Current Intelligence - The Complex Terrain Laboratory

The Occidental Guerrilla

Book Review

Michael A. Innes reviews David Kilcullen's new book The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. A timely and astute synthesis of experience, research and analysis, the author pinpoints the political shear between minority existential threats to US interests and the majority of the world's locally invested guerrillas who just want to be left alone.

Wired For War

Symposium

The second symposium in CTlab's 2009 series, focused on Peter Singer's new book, Wired For War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century (Penguin Press: 2009), ran from 30 March to 2 April. Singer and half a dozen scholars from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Austria debated the use and ethics of robots in war.

Entries in doctrine (4)

Tuesday

30Jun

Missile Defense Pork Barrel

Politics & Society | â€”Author:

Martin Senn

According to a recent media report (Anchorage Daily News), the Senate Armed Forces Committee may thwart Bill Gates' freeze on Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) deployments in Alaska. The decision to halt the further development of GMD in Alaska at a level of 30 interceptors has encountered resistance in the committee and in particular Alaska's senators, Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, support the deployment of 14 additional interceptors.

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â€”Filed On:

Jun 30, 2009 at 1:05

â€”Index:

doctrine,

politics,

security

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Thursday

25Jun

Whither New UK Cyber Strategy?

Politics & Society | â€”Author:

Tim Stevens

So, the UK government has this morning launched its new Cyber Security Strategy. Well, I say published - I can't find a copy of it yet. Fulfilling one of the worst-kept secrets in Whitehall two new units are going to come onstream in the next few months. First, an Office of Cyber Security within the Cabinet Office and, second, a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) based at GCHQ in Cheltenham. I guess we can expect all sorts of internecine wrangling and internally contradictory strategy. All this, of course, because - as Security Minister

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â€”Filed On:

Jun 25, 2009 at 9:32

â€”Index:

crime,

doctrine,

law,

policy,

politics,

security,

web

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Wednesday

24Jun

Non-military military cyberspace

War & Peace | â€”Author:

Eric Randolph

The militarisation of cyberspace hit a landmark today when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the formation of Cybercom (how 1980s does that sound?!), and appointed the director of the National Security Agency, Lt Gen Keith Alexander, to run it. Following Obama's Cyberspace Policy Review, announced recently, the new organisation will coordinate the Pentagon's assets against criminal and security threats in the ether. Tim Stevens has a wise critique of the Policy Review over here.

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â€”Filed On:

Jun 24, 2009 at 9:33

â€”Index:

doctrine,

law,

policy,

security,

web

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Saturday

20Jun

Who's Running the Show?

War & Peace | â€”Author:

Mike Innes

David Axe has got an interesting piece up at DR on the incoming Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), US Navy Admiral James Stavridis. Axe makes some interesting points about the relevance of Stavridis' narco-busting experience in South America, but what struck me was how details about his and General Stanley McChrystal's respective roles have gotten garbled.

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â€”Filed On:

Jun 20, 2009 at 22:03

â€”Index:

war

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