Must-Reads

November 20, 2013  

When carriers no longer trump | Fighting over COIN | Imagining a new A-10

What happens when a carrier strike group is no longer the ultimate trump card? Robert Haddick says that puts a big hole in our habitual thinking about crisis management. (War On The Rocks)

Didn’t have time to read Karl Eikenberry’s recent blast at counterinsurgency warfare in Foreign Affairs? Here’s DoDBuzz’s take on it and other salvoes in the battle over COIN.

Dave Majumdar, a reporter who knows a lot of USAF pilots, gets a few of them to describe what a “next-gen A-10” might look like and do. (War Is Boring) (Cf. Drunken Predator Drone’s February article on why, well, drones should do the job instead.)

Warlord’s Quote

“Stick to the truth, but don’t be ashamed to use those truths which are of most value to you.” — Brig. Gen. Robert McClure, Eisenhower’s chief of psychological warfare

Contributed by Col (ret.) Al Paddock, who served three Special Operations tours in Laos/Vietnam, later specialized in psychological operations, and now writes special operations history. From a list compiled by the Warlord Loop, a private email forum for national security experts.

Keep in touch

For more articles on strategy and other military affairs, subscribe to our bimonthly e-newsletter, follow us on Twitter, or add the AFJ Daily RSS feed to your newsreader. And tell us about your own must-reads at mustreads@armedforcesjournal.com.