Recommended Reading for Saturday, 14 June 2008

A short list of posts you may not have seen. 

General Petraeus and the ‘Information War’ by Felix Gillette

"Petraeus understood how to use the media," writes Mr. Engel. "He could boil down his thoughts to fifteen-second sound bytes, and always tracked the camera during interviews … He had what actors call ‘camera awareness.’"  …

Some sixteen months later, a number of the seasoned TV reporters in Baghdad told the Observer that they continue to appreciate Mr. Petraeus’ style of media engagement—i.e. less press conferences, more personal access, increased transparency, and the occasional banana in the market place. …

"Not only is Petraeus quite accessible to the media, but he’s managed to convey down the line to his colonels and captains that it’s okay to talk to the media," added Mr. McCarthy. "Under Casey, they were really trying to spin us. In Petraeus’ case, if it’s a bad day, he’ll say ‘it’s been a bad day.’"

 Col. Peter Mansoor on Health in Counterinsurgency Doctrine, Refugees as Weapons of War, and In Counterinsurgency, Hospitals are the Commanding Heights by Chris Albon

Two from Arabic Source: A Whole Lot of Paper that AQ Didn’t Want Us to See and What Makes An Expert?

 The Erosion of Noncombatant Immunity within Al Qaeda by Carl J. Ciovacco.

One thought on “Recommended Reading for Saturday, 14 June 2008

  1. Gen. P. is extremely personable. My kid-brother is a company commander in Iraq and the General has had lunch meetings with him several times with other company commanders to discuss what the “Captains” think about the insurgency. What makes the events so interesting – Gen. P. kicks out the bosses to help reduce the tension and bullshit factor. Moreover, he’s a smart as they get and understands information can sometimes get distorted as it goes up the chain of command.

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