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Sunday, April 18, 2004 |
 A solution for Radio users and others that want a simple audioblogging solution: Audblog. I have tried it and it is easy. Will make an audio post tomorrow to demonstrate.
8:41:04 PM 
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The Times. More proof that the future has already happened. The BBC is planning a new reality show called "Forces of Good." It will send PMC commandos (former SAS in this case) to hotspots to aide humanitarian efforts. Mark Burnett take notice. TV mercenaries could have saved lots of people in Rwanda and Bosnia when nation-states sat idle (it would also provide a mechanism for fundraising through online sites dedicated to different shows). This could be a very good or very bad development. Regardless, it represents new thinking in an area that needs some.
8:09:26 PM
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The Department of Homeland Security provides weekly news round-ups of infrastructure problems/vulnerabilities (in PDF form). Good data for analysis on Global Guerrillas.
7:47:56 PM
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Spent the day hiking in VT. Wonderful warm day.
7:29:49 PM
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Independent. Hundreds of guerrillas (an estimate of 300) attack Marines near Syrian border. 5 Marines dead. Here is an interesting response to increasing attacks on US supply convoys:
Meanwhile, in an attempt to end guerrilla attacks on its supply lines, the US has banned civilian traffic on some of Iraq's most-used highways and declared them free-fire zones: all vehicles not belonging to the US military will be fired upon, according to American military command.
The decision over the weekend is likely to cause massive dislocation by preventing Iraqis from using the highways north and south of Baghdad - the main economic lifelines of the country - where insurgents have launched frequent attacks. The main roads to Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait will be cut.
The attacks are having a desired effect: the US military's need for force protection is creating economic and social dislocation.
7:25:49 PM
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William Lind on the tactics of de-escalation:
...what the military might learn from police (?). Police seek to defuse situations, to de-escalate them, which is what our military needs to do in many, perhaps most, Fourth Generation situations. Escalation works to the advantage of our enemies on the moral level; de-escalation undermines them by allowing normal life to flourish.
We quickly encountered a serious obstacle: language. Cops solve at least 90% of all situations by talking. Talking is an alternative to fighting and therefore a critically important tool for de-escalation. The problem is, in places like Iraq our troops cannot talk to the locals because they do not speak the language.
Another interesting idea (taken from the Romans): why don't we recruit 10,000 Iraqis for service in the US military? This would be a fast track to a green card and citizenship. The British used Islamic units as part of the Arab revolt against the Turks during WWI.
7:00:32 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John Robb.
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