Category: News

Interesting account how improvements in police doctrine have shut down the classic tactics of non-violent protest. This is another example of how seemingly simple conflict can be completely transformed by improvements in theory. [John Robb's Weblog]

CSM. Global terror, local war. The bottom line is they are not connected,” says Bruce Hoffman, a terror expert at the RAND Corp. in Washington. “This has been a particularly bad two weeks.” This is true to a large extent. However, terrorism as a technique of war is undergoing theoretical improvement. Connecting local efforts into… Continue reading CSM

Violence Will Intensify in Iraq as Elections Near, Rumsfeld Says. But the defense secretary said that the U.S. was determined to insure that voting takes place as planned. By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER. [The New York Times > Home Page]

Another question for the President and his supporters. How's the search for Osama bin Laden going? When should we expect him to be captured and put on trial? Is that still the plan? In what way is the war in Iraq helping or hurting the attempt to disable al Qaeda? [Scripting News]

Learning From Accidents and a Terrorist Attack. My essay “Software That Lasts 200 Years” has proven very popular. It discusses software industry structure that could be helpful for a particular type of software. It also suggests learning from other areas of engineering to find principles to follow when creating long-term software. I've just finished another… Continue reading Learning From Accidents and a Terrorist Attack

Bush Backs Budget Authority for New Intelligence Post. President Bush shifted his stance today on how much power a new national intelligence director should have. By DAVID STOUT. [The New York Times > Home Page]

Force alone can't beat terror, Rumsfeld says. WASHINGTON — Nearly three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, US officials are uncertain whether efforts to combat terrorism are reducing the pool of recruits for militant groups or appealing to moderates in the Islamic world, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged yesterday. [Boston Globe —… Continue reading Force alone can't beat terror, Rumsfeld says

Military toll tops 1,000. BAGHDAD — US military deaths in the Iraq campaign passed the 1,000 mark yesterday, with more than 800 of them during the stubborn insurgency that flared after the Americans brought down Saddam Hussein and President Bush declared major combat over. [Boston Globe — Front Page]

'War and the American Presidency': Dire Conclusions. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. fears that continual war is bringing about a resurgent imperial presidency. By KEVIN DRUM. [The New York Times > Books]

New Post to Global Guerrillas. Global Guerrilla Target: The North American Power Grid. A long-term target of global guerrillas will be the US power system. Here's the method they will use to analyze it for target generation. [John Robb's Weblog]