Defense and the National Interest

Global Security Newswire
Sept. 26, 2008
The U.S. Air Force is considering the addition of significant new features to many of its B-61 nuclear gravity
bombs, such as the one shown above (Center for Defense Information photo).

U.S. Air Force Might Modify Nuclear Bomb
By Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON - For the first time in more than a [...]

Predicting Future Military Threats: Implications of the Black Swan
 
COL Bob Toguchi, US Army
26 September 2008
Special to Defense and the National Interest
[Robert M. Toguchi is an active duty Army colonel in the Initiatives Group, Army Capabilities Integration Center, US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Fort Monroe, Virginia. In his previous assignment, he served [...]

Cyber War, Blitzkrieg, and John Boyd’s Patterns of Conflict
 
David A. Shunk
Col, USAF, Ret.
25 September 2008
[Editor's note:  Dave Shunk is a retired USAF Colonel, B-52G pilot, and Desert Storm combat veteran whose last military assignment was as the B-2 Vice Wing Commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, Whitman AFB, MO. Currently he is an Army government [...]

The latest in the series of manuals for fourth generation warfare is now available from our 4GW Manuals page.
The authors, the Fourth Generation Warfare Seminar at Quantico, observe that:
The light infantryman characterizes himself by his mental resourcefulness and physical toughness. Light infantry’s inborn self-reliance (the reason they were chosen to join Light Infantry units), [...]

By William S. Lind
All of Martin van Creveld’s books are worth reading, but a few are “big books,” books so important that anyone interested in war must read them.  To date, his big books include The Transformation of War, The Rise and Decline of the State and Fighting Power.  Van Creveld’s latest book has just [...]

Nimble Books has just released The John Boyd Roundtable: Debating Science, Strategy and War.

Developed from a series of blog posts on zenpundit.com back in the Spring, Roundtable develops ideas from Frans Osinga’s Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd. It can be thought of as a companion to, or better, an [...]

The article by William Owen and the response by Col. Eric Walters have ignited a lively debate over on the Small Wars Journal.  Go take a look:
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=6047
You’ll find yourself in a post-graduate seminar on modern conflict.  Kudos to Dave Dilegge and SWJ for kicking this off!

William S. Lind
September 16, 2008
A few weeks ago I wrote a column explaining why Senator John McCain is wrong on Iraq. In contrast, Senator Barack Obama is largely right on Iraq. Whether he would follow through on his plan for withdrawing U.S. troops is another question. The Democratic foreign policy establishment is [...]

He’s on a tear.  I think he may have taken umbrage at my remark that Rob Paterson had recaptured the King Bear title.
Check out his two most recent and decide for yourself whether he’s a prophet or an inveterate doomster:

High Priority Report: A Geopolitical Sitrep On The Financial Crisis 15 September 2008 — Two phases [...]

In another coup, the Small Wars Journal has posted an article by Col Eric Walters, USMC.  Col Walters chaired the sessions on 4GW at last years’ Boyd Conference and was involved with the Marine Corps’ adoption of maneuver warfare doctrine in the late 1980s.  As with TX Hammes’ comments on Afghanistan (see posting below), any [...]