zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — with regard to Mothana: the voice of sanity is not easily heard in the asylum ]
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Here’s most everything you need to know about the complexities of the Middle East, spelled out in two simple war games:

Sources:

McCain plays poker during Syria war hearing

Detail from Yemeni Politics — The Board Game

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The Yemen politics game was the work of 24 year old Ibrahim Mothana, who died this week. His moving NYT op-ed about his beloved Yemen in June last year told us:

Drone strikes are causing more and more Yemenis to hate America and join radical militants; they are not driven by ideology but rather by a sense of revenge and despair. Robert Grenier, the former head of the C.I.A.’s counterterrorism center, has warned that the American drone program in Yemen risks turning the country into a safe haven for Al Qaeda like the tribal areas of Pakistan — “the Arabian equivalent of Waziristan.”

Anti-Americanism is far less prevalent in Yemen than in Pakistan. But rather than winning the hearts and minds of Yemeni civilians, America is alienating them by killing their relatives and friends. Indeed, the drone program is leading to the Talibanization of vast tribal areas and the radicalization of people who could otherwise be America’s allies in the fight against terrorism in Yemen.

His written testimony for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights can be found in this Guardian post from Glenn Greenwald in May of this year.

Mothana had many admirers across the spectrum, as this tweet from Gregory Johnsen attests:

The only thing I've seen @joshuafoust and @ggreenwald agree on in a long time is how tragic the loss of Ibrahim Mothana is to us all.

— GregorydJohnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) September 6, 2013

We mourn his loss, and ask for peace.

[ by Charles Cameron — two books on war-gaming, and one highly unexpected tweet ]
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PAXsims: review of Hyde, The Wargaming Compendium http://t.co/xr1jBwtNY7 @battlegames

— Rex Brynen (@RexBrynen) August 25, 2013

and:

I've a weak background in mil history: unlike van Creveld, I've not seen "Gladiator Eroticus: The Warrior Lesbians" http://t.co/JYDllJlByw

— Rex Brynen (@RexBrynen) August 25, 2013

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Gladiator Eroticvs, at $43.50, appears to be a movie. Directed by John Bacchus.

At these prices, forget the movie — I think maybe I’ll read van Creveld, $27.99, and wait for Henry Hyde, $60.00, to go to paperback.

[ by Charles Cameron — not the world’s most illuminating game, but popular in some circles ]
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Add these two together, and you get “Zionists and Crusaders” — with a tragic chorus chanting, “told you so”..

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Sources:

Zach Novetsky

Thomas Hegghammer

[ by Charles Cameron — humor — it’s all Abu Muqawama’s fault, plus Dune ]
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Playwar has been around for ever, so it’s not surprising that Lego has joined the fray. I’m inclined to think — based on approximately zero evidence — that Andrew Exum started it with his Abu Muqawama masthead:

It’s a nice touch, that, but it has been around for a while and I’m pretty much used to it.

In the last few days, though, Lego and Jihad have cropped up twice in my news feeds:

First there was the Abbottabad compound (above), featured at the Chantilly, VA “Brick Fair:

And today there was a host of jihadists (above) — or latter-day Lawrences of Arabia? — atop the latest post from PaxSims.

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Child’s play?

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For desert warfare with a touch of spice and Mahdism, give me Dune…

[ by Charles Cameron — a wargame so different from chess and go… ]
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A modern version of Hnefatafl, via Sources and Methods

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As I noted in a comment at the time, I was deadly envious of Zen‘s recent post, The VA bows Before Mjolnir, but I feel a little better now that I can make my own post about Hnefatafl, which Kristan Wheaton recently characterized as The Ancient Viking Game Every Intelligence Professional Should Play.

Prof. Wheaton’s key findings:

• It is an asymmetric game.  As you can see from the board above, one side starts in the center and the other side surrounds it on all four sides.  One side outnumbers the other by about 2:1.  The sides even have different victory conditions (the player with the pieces in the center need to get the “King”, the large playing piece in the middle of the board, to one of the corners.  The other player is trying to capture the King).  It is not too hard to see a game such as this one incorporated into courses, classes or discussions of asymmetric warfare.
• It is a conflict simulation.  Most historians agree that there were relatively few large scale battles involving Vikings. Instead, most of the time, combat resulted from raiding activities.  Hnefatafl seems to reflect the worst case scenario for a Viking raider:  Cut off from your boats and outnumbered 2:1. 
• It provides a deep lesson in strategic thinking.  Lessons in both the strategy of the central position (hundred of years before Napoleon made it famous) and in the relative value of interior vs. exterior lines of communication are embedded in this game. 

I really, really like the asymmetry of this game — WTG, Norsepersons!