Best Iraq Briefing

From 1964 to 1968 I was employed by the Air Force as a briefing officer. Most of the time my job was to prepare a weekly or daily briefing (depending on the commander’s desire). The briefings were always illustrated with Vu-graphs, a visual aid on a cardboard framed graphic made of acetate. We had little machines that we could use to transfer photos, maps or verbiage to the acetate which was then taped to the frame. We inventoried thousands of Vu-graphs with photos of aircraft, antiaircraft artillery and missiles, various maps of the combat theater and target photos. A noncommissioned officer would provide assistance in preparing these materials on my instructions and would then attend the commander’s briefing. Most commander’s conference rooms had a small projection room where the NCO sat to place and remove the Vu-graphs on the projector. I thought I was a pretty good briefer, not for speaking skills, but for my ability to assemble cogent information.  Because Vietnam was our issue the briefing consisted of a rundown of events in Southeast Asia based on classified and open sources. Yes, I would use Time Magazine, the NY Times, etc. in addition to various classified information that came our way. We didn’t have that many sources. We received daily, weekly and monthly intelligence publications from Air Force Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA. And, there were newspapers and magazines. The generals, colonels and lieutenant colonels I briefed always seemed interested, as if this might be their primary source of  information about the war. I wonder what form these briefings take today and what sources of information are used. With the explosion of information on the internet, with the ability to be in touch with virtually every magazine and newspaper in the world, with the plethora of analysts available on the web, do high ranking officers really need a briefing? If I were giving one today, what would I include? There is so much information to select from. Iraq is a prime example. But, surprisingly, the web provides a daily Iraq briefing par excellence. I start my morning internet reading with Juan Cole http://www.juancole.com/, a University of Michigan professor, who speaks Arabic, has lived in the area, and has a better handle than most on what is going on.