Following Afstan–and its neighbours

Some sites worth watching daily, should one wish a wider perspective than available in our major media which generally prefer to cover things as a Canadian politics (or dead soldiers) story:
–Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs
–Foreign Policy’s “AfPak Channel”
–CANinKandahar
–Milnet.ca’s “The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread June 2010″ (different thread each month)
Meanwhile, a broader perspective from yesterday.

4 Replies to “Following Afstan–and its neighbours”

Thanks very much for the mention – much appreciated!

Excellent picks. I’ve bookmarked them all.
One particulat article caught my eye: “The Case For Calling Them Nitwits”.
Tawdry though this predilection for porn may be, it is not necessarily trivial. There is, after all, potential propaganda value in this kind of jihadist behavior. Current U.S. public diplomacy centers on selling America to the Muslim world, but we should also work to undermine some of the myths built up around our enemies by highlighting their incompetence, their moral failings, and their embarrassing antics. Beyond changing how the Muslim world perceives terrorists, we can help ourselves make smarter counterterrorism choices by being more realistic about the profile and aptitude of would-be attackers. More and more, as we work to disrupt training efforts, the jihadists we face are likely to be poorly prepared, and while that won’t always ensure a bungled attack, it suggests that terrorists are likely to select targets that are undefended and easy to hit. The United States has spent billions on port security since 9/11, even though terrorists have shown little interest in ports as targets and even less ability to actually strike them. In contrast, even small investments in training for police and airport-security personnel can make a big difference, as these are the people most likely to encounter—and have a chance to disrupt—an unskilled attacker.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/06/the-case-for-calling-them-nitwits/8130/
Why do we Allies always seem slow in exploiting Propaganda? We allow it to divide ourselves when our own msm assists the enemy but we don’t seem to use it as a military weapon.