Since 2001, the capabilities of the Afghan state have been a priority on the world stage. The reign of Amir Abdur Rahman, who established the current state of Afghanistan, is critical in understanding the development of the current state, and the...
With United States involvement in Afghanistan, knowledge of the country is imperative. This "handbook explains a number of basic issues that should be in the knowledge" toolbox of a Marine working with Afghanis or deployed to the country.
The problems in Afghanistan are not simple and there is no single solution. Indeed, the problems in Afghanistan are not limited to Afghanistan. Instead, the problems extend to all of Afghanistan's immediate neighbors as well as, among others, the...
Eyewitness to War Oral History Series: US Army Advisors in Afghanistan is the third publication by the Combat Studies Institute that makes exclusive use of oral history. This volume is a product of interviews obtained by the CSI Operational...
Eyewitness to War Oral History Series: US Army Advisors in Afghanistan is the third publication by the Combat Studies Institute that makes exclusive use of oral history. This volume is a product of interviews obtained by the CSI Operational...
In 1979 the age old struggle for the control of Islam between the Shiite and Sunni sects re-emerged in the Middle East. Four events occurred in 1979 that defined the context of contemporary Middle Eastern politics: the Islamic revolution in Iran,...
This monograph investigates culture and society in Afghanistan and recommends an operational approach leveraging a blend of formal and traditional institutions, working with the propensity of the Afghan system, and building capacity and legitimacy...
The coalition and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) face a complex and difficult challenge in their search for solutions to the Afghan conundrum. The establishment of Provisional Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) represents a revolutionary step...
MAJ Rufus Watson served as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) commander with the 504th Battalion, 42nd Military Police (MP) Brigade at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) in 2004 and again as HHC commander in Baghdad, Iraq during 2005...
This thesis investigates the rapid defeat of the Taliban Regime by a US-led coalition and the ability of the Taliban to survive, reorganize, and form an insurgency movement. This paper contends that there are an important set of interrelated...
In this second of a two-part interview covering his 2004 deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Major Jason Shelton talks about being a team leader from the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion and working in Uruzgan Province...
During her March 2003 to March 2004 deployment in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM as part of Combined Joint Task Force-76, Major Deitra Korando - an intelligence officer with the 25th Infantry Division - served initially as a battle major in...
This study discusses the geo-strategic importance of Afghanistan in the context of overall Soviet strategy in Southwest Asia. Considered as a Soviet 'backyard' in the past, Afghanistan sprang to limelight in 1979 following the Soviet invasion....
The contemporary operational environment includes a host of variables that make the management of post-conflict transitions a challenge. Constructing the optimal management organization is a key component of successful post-conflict transition....
The Maoist Revolutionary model provides a template of a successful revolution. Both the Taliban and the Chinese underwent similar circumstances. Both movements formed as a result of failed states seeking ways to restore unity and order within their...
From the conclusion of the Third Afghan War (1919) to India’s Independence (1947), Great Britain governed the wild, mountainous territory of the North-West Frontier that borders Afghanistan. This control used a variety of mature political and...
The present situation in Afghanistan is not being resolved by the current U.S. strategic approach. Given the recent uptick in insurgent violence, the shift in emphasis with regards to Afghanistan, and the change in presidential administrations, the...
This monograph develops an alternative approach to counterinsurgency, and explains how the current narratives in the field of counterinsurgency are not completely accurate. Counterinsurgents only need to properly understand the environment and then...
This monograph examines the role of policy in guidance of the British, the Soviet and the U.S.-NATO wars in Afghanistan. Set in the context of Afghanistan’s history and its socio-cultural environment, the study critically analyzes the negative...
This monograph examines alternative approaches to U.S. COIN operations in the eastern Pashtun tribal areas in Afghanistan that are sensitive to and inclusive of the key elements of the Pashtun code of Pashtunwali. The author reviews Pashtuns and...