The United States has attempted for several decades to assist in the modernization of armies in the Middle East. These armies are rich in tradition and heritage of medieval and pre-modern Islamic armies. Islamic armies possess an ability to...
This study reviews the campaigns and battles of the Sixth Century A. D. Byzantine General Belisarius, attempting to extract common threads of military thought and principles and providing an analysis as to the application of his method to today's...
This monograph investigates Khalid Bin Waleed's seventh century (AD 633-634) campaign against the Sassanid Persian Empire in Mesopotamia to trace the evidence that substantiates application of modern characteristics of operational art. The question...
This study explores the role of the military as an instrument of national power in the transformation of Republics to Empires. It concentrates on two case studies. The first is the Athenian transformation from Radical Democracy to an Informal...
The operational level of war lies at the heart of the United States Army's warfighting doctrine and the focus of this level of war is the operational art. In order to successfully prosecute war at the operational level, American military commanders...
One of the greatest generals and practitioners of military craft fought successfully over two thousand years ago. Between 335 and 325 B.C., Alexander the Great campaigned into Persia and India with the aim of conquering the known world. His...
The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has pursued a nuclear program since 1985. In February 2006, with the last round of international negotiations having failed and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) having reported the dossier to the United...
In the past decade, it has become apparent that the Iranian Government is not willing to give up its Nuclear Fuel Program. Though it claims that its endeavors are merely the pursuit of making nuclear fuel, the threat of an unsupervised Iranian...
Islam arose out of a cataclysmic change in society and economics in the Arabian Peninsula during the early seventh century. The adherents of the new religion immediately launched a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, the military, cultural and...
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...
This monograph analyzes classical warfare and modern warfare to determine whether there is a theoretical shift occurring that is blending the tenets of both of these theories of war. Exploitation of the inherent strengths of each of these theories...
Gabel, Christopher R. (Christopher Richard), 1954-; Wilbanks, James H., 1947-
With the publication of Great Commanders, the Combat Studies Institute continues its mission of publishing CGSC Faculty scholarship and adding to the body of historical literature the thoughts and research of these distinguished Professors. These...
Craig, Steven T.; Vaalmets, Hannes; Valentine, Anthony; Chancellor, Reginald
The Persian Gulf War of 1990, also known as Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm brought turmoil and conflict to a region with enormous uncertainty. The nation states of Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia where in dispute over land, resources and...
Everyone is interested in the oil reserves in the Persian Gulf Region; Desert storm was the result of potentially losing control of the world’s largest oil fields. A stable and secure Persian Gulf is vital to the world’s economy and the United...
Human intelligence (HUMINT), which is the oldest of the intelligence disciplines, has through the course of the twentieth century, been less emphasized by the U.S. Army relative to the technical disciplines of signals intelligence (SIGINT) and...
In a time where the role of heavy mechanized units seems to play a secondary part to the rapid deployability and lightning-quick raids conducted by light forces, understanding how "shock battle " can still be waged at the operational and tactical...
In the past three decades, one country has stood out more than any other in opposing the United States' efforts in the Middle East: Iran. To counter Iranian influences in the Middle East, the United States has adopted a stance of containment...
The Caucasus is developing into a vital strategic region. It emerged from the Soviet Union’s shadow in 1991 and spawned wild oil and gas speculation, and U.S. policy makers developed relationships with the region’s countries as it matured....
Turkish Culture had a profound influence on the conduct of its counter-insurgency campaign against the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). The independent variables shaping Turkey’s response to the insurgency were a unique brand of nationalism,...
The United States is committed to on-going involvement with Iraq to rebuild the country. Marines, who deploy to Iraq or are involved with Iraqis, need a basic knowledge of the country, its culture, history and present-day state of affairs. This...