Today's Reading Assignment

..."Lessons From the General," an interview with Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, in today's New York Post. Nominated for his fourth star, Odierno recently returned from Iraq, where he served as day-to-day commander of military operations. In that role, General Odierno was responsible for implementing the surge strategy of his boss, General David Petraeus. The results of Odierno's work--and that of his troops--speak for themselves.

The general's conversation with Post columnist Ralph Peters was ride-ranging, but one particular comment caught our eye:

In the what's-new department, the Army's prospective vice chief is convinced that "We need to better understand the cyber-world piece. . . It's critical to our enemies." In that field and in our information operations, we still have to come to grips with everything from practical capabilities to laws.

It's not just about the enemy anymore. It's about the environment . . . the population, sectarian considerations, perceptions . . . or tribal politics, as in Iraq. What kind of government do you have to deal with, for example?"

As Peters indicate, General Odierno's next assignment will carry him back to the Pentagon, where he will serve as the Army's Vice Chief of Staff. After successive tours in Iraq, Odierno clearly understands the "cyber-world" piece. We hope he'll share that expertise with other military leaders--including those in blue--whose notions about "information warfare" and the blogosphere are decidedly dated.