10:51
H.R. McMaster Leads New Crop of Generals
The third time is the charm for H.R. McMaster, who is the most recognizable name on the list of new one-star generals selected by a promotion board headed up by none other than David Petraeus. An Army board headed by Gen. David H. Petraeus has selected several combat-tested counterinsurgency experts for promotion to the rank of brigadier general, sifting through more ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 15, 2008 12:48
NPR Had a Counterinsurgency Debate and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
Kip reports that, "NPR ran an excellent and fair report on the ongoing debate about COIN and conventional preparedness on Morning Edition this morning. John Nagl is called the disciple of COIN's Jesus, GEN David Petraeus." My local NPR affiliate, WAMU, begged for money all morning. I hate, hate, hate them and will never give them a dime. Everywhere else I've ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 6, 2008 08:15
Marines Attack Taliban Stronghold
The U.S. Marines have launched a major assault into southern Helmand province in an attempt to wrest control from the Taliban and cut the opium backed funding for the anti-government forces. U.S. Marines exchanged gunfire with militants Tuesday after pouring into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan in the first major American operation in the region in years. Several hundred Marines, many ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on April 29, 2008 08:19
U.S. Kills Jihadists with Stroke of Pen, Creating Violent Extremists as Byproduct
The war against Jihadists and Islamo-Fascists has been won; each and every last one of these vermin has been eradicated courtesy of the United States Government. Unfortunately, the victory is quite literally in name only. The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language. Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on April 25, 2008 15:59
