re: "Joint Chiefs of Staff Sweepstakes"

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway ("an online journal of politics and foreign affairs analysis") had some thoughts about who should fill this important post.

Money quote(s):

"Both (Petraeus and Stavridis) epitomize the scholar-warrior-diplomat that the military has been touting for a generation as the ideal type."

Subsequent to Mr. Joyner's insightful post, GEN Petraeus was offered, and accepted the directorship of the Central Intelligence Agency.

"The United States has been at war for most of the last two decades. That we launched an operation in Libya whilst still bogged down in two major wars and are ratcheting up rhetoric elsewhere in the region gives me little confidence that we’re about to change.

Further, while it’s certainly possible to be an outstanding strategic leader without having been in harm’s way, the fact of the matter is that the Army and Marine Corps have done the lion’s share of the fighting in these wars. It would be odd, indeed, to disqualify our ground force leaders for the chairmanship because they’ve been off fighting the country’s wars rather than thinking about the wars we might one day fight."

re: "Southern Command Chief Says: Iranian Influence, Terrorist Links, Threaten Latin American Security"

Eagle1 at EagleSpeaks ("The main focus of this blog is maritime security. Other matters may appear.") highlighted ADM Stavridis' recent remarks.

Money quote(s):

"ADM Stavridis is not alone in his concerns. Iran has been messing around with Nicaragua for some time."

JO - Our shared home is the Americas

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Observer

Our shared home is the Americas

James G STAVRIDIS

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Travelling throughout the Caribbean and Latin America for the last 20 months as Commander of US Southern Command, I've had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to experience all that this hemisphere has to offer.

Read the whole article here.