by Scott W. Ruston Admiral Michael Mullen’s recent essay in Joint Forces Quarterly criticizing “strategic communication” lambastes the US government for its failures of strategic communication and the growth of a bloated bureaucracy fueling an agency-funded, contractor-filled cottage industry.  We have previously flagged Admiral Mullen as someone who “gets it,”  and it is welcome news [...]

by Jeffry Halverson* In the run-up to today’s Afghan elections, the Taliban have been asserting that participation is un-Islamic.  But this infidel thinks these students (Talib translates as “student”) deserve an F. A recent New York Times Op-Ed by Mirwais Ahmadzai, a program manager with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, reports the appearance of ominous [...]

by Monika Maslikowski & Z.S. Justus As observers of Al-Qa’ida’s media strategy we notice a trend in their communication: When a conflict around the world involving a Muslim country heats ups, AQ leadership is quick to jump on the opportunity to provide analysis, encouragement, or criticism for the actions of players on the ground. In [...]

by ZS Justus A recent audio recording from al-Qaeda #2 Zawahiri sends a series of “messages” to President-elect Barack Obama. News outlets have quickly grabbed one of the more provocative excerpts from the recording, Zawahiri’s labeling of Obama as a “house negro.” Several blogs have followed suit including hotair, gateway pundit, commentary magazine, the moderate [...]

by Monika Maslikowski The Global War on Terror has been accurately described by some as a global counterinsurgency against the groups and individuals that promote the ideology of violent Islamic extremism. Unlike traditional counterinsurgency campaigns, however, there is no single host-nation (HN) in this fight; the enemy is disparate, networked, transnational, and bound together by [...]

by Steven R. Corman I remember arriving in Karlsruhe, Germany on March 17, 2003.  It was two days before the Iraq invasion.  I didn’t know the date certain of the invasion, of course, but I knew for certain it was coming.  I was quite worried (needlessly, as it turns out) about how I would be [...]

by David Berg The US State Department has been quietly advocating the use of a controversial strategy transplanted from the War on Drugs in South America to the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan. According to freelance journalist Joseph Kirschke, the US State Department strongly advocates aerial poppy eradication to combat the illicit drug trade and [...]