I found an interesting blog on International Aid that is hosted/written by Dr. William Easterly titled "Aid Watch". He's the author of the book “White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good”. There are a pair of posts on his blog that might be of particular interest to the SWJ Community; in one post titled "J'accuse: the US Army's Development Delusions" Dr. Easterly goes after FM 3-07 saying that "(m)ore in sorrow than in anger, I see the utopian social engineering craze might affect actions of people with guns. I am sad for Iraqis and Afghans that the U.S. Army is operating in their countries guided by such misguided ideas”. In a response to his critique, LTC Steve Leonard, from LTG Caldwell’s Commander’s Initiatives Group, argues that “the manual is not intended to serve as military solution to a much broader and more complex problem, but a guide for military leaders to better understand and execute their appropriate roles and responsibilities within the framework of national and international approaches to these operations”.

Dr. Easterly’ blog is a bit provocative, but I've found it interesting and the debate worth reading. Just thought I'd share in case it would interest anyone.