Thursday, February 28, 2008

Just to cross the 1000 post threshold

Jewish World Review has begun positing articles from Strategic Forecasting, Inc. or Stratfor.

The last two paragraphs from todays article on "The Good War":

As the situation in Iraq settles down — and it appears to be doing so — more focus will be drawn to Afghanistan, the war that even opponents of Iraq have acknowledged as appropriate and important. But it is important to understand what this war consists of: It is a holding action against an enemy that cannot be defeated (absent greater force than is available) with open lines of supply into a country allied with the United States. It is a holding action waiting for certain knowledge of the status of al Qaeda, knowledge that likely will not come. Afghanistan is a war without exit and a war without victory. The politics are impenetrable, and it is even difficult to figure out whether allies like Pakistan are intending to help or are capable of helping.

Thus, while it may be a better war than Iraq in some sense, it is not a war that can be won or even ended. It just goes on.

I've met one of their forecasters, and ex-CIA guy. Who'd of thought they'd be headquartered right here in Austin.

From their "about us" at the site:

Stratfor provides published intelligence and customized intelligence service for private individuals, global corporations, and divisions of the US and foreign governments around the world. Stratfor intelligence professionals routinely appear at conferences and as subject-matter experts in mainstream media. Stratfor was the subject of a cover-story article in Barron’s entitled The Shadow CIA.

Stratfor was founded by Dr. George Friedman in 1996. Stratfor is privately owned and has its headquarters in Austin, TX. Stratfor has a Washington, DC-area office and employees in geopolitically significant areas around the world.

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