Brave New War

My blogging buddy Jason Sigger over at Armchair Generalist has a great review of John Robb's "Brave New War". I read the book a couple months ago and really enjoyed it. I also got to interview Robb for Danger Room. He's an interesting and scary smart guy. I highly recommend checking out the book his blog.

Echoing some of Robb's conclusions in this month's Armed Forces Journal, retired Army Lt. Col. Scott Morrison asks the question: "What if There is No Network?"

Al-Suri's pragmatic doctrine, based on his personal experiences as well as his astute observations concerning the post-Sept. 11 operational environment from a jihadist perspective, borrows heavily from the "leaderless resistance" concept initially promulgated by Col. Ulius Amos. Al-Suri's work, in essence, provides the impetus for a revolution in jihadist affairs by suggesting transition to a highly decentralized autonomous jihad with emphasis on operational security and a de-emphasis on formal structure. Similar to our own doctrine of mission-type orders and mission-type command, which borrows deeply from German auftragstaktik, there is little doubt that individual jihadists are already cognizant of the overarching ideological mission and intent of their global struggle. This universally understood concept forms the framework for strategically complimentary yet operationally unsynchronized offensive terrorist action.

I've been toying with the term WikiWar as a way to describe this emerging phenomena.

What Happened to the Civilian Reserve Corps?

Earlier this year, the president proposed the creation of a Civilian Reserve Corps. I blogged about it. I've been eagerly awaiting news about its formation...and waiting...and waiting.

I've done some goggling about it, and it seems that Charles Rangel proposed something like this way back in 2005. I guess that he's still waiting...and waiting...and waiting.

I guess all the delays come down to this fact: our military, not our nation, is at war. Therefore, there is no incentive to create bold programs like this, especially at the end of an unpopular president's term. What short-sighted thinking.

According to the United Nation's Population Fund:

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities. By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion, with urban growth concentrated in Africa and Asia. While mega-cities have captured much public attention, most of the new growth will occur in smaller towns and cities, which have fewer resources to respond to the magnitude of the change.

In other words, all future conflicts will revolve around urban areas, and the ability to keep cities up and running resides almost entirely outside of the military. Unpopular president and unpopular war aside, we ought to give some serious thoughts about how we fight and win the next war because its going to look a hell of a lot like Baghdad whether we like it or not.

Also, John Robb has some interesting things to say about life in the urban jungle.