Chester,

I prefer mostly your insights into our combat in Afghanistan,Iraq and anywhere else our military fights them. Your views on things like this,do you agree with various complaints,what we do right,what we need to change,etc.

Also,I much enjoy your views on the future combat systems.

Thanks for your work and most of all,thanks for your service to the nation in uniform.

Thanks and double-thanks to you too, Patrick. Noted.

I'd like to read about:

Civilian and military organizational virtues and vices, including the virtues and vices of various elements of the civilian world: business, government, FEMA, law enforcement.

Civil-military relations, including the alleged growing gap between policymakers and the military.

The logistical challenges of Katrina and what we could have realistically expected from FEMA and the military.

The military's policy on foreign languages, in particular its failure to augment foreign language capability sufficiently post-9/11.

The division of labor between officers and NCOs and the kind of education both should receive (and have in advance) to perform their duties. In particular, I'm interested in the academies' emphasis on an engineering background in a world that increasingly demands cultural and historical awareness at the lowest levels of the military.

I really enjoy your focus and detail towards the Middle East. I would not complain about other types of articles either though. :)

Cheers!
Glenn

Maybe something on the military requirements to close our borders. Not that I expect that will take place but I would like someone with a bit of knowledge to set forth number of troops, types and quanities of support, and costs etc. Can this be a task assigned to the present armed forces or is it necessary to raise and train a border guards force a la Russian Ministry of Interior?

Roach,

I think I can offer a bit on some of those, but you can help me by pointing to some stories about a "growing" civil-military gap. Your other topics, I've got good material for. About this though: "Civilian and military organizational virtues and vices, including the virtues and vices of various elements of the civilian world: business, government, FEMA, law enforcement," it seems like you might want to say something about those things, no?

***

Thanks, Glenn. Between you and Patrick, seems like the Middle East is popular. In case anyone is wondering, Glenn runs Talkmilitary.com, and is nice enough to advertise here.

***

Rich, that is certainly an interesting topic, and I might even have the occasion to tell a story or two about the border -- no, not that kind. I'll see what I can do there.

Thanks to all for the feedback, and if there are more of you who'd like to comment, I'd really appreciate it.

Well, in the category of "something else entirely", how about some speculation on what if anything happens when Castro dies (he's getting old and it could be really interesting). And on a more somber note, what happens if there is another 9/11 type attack. Where are we as a country when it happens again? I'm waiting for Gerard Vanderleun at American Digest to finish his series on essentially this topic but I think it bears broader consideration becuase I don't think the answer is at all obvious. Well, that's what I'd like to hear you work on anyways....

Chester,

You should take a look at some of the specialized stories in the War. I would like your in-depth military analysis of why Saddam survived the "decapitating" air strike the first night of the war at the Dora Farm complex. This air strike will probably be studied at West Point in the years to come. I believe the reason Saddam survived was a simple mater of using incorrect munitions. The inability to kill Saddam probably lengthened the war and bolstered the insurgents.

I think Saddam, this sons and his daughter were at the Dora Farm complex on the first night of the war on March 19 (we may find out once he goes to trial). I believe they were slightly injured by the air raid - but not killed. I remember reading a news story of Saddam's daughter recounting the actual attack (although I don't have the link) indicating that people survived the attack. One would have guessed that that 3 dozen cruise missiles with 1000 lb. warheads and four 2000 lb. bunker busters would have killed every one - but that was not the case. Could you expound upon the capabilities of the munitions used and their failure to kill all people at the Dora Farm complex.

My understanding is that several recon missions took place and they revealed the main structure at the compound was left standing, 1 bunker buster bomb completely missed the compound and the other 3 bunk busters made huge craters in the sand. The 3 dozen cruise missiles did destroy most of the buildings - but some people did survive. They could have been in the main building or in an under ground food pantry (OT: one story indicated a trash truck full of US currency - probably - looted from the central bank - was destroyed sending shredded US bills all over the complex - which in turn may have caused looting and destruction of evidence).

My guess is that CIA a a correct fix on Saddam but they failed to use the right munitions. I believe the military should have used a mixture of incendiary and/or cluster bombs along with the other munitions. Although, I must admit the spies, if they were directly illuminating targeting Saddam's position and in close proximity of the site, would probably have been killed (Now, the main spy was killed by a cruise missile during the operation anyway). Other spies were killed later.

Here is some information on the attack.

...A senior administration official told UPI that Saddam had suffered two burst eardrums in the attack, and "was bleeding from the nose and mouth." This source added that Saddam was so disoriented by concussion damage that he was in "a vegetative state" for hours after the strike. Another administration official said that Saddam was "definitely alive" after the strike and appeared on Friday, March 21, wearing glasses because of concussive damage to the capillaries of his retinas.

Aerial photos showed that the three-building compound had suffered severe damage from 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs and some 40 cruise missiles, U.S. officials said.

See: Original story

[and]

See: The Hill Politics

"...A former intelligence official said the Dora Farm complex is about 700 yards long and 300 yards wide. It sits on a sandy alluvial plain on a sliver of land that juts into the Tigris River. Before the war, Hussein often kept his presidential yacht at a nearby dock [The complex in now being used by US military]. High walls surround the eastern corner of the compound. Inside are five major villas and about 10 smaller buildings used as barracks, guard posts and supply depots by members of the Special Security Organization, the Special Republican Guard and other security teams..."

The CIA spokesman insisted Thursday that the report that Hussein was at Dora Farm was "as ironclad as you can get" and that "not a shred of doubt" has challenged that view within the agency. He said the CIA still has not concluded that Hussein is alive, despite his repeated appearances on Iraqi television.

see: testimony

...One of them [operatives], who goes by the nickname of Tim, had been designated CIA base chief for Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdish town half way to Baghdad. A former navy Seal, he was in his thirties and spoke fluent Arabic. Tim put it out that he would pay for information — the CIA gave him a war chest of $32m in $100 bills... By early 2003 Tim had a network of nearly 90 agents of such value that the CIA called them the Rockstars. They included senior Iraqi military officers and members of Saddam's personal protection service, the Special Security Organisation (SSO). Tim equipped them with Thuraya satellite phones. On Tuesday March 18, 2003, a call came through to Tim's radio: "Pistachio, this is Jonestown!" A Rockstar agent, an SSO officer who was running part of the communications links that Saddam used... He said that Saddam was at Dora Farm, a complex southeast of Baghdad on the bank of the Tigris River that was used by his wife. Dora Farm had the SSO codeword Umidza, meaning "slaughterhouse". The Rockstar's information came from a sub-source called Rokan who was in charge of security at the "slaughterhouse". Rokan had a Thuraya phone that could be geo-located on a CIA video display; it confirmed he was at the farm. Tim received another report: Uday and Qusay were at the farm for sure, and Saddam was expected back at about 2.30am or 3am local time. The sources on the scene relayed more details about the farm. There was a "manzul" on the compound. Manzul could be translated as "place of refuge" or "bunker"...The sources provided some details about the "bunker" — its distance from the main houses, the thickness of its concrete, its depth underground. At 9.30pm reports came that air-raid sirens had gone off in Baghdad. Anti-aircraft fire soon followed. Myers reported to Hadley that the F-117s had successfully dropped their bombs but the pilots were not yet out of hostile territory.... At about midnight in Washington, Tim sent a report saying that, according to the principal Rockstar, Saddam and his two sons were at Dora Farm when the bombs and missiles hit, but he did not know their status. Before dawn in Washington, he sent another cable. He was uncertain because he was just getting snatches from Rockstars fleeing the scene. Rokan, their source, had been killed by a cruise missile. One of Saddam's sons, it was unclear which, had come out shouting "We've been betrayed" and shot another of the Rockstars in the knee. The other son had emerged from the rubble bloody and disoriented but it wasn't clear whether it was his blood or someone else's. Saddam had been injured, according to a Rockstar eyewitness, and had to be dug out of the rubble. He was blue. He was grey. He was being given oxygen. He had been put on a stretcher and loaded into the back of an ambulance, which then did not move for half an hour before departing the farm across a bridge...

See: Bob Woodward 2004

Ledger,

The effects of aerially-delivered weapons are nt my specialty, but I'll see what I can do later this week.

Great links!
Chester

Ok, Chester see what you can come up with.

I come here to for a color comentary analysis of combat operations, as opposed to the play-by-play reporting of the newspapers.

You give a good "how, and why" to the "what" that is going on.

keep it up.

I'd like to read some informed speculation
on how the pending operation against Iran will
affect the troops in Iraq. Given that the Iraq war
has been won, the next most urgent enemy is
undoubtedly Iran. Iran thinks they have all the
American soldiers in Iraq as their "hostages" thus
making an attack impossible. Is this true?
Others say the decision to squeeze the trigger
will be left to Israel,because of President Bush's
weakened political position.Iran has hugely raised
the stakes by saying it will share it's nuclear
technology with all the other Islamic countries.
What happens next? And when?

For some reason it dinged my last entry. Basically, look at civlian military and my name and you'll find a link to an excellent piece on Parameters. Also, if you google civil military relations you'll find a link to a pretty good study at Duke University.

As for my expertise, it's all on the civilian side so I don't feel altogether qualified in assessing the strengths and weaknesses and differences of the different organizations. I can say from my brief stint in the federal government, though, that there are big differences on the private sector side, most of which tend towards greater efficiency (though not all).

I really enjoyed the link to the american enterprise institute program on the USMC that you provided. many thanks. I watched the whole blasted video of the day's proceedings. military issues in general, a discussion of new organizational concepts and new weapons like the EFV, V-22 Osprey, etc.

Iraq & Afghanistan. Keep up the good work!

I suspect you'll do best what most interests you. If it doesn't interest me, at least you had fun and helped those it did interest. The USMC post was fascinating, but something I'd never have found. So, I guess my bottom line is don't blog about what everybody else does, introduce new ideas and topics.