Summary: Science provided massive advantages in our post-9/11 wars against the less-developed peoples of the Middle East. Not just the material science that created our wonder weapons, but the social sciences that gave experts the tools to manipulate these societies like children do legos. Or so said the writers of the COIN guide FM 3-24 …
We weaponized anthropology. Why didn’t it work? Read More »
One symptom of a nation’s broken observation-orientation-decision-action loop (OODA loop) is a disconnect of our national dialog from reality. IMO this is the strongest evidence of America’s dysfunction.  A broken OODA loop means that we can neither recognize nor prioritize problems. If uncorrected, we cannot effectively fix those problems that we do see. We become a blind …
Does America have clear vision? Here’s an “eye chart” for our minds. Read More »
This is an archive of work by Dr.  John Nagl (Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, retired), the newest chapter in the FM series about Modern Warfare’s Top experts. Nagl is one of our top experts in insurgency warfare. Previous chapters include: The Essential 4GW reading list: Martin van Creveld The Essential 4GW reading list: Donald Vandergriff The Essential 4GW reading list: David Kilcullen …
Summary: The Iraq government has been unable to arrange for scheduled elections this Fall. While significant in itself, this is evidence of a larger and more important lesson going to the heart of out ability to successfully execute modern COIN theory as set forth in FM 3-24. “Iraq parliament fails to pass elections bill“, Los …
A larger lesson from the delayed elections in Iraq Read More »
Comment posted by Yours Truly: “Cathryn has some very insightful views, but it’s gonna be really hard to implement this in an age where everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE (not just Americans), LOVES MONEY MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF. … The United States will need a President with a lot of character and charisma to get things …
