This monograph is an examination of the transition of the Iraqi Saddam Fedayeen militia into a guerilla organization in an attempt to draw out methods that might be used against the Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij (Mobilisation Resistance Force) militia...
This study attempts to answer the following questions on the role of the Iranian armed forces in the fall of the Shah in 1979: (a) Did the armed forces do something that contributed to the causes which led the people of Iran to rise against the...
This monograph analyzes the Iran-Iraq War from its inception in September of 1980 through the Iranian Faw Counteroffensive of February 1986. It uses the precepts of operational art to examine the performance of the belligerents in this prolonged...
The deployment of a US Ground-based Mid-course ballistic missile Defense (GMD) within what Russia considers its rightful sphere of influence is an unacceptable challenge to Russian national security. Russians, according to Makhmut Gareev, believe...
The United States and Iran have been in conflict since the Iranian Revolution. Iran is seeking to increase its power in the Middle East while America is seeking to maintain its own power in the region while simultaneously containing Iran’s...
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 thesis examines the intent of Iran's sea power strategy, and discovers that it is a definitive component of a coherent national security strategy of strategic deterrence designed to protect its strategic center of gravity--its oil....
TRANSCRIPT: General Petraeus on the way ahead in Iraq. General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army; "Hard but not hopeless": The new commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq assesses the war and previews the way ahead.
Cause for hope: economic revitalization in Iraq. Paul Brinkley, Deputy under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation; An interagency initiative, the Task Force for Business and Stabilization Operations is helping to quell insurgent...
The Islamic Republic of Iran poses a significant threat to stability in the Middle East. Iran's nuclear program, inflammatory rhetoric, and support to militias challenge peace efforts throughout the region. America now seeks normalized relations...
The interaction between politics and military professionalism is a delicate balancing act in war. When the politics involves a revolutionary ideology, military professionalism can be subordinated to the point of hurting the war effort. The Iranian...
Crane Brinton's analysis of popular revolutions offers the strategic and operational planner a valid model for checking the consistency of ends, ways and means, for campaign plans. As a planning tool, Brinton's model fills a gap in FM 100-20, which...
The 2010 U.S. National Security Strategy emphasized that the U.S. would use security sector assistance to build the capacity of at-risk nations and reduce the appeal of violent extremism and assist in resolving the world's armed conflicts. The 2010...
This monograph examines the Iran-Iraq War from an operational perspective. This eight year war represents the Iraqi's only experience with successful operational maneuver. As such, it is likely that lessons learned, particularly in the final...
Seeing Red: Creating a Red-Team Capability for the Blue Force. Colonel Gregory Fontenot, U.S. Army, Retired; Red teaming, a structured process executed by trained and practiced team members, is uniquely suited to...
This study attempts to determine why the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was successfully overthrown by a religion, Shiite Islam. The investigation is focused on the large and powerful Imperial Iranian Armed Forces, the Shah's political...
Much has been written regarding Iraqi wartime activities at the strategic and operational levels during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), but few of these works address tactical operations. This thesis fills a small portion of that void by examining...
With Presidential elections in both the United States and Iran occurring within eight months of each other, one can suspect major changes in the political environment. This environment is not just the relationship between the U.S. and Iran, but the...
This monograph is an assessment of the performance of the Iraqi Army in selected major operations from 1941 to 1988. Focused primarily at the operational level, this study first describes the Iraqi Army's performance in an abbreviated 1941 conflict...
The interconnectedness of global trade influences international relations. The complexities of this interconnectedness may be better understood through quantitative analysis of the balance of trade within the global economic system. This monograph...