New York Times - Robert D. Kaplan on why Afghanistan is more than a manhunt, and how it does matter, for reasons that have not been fully fleshed out by policy makers or the military.

Virginian Pilot - The May fire aboard the carrier George Washington that injured 37 sailors, caused $70 million in damage and delayed the ship’s forward deployment to Japan was "entirely preventable," according to the Pacific Fleet commander in a final

The Times - Russia displayed its military strength in the Mediterranean yesterday after warships heading to Venezuela passed through the Strait of Gibraltar in the second deployment of Russian naval vessels in the waterway since the Cold War.

Associated Press - With a Russian frigate closing in and a half-dozen U.S. warships within shouting distance, the pirates holding a tanker off Somalia's coast might appear to have no other choice than to wave the white flag. But that's

Associated Press - High altitudes, dispersed battalions and restricted travel zones are among the serious challenges facing the Marines as it weighs the resources needed to perform its missions in Afghanistan where violence has escalated.

Daily Telegraph - The Royal Navy has mothballed almost half of its remaining fleet of destroyers as it desperately attempts to save money in the face of a plunging budget.

Daily Telegraph - Russia is to build eight nuclear submarines by 2015 as part of an ambitious plan to overhaul the country's ailing navy.

Defense Technology International - The heart of future joint aviation plans pivots on where the services go with electronic attack and other network centric attack. A relatively small $125 million contract to Northrop Grumman may signal the direction of the

Scripps Howard - Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that one of the main problems in counterterrorism today is that there are so many people and vehicles, and so much data and material, moving through globalization's myriad networks that it seems virtually

BBC - The US navy says it has deployed further vessels to surround a cargo ship loaded with 33 tanks and hijacked by pirates off Somalia last week.

Defense Technology International - Contractor sea trials of the first of the British Royal Navy’s Type 45 air defense destroyers HMS Daring - have now been concluded, with the type to be accepted by the service in December for further

BBC - A US Navy destroyer has made visual contact with a Ukrainian ship which was seized by pirates last week and is now moored off the Somali coast.

Armed Forces Journal - Critical US Navy anti-submarine warfare skills that have been allowed to atrophy must be restored

New Yorker - A decorated marine’s war within. Another look at post traumatic stress disorder.

World Politics Review - Urs Gehriger of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche recently spoke with Nagl about the success of Gen. David Petraeus' counterinsurgency tactics in Iraq, and what needs to be done to successfully implement them in Afghanistan.

Associated Press - The nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived Thursday at its new home port just south of Tokyo, welcomed by a mix of cheering crowds and protesters.

CNN - Security forces aboard the oiler USNS John Lenthall fired warning shots toward two approaching small boats off the Somali coast Tuesday.

Army Times - The incoming head of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. David Petraeus, plans to form a team of under 100 experts to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic assessment of CentCom’s area of responsibility. Petraeus tapped Col. (P) H.R. McMaster

The Atlantic - Iraq-style counterinsurgency is fast becoming the U.S. Army’s organizing principle. Is our military preparing to fight the next war, or the last one?

Virginian Pilot - The USS Nassau helps clean up Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Ike.