My latest article @clearancejobs news https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/03/22/time-morale-and-will-the-trinity-of-warfare-and-peacebuilding/ A look at the role of 3 vital factors in warfare and peace building “You truly cannot replace time. It can work for you and work against you. You cannot control it, even though humankind created the concept of tracking it. Time tracks us. It is a force that… Read More Time, Morale, and Will: The Trinity of Warfare and Peacebuilding

Jason Criss Howk 23 February 2020 Why Pakistan must change its calculations about using Unconventional Warfare against Afghans. This is from an open forum briefing to an international audience. The Pakistani generals present during this briefing agreed with the assessment. I wrote about the outcomes of this discussion here. https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/02/22/a-regional-perspective-on-the-war-in-afghanistan/ Start briefing: Pakistan has had… Read More Briefing on Pakistan’s campaigns against Afghanistan and why they have failed repeatedly

Six Books from Past Decades to Help Navigate the 2020s Jason Criss Howk 1 January 2020 While awaiting the football games today I have pulled out 6 books from my shelves that I am going to re-read this year to help me think about how to focus on the next decade. These books impact different… Read More Six Books from Past Decades to Help Navigate the 2020s

Afghanistan War Update: 11 September 2019 Jason Criss Howk, U.S. Army (Retired) According to The Times reporters Tomlinson and Sahi, “The Taliban vowed to fight on “for a hundred years” after President Trump revealed he had cancelled a secret summit with militant leaders and the president of Afghanistan, scrapping months of peace talks on the… Read More Afghanistan War Update: 11 September 2019

Jason Criss Howk 4 June 2019 Afghan war update The American strategy since 2009 has been to force the Taliban to deal with the offer of peace talks as a major issue that continuously sucks the morale out of their junior leaders and low level fighters. It’s a multi generation strategy and is how almost… Read More Afghan War update 4 June 2019

Jason Criss Howk Folks if you’re only listening to the SIGAR you have no clue what’s happening in Afghanistan. They spend your tax dollars and valuable time looking at all the wrong metrics. Look at the Afghan press, Afghan citizen twitter, and Afghan government agencies and leaders for context and up to the moment updates.… Read More Afghanistan update 26 April 2019

#shortBookReviews The Koran in English, B.B. Lawrence By Jason Criss Howk 9 March 2019 These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the book and why you might want to read it.  All books selected for review are recommended reading…I’m not reviewing books just because they are new, but instead because… Read More #shortBookReviews The Koran in English, Lawrence

#shortBookReviews Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, A. Scott Berg By Jason Criss Howk 3 March 2019 These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the book and why you might want to read it.  All books selected for review are recommended reading…I’m not reviewing books just because they are new, but… Read More #shortBookReviews Max Perkins, Berg

#shortBookReviews Lead Yourself First, Kethledge and Erwin By Jason Criss Howk 24 February 2019 These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the book and why you might want to read it.  All books selected for review are recommended reading…I’m not reviewing books just because they are new, but instead because… Read More #shortBookReviews Lead Yourself First, Kethledge and Erwin

#shortBookReviews Task Force Black, Urban By Jason Criss Howk 21 February 2019 These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the book and why you might want to read it.  All books selected for review are recommended reading…I’m not reviewing books just because they are new, but instead because they are… Read More #shortBookReviews Task Force Black, Urban

 “I told those dedicated workers for peace and reconciliation that they should not be tempted to give up on their crucial work because of the frustrations of seemingly not making any significant progress, that in our experience nothing was wasted, for when the time was right it would all come together and, looking back, people… Read More Assessing Afghan Conflict Resolution

By Jason Criss Howk 17 February 2019 These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the book and why you might want to read it.  All books selected for review are recommended reading…I’m not reviewing books just because they are new, but instead because they are valuable. By-Line: Ernest Hemingway (Selected… Read More #shortBookReviews By-Line: Ernest Hemingway (Articles and Dispatches 1920-56), Ed. White

By Jason Criss Howk 16 February 2019 Dispatches from Pinehurst now offers #shortBookReviews for you.  These reviews will be concise and hopefully useful…no author critiquing, no opining on the shortcomings of the book, no literature reviews of similar books on the topic.  These reviews serve a simple purpose: to tell you what is in the… Read More #shortBookReviews The Hawk and The Dove, Thompson

By Jason Criss Howk 10 February 2019 Note: primary sources for this assessment of the ANDSF are the Dec 2018 DOD report Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, recent SIGAR reports, and discussions and surveys with members of the ANDSF.  Before giving this briefing at the CENTCOM Afghanistan Conflict Analysis Conference, I was able to… Read More Assessing the ANDSF: The Intangibles

7 February 2019 By Jason Criss Howk You have to read Afghan press to get the truth these days… I trust the insights of Generals Votel and Miller on Afghanistan war progress. They are two of the best officers our nation has ever produced and I have worked beside most of the generals you have… Read More Finish Afghanistan Wisely

The 2019 strategy is out now

Jason Criss Howk 12 Jan 2019 As we prepare for the next season of Game of Thrones we are reviewing the 7th season. Spoilers ahead… As we watched the story unfold we were struck by the similarities of warfare, policy making, and intelligence operations to today. This season centers partly around a young advisor/scholar/scientist from… Read More Can Your Intel Team Find the Dragon Glass?

Jason Criss Howk 28 December 2018 Book lovers and readers can start their new book wish list today. We’ve all started looking to 2019 and our resolution to read more…and you know what book hints were ignored when you unwrapped gifts this season. Just this print this out for your gift giving friends and family… Read More 12 Impactful Books You May Have Missed

By Jason Criss Howk 1 December 2018 One of our most qualified and capable presidents has joined in his wife and daughter in heaven. The final president we were gifted from the greatest generation is gone, but his mark remains on this human project and upon me and so many others who were lucky enough… Read More Saluting my First Commander in Chief

For those that have been working on Afghanistan closely, here is the next step in the long and bumpy peace process. One step closer to a final cease fire and a decades long reconciliation process. Download the pdf document here