Panel Seeks Intelligence Culpability

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19831-2005Apr1.html

Washington PostApril 2, 2005 Pg. 8
Panel Seeks Intelligence Culpability
Report Faults the Actions of Army, CIA, Pentagon Agencies
By Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writer
The co-chairmen of President Bush's commission on intelligence said yesterday that John D. Negroponte, the incoming director of national intelligence, should take action against agencies, and perhaps individuals, who were responsible for the worst of the glaring failures to accurately assess prewar Iraq's weapons programs.

Well, that's certainly one approach.

"Wrong calls and failures to correct the record we believe were so serious that the DNI ought to look at those institutions and decide specific remedies," said former senator Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), during a joint interview yesterday with his co-chairman, retired appellate court judge Laurence H. Silberman.

Oh, so he didn't really say quite the same thing. Calling for solutions isn't quite the same as recommending retribution.

Silberman said that he believed the CIA inspector general was looking into the matter. If any actions are taken, he added, "we would hope it would be by the CIA first," and then "believe the DNI would look at them all."

The commission's report, released Thursday, detailed how U.S. intelligence agencies were "dead wrong" in their belief that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. The nine-member panel, appointed by Bush last year to review the nation's intelligence system, concluded that grave shortcomings in those agencies persist and threaten the nation's ability to protect itself.

This is one of those things that puzzles me, from time to time; nay, whenever I encounter this claim. To wit, that no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq. Either we're using different (and possibly elastic, depending on the conclusion desired) definitions of what constitutes a WMD, or official bodies, not just the media, are forgetting the chemical (i.e., nerve agent) artillery shells discovered in Iraq when they were incorporated into IEDs by terrorists there.
The commission's report, in a section titled "accountability," singled out three agencies for contributing "crucially to the Iraq WMD debacle." The three made such serious errors -- and then resisted admitting them -- that the commission urged the DNI to consider actions including reconstituting or reorganizing the units.

The three agencies were the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), the Pentagon's Defense Humint Service (DHS) -- which specializes in "human intelligence" -- and the CIA's Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Center, often referred to as WINPAC.

The NGIC, which does intelligence studies on foreign military equipment was "completely wrong" in concluding that aluminum tubes were not useful for rockets, thereby supporting the theory, later discarded, that Iraq acquired them to build uranium centrifuges for a nuclear weapons program. NGIC "did not pursue basic information" that could have prevented the misjudgments, the commission said, even though the subject was "at the core of [its] assigned area of expertise."

The DHS, which handles foreign-agent reports, "inexcusably failed" to rescind information provided by an Iraqi exile after learning he was a "known fabricator," according to the report. DHS then "compounded that error" by failing to notice that the fabricator's information was in Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's February 2003 speech to the U.N. Security Council.

In addition, DHS handled information from another Iraqi defector nicknamed "Curveball," who provided information, later disproved, that Iraq had mobile biological production facilities. DHS disseminated that information "while taking little or no responsibility for checking the accuracy of his reports," which originated with German intelligence, said the commission, which also labeled Curveball a "fabricator." When questioned about Curve Ball's information, DHS called itself a "conduit" for the material and resisted "the idea it had any real responsibility to vet his veracity," the panel said.

WINPAC, which handled all-source analysis on weapons of mass destruction, disseminated what turned out to be inaccurate information on both the aluminum tubes and Curveball's claims about the biological production facilities. WINPAC "showed great reluctance to correct these errors, even long after they had become obvious," the panel said.
The panel found that WINPAC analysts were forced to leave the center after they said reassessments should be circulated as a result of doubts about the accuracy of Curveball's information on Iraq chemical weapons.

An analyst who spoke out about Curveball told the commission he was " 'read the riot act' by his office director, who accused him of 'making waves' and 'being biased,' " according to the panel's report.

The commission was highly critical of the CIA's handling of questions within the agency about Curveball's credibility and why such doubts were not passed on to Powell before his U.N. speech. It disclosed that a division chief had first been told of German intelligence doubts about Curveball in the fall of 2002 and passed them on to other officials.

On the eve of the Powell speech, the division chief told the commission that, in a phone call with then-CIA Director George J. Tenet, he passed on that German intelligence had "problems" with Curveball. Tenet told the panel he does not recall getting that information.

Yesterday, Tenet released a statement disputing the commission's account. He said "nobody came forward" before Powell's speech to tell him "we have been told by the foreign representative of the [intelligence] service handling him that there are worries that he is a 'fabricator.' " What Tenet did recall, he said, is that he spoke to the division chief on the afternoon or early evening before Powell's speech to make certain that the German intelligence liaison officer in Washington had given clearance to use information including Curveball's claims in Powell's speech. The clearance was received "promptly" in a return phone call.

Tenet also said that, if doubts were raised about Curveball , they "should have immediately prompted formal reporting up the chain of command" to him. "It is both stunning and deeply disturbing that this information, if true, was never brought forward to me by anyone."
John E. McLaughlin, who was deputy CIA director at the time, said in a statement yesterday that he was unaware before Powell's speech that Curveball was considered "a likely fabricator," and that "I would never have permitted the use of such material by the secretary had I known this."

Ah. Mistakes were made. Underlings will be punished.

Tarnished tartan

http://www.washtimes.com/world/embassy.htm

Embassy Row
By James Morrison
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Tarnished tartan
A Scottish diplomat at the British Embassy, who promoted Scottish-American relations for nearly four years, is the victim of what one report called a bitter bureaucratic dispute, just as top Scottish officials are preparing to celebrate National Tartan Day in the District next week.
Susan Stewart, the first director of the embassy's Scottish Affairs Office, yesterday said she is returning to Britain in the fall and denied a Scottish newspaper report that she was fired.

"I am leaving in October after a normal four-year tour. I have not been sacked," she said in a phone interview from New York, where she is preparing for the first leg of the U.S. visit by members of the Scottish Parliament.

Four years seems a sufficiently long diplomatic tour, although I've no idea what's typical for British overseas assignments.

Miss Stewart declined to comment on a report in the newspaper, Scotland on Sunday, which was being widely circulated by e-mail by members of the Scottish-American community in Washington yesterday.

One diplomat said Miss Stewart is in a "difficult situation" but would not elaborate.

The report in one of Scotland's most respected newspapers said Miss Stewart was caught up in a "bureaucratic turf war" and faulted First Minister Jack McConnell, Scotland's top political leader, for failing to defend the diplomat, who had served as his spokeswoman when he was education minister.

The newspaper quoted sources who said some British government officials were "irritated" by her success in promoting Scotland in the United States.

What? She was supposed to fail?

Whether her departure comes as a normal diplomatic rotation or the result of a bureaucratic dispute, she will be missed by leading Americans of Scottish heritage who worked with her to promote Tartan Day.

This is undeniably true. Anyone who misses Tartan Day will be missed.

The Senate in 1998 declared April 6 Tartan Day to recognize Scottish-American contributions to the development of the United States. The House recognized Tartan Day in a resolution adopted last month.

National Tartan Day activities for the week kick-off tomorrow afternoon (Sun., April 3) in Washington, D.C., with "An Afternoon of Celtic Music" (http://www.tartanday.org/tartandaydc/events.htm) at Pat Troy's in Old Town Alexandria, Va. (http://www.pattroysirishpub.com/).

"We are very grateful for all of Susan's tireless efforts to improve communications between the Scottish Executive [government] and grass-roots Scottish-American institutions such as ours," said John Bellassai, president of the 500-member St. Andrew's Society of Washington.

"She's got a great sense of humor, is very bright and hard-working, not at all stuffy, and very, very politically savvy. Like most Americans who have met her, I grew to admire and appreciate both her substance and her style."

British Embassy spokesman Steve Atkins said most diplomats serve a four-year tour and then are reassigned. He praised Miss Stewart and her "Scottish team" as a "vital part of the embassy."

"That strong team effort and close working relationship is evidenced in the service we have had in promoting an innovative Scotland and the strength of its culture and economy," he said.

The Scottish parliamentary delegation coming to the United States includes Finance Minister Tom McCabe, Tourism Minister Patricia Ferguson and George Reid, the presiding officer of the parliament.

Tehran rushes weapons program

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20050401-012527-8225r.htm

Tehran rushes weapons program
By Al Webb
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
LONDON -- The Iranian government is fast-tracking an atomic-weapons program and has allocated $2.5 billion to either buy three nuclear warheads or produce them at home, an organization of Iranian exiles claimed yesterday.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an umbrella body of exiled opposition groups, said Tehran is speeding up efforts to build a plutonium bomb by 2007.

NCRI portrays itself as an umbrella organization, but the official U.S. take on them is that they're essentially the same organization as the MEK (People's Mujaheddin Organization of Iran or PMOI), which is why they're now on the official terrorist organization list.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is determined that Iran will have a nuclear arsenal and that Tehran "would acquire the warheads by their own means or buy them abroad," NCRI official Mohammad Mohaddessin said.

In 2003 the police in France raided and shut down NCRI headquarters, but apparently they're back in business there.

Mr. Mohaddessin, chairman of the exile group's foreign affairs committee, told reporters in Paris that he received news of the funds allocated for the warheads only yesterday morning.

He declined to reveal his source, nor did he disclose which country could have provided the warheads. The main force behind the NCRI is the People's Mojahedin, also known as Mojahedin Khalq. Until recently it has waged war on fundamentalist Iran from bases in Iraq. The administration of Ronald Reagan branded it as a terrorist organization.

This is an interesting, if incomplete bit of information. It was the Clinton administration that added the PMOI (a.k.a. People;s Mojahedin a.k.a. Mojahedin Khalq a.k.a. MEK) to the official list of terrorist organizations. To be fair, they had at least some involvement with the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, so the Reagan administration may indeed have viewed them as terrorists.

"Khamenei has told [Iranian Defense Minister Ali] Shamkhani ... that obtaining a nuclear bomb would guarantee the survival of the Iranian regime forever," Mr. Mohaddessin said.

The NCRI seeks the overthrow of Iran's clerical rulers and is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, as well as the United States.

Mr. Mohaddessin said Ayatollah Khamenei ordered $2.5 billion in funding for the warheads in mid-2004.

He also said the Iranian government is stepping up work on a heavy-water reactor in Arak, about 150 miles south of Tehran, that could come up with enough plutonium to manufacture one nuclear bomb a year.

"The regime told the International Atomic Energy Agency that the reactor would be operational in 2014; in reality, they want to start it in 2006 or 2007," Mr. Mohaddessin said.

Iran is prepared to produce 22 pounds of plutonium "between now and 2006-07," he added.

Tehran has steadfastly maintained that its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity. But both the United States and some European Union members are concerned that Iran could use that same program to produce atomic weapons.

Britain, France and Germany are negotiating with Tehran to try to get Iran to provide "objective guarantees" that its nuclear program will not be turned to weapons production.

The NCRI exiles have stepped up the pressure on Western nations to take steps against Iran. The group said last year that a Pakistani scientist who is known to have sold nuclear secrets abroad has provided Tehran with the blueprints for a nuclear bomb.

They must be talking about the infamous Dr. Khan, arguably the most popular person in Pakistan, although he may vie for this honor with UBL.

Panel urges Bush to set up FBI intelligence branch

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050401-012524-6011r.htm

Panel urges Bush to set up FBI intelligence branch
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A presidential panel yesterday urged the Bush administration to set up a new domestic
intelligence branch of the FBI to better deal with terrorism, spies and arms proliferation.

The report of the Commission on Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, which sharply criticizes the FBI, CIA and 13 other intelligence agencies, called for setting up a National Security Service at the FBI. It also states that one of the major problems facing the new director of national intelligence (DNI) will be to bring the FBI, mainly a law-enforcement agency, into the intelligence community.

This is an excellent notion. Since the FBI jealously guards its perogatives in this area, the least it could do is be serious about fulfilling its responsibilities.

"As the events of September 11 demonstrated, we cannot afford a wall that divides U.S. intelligence efforts at the border," the report says.

This echos some of the points, I believe, made by the 9/11 Commission report.

The FBI has been criticized for failing to track down two of the September 11 hijackers after they were notified the men had entered the country months before the attack. The agency also came under fire for poor security after one of its veteran agents, Robert Hanssen, in 2001 was uncovered as a spy for Moscow who had been active since 1985.

To be fair, this was a multi-agency failure. But the lacks need to be remedied nonetheless.

The commission report credits the bureau with making progress in working closer with the U.S. intelligence community, but adds that "it has a long way to go, and significant hurdles still remain."

"In our view, the FBI has not constructed its intelligence program in a way that will promote integrated intelligence efforts, and its ambitions have led it into unnecessary new turf battles with the CIA," it says.

Ambitions?

FBI spokesmen had no comment on the call for the new domestic spy service. An FBI statement praised the commission for recognizing "progress" in bolstering intelligence programs and noted that "we agree with its judgment that we have more work to do."

The bureau has 1,720 intelligence analysts -- 38 of them in its intelligence directorate -- and 12,000 agents "capable of collecting valuable information," the report says. While a third of the FBI's budget comes from a general U.S. intelligence budget, a large portion of the funds are spent on programs other than intelligence.

Now we're getting into troublesome details: with 1,720 intelligence analysts on the payroll, why are so few, 38, working in the intelligence directorate. This smells like asking for the money and the positions under one, sexy name, and then employing them otherwise. The rest of this, that "a third of the FBI budget comes from general U.S. intelligence budget, a large portion of the funds are spent on programs other than intelligence" is excessively irksome.

Doubtless, some person of authority signs off on using funds in this manner, and some other persons in auditing let it slide. Heads should roll. At the very least, the FBI needs to come clean and ask for the law enforcement funds it needs to perform its law enforcement missions and stop treating the funds intended for intelligence as a cash cow. If I try to preprogram money in that fashion, the FBI would undoubtedly haul me away.

The panel states that the National Security Service should be directed by an FBI executive assistant director who will be in charge of the combined counterterrorism, counterintelligence and intelligence analysis branches.

Serious, structural change is needed here. If the FBI is to retain its domestic intelligence portfolio, it needs to get serious and get smart; otherwise it's begging to be annexed by Homeland Security, or at least lose the mission (and the funding). To be fair, the FBI is only one of the intelligence organizations that could use this re-focusing.

The recommendation of the new service is expected to be controversial. The FBI all but halted its domestic spying activities in the 1980s following lawsuits brought against it by groups that claimed their rights were violated by the spying.

Nobody is fonder of civil rights than I, but this sort of thing makes intelligence collectors exceedingly gunshy and otherwise risk-averse. Nothing fails to succeed like a risk-averse intelligence collector.

The new National Security Service would conduct all domestic spying activities within the United States under the attorney general's guidelines "to protect civil liberties." Past efforts to build an intelligence capability within the FBI had "foundered" because of "strong resistance from the FBI's operational divisions," the report says.

This is another argument to making the top intelligence kahuna within the FBI a bigwig; it goes to making intelligence collection a worthwhile career path within the Bureau.

It also states the recently passed intelligence reform law created an "ambiguous" tie between DNI and FBI intelligence-gathering efforts that could allow the FBI to "largely elude the DNI's intended authorities."

Remedying this should be a top priority. Excepting the FBI's intelligence collection activities from the national level oversight of the new DNI would be a worse mistake than not including the Bureau within the responsibilities of DHS. For real: DHS managed to get the Coast Guard out from under the Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard! But somehow the Federal Bureau of Investigation isn't sufficiently a player in the Homeland Security mission that dodged that bullet? Sure.

Truce or Consequences

The sixth short story in Laumer's "Retief: Diplomat At Arms" is "Truce or Consequences," November 1966, copyright (c) 1966 by Galaxy Publishing Corp.

"First Secretary Jame Retief of the Terran Embassy pushed open the conference room door and ducked as a rain of plaster chips clattered down from the ceiling."

So now we learn Retief's first name.

" 'And no doubt you paused to hazard a wager on the outcome,' Ambassador Biteworse snapped."

How can you not love character names like this?

" 'Oh but you have a dandy rapport with His Blortian Excellency, too,' the voice of Counsellor of Embassy Magnan sounded from his position well to the rear."

Always just a notch or level senior to Retief.

"The peppery diplomat emerged, rose and dusted off the knees of his pink- and green-striped satin knee breeches, regulation early afternoon semi-informal dress for top three graders of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne on duty on pre-nuclear worlds."

It's always nice to know exactly what to wear.

" 'Take cover!' the Military Attaché barked and dived for the table."

Not further identified. But he shows excellent instincts.

" 'Now, while it's necessary to impress on the Premier the impropriety of shooting up the Terran Mission, we must hold something in reserve for future atrocities. I think we'll play the scene using a modified Formula Nine image: Kindly Indulgence tinged with Latent Firmness, which may at any moment crystallize into Reluctant Admonition, with appropriate overtones of Gracious Condescension' "

At last. A nuance. Several, actually: Kindly Indulgence, Latent Firmness, Reluctant Admonition & Gracious Condesension. This is Amb. Biteworse speaking. But wait: there's more . . .

" 'How would you feel about a dash of Potential Impatience, with maybe a touch of Appropriate Reprisals?' the Military Attaché asked."

Oh, those military types . . .

" 'But I wonder if we mightn't add just the teeniest hint of Agonizing Reappraisal?' "

Magnan speaking there.

" 'This might be his version of the Number Twenty-three Leashed Power gambit, with a side order of Imminent Spontaneous Rioting.' "

" 'Now I have a new formula, based on the battle lines of the tenth day of the third week of the Moon of Limitless Imbibing, as modified by the truce team's proposals of the second week of the Moon of Ceaseless Complaining, up-dated in accordance with Corps Policy Number 74658-b, as amended --' "

Such nice, colorful, time-keeping terms: Moon of Limitless Imbibing & Moon of Ceaseless Complaining.

" 'I seem to recall similar predictions at the time of the Fall Campaign, the pre-Winter Offensive, the Winter Counteroffensive, the post-Winter Anschluss, and the pre-Spring Push,' Biteworse retorted."

Clearly someone's warplans aren't always going according to plan.

Formula Nine image, includes:
Kindly Indulgence
Latent Firmness
Reluctant Admonition
Gracious Condesension

Number Twenty-three: Leashed Power gambit

Other, un-numbered, nuances:
Potential Impatience
Appropriate Reprisals
Agonizing Reappraisal
Imminent Spontaneous Rioting

Explanation of Links, part the 8th, The United States Army

www.army.mil

This link should be fairly obvious. This is a great source for references and other official information.

The Iraq War's Outsourcing Snafu; The coalition of the billing has real limits.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-boot31mar31,0,4194633.column?coll=la-home-utilities

The Iraq War's Outsourcing Snafu
The coalition of the billing has real limits.
Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2005

By Max Boot
Ever since Ronald Reagan proclaimed in his 1981 inaugural address that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem," leaders at all levels of government, Democrats and Republicans alike, have been outsourcing as much work as possible to the private sector. This is generally a good idea, but when it comes to the military, this trend may have gone too far.

Mr. Boot is onto something here.

Peter W. Singer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of "Corporate Warriors," estimates that there are 20,000 to 30,000 civilians in Iraq performing traditional military functions, from maintaining weapons systems to guarding supply convoys. If you add foreigners involved in reconstruction and oil work, the total soars to 50,000 to 75,000.

Why are civilian contractors guarding supply convoys?

To put this into perspective: All of Washington's allies combined account for 23,000 troops in Iraq. In the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, Singer quips that "President George W. Bush's 'coalition of the willing' might thus be more aptly described as the 'coalition of the billing.' "

Clever. But only a little clever.

Let us stipulate that most contractors are upstanding, hardworking individuals who perform valuable and dangerous work. At least 175 have been killed and 900 wounded in Iraq. But their labor has been tarnished by scandals and snafus too numerous to ignore.

Contractors have repeatedly risked their lives on behalf of our troops and the national mission in Iraq. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of clear rules so there's tremendous potential for missteps, mistakes, and even criminality. The lack of rules isn't the fault of the contractors.

Oil-services giant Halliburton and the security firm Custer Battles, among others, have been accused of swindling U.S. taxpayers. Other contractors are said to have been simply ineffective. Vinnell Corp. did such a poor job of training Iraqi army recruits that half of its first battalion walked off the job.

The Army had to step in to perform the work itself.

Other companies have been accused of human rights violations: Interrogators from CACI International were in the middle of the Abu Ghraib mess. And still others have caused major problems by failing to coordinate with the military chain of command. The most notorious example was the decision by four Blackwater employees to enter Fallouja on March 31, 2004, without notifying the local Marine garrison. Their well-publicized deaths in an ambush forced the Marines into a costly offensive to try to regain control of the city.

There is nothing new or nefarious about privatizing military support functions. But, in Iraq, the contractors aren't just building latrines or staffing mess halls. They're also running around with assault rifles and black body armor performing "tactical" functions. Many are well-trained U.S. or British veterans, but others are Rambo wannabes or sordid desperados. Among the mercenaries who have surfaced in Iraq are South Africans who were members of apartheid-era death squads and Chileans who served in Pinochet's security services.

Mercenary is such an ugly word. Military contractor, or condottori, sounds so much nicer.

When U.S. service members are accused of wrongdoing, they are investigated and, if necessary, court-martialed. That's not the case with civilians who are generally not covered by the laws of their home countries for crimes committed abroad. The Iraqi legal system could hold them to account, but in practice Baghdad won't do anything that might lead to an exodus of foreign firms. Dozens of U.S. and British soldiers have been prosecuted for misconduct in Iraq — but not a single contractor.

A lack of accountability leads to occurrences such as those described by four former Custer Battles employees who claim that poorly trained Kurds on the firm's payroll killed innocent motorists. In one incident, a guard supposedly fired his AK-47 into a passenger car to clear a traffic jam. In another, an aggressive driver in a giant pickup truck allegedly pulverized a sedan with children inside. When true (the firm denies any wrongdoing), such incidents only create more insurgent recruits.

U.S. policymakers argue that they have to rely on private help because the U.S. armed forces simply aren't big enough to do everything, and allies have not made up the shortfall. But that's an argument for expanding the armed forces, not for hiring a lot of freelance gunslingers. Administration officials complain that a bigger army is too expensive, but are they really saving money by relying on privateers?

Mr. Boot hits this nail right on the head: the need for private help, especially in the security and security assistance areas demonstrates the need for more "boots-on-ground." And they need to be under direct Coalition control, rather than private troops.

The most valued contractors are experienced former U.S. Special Forces operatives whose training cost the Pentagon hundreds of thousands of dollars. They are being lured out of uniform by the promise of making $500 to $1,000 a day. (If they stay in the service they'll be lucky to make $140 a day.) And where does that money come from? Pretty much all the foreign firms in Iraq are paid by the U.S. Treasury. So the government is in competition with itself for its most skilled and hard-to-replace soldiers. Does this sort of outsourcing really make sense?

Like many things related to the federal government, Peter, in one department or agency, is happy to save money from his budget by making Paul, in another department or agency, pay for something out of his budget instead. The fact that Paul has to pay more doesn't enter into it. But Joe Taxpayer foots the bill in the end.

Iranian Opposition Group Cites Reactor Concerns

Wall Street Journal
March 31, 2005 Pg. 9
Iranian Opposition Group Cites Reactor Concerns

By Marc Champion, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal

An Iranian opposition group claims Iran has accelerated construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor in the western part of the country that, when completed, could be used to make fuel for atomic weapons.

Well, surely they wouldn't do that.

If true, yesterday's charge by the National Council of Resistance of Iran could further complicate talks between Iran and the so-called EU-3 -- France, Britain and Germany -- to secure "objective guarantees" Iran isn't pursuing nuclear weapons.

Surely the EU-3 will be able to work past this somehow.

The Council's claims couldn't be independently verified, and the group's largest member, the People's Mujaheddin of Iran, is listed as a terrorist entity by the U.S. and Britain. U.S. and International Atomic Energy Agency officials have expressed skepticism about a number of the Council's more recent claims.

Not only is the PMOI the single largest component of the NCRI, but they're officially considered to be, along with some other groups, essentially the same organization using different front names and organizations.

However, in August 2002 it exposed the existence of the Arak site and an extensive covert Iranian program to enrich uranium. Those claims were confirmed by the IAEA, the United Nations' Vienna-based nuclear watchdog.

So whatever else they might be, their track record on this topic would seem to indicate a certain credibility.

According to the Council, Iran aims to complete a heavy-water production facility at the Qatran Complex in Arak by August, after gas leaks and other technical problems delayed an earlier target date of November 2004. Heavy water is used to control the nuclear reactions in a reactor.

In addition, the group claims Iranian officials have ordered work speeded up at another part of the complex-- a planned 40-megawatt heavy-water research reactor-- and that workers are operating in double shifts.

Iran says it is building that research reactor for civilian purposes, but the plutonium waste from heavy-water reactors can be used to make weapons fuel.

Work on the Arak facility is legal and wouldn't breach the letter of Iran's deal with the Europeans, under which Iran suspended all activities related to its uranium-enrichment program, another potential route to weapons-grade fuel. Arak has been of less concern because the foundations for it only recently were laid and Iran is still some distance from producing plutonium waste, a Western diplomat in Vienna said.

We hope.

However, according to a British official familiar with the nuclear talks, confirmation that Iran is accelerating work at Arak would breach the spirit of the negotiations. The problem, this official said, is that while the Europeans are trying to secure permanent "objective guarantees" that Iran isn't pursuing nuclear weapons, completing the Arak facility"would be a jigsaw piece in an overall puzzle -- the Iranians having at some stage in the future a capability to produce material for weapons use.

"Mortadar Ramandi, spokesman at the Iranian mission to the U.N. in New York, denied any allegation that the Iranian government has ordered an acceleration of construction at the research reactor, and said that reactor "won't be completed any time soon." Iran repeatedly has said it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon and that it has a legal right to any civilian nuclear technology, regardless of whether it also could be used for military purposes.

Disarmed Militants Pose A Dilemma; In Iraq, an odd refuge for Iranians

The Philadelphia Inquirer offers free access, but you do need to register.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/11271333.htm

Philadelphia Inquirer
March 31, 2005
Pg. 1
Disarmed Militants Pose A Dilemma
In Iraq, an odd refuge for Iranians
By Hannah Allam, Inquirer Foreign Staff
CAMP ASHRAF, Iraq - Iraq has an oasis where fountains gurgle over pebbles and flowers blossom in lush gardens.

The hospital is spotless and fully stocked; school soffer violin lessons. Electricity is always on and the water is always clean in this serene, self-sufficient compound.

One thing is missing: An exit.

This never-never land is Camp Ashraf, home to nearly 4,000 Iranian militants on windswept plains in the heart of Iraq's most perilous region. At once sympathetic and strange, the People's Mujaheddin of Iran, or Mujaheddin Khalq, have spent the last two decades on a single-minded mission to overthrow the fundamentalist clerics of Iran.

Now, with Iraqis having just elected an Iranian-leaning government, no one, from the Bush administration to human-rights workers, quite knows what to do with these foreign dissidents and their pretty camp in the middle of a war zone.

The mujaheddin once had tanks and guns, but were forced to surrender their armaments after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. They had a protector in Saddam Hussein, who gave them land and sold them millions of dollars in weapons, but now he's gone. They had recruits lining up to join the cause, but now the ranks are thinning as defectors ponder a risky return to Iran.

Other news reports have indicated that the MEK's tanks were given to the new Iraqi army.

All the mujaheddin have left in Iraq is their idyllic refuge at Ashraf, north of Baghdad, and even that has become a prison-like place overseen by the U.S.military. The State Department lists the People's Mujaheddin as an international terrorist organization, and some former members brand it as a cult.

It should be noted that the MEK wasn't declared an international terrorist organization until the Clinton administration. Some believe that was political carrot intended to curry favor with the government of Iran.

In 1986, Hussein donated this 22-square-mile patch of land to the mujaheddin, who turned it into a sophisticated base town dotted with replicas of landmarks found in Iran. When they weren't busy planning attacks and gathering intelligence on the Iranian regime, fighters added a library, a mosque, swimming pools and ornate sculpture."We built everything with our own hands," said Pari Bakhsha'i, 43, the matronly administrator of Ashraf.

"We love this place so much. We have sweet and bitter memories here."

Effectively a military base without weapons, women in olive-green uniforms and matching head-scarves still tool around the city in Toyota trucks. But they yearn for the old days, when they drove tanks and fired Katyusha rockets.

Women mujaheddin members at Camp Ashraf are a minority of the nearly 4,000 members there, although they are somewhat overrepresented among the leadership cadre.

Joining the mujaheddin requires a total relinquishing of mind and body to an ideology most often described as Marxist-Islamist. Men and women live in separate, self-contained units where everything, from ice cream to "Ashraf Cola," is made on site.

Ashraf cola isn't that bad; one interesting thing is that they recycle, religiously, glass Pepsi bottles from Iran, to use in their bottling process. In addition to a cola flavor, they make at least two other flavors, including an orange soda; which is better than their cola.

Marriages aren't allowed and troops are encouraged to purge sexual thoughts by writing them out on paper. E-mail, letters, movies and news are all filtered by camp commanders - mostly women - before reaching the units.

Married couples coming to Camp Ashraf were required to divorce, although it's unclear if this was a truly universal practise.

Many residents sought sanctuary in Ashraf after relatives were tortured or executed in Iranian prisons. Martyrs are remembered in two macabre museums and a well-kept cemetery, where 200 men and women are buried, including some killed in U.S. air strikes.

At Ashraf, defectors are called "quitters," traitors who couldn't handle the sacrifice and, as a result, played into the hands of Iranian intelligence agents.

Their stories are made up, said Mahnaz Hashemi, 22, a pretty, freckled woman who left behind shopping mallsand Saturday night dates when she moved from Tampa, Fla., to Iraq in 1998.

Hashemi had just been accepted to college with dreams of becoming a meteorologist when news of atrocities in her native Iran pulled her toward the mujaheddin."I told myself, 'God didn't make you to go live in Florida,' " she said. "When I came here, I knew I was going to commit my whole life to this one goal. I didn't plan on just staying for a few months."To counter their image as a bizarre, isolated group, the mujaheddin run a clinic that treats impoverished local Iraqis for free. They sponsor women's rights conferences and invite the culture-starved Iraqi intelligentsia to performances by the group's musicians, poets and theater group. The road from Baghdad to Ashraf is dangerous, so the mujaheddin offer late-night visitors tidy guesthouses filled with trays of nuts, fruit and homemade cookies.

On one recent night, 300 women from Unit 6 gathered for dinner in a cafeteria where artists practiced for an Iranian New Year gala. The all-female orchestra tuned up with the theme song to the film TheGodfather, followed by a purple-clad singer who stirred the crowd with folk tunes from Iran.

"See?" whispered one young woman called Khojasteh, whose name is Farsi for happiness. "Women in Ashraf have so many talents. They can sing, they can play and they can fight."

Founded in the 1960s to oppose the pro-Western shah ofIran, the mujaheddin participated in the Islamic revolution of 1979. They were instrumental in the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for more than a year.

Their leftist philosophy quickly put them at odds with the post-revolutionary government, and the new mission of the mujaheddin became overthrowing the mullahs.

Their attacks have spanned decades and have wiped out dozens of top regime officials. Iran's current supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is partially paralyzed as aresult of a 1981 assassination attempt for which the mujaheddin claimed responsibility.

They were eventually driven from Iran and settled in Paris, where the group's iconic leader, Maryam Rajavi, still lives. They then received refuge from Hussein,who used them in the Iran-Iraq war and, by many accounts, later to crush Shiite Muslim and Kurdish uprisings. Iraqis regarded them warily, noting the irony of a force opposing dictatorship while being under the protection of Hussein.

The CIA, FBI and international intelligence agencies all descended on Ashraf after the U.S. invasion to screen members for terrorist leanings. Soldiers found cyanide tablets that senior members planned to use if captured by Iranian security forces. The mujaheddin's radio station, their most valuable link to supporters in Iran, was shuttered. American explosives contractors are still blowing up more than 20,000 tons of weapons and ammunition seized nearly two years ago.

In Washington, senior officials of the Bush administration initially sought to use the group against Iran after Hussein's ouster and, with the President's keen focus on Tehran's nuclear weapons program, that idea still hasn't been ruled out. Of the residents at Ashraf, one senior State Department official estimated, perhaps 200 might be useful as U.S. intelligence assets.

For now, the militants can stay at Ashraf under a United Nations "protected persons" status, though it means members are virtually prisoners of the U.S. military.

The "protected persons" status is a status under the laws of warfare, particularly the Geneva Conventions; the deputy commander of Coalition forces in Iraq recognized this status in a memorandum last summer. It doesn't imply any legal recognition of the MEK as a government in exile, in fact, the status is specifically designed to include military organizations not belligerent parties to a conflict who may or may not be recognized diplomatically by other belligerents.

Militants seeking to escape the highly disciplined, claustrophobic life of the compound can cross into a dismal, adjacent holding facility known as Camp Freedom, where some have languished in tents for nearly two years because no third country has agreed to offer them asylum. Human-rights workers have started looking into conditions at the U.S.-run camp,where one defector told a reporter that fungus grew on his body.The only other option for mujaheddin is returning to Iran, a route quietly encouraged by the U.S. State Department and the Iraqi government in hopes that mass defections will crumble the leadership of Ashraf, empty the camp and solve the problem. But fewer than 300 have taken that gamble, fearing revenge from the mullahs they spent years plotting against.

Contact reporter Hannah Allam at hallam@krwashington.com.

Explanation of Links, part the 7th, Armor Geddon

http://avengerredsix.blogspot.com/

Redsix posted during his tour of Iraq, now completed. He's returned to Germany and hasn't posted lately; I hope he's enjoying himself.

Protest Note proverbs

Laumer's "Protest Note" also includes a number of proverbs and sayings that Retief uses in dealing with the minions of the Aga Kaga, a people clearly based on Laumer's experiences, whatever they may have been, with people of a certain nomadic bent.

"May your shadows never grow less."

" 'Have no fear', Retief said, smiling graciously. 'He who comes as a guest enjoys perfect safety.' "

" 'Youth is the steed of folly,' Retief said. 'Take care that the beardless one does not disgrace his house.' "

" 'Begone interlopers,' he said. 'You disturb the goats.' "

" 'Provision is not taken to the house of the generous,' Retief said. 'May the creatures dine well ere they move on.'"

" 'We welcome no intruders on our lands.'"

" 'To praise a man for what he does not possess is to make him appear foolish,' Retief said."

" 'It is written, "If you need anything from a dog, call him 'sir,' " ' Retief said."

" 'The hen has feathers, but it does not fly.' Retief said. 'We have asked for an escort. A slave must be beaten with a stick; for a free man, a hint is enough.' "

" 'Only love makes me week,' Retief said. 'I laugh at hatred.' "

" 'Never give in to the fool, lest he say, "He fears me," ' Retief said."

" 'When God would destroy an ant, he give him wings,' Retief said. 'Distress in misfortune is another misfortune.' "

"'Does the condemned man beg for the ax,' he inquired rhetorically."

"It is the punishment of the envious to grieve at another's plenty,' Retief said."

" 'A Bedouin is only cheated once.' "

" 'Is it not written, "Have no faith in the Prince whose minister cheats you." ' "

" 'It is written in the sands, "All strangers are kin." Still, he who visits rarely is a welcome guest.' "

" 'Modest ignorance is better than boastful knowledge,' the Aga Kaga said."

"'The essay of the drunkard will be read in the tavern,' Retief said. 'Whereas the words of kings . . .' "

" 'Diplomats and other liars require good memories,' Retief said."

" 'And as the Aga Kaga would say, "Ugliness is the best safeguard of virginity." ' "

Explanation of Links, part the 6th, Ann Coulter

http://www.anncoulter.org/

This links to Ann Coulter's website. A well-known conservative columnist and author, Miss Coulter is often a bit over-the-top in her pejorative depictions of big-L Liberals and big-D Democrats.

But that doesn't mean she's always wrong.

Protest Note

The fifth short story in Laumer's "Retief: Diplomat At Arms" is "Protest Note" (published as "The Desert and the Stars"), November 1962, copyright (c) 1962 by Digest Productions Corp.

"Under-Secretary Sternwheeler's classic approach to the problem Aga Kagan aggression at Flamme testified to the efficacy of tried diplomatic procedures backed by the profound prestige of the Corps . . . ."

Here we see Amb. Sternwheeler again.

"'I seem to recall seeing a despatch or two on the subject,' Deputy Under-Secretary Magnan put in."

Can't have a Retief story without Magnan, although there is at least one. Now he's a Dep. U/S.

"The Under-Secretary turned a liverish eye on Retief. 'As Minister to Flamme, you should know that the function of a diplomatic representative is to . . . what shall I say . . . ?'"

Not only has Magnan moved up, but now Retief's holding ministerial rank.

"Retief rose, pulled on the powder blue cloak and black velvet gauntlets of a Career Minister."

They just don't dress them like they used to (in the future).

Good news: in our next installment, we learn Retief's first name!

Bush approves tough new plan to battle spies

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050329-122718-4547r.htm

Bush approves tough new plan to battle spies
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Nearly 80 Americans have been caught spying since 1985, and the Bush administration has launched a more aggressive anti-spying effort to better combat foreign intelligence activities, according to a new strategy report made public yesterday.

Back to basics, and about time too.

The National Counterintelligence Strategy was approved March 1 by President Bush, marking the first time that the U.S. government has sought to formulate a comprehensive counterspy program, said Michelle Van Cleave, head of the office of the national counterintelligence executive, a White House-level intelligence post.

This is a good first step.

The strategy calls for "specific counterintelligence policies for attacking foreign intelligence services systematically via strategic counterintelligence operations," stated the report, which was released yesterday.

Again, about time; a unified, or at least coordinated approach would be helpful, but will take a heap of doing.

The new strategy "will require substantial changes in the conduct of U.S. counterintelligence," Miss Van Cleave said.

Too true, for example, the FBI will need to have agents who can wrap their brains around intelligence and counter-intelligence outside of the law enforcement context.

"These changes include a renewed intelligence focus on hostile services and intelligence capabilities, including those of terrorist groups, and proactive efforts to defeat them," she said.

Yes. Renew that focus. Please.

The strategy will call for the FBI, CIA and other intelligence components to "identify, assess, neutralize and exploit foreign intelligence activities before they can do harm to the United States."

Again, this is a textbook counterintelligence mission statement. Regretably it's needed, but fortunately it's being reiterated at a very high level.

The 22-page report said the Americans arrested for passing classified data to foreign governments caused strategic damage that, in a time of war, could have been worse.

The spies included the 1980s spy ring headed by John A. Walker Jr., which supplied U.S. military code secrets to Moscow for more than 17 years; the Army spy ring led by Sgt. Clyde Lee Conrad that passed NATO secrets to the Soviet Union for more than 18 years; and espionage by CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who sold secrets to Moscow for more than nine years.

Other damaging spy cases in recent years include the case of FBI Agent Robert Hanssen, who gave Russia vital intelligence secrets for more than 21 years, and the case of Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Ana Montes, who spied for Cuba for more than 15 years until her arrest in 2001.

The report stated that the spy cases "reveal a systemic vulnerability" and lack of a "comprehensive focus" on protecting U.S. secrets.

This is called "speaking truth to power." Nice to see it's not gone out of fashion.

U.S. counterintelligence "must be transformed into a more coordinated, communitywide effort to help neutralize penetrations of our government," the report said. In addition to protecting secrets, the new strategy aims to protect U.S. technology from theft by adversaries.

The biggest possible draw-back for this approach is the same as has been identified for the National Intelligence Director; to wit, adding an additional layer of bureaucracy over an already over-bureaucratized intelligence system. The fundamental difference would be that the the Director, CIA, was already supposed to be the Director of Central Intelligence, and fulfilling this role. There's really never been a central coordination of counterintelligence activities above the agency or service level. So long as it doesn't lead to a strangling or stifling of the individual service CI missions by taking too much of a big-picture strategy, this should be an improvement.

"Today, more than 90 countries target sensitive U.S. technologies," the report said, noting that in addition to secret operations, foreign governments use businessmen, scientists and foreign students to steal trade secrets and other high technology.

The new strategy calls for replacing the current counterintelligence system, which is fragmented, lacks centralized leadership and focuses too much on individual spy cases, the report said.

In addition to policies aimed at attacking foreign spies, the new system will have an array of human, technical and computer counterintelligence activities.

Taking a purely parochial view of this, hopefully it won't lead to the further emasculation of Army CI activities. The overbearing influence of the CIA has done quite enough of that already.

First Medal of Honor flag to be presented

http://www4.army.mil/news/article.php?story=7085

First Medal of Honor flag to be presented
By Eric W Cramer
March 29, 2005
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 29, 2005) -- When Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith’s family receives his Medal of Honor, they will receive a new item that will be given to all future recipients of the medal – a Medal of Honor flag.

The flag consists of a field of blue, with 13 stars arranged in the same formation that the stars appear on the Medal of Honor ribbon. It is fringed with gold.

This is a very classy design.

The design was the brainchild of Sarah LeClerc of the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry. A panel of eight members made of representatives from each Service (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard), one Office of Secretary Defense staff, one historian and one representative from the Medal of Honor Society was formed to review and evaluate all designs submitted and make a final recommendation to the Principal Deputy to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

“Several of us in the Creative Section worked on the design,” LeClerc said. “I wanted to the simplicity of the 13 stars on a blue field.”

LeClerc said her initial design also contained a canton, similar to the canton containing the stars on the U.S. national flag. On her original design, the canton of red and white stripes, contained the word “valor” as it appears on the Medal of Honor. The committee asked if the canton could be removed.

“They felt the design was better without the canton. We said that as it is an Army design, we can change it however you want, and so we removed it,” said Pam Madigan an industrial specialist with the Institute of Heraldry.

A law created in October 2002, called for the creation of the flag, and the institute solicited designs via an announcement in the Federal Registry, Madigan said.

“It didn’t take long for the committee to make a selection. The meeting only lasted four hours, and they asked me if we could remove the canton. They decided to go with Sarah’s ribbon design, with gold fringe,” Madigan said.For more information on Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith and his Medal of Honor, see http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/

Explanation of Links, part the 5th, And Another Thing

And Another Thing! is the weblog of one of The Pyrates Royale, a perennial favorate act at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

http://www.pyrates.com/

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List, Sublist 4, for Senior Leaders above Brigade Leval

Sublist 4 For Senior Leaders above Brigade Level :

Thinking in Time / Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest MayHistory is an invaluable tool for decision makers; but if used without careful consideration, it can blind the unwary with false analogies. This classic book offers senior leaders invaluable suggestions on how to use and avoid misusing the valuable experience that history can provide.

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order / Samuel HuntingtonA prescient and controversial analysis of post–Cold War world challenges that sees the poverty and religious extremism of the Third World as the next great threat to world order. In this incisive work, the renowned political scientist explains how “civilizations” have replaced nations and ideologies as the driving force in global politics today. While not all will agree with the author’s main thesis, one cannot afford to ignore this important and persuasive book.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization / Thomas FriedmanThomas Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairs columnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with engaging stories that illustrate his central theme: that globalization, the Lexus, is the central organizing principle of the post–Cold War world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding on to what has traditionally mattered to them—the olive tree. An important primer on the modern world for all leaders.

War in European History / Michael HowardIn this slim but important volume, one of England’s most distinguished historians brilliantly summarizes the evolution of warfare in Europe from the Roman Empire to the nuclear age. For the American senior leader, Howard’s book offers an excellent and thought-provoking introduction to the broader history of the profession of arms and the role that war has played in the evolution of Western civilization.

Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age / Edited by Peter ParetA wonderful anthology on the evolution of strategic thought. Moving from Machiavelli to the present in twenty-eight insightful essays, the authors examine such topics as the role of doctrine, the genius of Napoleon, the limits of air power, and nuclear strategy. A primer for all senior leaders who must think strategically on a variety of issues.

The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States, and War / Edited by Williamson Murray, MacGregor Knox, and Alvin BersteinSome of the most respected scholars in the field of strategic studies examine the formulation of strategy in all its complexity. Senior leaders will find useful insight into the cultural, social, political, and organizational dimensions of strategic decisions as explored in specific cases ranging from the Peloponnesian Wars of the fifth century BCE to the formulation of twentieth-century U.S. nuclear policy. The seventeen cases display continuities in the principles of strategic thinking and break this 700-page volume into conveniently sized individual readings.

The Peloponnesian War / Donald KaganSenior leaders will want to read this valuable account of coalition warfare on land and sea in Ancient Greece. This book focuses on the strategic planning of Athens and Sparta, their shifting alliances, and the impact that individual leadership and civil-military relations had on the implementation of those plans. The lessons of this great war between two powerful city-states in the ancient world are still valid after twenty-four centuries: economic strength does not guarantee victory, nor does military might ensure the ability to make peace.

Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam / H. R. McMasterIn this important book, the author argues persuasively that President Johnson wanted to fight the war on poverty, not the war in Vietnam, and that he made decisions he believed would allow him to do both. This was a recipe for disaster, which the Joint Chiefs of Staff exacerbated by failing to provide the president with their best advice. Dereliction of Duty is a cautionary tale about how the military and its civilian leadership failed at the highest levels.

Victory on the Potomac / James R. Locher IIIVictory on the Potomac is a fascinating story of how Congress forced the Pentagon to undergo major reform in the mid-1980s. Locher, who was a major participant in the process, tells the inside story of the Goldwater-Nichols reforms of 1986 that set the stage for increased jointness in the services. This is an excellent primer on the creation of public policy and the interface between the Pentagon and Congress.
The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300–2050 / Edited by MacGregor Knox and Williamson MurrayThe editors provide a conceptual framework and historical context for understanding the patterns of change, innovation, and adaptation that have marked war in the Western world since the fourteenth century. Case studies and a conceptual overview offer to all senior leaders an indispensable introduction to military change.

The Challenge of Change: Military Institutions and New Realities, 1918–1941 / Edited by Harold R. Winton and David R. MetsThe Challenge of Change examines how military institutions attempted to meet the demands of the new strategic, political, and technological realities of the turbulent era between the First and Second World Wars. The contributors chose France, Germany, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States as focus countries because their military institutions endeavored to develop both the material capacity and the conceptual framework for the conduct of modern industrialized warfare on a continental scale.

Transformation under Fire: Revolutionizing How America Fights / Douglas A. MacgregorBuilding on the success of his first work, Breaking the Phalanx, the author lays out a blueprint for revolutionary change in how America’s Army is organized and fights. Macgregor argues that America needs a radically different military force to fight the global joint expeditionary warfare required by the Global War on Terrorism. This book is an interesting, if controversial, prescription that has many followers in today’s Army. Transformation under Fire is important reading for senior Army leaders, providing a starting point for any discussion on transformation.

http://www.army.mil/cmh/reference/CSAList/list4.htm

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List, Sublist 3, for Field-Grade Officers, CW4-CW5, and Senior NCOs

Sublist 3For Field-Grade Officers, CW4-CW5, and Senior NCOs :

National Security Strategy of the United States of America / Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf

National Strategy for Combating Terrorism / Available athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/counter_terrorism/counter_terrorism_strategy.pdf

Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror / Rohan GunaratnaBased on over five years of research, Inside al Qaeda provides the definitive story behind the rise of this small, mysterious group to the notorious organization making headlines today. An essential read for senior officers and NCOs in this Global War on Terrorism.

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era / James McPhersonProfessor McPherson has written a brilliant account of the American Civil War—the war that made the country what it is today. He discusses the causes of the war, the military operations, the soldiers, the leaders, and the political, economic, and social aspects of life in the Union and the Confederacy before and during the war in clear, incisive detail. Numerous historians have pronounced it the best one-volume book on the Civil War ever written. It is an essential book for senior officers and NCOs to understand this important conflict.

Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton / Martin Van CreveldSurveying four centuries of military history, noted historian Martin Van Creveld points out clearly the reasons why “amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.” Most battlefield results would not have been possible without the careful organization and allocation of logistical resources. Field-grade officers, warrant officers, and senior NCOs who fail to consider logistics in all their plans and operations will do so at their peril.

George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century / Mark A. StolerGeneral George C. Marshall played a pivotal role in American history between 1939 and 1951. In this fascinating work, Mark Stoler integrates an extensive variety of primary and secondary sources, including Marshall’s private papers, in the story of the frustrations and successes of Marshall’s attempts to forge a workable military policy in World War II consistent with the basic principles of American democracy. Marshall, best remembered for the Marshall Plan, is made comprehensible as a strategist at the center of the most destructive conflict in world history.

The General’s War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf / Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. TrainorDrawing on interviews with senior officials, Gordon and Trainor provide a behind-the-scenes look at the highest levels of military decision making that determined the outcome of the first Gulf War. An excellent primer for all senior leaders about the importance of personality in politics and war.

On Becoming a Leader / Warren BennisManagement expert Warren Bennis shows how individuals develop leadership traits and how organizations encourage or stifle potential leaders. He profiles dynamic figures from diverse business arenas to demonstrate how all leaders share distinctive characteristics. This provocative examination will encourage all aspiring leaders to take risks, embrace change, and transform their visions into reality.

The Art of War / Sun Tzu, Translated by Samuel GriffithWritten in China over two thousand years ago, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War provides the first known attempt to formulate a rational basis for the planning and conduct of military operations. These wise, aphoristic essays contain timeless principles acted upon by such twentieth-century Chinese generals as Mao Tse Tung.

On War / Carl von Clausewitz, Edited and Translated by Michael Howard and Peter ParetThis edition of On War, the third English version published, is easily the best. In this indexed edition, Howard and Paret have taken care to provide an accurate translation from the original 1832 version. On War represents one of the greatest works on military thought and strategy ever written and contains ideas and concepts that apply at either the operational or the national level. Clausewitz remains essential reading for all senior leaders.

Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought, 3rd Edition / Michael I. HandelMasters of War is a comparative analysis of the classical works on war and strategic thought by Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Jomini, and Machiavelli. The book illuminates the many similarities between the works of these authors and highlights the continuity in the logic of war through the ages. As such, it is a valuable compendium of military thought that all senior officers and NCOs should read.

The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations / Samuel HuntingtonBlending the disciplines of history, sociology, and political science, Huntington’s study is required reading for the Army officer. The author develops a theoretical framework with which to analyze civil- military relations. Particularly noteworthy in this study is the preliminary discussion, “Officership as a Profession.” The arguments that Huntington has set forth in this section have colored the American military’s self-perception for an entire generation.

The Future of the Army Profession / Don Snider and Gayle Watkins, Project DirectorsWho are the future members of the Army profession, and how is their competence to be certified to their client, the American people? This is a contemporary analysis of the Army profession, its knowledge and expertise, with conclusions and policy recommendations. This book is important reading for all senior officers and NCOs who care about their Army.

http://www.army.mil/cmh/reference/CSAList/list3.htm

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List, Sublist 2, for Company-Grade Officers, WO1-CW3, and Company Cadre NCOs

Sublist 2For Company-Grade Officers, WO1-CW3, and Company Cadre NCOs

America’s First Battles: 1776–1965 / Edited by Charles E. Heller and William A. StofftThis highly useful book is a collection of essays by eleven prominent American military historians assessing the first battles of nine wars in which the U.S. Army has fought. Each essay is written within a similar framework, examining how the U.S. Army prepares during peacetime, mobilizes for war, fights its first battle, and subsequently adapts to the exigencies of the conflict. America’s First Battles shows clearly the price of unpreparedness.

Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant / Ulysses S. GrantA classic and honest study by one of America’s greatest generals. This memoir is one of the finest autobiographies of a military commander ever written. It has valuable insights into leadership and command that apply at all levels.

The Philippine War, 1899–1902 / Brian McAllister LinnProfessor Linn provides a definitive treatment of military operations in the Philippines from the early pitched battles to the final campaigns against the guerrillas. He offers a more thorough understanding of the entire war than did earlier works. Essential reading for all junior officers and NCOs trying to understand the complexities inherent in counterinsurgency operations.

The War To End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I / Edward M.CoffmanProfessor Coffman has written an excellent synthesis of the totality of the American military experience in World War I. The book’s principal attraction is Coffman’s use of unpublished diaries, memoirs, and personal interviews to focus on the impact of the conflict on the individual American doughboy as well as on America’s military leaders. The lessons from the “Great War” are still applicable today for all the Army’s junior and senior leaders.

An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942–1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy / Rick AtkinsonIn this first volume of Rick Atkinson’s highly anticipated Liberation Trilogy, he shows why no modern reader can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers in May 1945 without a solid understanding of the events that took place in North Africa during 1942 and 1943. Atkinson convincingly demonstrates that the first year of the Allied war effort was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great military power.

Company Commander / Charles B. MacDonaldThis is an autobiographical account of a young officer’s experiences as an American rifle company commander in France during the Second World War. Fresh from the States, MacDonald led Normandy veterans through the Battle of the Bulge and the invasion of Germany. This absorbing story about the development of leadership in combat is worthwhile reading for all company-grade officers and NCOs who are entrusted with the lives of American Soldiers.

East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 / Roy E. ApplemanEast of Chosin tells the harrowing story of the Army’s 31st Regimental Combat Team of the 7th Division under attack by waves of Chinese just east of the Chosin Reservoir in late 1950. Appleman explains why this unit suffered so badly at the hands of the Chinese and then historians, and he convincingly argues that the sacrifices of the 31st RCT contributed heavily to saving the more famous 1st Marine Division. As a story of men in combat, small-unit actions, and leadership, it has few equals and should be read by all Army leaders.

Leadership: The Warrior’s Art / Christopher KolendaThis wide-ranging anthology brings together noted military minds as they examine the crucial role of leadership in the crucible of combat and relate the lessons learned. They also attempt to apply these principles to the stressful world of business. The book covers both classic and modern concepts of leadership that will serve as an excellent introduction to the study of leadership for junior officers and NCOs.

American Soldiers: Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam / Peter S. KindsvatterKindsvatter, a former soldier himself, uses the letters, memoirs, and novels written by other soldiers, along with official reports and studies, to detail the experience of soldiers from entry into military service through ground combat and its aftermath. Thoughtful discussions of leadership, the physical and emotional stresses of the battlefield, and the various ways soldiers try to cope with these stresses make this a valuable book for all those preparing to lead American soldiers in ground combat.

The Challenge of Command: Reading for Military Excellence, Art of Command Series / Roger NyeAn insightful combat-arms officer, Colonel Nye has produced a one-of-a-kind tool for the professional officer who intends to master his profession. A handbook for mentors as well as junior officers, this work guides the reader through the major aspects of command: developing a professional vision and being a tactician, warrior, moral arbiter, strategist, and mentor. Each topic includes a thought-provoking essay based on interviews and personal reflection, as well as a sizable bibliography.

The New Face of War: How War Will Be Fought in the 21st Century / Bruce BerkowitzBruce Berkowitz offers a framework for understanding the new face of combat. As Western forces wage war against terrorists and their supporters, The New Face of War explains how we fight and what threats we face. He clearly lays out the four key dynamics to the new warfare: asymmetric threats, information-technology competition, the race of decision cycles, and network organization. The New Face of War is an important book for all new leaders.

http://www.army.mil/cmh/reference/CSAList/list2.htm

The U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List, Sublist 1: for Cadets, Soldiers, and Junior NCOs

Sublist 1: For Cadets, Soldiers, and Junior NCOs :

The Constitution of the United States / Available at http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
Centuries of Service: The U.S. Army 1775–2004 /

David W. Hogan, Jr. (CMH Pub. 70–71–1)An easy-to-read and informative pamphlet that describes the many missions the U.S. Army has performed over the course of its history. The booklet covers America’s wars as well as the Army’s many operations other than war, including occupation, peacekeeping, nation building, exploration, civil administration, scientific research, and disaster relief. This pamphlet is a valuable introduction to American military history for the Soldier and junior leader.

The Face of Battle / John KeeganOne of the classics of modern military history, The Face of Battle brings to life three major battles: Agincourt (1415), Waterloo (1815), and the First Battle of the Somme (1916). The author describes the sights, sounds, and smells of battle, providing a compelling look at what it means to be a Soldier.

For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America / Allan R. Millett and Peter MaslowskiThis useful, single-volume study covers the American military experience in peace and war from 1607 to 1975. Millett and Maslowski carefully examine the relationship of the military to American society and discuss in detail the military and its changing roles within political, social, and economic frameworks.

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest / Stephen E. AmbroseThis excellent account of an airborne rifle company at war is based on journals, letters, and interviews with the participants. The author follows one company from rigorous selection and training through battles in Normandy, Holland, Bastogne, and occupation duty in Germany. A classic small-unit study.

We Were Soldiers Once … and Young: Ia Drang—The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam / LTG (Ret.) Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. GallowayA gripping, firsthand account of the November 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang by the commander of 1/7 Cavalry. The Ia Drang was the first major combat test of the airmobile concept and the first battle between U.S. forces and the North Vietnamese Army.

If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer’s Riveting True Story / George WilsonGeorge Wilson was a young rifle platoon leader and then an infantry company commander during the costly fighting from Normandy to the German frontier in 1944. He tells his personal story of combat as an ordinary officer during extraordinary times, doing what was required to accomplish the mission and keep his men alive. An inspirational account useful to all junior leaders.

Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific / Eric M.BergerudThe land battles of the South Pacific fought between July 1942 and early 1944 on the Solomon Islands and on New Guinea were “a ferocious slugging match between light-infantry armies at extremely close quarters.” Written in a clear and engaging style and drawing upon many insightful interviews with veterans, Touched with Fire offers a vivid and fascinating look at small-unit combat in the South Pacific that will be of great interest to cadets, enlisted men, and junior officers.

Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944–1945 / Michael D. DoublerDuring World War II, the U.S. Army had to overcome many tactical problems, from the thick hedgerows of Normandy to the streets of German cities. Some of these challenges had been anticipated, others had not, but all required the American fighting man to adapt in order to survive. In this book, Michael Doubler explains how and why the U.S. Army was generally successful in overcoming these many challenges. Soldiers and junior leaders will benefit from his incisive study of the battlefield resourcefulness, flexibility, and determination of the American Soldier.

Patton: A Genius for War / Carlo D’EstePerhaps the most renowned and controversial American general of the twentieth century, George Patton (1885–1945) remains a subject of intense interest. The author provides new information from family archives and other sources to help us understand why the general is regarded as one of the great modern military leaders. Essential reading for all students of command in war.

In the Company of Heroes / Michael J. DurantBlack Hawk pilot Mike Durant was shot down and taken prisoner during military operations in the failed country of Somalia in 1993. Published in the tenth anniversary year of that conflict, this riveting personal account at last tells the world about Durant’s harrowing captivity and the heroic deeds of his comrades.

http://www.army.mil/cmh/reference/CSAList/list1.htm

FSO Suggested Periodical Reading

Periodical

Time, U.S. News and World Report, The Economist

A major daily newspaper such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, or the Boston Globe

FSO Suggested References

Reference:

The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Crews, F., The Random House Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.

Hennessy, M., The Random House Practice Book for Writers. New York: Random House, 1988.

Hirsch E.D., Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1993.

Strunk, W., Jr. and White, E.B., The Elements of Style. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1959. LCCCN 59-9950.

FSO Suggested Reading in Cross-cultural Communication

Cross-cultural Communication:

Bennett, M.J., ed. Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Selected Readings. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1998. ISBN 1877864625.

Dominick, J.R., The Dynamics of Mass Communication. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 007290478X.

Head, S.W., World Broadcasting Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN 0534047343.

Jankowski, G.F. and Fuchs, D.C., Television Today and Tomorrow. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0195074874.

Morrison, T., Conaway, W.A., and Borden, G.A., Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 1994. ISBN 1558504443(pbk).

Powers, R., The Newscasters. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977. ISBN 0312572077.
Samovar, L.A. and Porter R.E., eds., Intercultural Communication, 9th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1999. ISBN 0534562418.

Streitmatter, J.R., Mightier Than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. ISBN 0813332109.

Taylor, P.M., War and the Media: Propaganda and Persuasion in the Gulf War. Manchester, England; New York: Manchester University Press, 1992. ISBN 0719037530.

Trenholm, S. and Jensen, A., Interpersonal Communication, 4th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1999. ISBN 0534561519.

FSO Suggested Reading in Management (principles and methods, basic accounting and mathematics)

Management (principles and methods, basic accounting and mathematics):

Americans with Disabilities Handbook, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, 1991. ISBN 0160358477.

Barnett, R.A. and Ziegler, M.R., College Mathematics for Management, Life, and Social Sciences, 3rd ed. San Francisco: Dellen Pub. Co., 1984. ISBN 0895170582.

Belasco, J.A. and Stayer, R.C., Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead. New York: Warner Books, 1993. ISBN 0446517097.

Donnelly, J.H. Jr, Gibson, J.L., and Ivancevich, M., Fundamentals of Management, 10th ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0256232377.

Frame, J.D., Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1995. ISBN 0787901601.

Kanter, R.M., Frontiers of Management. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1997. ISBN 0875848028.

Karush, W., Webster's New World Dictionary of Mathematics. New York: Webster's New World: Distributed by Prentice-Hall Trade, 1989. ISBN 0131926675

Keedy, M.L., et al., Essential Mathematics, 6th ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992.
Mager, R.F., What Every Manager Should Know About Training. Belmont, CA: Lake Publishing, 1992. ISBN 1561033456.

Munter, M., Guide to Managerial Communication: Effective Business Writing and Speaking, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. ISBN 0132564475.

Noe, R., et al., Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin, 1994. ISBN 0256113491.

Robbins, S.P., The Administrative Process, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980. ISBN 0130073857.

Robbins, S.P., Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, and Applications, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998. ISBN 0138574596.

Sedmark, N.J. and Vidas, C., Primer on Equal Employment Opportunity, 6th ed. Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1994. ISBN 0871798425.

Twomey, D.P., Employment Discrimination Law: A Manager's Guide. Cincinnati: West Educational Pub., 1998. ISBN 0324000820.

Warren, C.S., et al., Accounting, 18th ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub., 1996. ISBN 0538839333

Weygandt, J.J., et al., Accounting Principles, 3rd ed. New York: Wiley, 1993. ISBN 0471570648.
Whetten, D.A. and Cameron, K. S., Developing Management Skills, 4th ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1998. ISBN 0321013085(pbk).

FSO Suggested Reading for World (social issues, religions, geography, history, political issues, economics)

World (social issues, religions, geography, history, political issues, economics)

Amstutz, M.R., International Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to World Politics, 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1999. ISBN 0697370143.

Ayers, R.L., Banking on the Poor: The World Bank and World Poverty. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993. ISBN 0262010704.

Barker, T., The Road to Camp David: U.S. Negotiating Strategy Towards the Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York: Peter Land Publishing, Inc., 1989. ISBN 0820404950.

Baumol, W.J., and Blinder, A.S. Economics: Principles and Policy, 4th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1989.

Benko, R.P., Protecting Intellectual Property Rights: Issues and Controversies. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1987. ISBN 0844736171.

Berry, B.J., et al., Economic Geography: Resource Use, Locational Choices, and Regional Specialization in the Global Economy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987.

Berry, B.J., Conkling, E.C., and Ray, D.M., The Global Economy in Transition, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997. ISBN 0135052645.

Biswas, A.K., Jellali, M., and Stout, G.E. Water for Sustainable Development in the Twenty First Century. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0195633024.

Bowker, J.W., ed., The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0192139657.

Briggs, A. and Clavin, P., Modern Europe: 1789-1989. London, New York: Longman, 1997. ISBN 0582494060.

Brower, D.R., World in the Twentieth Century: From Empires to Nations, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. ISBN 0130959170.

Brown, W. and Hogendorn., International Economics: Theory. Redding, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994.

Bruneau, T.C., The Church in Brazil: The Politics of Religion. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1982. ISBN 0292710712.

Campbell, R.W., Socialist Economies in Transition. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1991.

Combs, C.C., Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997. ISBN 0134907310.

Cordesman, H. and Hashim, A.S., Iraq: Sanctions and Beyond. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. ISBN 0813332354.

Craig, A.M., et al., The Heritage of World Civilizations, vol C, 3rd ed. New York: MacMillan, 1994.

Crenshaw, M., ed., Terrorism in Context. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995. ISBN 0271010142.

Crithchfield, H.J., General Climatology, 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983. ISBN 0133492176.

Curtis, G.E., ed., Yugoslavia: A Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1992. ISBN 0844407356.

Cushing R.G., et al., eds., The Challenge of NAFTA: North America, Australia, New Zealand, and the World Trade Regime. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs: Edward A. Clark Center for Australian Studies, 1993. ISBN 0899404278.

Dunlop, J.B., The Rise of Russia and the Fall of the Soviet Empire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0691001731.

Goldstein, J.S., International Relations, 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1999. ISBN 0321025520.
Goode's World Atlas, 18th ed. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1990.

Greaves, R.L. et al., Civilizations of the World: the Human Adventure, vols. 1 and 2, 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1997. ISBN 0673980014 (v. 1), 0673980022 (v. 2).

Hall, R.E. and Taylor, J.B., Macro Economics, 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. ISBN 0393968359.

Hopfe, L.M., Religions of the World, 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN 0136279287.

Howard, L. ed., Terrorism: Roots, Impact, and Responses. New York: Praeger, 1992. ISBN 0275940209.

Hunter, S., Central Asia Since Independence. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. ISBN 0275955389.
Jackson, J.H., Davey, W. J., and Sykes, A. O., Legal Problems of International Economic Relations, 3rd ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1995. ISBN 0314046887.

Jordon, T.G. and RowntreeGreaves, R.L. et al., Civilizations of the World: the Human Adventure, vols. 1 and 2, 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 1997. ISBN 0673980014 (v. 1), 0673980022 (v. 2).

Jackson, J.H., Davey, W. J., L., The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography, 5th ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.

Kaugman, P. and Obstfeld, M., International Economics, 3rd. ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1994

Kearl, J., Principles of Microeconomics. Lexington, MA: Heath, 1993.
Larson, T.B., Soviet-American Rivalry. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1981. ISBN 0393951456(pbk).

Lincoln, E.J., Japan's Unequal Trade. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1990. ISBN 0815752628.

Malcolm, N., Kosovo: A Short History. New York: New York University Press, 1998. ISBN 0814755984.

Martin, P.M. and O'Meara, P., eds., Africa, 3rd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. ISBN 0253329167.

Mayer, F.W., Interpreting NAFTA: The Science and Art of Political Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. ISBN 0231109806.

McCallum, B.T., International Monetary Economics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0195094948.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1997. ISBN 0877795460.

Murrell, G.D.G., Russia's Transition to Democracy: An Internal Political History, 1989-1996. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 1997. ISBN 1898723575.

Olson, R., ed., The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in the 1990s: Its Impact on Turkey and the Middle East. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 1996. ISBN 0813119995.

Oppenheim, P., Japan without Blinders: Coming to Terms with Japan's Economic Success. Tokyo, London, New York: Kodansha, 1992. ISBN 4770016824.

Oxford Atlas of the World, 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0195214641.

Reitsma, H.A. and Kleinpenning, J.M.G., The Third World in Perspective. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Allanheld, 1985. ISBN 0847674509.

Renouvin, P., et al., Introduction to the History of International Relations. New York: Praeger, 1977.

Rumer, B. and Zhukov, S., Central Asia: The Challenges of Independence. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1998. ISBN 0765602547.

Salvatore, D., Managerial Economics in a Global Economy, 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1996. ISBN 0070571155.

Skidmore, T.E. and Smith, P.H., Modern Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0195100166.

Smith, H., The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991. ISBN 0062507990.

Spencer, M., Contemporary Economics, 8th ed. New York: Worth, 1993.
Waggoner, P.E., ed., Climate Change and U.S. Water Resources. New York: Wiley, 1990. ISBN 0471618381.

Weeks, J.R., Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, 7th ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0534553052.

Wells, D.T., Environmental Policy: A Global Perspective for the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996. ISBN 0134002199(pbk).

Willis, F.R., World Civilizations, Vol. II, 2nd ed. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1986.
Yoder, A., The Evolution of the United Nations System, 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Francis, 1997. ISBN 1560325453. Salvatore, D., Managerial Economics in a Global Economy, 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1996. ISBN 0070571155.

Other suggested reading for FSO candidates

Other suggested reading for people preparing for the FS Written Exam:

Arnold, D.R., Congress and the Bureaucracy: A Theory of Influence. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980.

Auster, A. and Quart, L., How the War was Remembered: Hollywood and Vietnam. New York: Praeger, 1988. ISBN 0275923835.

Ballantine, B. and Ballantine, I., eds., The Native Americans. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, 1993. ISBN 1878685422.

Barone, M., Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan. New York: Free Press, 1990.

Beck, P.A., Party Politics in America, 8th ed. New York: Longman, 1997. ISBN 067399578X.

Boyer, P., et al., The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. 3rd ed. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1996. ISBN 0669415901.

Bradbury, M. and Temperley, H., eds., Introduction to American Studies, 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1989.

Branch, T., Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0671687425.

Burns, J.M., et al., Government by the People, 17th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998. ISBN 0132871785.

Carroll, P.N. and Noble, D.W., The Free and the Unfree: A New History of the United States. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1988. ISBN 0140228276(pbk).

Cheney, T.D., Who Makes the Law: The Supreme Court, Congress, the States and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 1998. ISBN 0134930819.

Clarfield, G.H., United States Diplomatic History: The Age Of Ascendancy, Vol. II, Since 1900. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1992. ISBN 01302932X.

Cummings Jr., M.C. and Wise D., Democracy under Pressure: An Introduction to the American Political System, 8th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Pub., 1997. ISBN 0155031953.

Davidson, J.W., et al., Nation of Nations, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0070157944.

Davis, S., ed., American Political Thought: Four Hundred Years of Ideas and Ideologies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996. ISBN 0132806290.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. New York: Bantam Books, 1998. ISBN 0553214829 (pbk).

Destler, I.M., American Trade Politics: System Under Stress, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1992.

Espiritu, Y.L., Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub., 1997. ISBN 0803972555(pbk).

Faragher, J.M., et al. Out of Many: A History of the American People, 3rd ed. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. ISBN 0139497609.

Feagin, J.R., and Feagin, C.B. Racial and Ethnic Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. ISBN 0136747221.

Fossum R.H., and Roth, J.K., eds. American Ground: Vistas, Visions, and Revisions — A Reader in American Studies. New York: Paragon House, 1988.

Garraty, J., The American Nation: A History of the United States, 9th ed. New York: Longman, 1998. ISBN 0321012968.

Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T.J., and Weir, M., We the People: An Introduction to American Politics, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1999. ISBN 0393973182 (pbk).

Githens, M., Norris, P., Lovenduski, J., eds., Different Roles, Different Voices: Women and
Politics in the United States and Europe. New York: Harper Collins College, 1994. ISBN 0065013069.

Harley, S., Timetables of African-American History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0671795244.

Hirsch, E.D., et al., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. ISBN 039543095X.

Howard, A. E. D., ed., The United States Constitution: Roots, Rights, and Responsibilities. Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992. ISBN 1560981202.

Janda, K., Berry, J.M., and Goldman, J., The Challenge of Democracy: Government in America, 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. ISBN 0395907357.

Kitano, H.H.L. and Daniels, R., Asian Americans: Emerging Minorities, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1995. ISBN 013315859.

Kluger, R., Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality. New York: Vintage Books, 1977. ISBN 0394722558.

Kraft, V.M., The U.S. Constitution and Foreign Policy: Terminating the Taiwan Treaty. New York: Greenwood, 1991. ISBN 0313275319.

Krasner, M.A., Chaberski, S.G., and Jones, K., American Government: Structure and Process. New York: Macmillan, 1977. ISBN 0023662506.

Lemann, N., The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1991. ISBN 0394560043.

Levine, E.L., and Cornwell, E. E., Jr., An Introduction to American Government, 5th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1983. ISBN 0023703407.

Lowi, T.J., and Ginsberg, B. American Government: Freedom and Power, 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993.

Mayhew, D., Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Tale University Press, 1974.

McConnell, C.R. and Brue, S.L., Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies, 14th ed. Boston: Irvin/McGraw-Hill, 1999. ISBN 0070470944.

McCormick, J., American Foreign Policy and Process, 2nd ed. Itasca, IL: Peacock Publishers, 1992.

McPherson, J., The Abolitionist Legacy: From Reconstruction to the NAACP, 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. ISBN 069110039X.

Morison, S.E., Oxford, History of the American People, vols. 1, 2 & 3. New York: Meridan, 1994. ISBN 0452011302 (v. 1), 0452011310 (v. 2), 0452011329 (v. 3).

Moss, G.D., America in the Twentieth Century, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998. ISBN 0130833703.

Murphy, W.F., and Danielson, M.N., American Democracy. 9th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1979. ISBN 0030459311.

Norton, M.B., et. al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Paarlberg, D., Analysis and History of Inflation. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1993. ISBN 0275944166.

Rosati, J., The Politics of United States Foreign Policy. Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1993.

Ross, R., American National Government: Institutions, Policy, and Participation, 3rd ed. Guilford, CT: Dushkin Pub., 1993. ISBN 1561342238.

Rushefsky, M., Public Policy in the United States: Toward the Twenty-First Century. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990.

Salvatore, D., ed., National Economic Policies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. ISBN 0313265917.

Samuelson, P.A. and Nordhaus, W.D., Economics, 16th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0070579474.

Sowell, T., Ethnic America: A History. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Takaki, R., A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1993. ISBN 0316831123.

Tyack, D.B., The One Best System: A History of American Urban Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974. ISBN 0674637801.

Walsh, J., ed., The Gulf War Did Not Happen: Politics, Culture, and Warfare Post-Vietnam. Brookfield, VT: Arena, 1995. ISBN 1857422929.

Woloch, N., Women and the American Experience, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994. ISBN 0070715416.

Young, M.B., The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 0060165537.

Zieger, R.H., American Workers, American Unions, 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. ISBN 0801849438.