Digital Commons Network^™

Old And New Insurgency Forms, Robert J. Bunker Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph creates a proposed insurgency typology divided into legacy, contemporary, and emergent and potential insurgency forms, and provides strategic implications for U.S. defense policy as they relate to each of these forms. The typology clusters, insurgency forms identified, and their starting dates are as follows, Legacy: Anarchist (1880s), Separatist—Internal and External (1920s), Maoist Peoples (1930s), and Urban Left (Late-1960s); Contemporary: Radical Islamist (1979), Liberal Democratic (1989), Criminal (Early 2000s), and Plutocratic (2008); and Emergent and Potential: Blood Cultist (Emergent), Chinese Authoritarianism (Potentials; Near to Midterm), and Cyborg and Spiritual Machine (Potentials; Long Term/Science Fiction-like). The most significant strategic implications …

Military Engagement And Forward Presence: Down But Not Out As Tools To Shape And Win, John R. Deni Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Military engagement and forward-based U.S. military forces offer decisionmakers effective and efficient mechanisms for maintaining American influence, deterring aggression, assuring allies, building tomorrow’s coalitions, managing the challenge of disorder in the security environment, mitigating the risk of a major interstate war, and facilitating U.S. and coalition operations should deterrence fail. Unfortunately, significant cuts to overseas permanent presence and continuing pockets of institutional bias against engagement as a force multiplier and readiness enhancer have combined to limit the leverage possible through these two policy tools. Instead, reliance on precision strike stand-off capabilities and a strategy of surging American military might from …

Parameters – Full Issue – Winter 2015, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Special Commentary: Rethinking America’s Grand Strategy by Hal Brands The Efficacy of Landpower by Michael Allen Hunzeker, Alexander Lanoszka, Joseph Roger Clark Professionalism and the Volunteer Military by Don M. Snider, Louis G. Yuengert Putin’s Way of War by Andrew Monaghan On Strategic Leadership by David H. Petraeus

Winter 2015 Index, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Will Army 2025 Be A Military Profession?, Don M. Snider

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Landpower And American Credibility, Michael Allen Hunzeker, Alexander Lanoszka

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

To Win Wars, Correct The Army's Political Blind Spot, Joseph Roger Clark

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

An Interview With David H.Petraeus, General (Usa Retired), Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Strategy And Grand Strategy: What Students And Practitioners Need To Know, Tami Davis Biddle Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

In this monograph, Dr. Tami Davis Biddle examines why it is so difficult to devise, implement, and sustain sound strategies and grand strategies. Her analysis begins with an examination of the meaning of the term “strategy” and a history of the ways that political actors have sought to employ strategies and grand strategies to achieve their desired political aims. She examines the reasons why the logic undergirding strategy is often lacking and why challenges of implementation (including bureaucratic politics, unforeseen events, civil-military tensions, and domestic pressures) complicate and undermine desired outcomes. This clear-headed critique, built on a broad base of …

From The Editor, Antulio J. Echevarria

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The 'War' In Russia's 'Hybrid Warfare', Andrew Monaghan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future, Henry D. Sokolski Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

With the world focused on the nuclear crisis in Iran, it is tempting to think that addressing this case, North Korea, and the problem of nuclear terrorism is all that matters and is what matters most. Perhaps, but if states become more willing to use their nuclear weapons to achieve military advantage, the problem of proliferation will become much more unwieldy. In this case, U.S. security will be hostage not just to North Korea, Iran, or terrorists, but to nuclear proliferation more generally, diplomatic miscalculations, and wars between a much larger number of possible players. This, in a nutshell, is …

The Human Terrain System: Operationally Relevant Social Science Research In Iraq And Afghanistan, Christopher Sims Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The Human Terrain System embedded civilians primarily in brigade combat teams (BCTs) in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2007 and 2014 to act as a collection and dispersal mechanism for sociocultural comprehension. Set against the backdrop of the program’s evolution, the experiences of these social scientists clarifies the U.S. Army’s decision to integrate social scientists at the tactical level in conflict. Based on interviews, program documents, material from Freedom of Information Act requests, and secondary sources, this book finds a series of limiting factors inhibiting social science research at the tactical level, common to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Complexity in integrating …

Autonomous Weapon Systems: A Brief Survey Of Developmental, Operational, Legal, And Ethical Issues, Jeffrey L. Caton

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

What does the Department of Defense hope to gain from the use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS)? This Letort Paper explores a diverse set of complex issues related to the developmental, operational, legal, and ethical aspects of AWS. It explores the recent history of the development and integration of autonomous and semi-autonomous systems into traditional military operations. It examines anticipated expansion of these roles in the near future as well as outlines international efforts to provide a context for the use of the systems by the United States. As these topics are well-documented in many sources, this Paper serves as …

Mastering The Gray Zone: Understanding A Changing Era Of Conflict, Michael J. Mazarr Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Discussions of an emerging practice of “gray zone” conflict have become increasingly common throughout the U.S. Army and the wider national security community, but the concept remains ill-defined and poorly understood. This monograph aims to contribute to the emerging dialogue about competition and rivalry in the gray zone by defining the term, comparing and contrasting it with related theories, and offering tentative hypotheses about this increasingly important form of state competition. The idea of operating gradually and somewhat covertly to remain below key thresholds of response is hardly new. Many approaches being used today—such as support for proxy forces and …

Lethal And Legal? The Ethics Of Drone Strikes, Shima D. Keene Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

While supporters claim that drone warfare is not only legal but ethical and wise, others have suggested that drones are prohibited weapons under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) because they cause, or have the effect of causing, indiscriminate killings of civilians, such as those in the vicinity of a targeted person. The main legal justification made by the Barack Obama Administration for the use of armed drones is self-defense. However, there is ambiguity as to whether this argument can justify a number of recent attacks by the United States. In order to determine the legality of armed drone strikes, other factors …

Enabling Others To Win In A Complex World: Maximizing Security Force Assistance Potential In The Regionally Aligned Brigade Combat Team, Liam P. Walsh Cpt (P)

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Beginning in 2013, the U.S. Army began an effort to “engage regionally and respond globally.” A central tenant of this strategy, building upon National strategic guidance, is the necessity to build partner capacity. Army units, through the regionally aligned forces concept, may find themselves conducting security force assistance (SFA) missions across the globe as a means to achieve these ways. However, after examining the Army’s SFA mission in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM from 2003-10, it becomes apparent that institutional and organizational shortcomings plagued the Army’s initial efforts in this critical aspect of the campaign. Many of these shortcomings remain in the …

Reforming U.S. Export Controls Reforms: Advancing U.S. Army Interests, Richard Weitz Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The U.S. defense export system needs further major reforms to reduce inefficiencies and weaknesses. Although the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) do help prevent potential foreign adversaries from using U.S. arms against the United States and its allies, the Regulations, as enforced, can weaken U.S. national security in other important ways. For example, by excessively impeding defense exports, the ITAR makes it more difficult for U.S. firms to sustain core U.S. defense technological and industrial advantages, decreases U.S. military interoperability with allies that purchase ITAR-free weapons from other sources, and generates other undesirable effects for the U.S. Army and …

From Assistance To Partnership: Morocco And Its Foreign Policy In West Africa, Mohammed El-Katiri Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph focuses on the geopolitical and economic drivers for the renewed Moroccan interest in West Africa and examines how Morocco is conducting its foreign and security policy in a variety of Western African countries. It highlights Morocco’s contribution to counterextremism in West Africa and Sahel regions through the provision of training to the imams and preachers of African Mosques. It concludes with recommendations on how Morocco could be supported by the U.S. defense community to mutual benefit, tackling some of the key security challenges that are facing these sub-regions of Africa. Given the common interest between the United States …

The New Arab Regional Order: Opportunities And Challenges For U.S. Policy, Gregory Aftandilian Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph examines the new Arab regional order that has emerged over the past few years and analyzes opportunities and challenges for U.S. strategic interests. The regional order encompasses: 1) an anti-Islamist grouping of countries that came about largely in reaction to Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt in 2012-2013; and, 2) an anti-Shia grouping which solidified in the aftermath of the Houthi takeover over much of Yemen, but which includes other areas of Sunni-Shia conflict in the region. Saudi Arabia is a leader in both orders and has important allies in them, like Egypt. Although the United States has extensive …

Training Humans For The Human Domain, Steve Tatham Dr., Keir Giles Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Experience from Afghanistan and Iraq has demonstrated the vital nature of understanding human terrain, with conclusions relevant far beyond counterinsurgency operations in the Islamic world. Any situation where adversary actions are described as “irrational” demonstrates a fundamental failure in understanding the human dimension of the conflict. It follows that where states and their leaders act in a manner which in the U.S. is perceived as irrational, this too betrays a lack of human knowledge. This monograph offers principles for operating in the human domain which can be extended to consideration of other actors which are adversarial to the United States, …

The Hour Of Truth: The Conflict In Ukraine–Implications For Europe’S Energy Security And The Lessons For The U.S. Army, Ariel Cohen Dr., Ivan Benovic Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, a number of gas disputes between Russia and Central and Eastern European countries have unveiled the strategic dependence of Europe on Russian piped gas. The recent Ukrainian crisis demonstrated that Europe has a desperate need to improve the security of its gas supply. The United States is interested in the economic stability and growth of Europe, because the European Union (EU) is its principal and largest economic partner. The United States and the EU enjoy the largest trade and investment relationship in the world, which should not be jeopardized by disruptive, anti-status-quo powers. …

The Army War College Review Vol. 1 No. 3, Larry D. Miller Dr.

Articles & Editorials

The Army War College Review, a refereed publication of student work, is produced under the purview of the Strategic Studies Institute and the United States Army War College. An electronic quarterly, The AWC Review connects student intellectual work with professionals invested in U.S. national security, Landpower, strategic leadership, global security studies, and the advancement of the profession of arms.

All issues are listed in the Army War College Review area.

The Rise Of Iwar: Identity, Information, And The Individualization Of Modern Warfare, Glenn J. Voelz Colonel

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

During a decade of global counterterrorism operations and two extended counterinsurgency campaigns, the United States was confronted with a new kind of adversary. Without uniforms, flags, and formations, the task of identifying and targeting these combatants represented an unprecedented operational challenge for which Cold War era doctrinal methods were largely unsuited. This monograph examines the doctrinal, technical, and bureaucratic innovations that evolved in response to these new operational challenges. It discusses the transition from a conventionally focused, Cold War-era targeting process to one optimized for combating networks and conducting identity-based targeting. It analyzes the policy decisions and strategic choices that …

Unlocking India’S Strategic Potential In Central Asia, Roman Muzalevsky Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

India’s impressive economic growth over the last two and a half decades has brought India’s role and interests to the forefront of global politics and statecraft. Importantly, it has put India into a comparative perspective with China, another aspiring Asian great power poised to stiffen competition for resources and influence worldwide. Both are resource-hungry and rapidly emerging powers seeking a new place and role in the global and regional orders. Both are also strategic rivals and consider their immediate neighborhood of Central Asia of growing strategic importance to their grand strategies. For now, China has outperformed India in Central Asia …

Arab Threat Perceptions And The Future Of The U.S. Military Presence In The Middle East, W. Andrew Terrill Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The threat perceptions of many Arab states aligned with the United States have changed significantly as a result of such dramatic events as the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, the emergence and then fading of the Arab Spring, the rise of Iranian power and Tehran’s nuclear agreement with key world powers, the Egyptian revolution and counterrevolution, and the development of civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. There have also been some notable differences that have developed between the United States and its Arab allies over how to address these issues and most especially Iranian regional ambitions. This …

The Real Rebalancing: American Diplomacy And The Tragedy Of President Obama’S Foreign Policy, John R. Deni Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

American security policy rests on a three-legged stool consisting of defense, diplomacy, and development. As President Obama implied in his May 2014 speech at West Point, the United States is in the midst of a resurgence of diplomacy and development, as it seeks to leverage diplomatic influence, foreign aid, and multilateral institutions to solve the most vexing international security challenges. However, the dramatic rebalance toward diplomacy and development over the last several years has largely has failed. Rhetoric, official strategies, and actual policies have all aimed at rebalancing the three legs of the foreign policy stool. However, several factors point …

Breaking The Bathsheba Syndrome: Building A Performance Evaluation System That Promotes Mission Command, Curtis D. Taylor Colonel

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

In 2014, the National Defense Authorization Act directed the Department of Defense to reconsider the way the Army evaluates and selects leaders. This call for reform came after repeated surveys from the Center for Army Leadership suggested widespread dissatisfaction with the current approach. The Army today is seeking to inculcate a philosophy of mission command across the force based on a culture of mutual trust, clear intent, and decentralized initiative. It is therefore, reasonable to ask if our current performance evaluation system contributes or detracts from such a culture. This paper seeks to answer this question by considering the essential …

Parameters – Full Issue – Autumn 2015, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Special Commentary: Soldiers Fighting Alone by Patrick Porter Strategic Leadership by William E. Rapp, Jason W. Warren Countering Gray-Zone Wars by Jakub Grygiel, William G. Pierce, Douglas G. Douds, & Michael A. Marra Thinking Strategically by Yakov Ben-Haim, David Patrick Houghton Regional Challenges by Ted Middleton, Daniel Morgan