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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To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.