Tuesday 30 September 2008

Joint Live Experiment on Network Enabled Capabilities

Sweden & NATO
Good to see a live exercise on network enabled operations, and also to see the civilian element being integrated. This type of capability will definitely be useful for countries hosting major events like the Olympics, UN conferences, visits by dignitaries, etc.

Monday 22 September 2008

French soldiers unprepared for Taliban ambush: report

globeandmail.com
The above Canadian paper seems to have obtained a leaked NATO report into the recent Taliban ambush which left 10 French soldiers dead. France 24 is also on to this story.

Saturday 20 September 2008

The Cold War in Southeast Asia


The History Channel

The Asia Research Institute, History Channel, National Library Board, and National University of Singapore are organising a series of seminars on the history of the Cold War in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia was the one of the regions where the Cold War was not cold. The Vietnam war was the clearest example of the clash of the superpowers.

With the recent Georgia-Russia conflict still fresh in our minds, this series may not just be a review of history, but a guide for the present...

Friday 19 September 2008

MANPADS a force multiplier?

Missile Watch #2: Somalia » FAS Strategic Security Blog
A blog post from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) detailing the proliferation of Manportable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS).

With the increasing presence of IEDs on ground convoys, commanders would naturally be keen to increase usage of airlift. The introduction of MANPADS would counter that move...

How the Taleban gets its arms

The BBC has conducted what seems to be comprehensive coverage on the arms procurement process of the Taleban. First, a newstory, podcast (mp3), and the Assignment frontpage. More can be found on the Newsnight page.

Tuesday 16 September 2008

After Iraq and Afghanistan - Where Next for Expeditionary Warfare?

Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI)
Military planners face the conundrum of using lessons from the last war to prepare for the next war, although the next war may very likely be totally different. A compromise is usually made, and one never really knows if the right choices were made, until perhaps it is sometimes too late.

Click on the above link to listen to a lecture organised by RUSI on these issues.

Wednesday 10 September 2008

2008 Senior Workshop on International Rules Governing Military Operations (SWIRMO)

ICRC
It is perhaps easy to assume that many armed forces are reluctant to embrace International Humanitarian Law (IHL), not because soldiers are inhumane, but possibly because they suspect that adhering to IHL will affect the effectiveness of their military operations.

After reviewing the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) teaching file, opswarfare is assured that military operations would not be hampered by following LOAC. Key to achieving this is the integration of IHL into military doctrine and operations, so that the application of IHL is seamless and user-friendly.

Thus, it is encouraging to see the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) organising a workshop to facilitate this integration process.

Friday 5 September 2008

ORG-SIIA Regional Sustainable Security Consultation (Asia and Australasia)

Singapore Institute of International Affairs
opswarfare just spotted this upcoming forum, with a slightly new phrase - Sustainable Security. opswarfare will be attending the half-day public conference on 12th September 2008.