The Political Conundrum!

On July 14-15, the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) sponsored a conference in Washington DC at the National Press Club on "The Foreign Fighter Problem." I presented a paper for a panel on "Foreign Fighters and their Economic Impact," focused on the case study of Syria as a foreign fighter hub for AQI. The following is taking from the introduction to my paper:

Running an insurgency is an expensive endeavor. Financing and resourcing insurgent activities, from procuring weapons and executing attacks to buying the support of local populations and bribing corrupt officials, requires extensive fundraising and facilitation networks that often involve group members, criminal syndicates, corrupt officials, and independent operators such as local smugglers. Along these lines, a report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body focused on anti-money laundering and combating terror finance, found that while financing any singular attack may be relatively inexpensive compared to the damage incurred, “maintaining a terrorist network, or a specific cell, to provide for recruitment, planning, and procurement between attacks represents a significant drain on resources. A significant infrastructure is required to sustain international terrorist networks and promote their goals over time.” Creating and maintaining such support and facilitation networks, FATF concluded, requires significant funds.

FATF’s findings are certainly the case in Syria, where terrorist and insurgent groups have established sophisticated networks to facilitate the movement of foreign fighters from around the world into Iraq. These networks are especially important since foreign fighters facilitated through Syria have been responsible for the most spectacular attacks on Iraqis and coalition forces. Given the priority that Iraq and Syria both play in the Obama administration’s efforts to stabilize the Middle East, as well as the wealth of information now available on Syrian-based foreign fighter facilitation networks, this paper focuses its attention on the case study of Syria, foreign fighters in the Iraqi insurgency, and their economic impact.

Foreign fighters’ use of third party countries for training, fundraising, and transit is not merely an operational phenomenon, but an economic one as well. There are both direct and indirect economic consequences – both positive and negative – that result from the existence and operation of foreign fighter networks in Syria, for example. These consequences impact Syria and the Syrian government, various elements of the Syrian populace, from the political, social, and religious elites to the locals living in towns along the Syrian-Iraqi border, Iraq as the foreign fighter destination, and other countries in the region as well. Developing realistic strategies to contend with foreign fighter networks operating in third party countries is contingent upon first developing a holistic comprehension of the phenomenon, including an understanding of the economic impact

The full paper is available online here.

Army Reserve commander Lt. Gen Jack Stultz is warning his troops not to expect a deployment slowdown soon, even with Pentagon promises of more relief for soldiers in coming years.

Rising casualties in Afghanistan are raising doubts among U.S. allies about the conduct of the war, forcing some governments to defend publicly their commitments and foreshadowing possible long-term trouble for the U.S. effort to bring in more resources to defeat the Taliban.

Medical researchers say there may be a link between exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War and an increased chance of developing serious heart problems and Parkinson's disease.

Military officials are investigating how two tires fell off a huge C-5 transport plane on a training flight in Western Massachusetts. Authorities say no injuries have been reported and no property was damaged.

The U.S. Navy says a Sailor has been charged in military court with murder and other offenses in the shooting death of a gay San Diego seaman.

The congressman expected the usual questions from the children at Camp Lejeune, N.C. But what one child said -- "My daddy's not dead yet" -- left Rep. Walter Jones stunned and briefly speechless. Now, the question Jones is asking is whether the mental health services are in place to help the kids of service members killed or crippled by war.

My name is PFC ****** ******* and SFC Jason Fabrizi was my Platoon Sergeant and much, much more.  He was also the platoon daddy as we often called him. He was a great friend and somebody we could always come and talk to when ever we had something on our mind. I loved the man like a father.

He loved GFT and wrestling, well actually just about any sport. He often spent his day making sure my platoon had everything we needed and everything was set for us.
He mocked me a few times for being in the marching band in high school but he always looked at me as a brave American infantryman, as everybody in my platoon is.
He had a personality that was so great that after speaking with him for 10 minutes you thought you knew the man forever. He was a great soldier, so great that he made it threw Special Forces selection course, but was never selected. I would have followed that man into the gates of hell itself. I never would have questioned him if he decided we needed to go there.

He was an honorable man, and we all respected him and loved him.

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano unveiled five new efficiency initiatives, marking the fourth milestone in the Department-wide Efficiency Review launched in March.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Preparedness Group met to discuss the Department's progress in implementing the recommendations outlined in the 9/11 Commission Final Report released five years ago this week.