Supply Issues

The US is trying to find new supply routes into Afghanistan because the Taliban and their friends are causing trouble for convoys on both sides of the Khyber Pass:
A week ago, a bold Taliban raid on a NATO supply convoy on the Pakistani side of the pass forced authorities to temporarily close traffic through Torkham [...]

A New Toy

US Special Forces has acquired a new UAV, with a twist: It’s a helicopter. And it’s got some real capability:
“The Hummingbird is designed to fly 2,500 nautical miles with endurance in excess of 24 hours and a payload of more than 300 pounds. The autonomously-flown A160 is 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter,” [...]

Lindgren Responds

Volokh Conspiracy co-blogger Jim Lindgren responded to my post on his recent piece on foreign policy and Obama’s service program in comments. I’m taking the liberty of putting what he had to say up here on the main page to make sure people see it. Time doesn’t permit me to respond further today, but I [...]

Not Invented Here

Some days, you read something and just slap your head in disgust at the failure of otherwise intelligent people to stay current, or at least to know their own limitations. Today, that something was a post on the Volokh Conspiracy. Authored by Volokh co-blogger Jim Lindgren, it imputed shadowy motives to a comment Obama ad-libbed [...]

Surge Quarrel

The New York Times offers new details about how Bush decided on the five-brigade surge in Iraq. Interesting for what it reveals about the wrangling within the Army itself. The generals were deeply split.

French Foreign Legion: Let the Afghans Do It

A French lieutenant colonel says Americans are shouldering too much of the counterinsurgency burden in Afghanistan and stunting the development of the Afghan army;
[US forces] generally make operational decision which, without the vigilance of the [Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams] can sideline the ANA from the decision-making process; these then risk being turned into auxiliaries to the [...]

Gustav Line

Via Galrahn, the Department of Defense at least is ready for Hurricane Gustav:
The command has activated four defense coordinating elements at the regional FEMA headquarters. The command provides unique DoD capabilities for disaster response. Rowe said three active-duty military installations have been designated as FEMA logistics points: Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; Columbus Air Force [...]

Where the Troops Are

Mother Jones maps (roughly) the whereabouts of the US Army post-1950. Cool site. The interesting thing is the more-or-less-continuously-large presence of troops in Saudi Arabia. And here Bin Laden thought it was something new.