Army War College's Military History Institute
Director of the US Army Military History Institute at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and author the Army's new Counterinsurgency manual
PROFILE
Conrad Crane
Guest
FROM Conrad Crane
Which Way, L.A.?
JSOC and the Killing of Osama bin Laden A photograph from the Obama White House shows the President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other aides watching in rapt attention as the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout takes place. Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan called it an " anxiety-filled " moment, but it's also a demonstration of state-of-the-art technology used by JSOC, the highly secretive Joint Special Operations Command. We hear about the death of bin Laden, and benefits and the risks of high-tech, high-risk anti-terrorism compared to the long slog of counter-insurgency?.
To the Point
JSOC and the Killing of Osama bin Laden A photograph from the Obama White House shows the President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other aides watching in rapt attention as the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout takes place. Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan called it an " anxiety-filled " moment, but it's also a demonstration of the state-of-the-art technology used by JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command. The head of al Qaeda was killed by a team that's part of JSOC, an organization most Americans never heard. It now may become a household word, synonymous with anti-terrorism that's very high-tech and very high-risk. We hear how members are chosen, trained and equipped, and what kinds of missions they're used for. JSOC costs a billion dollars a year, but Congress doesn't ask many questions. What interrogation methods does JSOC use? Should it be more open?
To the Point
An End to the Civil War in Iraq? The "surge" of US military forces in Iraq has reduced the level of violence, as promised. However, not until this week did the "so-called "breathing room" lead to "benchmark legislation" from the Iraqi parliament. The Shiite-dominate legislature has passed a a law promoted by the United States, that's supposed to open the government to Sunnis bureaucrats, engineers, teachers, soldiers and police officers from Saddam-Hussein's Baath Party. But today's New York Times reports that it could make matters worse.
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