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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) Dec 2015

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. Dec 2015

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. Nov 2015

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. Nov 2015

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. Nov 2015

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. Nov 2015

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 Rise Of Iwar: Identity, Information, And The Individualization Of Modern Warfare, Glenn J. Voelz Colonel Oct 2015

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. Oct 2015

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. Oct 2015

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. Oct 2015

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 Oct 2015

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 …


Cyber Defense: An International View, Keir Giles Mr., Kim Hartmann Ms. Sep 2015

Cyber Defense: An International View, Keir Giles Mr., Kim Hartmann Ms.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

An overview of four different national approaches to cyber defense are discussed: those of Norway, Estonia, Germany and Sweden. While providing a useful guide for engagement with the relevant governmental and other organizations in each of these countries, the Paper also compares and contrasts the advantages and drawbacks of each national approach.


The Ethics Of Drone Strikes: Does Reducing The Cost Of Conflict Encourage War?, Marcus Schulzke Dr., James Igoe Walsh Dr. Sep 2015

The Ethics Of Drone Strikes: Does Reducing The Cost Of Conflict Encourage War?, Marcus Schulzke Dr., James Igoe Walsh Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Armed unmanned aerial vehicles—combat drones—have fundamentally altered the ways the United States conducts military operations aimed at countering insurgent and terrorist organizations. Drone technology is on track to become an increasingly important part of the country’s arsenal, as numerous unmanned systems are in development and will likely enter service in the future. Concerned citizens, academics, journalists, nongovernmental organizations, and policymakers have raised questions about the ethical consequences of drones and issued calls for their military use to be strictly regulated. This level of concern is evidence that the future of drone warfare not only hinges on technical innovations, but also …


The Limits Of Offshore Balancing, Hal Brands Dr. Sep 2015

The Limits Of Offshore Balancing, Hal Brands Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Is offshore balancing the right grand strategy for America? Is it time for Washington to roll back the vast system of overseas security commitments and forward military deployments that have anchored its international posture since World War II? This monograph argues that the answer to these questions is no. Offshore balancing represents the preferred grand strategy among many leading international-relations “realists,” who argue that significant geopolitical retrenchment can actually improve America’s strategic position while slashing the costs of its foreign policy. The reality, however, is rather different. The probable benefits of offshore balancing—both financial and geopolitical—are frequently exaggerated, while the …


Developing Emerging Leaders: The Bush School And The Legacy Of The 41st President, Joseph R. Cerami Dr. Sep 2015

Developing Emerging Leaders: The Bush School And The Legacy Of The 41st President, Joseph R. Cerami Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The main focus of this monograph is to synthesize the top research on leadership and leader development and to highlight the needs for developing individuals committed to careers of service across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The foundation for the research is based on ideas drawn from leadership and management literature, government doctrine and reports, think tank studies, and case studies. The Army has long sought to be innovative in its leader development. Most recently, the Army’s Human Development White Paper supports TRADOC Pamphlet 5250301, The U.S. Army Operating Concept, “Win in a Complex World” document (2014), by emphasizing …


Terrorist And Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, And Military Implications, Robert J. Bunker Dr. Aug 2015

Terrorist And Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, And Military Implications, Robert J. Bunker Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This manuscript focuses on the present threat posed by terrorist and insurgent use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as associated future threat potentials. This work presents a counterintuitive analysis in the sense that armed drones are typically viewed as a component of America’s conventional warfighting prowess—not a technology that would be used against U.S. troops deployed overseas or against civilians back home. The emerging threat of such UAV use against the United States is investigated, and the unique analysis and creative approach related to the threat scenario variants generated are very informative. Hopefully, the larger implications posed by …


Using Target Audience Analysis To Aid Strategic Level Decisionmaking, Steve Tatham Dr. Aug 2015

Using Target Audience Analysis To Aid Strategic Level Decisionmaking, Steve Tatham Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The author explains how sophisticated social science research and behavioral profiling can be used to warn us of impeding issues and how that information might be used by senior strategy makers as a tool for testing and refining strategy. He makes a compelling case that the science of Target Audience Analysis (TAA) is now so well advanced that it must become a key component of future strategic decisionmaking. The author views social media as just another communication conduit, and sees this as a continuum of wrong activities being undertaken. In Iraq and Afghanistan, he saw how big public relations and …


Duffer’S Shoal: A Strategic Dream Of The Pacific Command Area Of Responsibility, Russell N. Bailey Colonel, Bob Dixon Lieutenant Colonel, Derek J. O'Malley Lieutenant Colonel, Christopher J. Parsons Colonel (Nz) Aug 2015

Duffer’S Shoal: A Strategic Dream Of The Pacific Command Area Of Responsibility, Russell N. Bailey Colonel, Bob Dixon Lieutenant Colonel, Derek J. O'Malley Lieutenant Colonel, Christopher J. Parsons Colonel (Nz)

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This strategic assessment seeks to go beyond a traditional comparative analysis of the military, technological, political, cultural, and economic factors governing the relationships and capabilities of the Asia Pacific environment. To make sense of the intrinsic complexities unique to this region, we endeavor to broaden our view and rely on a tool often overlooked in government studies: imagination. Moreover, we aim to offer a strategic document that is readable, instructive, and provocative. Pulling from a well-referenced piece of military teaching, this assessment borrows a learning concept first employed in 1904 by Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton in "The Defence …


A Hard Look At Hard Power: Assessing The Defense Capabilities Of Key U.S. Allies And Security Partners, Gary J. Schmitt Mr. Jul 2015

A Hard Look At Hard Power: Assessing The Defense Capabilities Of Key U.S. Allies And Security Partners, Gary J. Schmitt Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Since World War II, a key element of America’s grand strategy has been its worldwide network of strategic allies and partners. The network has provided the United States an invaluable global presence, enhanced deterrence against adversaries and, when called upon, provided men and materiel to help fight wars. However, following the end of the Cold War, less attention has been paid to America’s allies, especially their “hard power” capabilities, despite the United States and its allies going to war more frequently than before. This volume addresses that gap, providing a holistic account of allied hard power and, in turn, the …


The Chinese People's Liberation Army In 2025, Roy Kamphausen Mr., David Lai Dr. Jul 2015

The Chinese People's Liberation Army In 2025, Roy Kamphausen Mr., David Lai Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This volume is of special relevance in light of the profound changes occurring within the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China’s desire to develop a military commensurate with its diverse interests is both legitimate and understandable. The challenge for U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) is to understand how China will employ this growing military capability in support of its interests. The book addresses the uncertainty surrounding the potential direction of the PLA by examining three distinct focus areas: domestic, external, and technological drivers of PLA modernization; alternative futures for the PLA; and, implications for the region, world, and U.S.-China relations. The …


The Limits Of Military Officers’ Duty To Obey Civilian Orders: A Neo-Classical Perspective, Robert E. Atkinson, Mr. Jul 2015

The Limits Of Military Officers’ Duty To Obey Civilian Orders: A Neo-Classical Perspective, Robert E. Atkinson, Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph offers a neo-classically republican perspective on a perennial problem of civilian/military relations: limitations on military officers’ obligation to obey civilian authorities. All commentators agree that military officers are generally obliged—morally, professionally, and legally—to obey civilian orders, even as they agree that this rule of obedience must admit of exceptions. Commentators tend to differ, however, on the basis and breadth of these exceptions. Following Samuel Huntington’s classic analysis in The Soldier and the State, this monograph shows that disagreement about the breadth of the exceptions tends to assume that their bases—moral, professional, and legal—are incommensurable. It suggests, to …


China's Rise And Reconfiguration Of Central Asia's Geopolitics: A Case For U.S. "Pivot" To Eurasia, Roman Muzalevsky Mr. Jul 2015

China's Rise And Reconfiguration Of Central Asia's Geopolitics: A Case For U.S. "Pivot" To Eurasia, Roman Muzalevsky Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

China’s global rise has prompted numerous discussions and studies of this historically monumental phenomenon and its implications for the world. On the one hand, China’s emergence as a global player has generated a lot of optimism for global development and economic convergence. On the other, it has spurred concerns about possible collisions on the world stage as existing and emerging powers seek to retain and redesign their roles and influences. Related opportunities and fears have been especially pronounced in countries neighboring China, including in Central Asia where the newly independent and post-Soviet republics face a possibility of yet another imperial …


Reassessing The Barriers To Islamic Radicalization In Kazakhstan, Roger N. Mcdermott Mr., Zhulduz Baizakova Ms. Jul 2015

Reassessing The Barriers To Islamic Radicalization In Kazakhstan, Roger N. Mcdermott Mr., Zhulduz Baizakova Ms.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Central Asia has been experiencing an increase or activation of radical Islamic movements over the last decade or so. These complex processes include increasing urbanization, institutional and individual corruption, the growing gap between rich and poor, the inability of the state to provide security, corruption in the law enforcement agencies, poor functioning of the state religious bodies, inefficient power structures, limited scope for citizens to influence decisionmaking, all which result in lower trust in the authorities as well as other factors. The authoritarian regimes of Central Asia gave rise to boiling anger and discontent among their populations. For people unable …


The Strategic Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam, Iraq, And Afghanistan: Why The Ansf Will Not Hold, And The Implications For The U.S. Army In Afghanistan, M. Chris Mason Dr. Jun 2015

The Strategic Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam, Iraq, And Afghanistan: Why The Ansf Will Not Hold, And The Implications For The U.S. Army In Afghanistan, M. Chris Mason Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were lost before they began, not on the battlefields, where the United States won every tactical engagement, but at the strategic level of war. In each case, the U.S. Government attempted to create a Western-style democracy in countries which were decades at least away from being nations with the sociopolitical capital necessary to sustain democracy and, most importantly, accept it as a legitimate source of governance. The expensive indigenous armies created in the image of the U.S. Army lacked both the motivation to fight for illegitimate governments in Saigon, Baghdad, and Kabul and …


The Strategic Importance Of The Global Oil Market, Leif Rosenberger Dr. Jun 2015

The Strategic Importance Of The Global Oil Market, Leif Rosenberger Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This Letort Paper analyzes the new global oil market. It shows how the price of oil reflects the confluence of four interrelated factors. First, the Paper explores why the supply of oil has been soaring in the world. Second, it explains why the demand for oil has been relatively weak. Third, it discusses the role that Wall Street plays in moving the price of oil. Fourth, it examines the importance of the U.S. dollar in determining the prices of oil. As a result of these factors, oil prices are relatively low. The Paper also explains how these low oil prices …


Iraq’S Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options, Norman Cigar Dr. Jun 2015

Iraq’S Shia Warlords And Their Militias: Political And Security Challenges And Options, Norman Cigar Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

As America’s de facto co-belligerents who often share the same battlespace in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the presence and activity of Iraq’s Shia warlords and their militias have an impact on U.S. interests and policies at both the strategic and operational levels. The objective of this monograph is to provide a better understanding of the Shia militia phenomenon and to highlight the factors with which U.S. policymakers and U.S. Army planners and commanders will have to deal with respect to operations in Iraq.


The New Russian Engagement With Latin America: Strategic Position, Commerce, And Dreams Of The Past, R. Evan Ellis Dr. Jun 2015

The New Russian Engagement With Latin America: Strategic Position, Commerce, And Dreams Of The Past, R. Evan Ellis Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

In many ways, Russia’s expanded engagement in Latin America as a response to escalating tension over the Ukraine was a repetition of its answer to U.S. involvement in the 2008 conflict in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. In the latter conflict, the U.S. deployed naval forces to the Black Sea in response to Russian support for the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia countered with a series of actions in Latin America, including sending nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela, from where they conducted symbolically-charged flights around the Caribbean. A month later, a four-ship Russian naval flotilla deployed …


Russian Ballistic Missile Defense: Rhetoric And Reality, Keir Giles Mr. Jun 2015

Russian Ballistic Missile Defense: Rhetoric And Reality, Keir Giles Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Russia's actions in Ukraine are not the only challenge to relations with the United States. U.S. plans for ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability in Europe have led to aggressive rhetoric from Moscow, which continues at the time of this writing even though attention in the West is focused almost exclusively on Ukraine. Russia’s strenuous opposition to the U.S. European Phased Adaptive Approach plans is based on claims that this capability is intended to compromise Russia’s nuclear deterrent capability. Most of these claims have been dismissed as groundless. Yet, all discussion of the subject highlights the U.S. current and proposed deployments, …


From Cooperation To Competition: The Future Of U.S.-Russian Relations, Gregory K. Anderson, Gert-Jan Kooji, Karen L. T. Briggman, Joseph E. Hilbert, Christopher L. Lay, James C. Mcnaughton May 2015

From Cooperation To Competition: The Future Of U.S.-Russian Relations, Gregory K. Anderson, Gert-Jan Kooji, Karen L. T. Briggman, Joseph E. Hilbert, Christopher L. Lay, James C. Mcnaughton

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

No abstract provided.


The Future Of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case Of The Army In The Pacific, John R. Deni May 2015

The Future Of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case Of The Army In The Pacific, John R. Deni

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

No abstract provided.