ADVISORY BOARD TO SUGGEST MILITARY HEAVY ON RESERVES By Andrew Tilghman

DeM Banter:  One (of many) holes in this logic...why would anyone sign up?  Recall the Brits are facing issues with not being able to meet their recruiting goals as they switched to a heavier reserve component. If you are working 40-60 hours a week to feed the family...would folks take on an additional reserve job--when …

Street Killings Underscore Iraq’s Rising Unrest By Adam Schreck

DeM Banter: ...Iraq...not necessarily covered in the mainstream press any longer, but something to pay very close attention to...how do we avoid this? And this with a full ground invasion...using a Libya airpower model in Syria...will it work? Speaking of work...what is success in Syria? And speaking of Libya...things there are not good either...the silence …

NATO Chief: No Plans For Alliance Action In Syria By Jan M. Olsen

DeM Banter: Here's a thought...maybe it's more a movie plot...but: Assad did not use chemical weapons, but AQ did. The US laid out some red lines and AQ (or their friends and various partners) knew that unleashing chemical weapons in Syria would draw the US into the conflict. UBL made it clear that his plan …

Advancing Leadership will Change the World…DeMarco Banter

I am a firm believer in leadership.  With strong leadership, everything moves forward.  Leaders are advancers. They advance and push the thinking of their teammates right out of the box--smashing the status quo and advancing creativity.  Leaders elevate others' performances--making those they work with (and for) better than anyone every thought possible.  Leaders improve the …

U.S. Strike Could Pull Nation Into War, Experts Say By Ernesto Londono and Ed O’Keefe

DeM Banter: When there is no strategy to fall back on... and that pesky thing called history points in a different direction...things don't resonate too well. Washington Post August 28, 2013 Pg. 1 Washington has had mixed success with limited intervention An imminent U.S. strike on Syrian government targets in response to the alleged gassing …

Obama Weighing Limited Strike On Syria By Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan (and a little history)

DeM Banter...A little history...."Nevertheless, the administration believed that something had to be done. If the United States allowed itself to be humiliated by the regime, then its military credibility would be seriously undermined. The regional alliance that the United States led might dissolve as the area's countries lost faith in American protection. Across the world, …

Downrange Dreams ‘Therapeutic bombing’ of Syria would accomplish little By Eliot A. Cohen

DeM Banter: strategic piece from Eliot Cohen...historically can we show where this option has provided the outcome sought? I understand we keep talking Kosovo as THE example, but there were many other issues at play there that are not at play here. Obviously Cohen has his own biases as well...but it is important to examine …