Six Strategies Obama Could Use to Fight the Islamic State By Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap, Michael Hirsh, Douglas Feith, Lt. Gen. David Barno, and Adm. James Stavridis August 29, 2014 | Politico Lead a Diplomatic and Economic Offensive, by Ret. Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton The Islamic State has demonstrated that it understands the principles of war—mass, objective, offensive, surprise, economy of force, maneuver, unity of command, security and simplicity—and can apply them. It has surprised the United States and our allies and has taken the initiative. They are politically and militarily disciplined, ruthless and effective. The United States and whatever coalition we are able to assemble to fight this organization needs to be similarly focused. To date, more than two months into this fight, the… Read More ›

Analysis: Iraq Campaign Continues as Obama Frames War Footing By Zachary Fryer-Biggs August 22, 2014 | IHS Jane’s 360  Meanwhile, Obama could invoke the 2001 AUMF again before the 60 days has elapsed, giving him added flexibility to continue the strikes. Still, thus far the administration is citing possible genocide and protection of US personnel as the reasons for the bombing, not the broader campaign against terrorism. “We can act, carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide,” Obama said in a 7 August speech. “There’s no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq. The only lasting solution is reconciliation among Iraqi communities and stronger Iraqi security forces. However, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to… Read More ›

  Limited airstrikes by the United States against the Islamic State are entering their third week. The stated objectives of the strikes, which have hit about 90 targets so far, is to protect American personnel in Iraq and facilitate humanitarian relief. President Obama has signaled that military operations may increase in intensity and scope on the condition that a new government is formed in Baghdad that is inclusive of Iraq’s minority populations, especially its Sunni population. With Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki having committed to step aside earlier in the month, Prime Minister designate Haider al-Abadi is pressing ahead in attempts to form a unity government. These developments in Washington and Iraq are increasing the possibility of a sustained American air campaign that may escalate in… Read More ›

Joint Letter to President Obama on Redactions to Senate Torture Report August 15, 2014   We are deeply troubled by Senator Feinstein’s description and the descriptions of other Senators of the redactions your Administration has proposed to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) oversight report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. We write to urge you to reconsider them. Intelligence Committee members have called the report’s redacted executive summary “incomprehensible” and “impossible to understand.” According to Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Carl Levin, the redactions include information that was publicly disclosed years ago in a SASC oversight report on detainee abuse and are “totally unacceptable.” In March, you said that it is important that the SSCI Torture Report findings be made public “so… Read More ›

Experts argue Iraq woes should lead to new strategy in Afghanistan By Susan Crabtree  August 14, 2014  In light of Iraq‘s current problems, some national security experts thinkPresident Obama should rethink his exit strategy in Afghanistan. Moderate voices in the national security community have begun to urge President Obama to reconsider imposing a firm draw-down timeline in Afghanistan after the U.S. has been forced to re-engage in Iraq in efforts to to stop the Islamic State and prevent genocide. Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, a 30-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, Bosnia and Somalia and is now a senior adviser at the left-of-center National Security Network, said the conditions on the ground should determine our draw-down levels over the next two years not an arbitrary timetable. “I see it as conditions-based, and… Read More ›

August 11, 2014 | John Gambling Show NSN Senior Advisor Major General Paul Eaton (Ret.) interviewed on the John Gambling Show. To listen to the full interview, click play below. /wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Paul-Eaton-on-the-John-Gambing-Show-Aug-11-2014.mp3. Read More ›

Think Tank Lays Out Steps To ‘Cap’ Then ‘Roll Back’ Post-9/11 Military Force Resolution By John T. Bennett August 12, 2014 | DefenseNews.com WASHINGTON — A group of US national security experts is pushing a piecemeal plan to update the measure authorizing the war against violent extremist groups for the first time since September 2001. The left-leaning National Security Network (NSN) on Tuesday released a report that proposes “an incremental approach … that would cap the scope of the authorization now and roll back its scope over time, ending in its eventual expiration.” The think tank sees a “realistic window of opportunity … emerging to refine the law by bringing [the 2001 authorization of the use of military force, or AUMF] in line with historical… Read More ›

Report urges phased AUMF repeal By Philip Ewing August 12, 2014 | Politico Pro   POLITICO’s Morning Defense: Iraq’s Al-Maliki digs in — Obama’s messaging problem — In Ukraine, new fears of a Russian attack — Report urges phased AUMF repeal PRO FIRST LOOK – REPORT URGES PHASED AUMF REPEAL, via POLITICO’s Ewing: “Congress should ‘cap’ its post-Sept. 11 authorization for the use of military force and then roll back the power it awarded to the president, the left-leaning National Security Network argues in a new report. Eventually, they write, the bill should expire altogether. “Policy analyst Bill French and NSN executive director John Bradshaw argue that lawmakers can achieve the much-discussed goal of scaling back the authorization by breaking it into smaller pieces and… Read More ›

Ending the Endless War: An Incremental Approach to Repealing the 2001 AUMF Policy Report By Bill French with John Bradshaw August 2014, Updated February 2015 This paper was updated in February 2015. The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF)  passed in 2001 is unique among other such authorizations in American history in that it includes no limitations in time, geography, operations, or a named enemy, as this report documents in detail. The lack of limits in the 2001 AUMF has set America adrift on an unreflective course toward perpetual war, increasing the risks of blowback against American national security objectives. The lack of limits in the AUMF has also facilitated an expansion of combat operations far beyond the scope envisioned by the lawmakers that… Read More ›

The Failed Islamic States Index By J. Dana Stuster, Ellen Noble August 7, 2014 | Foreign Policy On June 29, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham rebranded itself as simply the Islamic State and proclaimed that it was the legitimate government of the swath of Iraq and Syria it has seized, beginning with its capture of Fallujah eight months ago and rapidly expanding, most recently to Christian-majority towns in Iraq’s northwest. Not to be outdone, the Nusra Front, the Islamic State’s al Qaeda-affiliated Syrian rival, declared in July that it was establishing its own state, which the group called an Islamic emirate. Some analysts have likened the Islamic State to a “new Taliban,” which attempted to establish hard-line Islamist governance in Afghanistan. But one… Read More ›