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Full-Text Articles in History

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii May 2024

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2024 issue of Parameters. We open this issue with a special “In Memoriam” by General Charles A. Flynn, Commander US Army Pacific, honoring the life and legacies of our director and consummate colleague, Carol V. Evans. We dedicate this issue to her. General Flynn’s memoriam is followed by an In Focus commentary on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. We then feature three forums covering the Russia-Ukraine War, the Middle East, and Professional Development. This issue also contains special essays on the role of professional writing, the US Army War College’s Civil-Military Relations Center, …


Pillage As The Political Economy Of The Kurdish Anfal Genocide, Kaziwa Salih Apr 2023

Pillage As The Political Economy Of The Kurdish Anfal Genocide, Kaziwa Salih

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Scholars are critical of how economists overlook “the questions of genocide,” and of how legislatures have not paid adequate attention to the subject of looting, except in the case of the Armenian genocide. This article, informed by interdisciplinary perspectives, uses government documents, data, and semi-structured interviews to discuss the overlooked triangle of looting, economics, and the Anfal genocide of the Kurds in Iraq. The study refuses to limit itself only to the eight stages of the Anfal genocide that started in 1988, and instead offers data on its preliminary phases which occurred earlier in the 1980s. It then discusses the …


Parameters Autumn 2022, Usawc Press Aug 2022

Parameters Autumn 2022, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Why America’S Army Can’T Win America’S Wars, John A. Nagl Aug 2022

Why America’S Army Can’T Win America’S Wars, John A. Nagl

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Since achieving victory in World War II, the United States military has a less than enviable combat record in irregular warfare. Through a detailed historical analysis, this article provides perspective on where past decisions and doctrines have led to defeat and where they may have succeeded if given more time or executed differently. In doing so, it provides lessons for future Army engagements and argues that until America becomes proficient in irregular warfare, our enemies will continue to fight us at the lower levels of the spectrum of conflict, where they have a good chance of exhausting our will to …


From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii Aug 2022

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


The Grand Strategy Of Gertrude Bell: From The Arab Bureau To The Creation Of Iraq, Heather S. Gregg Jul 2022

The Grand Strategy Of Gertrude Bell: From The Arab Bureau To The Creation Of Iraq, Heather S. Gregg

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into how Great Britain devised its military strategy in the Middle East during World War I—particularly, Britain’s efforts to work through saboteurs and secret societies to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the war and the country’s attempts to stabilize …


Nationalist Theory And Politicization Of Archaeological Resources: Manifestations In Iraq, Andrew Vang-Roberts Nov 2021

Nationalist Theory And Politicization Of Archaeological Resources: Manifestations In Iraq, Andrew Vang-Roberts

Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

Archaeological resources have been used by political regimes to further their own interests across time and space for many decades since the discipline was established as a profession in the late 19th century. Regime-backed 20th century dictators like Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak understood that whoever controls a nation’s archeological resources controls the nation’s memory. By controlling collective memory, a regime can assert control over its people. Archeological resources can be used to validate a regime’s control over physical space as well. Educating a population about its archeological past can …


Coin Doctrine Is Wrong, M. Chris Mason May 2021

Coin Doctrine Is Wrong, M. Chris Mason

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Counterinsurgency does not increase the legitimacy of, or support for, central governments engaged in internal conflicts. Recent research shows quantifiable degrees of government legitimacy, national identity, and population security are necessary precursors and accurate predictors of a government’s ability to outlast a civil uprising. Because the first two predictors—government legitimacy and national identity—can be measured and do not increase during a conflict, the probability of government failure in most cases can be accurately predicted when the conflict starts.


The 1918 Anti-British Revolt In Najaf: Local Primary Sources Vs National And Religious Narratives, Mohammed Harba Aug 2020

The 1918 Anti-British Revolt In Najaf: Local Primary Sources Vs National And Religious Narratives, Mohammed Harba

MSU Graduate Theses

This research examines the diverse historical narratives of the 1918 Najaf Revolt against British forces during the concluding months of World War I on the Mesopotamian front. For a century, two distinguishable narratives have been developed and promoted in Iraqi literature: Pan-Arabist and religious, reflecting the objectives, motivations, and present-mindedness of two political eras in modern Iraqi history. Several local primary sources, mostly memoirs of Najafis who witnessed or participated in the revolt, have been re-surfaced and re-visited during the past twenty years. These primary sources shed new light on the established Pan-Arabist narrative or the recent religious framing of …


Shock And Awe, Sectarianism, And Violence In Iraq Post-2003, Sarim Al-Rawi Jun 2020

Shock And Awe, Sectarianism, And Violence In Iraq Post-2003, Sarim Al-Rawi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The violence systematically deployed upon the prosperous nation of Iraq in 2003 was directly influenced by the Shock and Awe doctrine set forth by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade in their 1996 book Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance. The experimental methods of warfare and violence outlined in the text describe methods for the systematic destruction of every major aspect of a nation and society, militarily, economically, and socially. In the wake of the US Invasion of Iraq, we saw the direct implementation of these methods by the occupation forces, setting off a brutal cycle of violence that …


Analysis Of Nation-Building During Insurgency In U.S. Defense Policy Strategy, Joseph Valles Dec 2019

Analysis Of Nation-Building During Insurgency In U.S. Defense Policy Strategy, Joseph Valles

MSU Graduate Theses

U.S. defense policy has often relied on a strategy of nation-building to reform the local government and address the root causes of the instability in a given nation or region. This strategy has, in recent years, been criticized for being ineffective and a wasteful drain on American resources. This paper will determine if such criticism is valid by analyzing the performance of four security environments where such a strategy was used: Vietnam, El Salvador, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The paper will determine if such a strategy was effective in these conflicts by analyzing the progress of reforms and, when possible, the …


Educating Strategic Lieutenants At Sandhurst, An Jacobs Nov 2019

Educating Strategic Lieutenants At Sandhurst, An Jacobs

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines how well military education at the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst delivers lieutenants capable of coping with the complexities of their operational environment and the strategic implications of their decisions.


A War Of Frustration: Saddam Hussein’S Use Of Nerve Gas On Civilians At Halabja (1988) And The American Response, Christopher Huber May 2019

A War Of Frustration: Saddam Hussein’S Use Of Nerve Gas On Civilians At Halabja (1988) And The American Response, Christopher Huber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The large-scale use of chemical weapons in conflict dates to World War I, but international regulations kept its use in check until Saddam Hussein’s decision to implement it throughout the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. The consistent use of poison gas and repeated lack of international intervention allowed Saddam to murder thousands of Kurdish citizens in Halabja on March 16, 1988. This paper admits Saddam Hussein committed heinous acts of human rights violations and war crimes, but argues he was forced to make these horrific decisions by an unyielding adversary in the Ayatollah Khomeini, abandoned by an ineffective United Nations …


Mitigating Munitions: The Consequences Of Using Technology During Counterinsurgency Campaigns, Pake L. Davis May 2017

Mitigating Munitions: The Consequences Of Using Technology During Counterinsurgency Campaigns, Pake L. Davis

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

American counterinsurgency in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan relied on conventional warfare methods than counterinsurgency warfare methods. These methods proved detrimental to operational success and put members of the military at risk. To find this, I used after-action reports from Vietnam by the 1st Cavalry, 4th Infantry, and 25th Infantry Divisions. I used oral histories by the Veterans History Project and the Cantigny First Division Oral Histories to reveal their experiences while conducting these campaigns. The primary method began in Vietnam with Arc Light (B-52) strikes, artillery strikes, and napalm as preparatory strikes. American units then used search-and-destroy maneuvers to root …


Kissinger’S Strategy In The Iraqi Kurdish Rebellion Of 1972-75: False Start Or Foundation Of American-Kurdish Partnership?, Jonathan C. Esty Jan 2017

Kissinger’S Strategy In The Iraqi Kurdish Rebellion Of 1972-75: False Start Or Foundation Of American-Kurdish Partnership?, Jonathan C. Esty

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

No abstract provided.


Rising Tide In The Gulf: The First Gulf War And Its Impact Upon Chinese Strategy, Patrick Griffo May 2016

Rising Tide In The Gulf: The First Gulf War And Its Impact Upon Chinese Strategy, Patrick Griffo

Undergraduate Theses

Observing Chinese foreign policy means looking through a clouded lens. A foggy image can be made out, yet specific details are left undefined. The Chinese reaction to the 1990s First Gulf War is a case in point. The perspective is opaque, yet we can still gather an understanding of important changes in China’s policies. The author provides insights not only into China’s foreign and military policy but also on Chinese-Arab relations. In analyzing China’s reaction to the war, we can see it was indeed a transformative period for China’s strategy in the Arab world. China reacted to the Gulf War …


Making Sense Of "Long Wars" — Advice To The Us Army, Tami Davis Biddle Mar 2016

Making Sense Of "Long Wars" — Advice To The Us Army, Tami Davis Biddle

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


State-Building: America's Foreign Policy Challenge, Charles J. Sullivan Mar 2016

State-Building: America's Foreign Policy Challenge, Charles J. Sullivan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Nation-Building Is An Oxymoron, M. Chris Mason Mar 2016

Nation-Building Is An Oxymoron, M. Chris Mason

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


I Remember: Chicago Veterans Of War, Chris Green, Jim Fairhall Jan 2015

I Remember: Chicago Veterans Of War, Chris Green, Jim Fairhall

Big Shoulders Books

I Remember: Chicago Veterans of War weaves together the memories of fifty veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Throughout the book, each veteran speaks in a series of “I remember” statements labeled by a number, not a name. This anonymous structure foregrounds the similarities of all wars. The effect is of one veteran speaking of the shock and scale of every modern war. I Remember is available free in both digital and print format.


Defeating The Islamic State: Commentary On A Core Strategy, Huba Wass De Czege Dec 2014

Defeating The Islamic State: Commentary On A Core Strategy, Huba Wass De Czege

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Tales Of A Combat Advisor In Iraq, Jerry Kidrick Sep 2014

Tales Of A Combat Advisor In Iraq, Jerry Kidrick

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

In 2010, Army aviator Jerry Kidrick was mobilized from the Alaska National Guard to lead a team of Combat Advisors in Iraq. For 16 months in Basra, he advised the Iraqi Army on counter-insurgent actions. He also acted as liaison between the US State Dept.,CIA and US Commanders. He will discuss his experiences and how the Iraqi military assumed a greater counter-insurgent role under Operation New Dawn.


Towards A Regional Strategy Contra Isis, Ross Harrison Sep 2014

Towards A Regional Strategy Contra Isis, Ross Harrison

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Insights From The Army's Drawdowns, Jason W. Warren Jun 2014

Insights From The Army's Drawdowns, Jason W. Warren

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Rethinking Small-Footprint Interventions, Stephen Watts, Stephanie Pezard Mar 2014

Rethinking Small-Footprint Interventions, Stephen Watts, Stephanie Pezard

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Options For Avoiding Counterinsurgencies, David H. Ucko, Robert C. Egnell Mar 2014

Options For Avoiding Counterinsurgencies, David H. Ucko, Robert C. Egnell

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Taylor, Jerome W. (Sc 1161), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2013

Taylor, Jerome W. (Sc 1161), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Desert Storm letters (4) written by Jerome W. Taylor to his brother Joe W. Taylor of Alvaton, Kentucky. One letter gives an interesting description of a makeshift, open-air church built in the desert.


The Female Soldier, Anthony C. King Jun 2013

The Female Soldier, Anthony C. King

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Brithish National Strategy: Who Does It?, Hew Strachan Jun 2013

Brithish National Strategy: Who Does It?, Hew Strachan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.


Looking Back: Understanding Abu Ghraib, George R. Mastroianni Jun 2013

Looking Back: Understanding Abu Ghraib, George R. Mastroianni

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.