Gentile’s Peeking Behind The Surge IO
I like Col. Gentile, because he shakes up the state of the COIN school of thought. He wants to continue the conversation, the dialectic engine, instead of letting it ossify and die. (Far too many seem to think “we got it.”)
Interesting quote:
And, after all was said and done, _On Point II_ concludes that across the board for the first eighteen months in Iraq, the American army (even without a formal doctrine in counterinsurgency and nation-building operations) quickly made the transition, and by the end of 2003 was conducting “best practices” in these types of operations.
This is not a conclusion that fits the standard narrative put forward by the matrix. But, as _On Point II_ makes clear, the U.S. Army actually adapted quickly and effectively to conditions in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.
Essentially, he wants to harness the lessons learned from that transition and institutionalize them. That’s critical to adapting the legacy system that is the U.S. military to a new future. Not sure how much traction he’s getting.
That is mostly a function of his recognition that the Surge was a successful information operation rather than some brilliant new approach.
This will be a tough pill to swallow, because it only recognizes Patraeus and his Jedis as simply good management and good sales. They reinforced positive feedback loops being generated farther down the hierarchy while amping it up in the public sphere.
Virtual Corporations!
It is one thing to talk about the “virtual corporation” and online commons as new organizational forms. It’s quite another to have those forms be legally recognized. Yet in a little-noticed law enacted in June 2008, the State of Vermont has formally conferred “legal personhood” on online communities that wish to form limited-liability partnerships.
The law was tucked into a bill called “Miscellaneous Tax Documents,” but the new virtual corporation law has enormous implications. It enables people to come together as virtual businesses, with dispersed partners who may live anywhere, and avoid the usual requirements that the company host in-person board meetings, maintain a physical office and file paper documents with the state.
This is exactly what we need: Simple governance that focuses on stacks that empower people to think, innovate, and create value.
Torture
I’m against it because it doesn’t work. Here’s a pretty good read on what does.
Mexican Gangs Kidnap Kidnapping Expert
NYT –
The consultant, Felix Batista, 55, was in Saltillo offering security seminars for area business owners when he was abducted by a group of armed men. He had arrived on Dec. 6 and had given his two seminars on Dec. 8 and 9, the local press reported. He had met with police officials on the morning of Dec. 10, local newspapers said.
Mr. Batista was frequently quoted by journalists writing about Mexico’s growing insecurity and offered frequent seminars to wealthy Mexicans who feared they were abduction targets.
Concentrate the wisdom and this kind of decapitation effort is a logical response. Distribute the wisdom, the knowledge, the information, and you can counter this. Unfortunately, that means taking an earnings hit – unless you enable a group of your own choosing. (Easily done via tech, but deep structural changes are required at most organizations to pull it off effectively.)