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AM on Parade
July 28, 2009 | Posted by Ibn Muqawama - 6:37pm | 69 Comments
In case you haven't gotten your fill of the incomparable Abu Muqawama, fear not! You can check him out in his interview with Charlie Rose and on the World Politics Review podcast with Judah Grunstein.
UPDATE: Judah just passed along his interview transcript.
Do you stroke all his other
Do you stroke all his other sensitive parts as well? Or just his ego?
Too many metaphors, too many
Too many metaphors, too many clichés and too blue a dress shirt….
Perhaps a tajwid refresher
Perhaps a tajwid refresher on the makhraj of qaaf is in order? Other than that, solid interview.
so, a metric of failure is
so, a metric of failure is high civilian casualties
our effort is predicated on minimising civilian casualties - to the point of avoiding contact to eliminate (rather than minimise) the risk of collateral damage
then it will be in the enemy's interest to kill heaps of civilians?
thus alienating the populace? and we win? or at least get to kill heaps of the enemy while protecting the populace?
poor old civilians.
and if the bait is not taken, peace breaks out?
i love the early 21st century.
I'll be honest. I watched
I'll be honest.
I watched the first 15 minutes. I paid close attention. I got bored.
I've watched Rose interview people for years. I know the people that are in love with him. So I understand why people are in love with him and think he's so "great."
I have no great respect for Rose. He's not that smart. Plus he's only getting older. His 11pm timeslot in Boston doesn't help. You. It's great for me. Plus I just VCR everything. for high quality. You can't really refute me. i'll just review the VCR in HDTV backwards in slomo.
I'll watch the second 15 minutes. Whatever. I know what you are going to say. You aren't Hitchcock.
Andrew. I don't know how to say this to you, without either sounding like a dick or drawing the drunken wrath of Tom Ricks.
But your 15 minutes are 12 minutes done. And you know you have nothing to pull out of your sleeve.
Afghanistan is lost. Why you can't see this is bizarre. I am working on a blog plost. I haven't written a thing. I've just compiled the 20 or 30 best articles on Afstan from the last year. I've been working on it for two months. A third of the writers have the same experience you do. The Other two thirds are smarter than you (minus the Ranger training and the weird McChrystal obsession).
By chance i picked up a Time magazine today with a cover story by Rory Stewart.. I was in a waiting room. I couldn't believe Rory's piece made it into TIME. It took me 10 seconds to figure out it was the July 28th, 2008 article.
In 2010, the best you can hope for is writing articles for TIME or the blog equivalent if magazines are gone.
Dude- on Charlie Rose - what was your point? Maybe I need to watch the second 15 minutes. Did you not take any marketing classes in college?
But my biggest questions:
Did you see the Hurt Locker?
What did you think of it while you were watching it?
You are not going to progress as the reporter you have become. You need to pay an advisor.
Plus. Who taught you how to dress? Rachel Maddow?
You need help with your wardrobe/ Seriously. Why did you decide on a tie for Charlie Rose? WTF is wrong with you?Your persona is non-tie. Thanks for selling out your fans.
Sincerely,
All your fans
(what a douche)
"i love the early 21st
"i love the early 21st century"
heh. It's pop-centric-tastic!
""In 2010, the best you can
""In 2010, the best you can hope for is writing articles for TIME or the blog equivalent if magazines are gone.""
...
""You are not going to progress as the reporter you have become. You need to pay an advisor.""
Your search site:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Exum "reporter" - did not match any documents.
Your search - site:www.cnas.org/node/737 "reporter" - did not match any documents.
Got to work on the blinking
Got to work on the blinking in the beginning, man. And you might want to think about inserting one or two personal anecdotes in to keep the audience following, structurally. But very good intro into the maintime.
So, when are you and Phil Carter going to form the official Veterans Against Torture group, sir?
PS:Just got my first Total
PS:Just got my first Total War game (Rome). On the Afghan civil situation:U frgot t bild ur upgradez! In the early turns!
Argh.
PPS: Almost
PPS: Almost post-liveblogging, but shouldnt the Pakistani policy be to strengthen their state-legitimacy? Lots of UN support for the Swat, etc, instead of just applauding their (finally) offensive? In civilization-aspect, help out on the structural side as much as the military side.?
For those of you enraged by
For those of you enraged by multiple postings, SNLI has established that tradition on this blog, so I am being old school, and not trolling. But:: You went to Mashar? Would love to hear your assement on the job being done up there.
The Strange Contradictions
The Strange Contradictions of Andrew Exum’s Afghanistan Trip
http://www.registan.net/
Any response to this?
Fnord, Jesus titty-fnording
Fnord,
Jesus titty-fnording christ, man! You JUST got Rome Total War? That is one of the best real time strategy games out there. On an only slightly different note, also check out Company of Heroes.
Btw, don't fall into the trap of infantry/artillery/archers. Your cavalry are your best weapon. Turn the flanks!
Fnord - you might note
Fnord - you might note norway's status as a neutral theatre. . . an easy first conquest when you are playing the germans or britons. . . .
"Your cavalry are your best
"Your cavalry are your best weapon. Turn the flanks!"
Nah, push your young officers into key cities and build admin. Keep a rotating core of administrators moving. Build trade. Battles are second importance, except when they are not. I think thats actually quite relevant?
"Your search
"Your search site:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Exum "reporter" - did not match any documents.
Your search - site:www.cnas.org/node/737 "reporter" - did not match any documents."
@Kilo - I've been reading you for some time. You are one of the smarter people here. I respect you, but that is just a lame response.
@Fnord - "just got my first
@Fnord -
"just got my first Total War game (Rome)"
Duuude?
Battlefield 2. It's the ONLY game... well maybe COD4.
Seriously. BF2. BF3 is due out in 2010.
and at the risk of sounding
and at the risk of sounding like a complete nerd/douche (I've already accomplished that) -
You can pick up the complete BF2/Special Forces/Euro Force/Armor Fury pack with like 30 maps for $10-$20.
Any gamer will tell you this is the shit. Just need 2.4 Mhz processor and maybe 500 RAM. 2.8, 2 Gigs and you da man. Get a joystick so you can fly the F-35s and Cobras.
I kill under the moniker TexasJihad. Join my squad.
"Kilo - that is just a lame
"Kilo - that is just a lame response."
I quoted you telling him that he's just not going to make it as a reporter. Nowhere in 2 bios does the word reporter appear. It may be a short response, but no more detail is really necessary. What, were you hoping for a detailed, thought out rebuttal as to why the non-reporter will make it in the field he isn't in ?
even lamer. Dude, Shumacher
even lamer.
Dude, Shumacher is driving for Ferrari. Breaking news, so I can excuse your obtuseness on this one.
I do believe the points made
I do believe the points made relating to the Afgan Governments legitimacy and the US's "interest alignment" were indeed depressing. That is because these issues would seem to have to have been addressed before this huge undertaken begun. Further it questions our entire roll to enable this government to legitimize itself. I can hear the political machinations brewing next year: "Our interestes on an even a basic level, could not ensure a government that utlimately provides security to its own people."
Fnord, Fair points. I was
Fnord,
Fair points. I was referring more to the tactical (battle) aspects rather than the strategic realm. Query: why rotate the administrators? It seems to me that due to days of travelling between cities you would lose revenue in the long run, all in the name of...? Do the people tire of administrators after a period of time? If so, I had no idea.
Also, to correct an earlier mistake, I should make clear that an all cavalry force during the Roman period would be highly ineffective. They simply wouldn't be able to fix the enemy, nor drive the finishing blow. But I have played competitively online and repeatedly saw that a solid infantry line in conjunction with an intelligently employed heavy cavalry will spell doom for most enemies.
i concur. it seemed a trial
i concur.
it seemed a trial balloon for a fracture between the govt and the coalition, such that the coalition could deem the govt illegitimate.
whatever the flavour of the eventual narrative, if presidents start being deposed in favour of ones more 'aligned to our interests' it all looks a bit 60 south east asian.
even if 'our interests' comprise the security of the Afghan people.
still, couple of reels til we get to that scene i suspect.
but the 'kabul etc is not going to fall' statement repeated so many times gave me the fear.
are we going to see something soon that looks like kabul etc is falling?
http://www.registan.net/index
http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/07/29/the-strange-contradictions-....
Comments on the Josh's comments?
Cyber Shrines, Cyber Martyrs
Cyber Shrines, Cyber Martyrs
""@Fnord - "just got my
""@Fnord -
"just got my first Total War game (Rome)"
Duuude?
Battlefield 2. It's the ONLY game... well maybe COD4.
Seriously. BF2. BF3 is due out in 2010.""
What is wrong with you people?!? Arma 2 is the only way to go! BF2 and CoD4 are for arcade fanboys. Real men play Arma.
Arma? Well excuse fucking
Arma?
Well excuse fucking me, TB.
Arma! Arma? Tell us more about it..
like i said, i love the
like i said, i love the early 21st century.
"What is wrong with you
"What is wrong with you people?!? Arma 2 is the only way to go! BF2 and CoD4 are for arcade fanboys. Real men play Arma."
I've been waiting for like 3 years for OpFlashpoint2 to come out. I might have to get Arma2 if it takes much longer.
After two referrals, can we
After two referrals, can we not get a serious response to Josh Faust's comments at Registan?
After two referrals, can we
After two referrals, can we not get a serious response to Josh Faust's comments at Registan?
El mestengo: Why dont you
El mestengo: Why dont you try to write some yourself, it usually works better than demanding results.
I think he is on vacation,
I think he is on vacation, maybe next week he will respond.
Charlie Rose must be
Charlie Rose must be mistaking this with some other counterinsurgency blog named abu Muqawama as it seems this one is neither "widely respected" nor a COUNTERinsurgency blog but a PRO-insurgency one.
This is however THE place to go for videos of rapping Legos and expert analysis on video games.
Pro-insurgency? Care to back
Pro-insurgency? Care to back that up?
I really miss the soccer news that have been lost since abu m moved stateside...
Anyway we can work "Cash for
Anyway we can work "Cash for Clunkers" into the whole Astan/Triage narrative?
Hai Goombah
I promise you "the guys" had this one wired months ago.
Well then young man, come August you need to step aside, and bring in some professional de-corruptors, professional dysfunctional govt. Yes, I mean my own adopted Eastern Europe without all da funny fukin foreign accents (except Indian) - NJ-!!! We know how to make corrupt govt work.
Might be able to teach you how to fukin dress too......just take Tony S as your satorial iman. Your street moniker will need an upgrade too.... Andy Ranger Man, Dr X-man, Drew the Dude....or your own pick, Papal Nuncio .
Bill Keller - ya in, or ya out? Get back to me later. I'm on my way to Camden to boost Piece of Shit cars. Fnord, on this one we take Roger Carstens as the wheelman.
Hey Madhu. I bet our
Hey Madhu. I bet our corrupt pols can beat up your corrupt Chicago pols.....
Not to mention ours our much more entertaining than even Governor f**ckin Helmet Hair.
Dirty, Naughty Nasty Zoot.
[don't worry about the link. I know you are a lady. it's just too funny].
Andrew, have you been lighting the Grail Beacon again?
Come August 2010 when we realize which side of the Missionary position we are in regarding Asstan - it' s time for some new management. Youse needs the NJ functionally corrupt dysfunction dream team. McGreevey, His money man DiMassino (I own NJ), Cammanrano, and the Syrian Rabbinical Kosher Nostra. We'll get Astan back to a functional dysfunction. And the Talib who won't reconcile. They get ground...they get ground into powder.
Elf - I haven't stopped by
Elf - I haven't stopped by here in, like, more than a week and this is the first thing that I see?
Don't get me started.....also, what was that crack about Indian accents and Jersey? I kid, I kid.
Madhu!! These are my
Madhu!! These are my coworkers, friends!
Not to mention they provide the vital utility of running liquor stores (I mentioned I was Irish)
;-)
Back on pols - We actually have a Serb and a Kosovar here in the office......apparently Blago was a hero then a big letdown for the American Serb community.
But I'm sorry Illinois. Our dirty pols are so much more entertaining. Threesomes with the Chaffeur? Your just not in the same league.
The clock (you set) is ticking Andrew. August 2010 - NJ takes it's mentoring skills and human capital to ASTAN.
You go to war with the government you have. Not the government you'd like to have.
Elf: Roger Carstens is the
Elf: Roger Carstens is the kind of guy who wears cool sunglasses on a stakeout, lol. (But he may be hell behind the wheel for all I know. )
(I still cant get over the sight of a senior CNAS fellow being scared of getting killed in my neighbourhood. Wich has like 3 gunepisodes a year. You could hear the collective sound of Norway thinking "Crazy americans" on the internets the day after.).
@Fnord, What Norway really
@Fnord,
What Norway really needs: NJ politics, and NJ politicians. Can we switch for a year? You'll be cured of socializm and your touching faith in government in a year, and we'll get to really scare the hell out your poor pols. Not to mention the streets would quickly turn into 30 Days of Night. It'll be fun. Like the 70's people pretend to miss.
Americans aren't crazy Fnord. We just know that your pacifism is an act, that behind closed doors your plotting a return of Viking domination. You can't bullshit us. Roger Carstens was staking you out.
"but a PRO-insurgency
"but a PRO-insurgency one."
Word.
I wasn't going to say it, I already have a bad rep. Thanks.
Exum keeps taking these extended vacations because he is suffering from what we normal folks call a nervous breakdown.
A huge amount of American Civil War Generals had this problem.
Exum and Ricks and this whole blog and idea are pretty much done.
The winners? Gentile and Bacevich and a hope for peace in our time.
"At the time, The Battle of
"At the time, The Battle of the Bulge was the worst American intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. It still remains one of the worst intelligence failures in the history of warfare."
Tom Ricks just banned me from www.foreignpolicy.com because of that comment.
Nice. Yeah. You'll win the war that way.
Elf. Were not pacifist, elf.
Elf. Were not pacifist, elf. We just dont shoot each other very much. Up in Maymaneh, our forces just had the first confirmed civilian kill, thats got to be something of a record...
@Fnord, I know. I was
@Fnord,
I know. I was goofing (kind of). Mainly the goof on my own state (NJ). I might be making some other points about govt in general, in particular what we are gettng now (Mayor Daley's Chicago on a National level). And I have been on a drive to push functional corruption re Astan, rather than get ridiculously hung up on trying to "end corruption".
who woulda thought
Actually your Finn neighbor at "The Stupidest Man on Earth" blog noted that one of the positives to come out of Astan is that the Europeans have learned that war is necessary sometimes, and that it means fighting.
Well, it only cost us the
Well, it only cost us the whole concept of territorial national defense. Thank you, NATOs Out Of Area doctrine, wich got rushed into norwegian law bypassing the parlament. Btw, its funny to see how sceptical and downright sarcastic everyone is now to the concept of pop-centric operations. Heres a response I left behind at Aris. Bmbs away.
"Quite fascinating how quick the popular consensus has turned with regards to the pop-centric approach to warfare. (Im getting tired of the broad term COIN, since it is too general.) From what I hear from Kabul there is finally some energy in the process, several new initiatives are being launched right now designed for a 6-12 months time and re-assessment in August, there is finally inter-Nato communication and inclusion of captain level ANA, there is real agricultural efforts being mounted and there is a attempt at regaining the momentum. Contrary to what you write, Jari, to me it seems that Afgan is finally being treated as a unique location, efforts are being made to understand and map local differences and cultures, real effort is being made at halting the worst of the corruption etc. And its just kicking off, no way to know wether it will “succeed” or not. Hell, there is even rumour of an acceptable endstate being formulated! And a functional commandstructure! After 8 years!
And all the blogs seem to moan about gloom and doom and how CNAS are McChrystals whores, building careers on the blood of soldiers (if not openly spoken, then implied) etc. Since Im not in the loop, I can say this out loud: I suspect a lot of the grumblers and whiners and doomsayers are servicemen who feel threatened by the new generation. Because if it should succeed, what exactly does that say about the folks who have occupied the place the last 7 years and never gotten their heads out of their arses. I dont know how it will turn out, the enemy gets a vote etc. But I think we are finally dong it right, except that it should have been done 7 years ago. And it seems like that buns. Calling folks cultists is an old dominance-pattern. Folks who use dominance patterns usually have bad arguments and/or bruised egos. Just saying."
Oh, and great stuff from
Oh, and great stuff from Michael Yon: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/night-into-day.htm (via Kings of War)
Another glowing review for
Another glowing review for "The Wanted"...
http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=b69fd412-9024-49d2-b4be-446c7fce1b70
I hate to derail this thread
I hate to derail this thread from video game discussion (EU3 ftw, I think the abbreviation goes), but I do have a question for the COINdinista community. What's our strategy in Afghanistan? I've read some about COIN, even have FM 3-24 propping up a table leg, but what's the strategy? Saw some article recently about petro-politics, about how we wanted to have a natural gas pipeline running through A-stan, but seriously, why? Why is it so bad if the Taliban takes over again? Sure, they're horrible people, what with the sexism and everything, but that hardly affects us. And arguments about their ability to wrest control of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal strike me as... unconvincing, to say the least. And if they were to repeat their fatal mistake of harboring al-Qaida, well, that can be handled with SOF and drones. So, please, somebody tell me why we need to occupy this country.
And if it's a vital US interest to create a stable centralized democracy in Afghanistan, please explain our current operations in the country. They don't seem to be working. They look half-assed, even. Surely if the federal government can spare trillions of dollars for Wall Street banks, they can find the money and the manpower to successfully prosecute a counter-insurgency campaign in central Asia. Unless we don't actually need it.
If I come across as acerbic and sarcastic, it's because I am. I may be a bit reactionary and more than a bit nationalistic, but I'm not a sucker. If we're going to exert military force somewhere, it had damn well better benefit us. That's the bottom line, really. So where's the benefit?
This blog has become boring.
This blog has become boring. It was once interesting, but now one can ony hope the author is doing more than taking vacations and preening before his audience.
Substance is everything. It is increasingly difficult to find, and it inevitably leads one to "Empty Suit."
You were once very good and a "go to" site. No longer. Pity.
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