Posted in Academe, Intelligence, Walter Laqueur on Dec 10th, 2009 Comments Off on From Sovietology to Jihadology?
From Walter Laqueur David Engerman is the author of a new study of American Sovietology during the Cold War and its impact on U.S. policy. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs he expresses his belief that the model of Sovietology should guide the study of today’s threats, specifically Jihadism. It is true that the […]
Posted in Afghanistan, Demography, Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, Military, Yemen on Nov 18th, 2008 Comments Off on Pop quiz!
From MESH Admin Some of the many interactive geography quizzes on the web ask visitors to identify the countries and capitals of the Middle East. We assume MESH readers have no problem there, so we’ve collected links to more challenging quizzes. There’s no end to learning.
Posted in Andrew Exum, Counterinsurgency, Culture, Intelligence, Military on Apr 17th, 2008 Comments Off on Gates calls for truce (with academia)
From Andrew Exum Be sure to read the speech given on Monday by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the Association of American Universities in Washington. Since 9/11, the U.S. and its allies have been involved in two prolonged counter-insurgency campaigns in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are low-tech conflicts in which anthropological skills […]
Posted in Books, Intelligence, Iraq on Apr 4th, 2008 Comments Off on ‘The Politics of Intelligence and American Wars with Iraq’
MESH invites selected authors to offer original first-person statements on their new books—why and how they wrote them, and what impact they hope and expect to achieve. Ofira Seliktar is a professor of political science at Gratz College and adjunct professor at Temple University, specializing in predictive failures in intelligence. Her new book is The […]
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Mark T. Clark, Nuclear on Feb 10th, 2008 Comments Off on NIE redux
From Mark T. Clark The November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear program set off a storm of controversy and criticism. I critiqued only one part of it in an earlier post. I believed then, as I believe now, that the report was flawed intellectually as it relied an academic assumption that the […]
Posted in Afghanistan, Intelligence, Qaeda on Dec 31st, 2007 Comments Off on Charlie Wilson’s War: fairy tale comedy
From a member (A MESH member who prefers to remain anonymous submits the following comment on the film Charlie Wilson’s War.) This is a movie made by a highly sophisticated political and artistic mind, someone—the director—who knows all the arguments and charges and nuances of what this important episode has come to mean to various […]
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Mark T. Clark, Nuclear on Dec 22nd, 2007 Comments Off on Fundamental flaw in the NIE
From Mark T. Clark The controversial National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear program raises more questions than it answers. Critics—and criticisms—are aplenty. These have focused on three levels: tactical (the kind of intelligence we have), strategic (understanding Iran’s intentions) and political (the fallout on U.S. and international policies in curbing Iranian nuclear ambitions). Given […]
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