Network Archives

How to Fix the Army: Sack All the Generals

"Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, a seasoned Army colonel who has already earned a reputation for being something of a whistleblower by tracking leadership failures from the field in Afghanistan, describes a system where underserving leaders 'received prestigious medals, promotions to higher ranks, and plum follow-on jobs; others retired and went to work for defense contractors, often with companies that had profited from the failed acquisition effort.' Davis worries about the decade of the Army and Marine Corps obsessed with counterinsurgency and small-unit warfare while a 'a new generation of Chinese military leaders has deepened its understanding and application of conventional warfare.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Fix the Army: Sack All the Generals

Military ready to act over Syria says U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

"US officials said Washington wanted to cultivate military ties with Malaysia and other governments in Southeast Asia to ensure stability in the region and to encourage a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China’s assertive stance over the waterway has raised concerns in Washington. Beijing claims virtually all of the South China Sea and has stoked rising concern among rival claimants, particularly the Philippines, of a gradual takeover of disputed islets. The Pentagon is offering help to Southeast Asian countries with ships, aerial reconnaissance, joint training and other initiatives as they try to better monitor their coastal waters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary ready to act over Syria says U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Go Time: “Pentagon is Making the Initial Preparations for a Cruise Missile Attack”

"Two words for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Get Out. It should be clear based on reports this week of US soldiers and intelligence operatives entering Syrian borders last Saturday that a military operation is now in progress. After the events that played out in front of the world on Wednesday, when it was claimed that Assad launched a chemical attack against his own people, there is no question as to what was going to happen next. For those who would suggest this is just posturing, there is already a precedent. In the eyes of the world Bashar al-Assad is now a mass murderer and he’s about to get Saddam’d." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGo Time: “Pentagon is Making the Initial Preparations for a Cruise Missile Attack”

The Game Changer: Syria Will Strike Israel Should U.S. Attack

"Folks, this has all the makings of the start of a World War. One misstep here and this could very quickly spread throughout the middle east and beyond – a warning that Russia gave the U.S. just a few months ago. There is, according to the Russians, no proof that Syria’s government launched a chemical attack on its own people. There doesn’t need to be. Armies are mobilizing, just as they did following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914. By December of 1914 over a million people were dead and war lines spanning hundreds of miles were drawn across Europe. It can happen fast. And this time it just might." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Game Changer: Syria Will Strike Israel Should U.S. Attack

Dear World, Americans Don’t Want War With Syria

"Their propaganda doesn't work on us anymore. They can't hide behind political labels anymore. They can't hide behind geopolitical unions and corporations anymore. They can't hide behind religions or 'humanitarian' organizations anymore. By their actions we shall know them. A Reuters poll released today said only 25% of Americans would support military intervention in Syria if, and only if, it was proven that Assad used chemical weapons. There is virtually no support for this war. If it happens, please know that it is not the will of the American people. We stand with you - our human brothers and sisters - for peace, liberty, and justice against this global threat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDear World, Americans Don’t Want War With Syria

Al-Qaeda ‘targeting European rail network’: report

"Al-Qaeda is plotting attacks on Europe’s high-speed rail network, German mass circulation daily Bild reported, citing intelligence sources. The extremist group could plant explosives on trains and tunnels or sabotage tracks and electrical cabling, said Bild. Bild said the information came from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, which had listened in to a conference call involving top Al-Qaeda operatives. The attacks on Europe’s rail network was a 'central topic' of this call, Bild said. Authorities in Germany have responded to the threat with discrete measures such as deploying plain-clothed police officers at key stations and on main routes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda ‘targeting European rail network’: report

Thousands of hungry and scared Syrian refugees enter Iraq

"Faced with brutal violence and soaring prices, thousands of Syrian Kurds have poured into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, seeking respite from privation and fighting between Kurdish fighters and jihadists. Government forces pulled out of most Kurdish-majority areas of northern and northeastern Syria last year, leaving Kurdish groups to run their own affairs. But Al-Qaeda loyalists, who have played a significant role in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, see the region as a vital link to fellow jihadists in Iraq and have been locked in deadly fighting with Kurdish militia in recent months. More than 1.9 million Syrians have fled their homeland, with most in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands of hungry and scared Syrian refugees enter Iraq

American al Qaeda militant urges attacks on U.S. diplomats

"An American al Qaeda militant has called for more attacks on Western diplomats in the Arab world, praising the killers of the U.S. ambassador to Libya on September 11 last year, a U.S.-based monitoring group said on Sunday. Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam with a $1 million U.S. price on his head, appealed to wealthy Muslims to offer militants rewards to kill ambassadors in the region, citing bounty set for killing the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Washington-based SITE monitoring group said. The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda last year offered 3 kg (106 ounces) of gold for the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa or 5 million rials ($23,350) for an American soldier." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican al Qaeda militant urges attacks on U.S. diplomats

Top general: Syrian rebels do not support U.S. interests

"US armed intervention in Syria would not resolve the civil war and rebel forces cannot be relied on to back American interests, the top military chief said. Pushing back against calls for air strikes and other action, General Martin Dempsey said in a letter to one lawmaker that US military leaders were not 'reticent, weary or risk averse' but rather mindful of the costs of war and 'pragmatic about the limits of military force.' He said knocking out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s air force was an option but it could drag the United States into an open-ended war. 'Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides,' Dempsey wrote." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop general: Syrian rebels do not support U.S. interests

US photojournalist recounts horror of captivity after escaping al-Qaeda in Syria

"A US photojournalist who escaped from Syrian rebels after seven months in captivity revealed details of his ordeal Friday and spoke of his anguish at leaving a fellow hostage behind. Matthew Schrier, 35, fled the clutches of a rebel group aligned to Al-Qaeda in July after being kidnapped while leaving the Syrian city of Aleppo on December 31 last year. Schrier is one of 15 Westerners who have been kidnapped or who have disappeared this year. The experience of Schrier illustrates the increasing dangers for foreigners and moderate Syrians in the country, which has been ravaged by a vicious civil war for more than two years, with mounting numbers of heavily armed extremist groups on the ground." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS photojournalist recounts horror of captivity after escaping al-Qaeda in Syria