The quality of the relationship between military commanders, senior government officials, and the head of state greatly influences the effectiveness of military force employment. Samuel Huntington explored this phenomenon, among others, in his...
The topic of civil-military relations during the Mexican War resurfaces as an interesting historical study in the aftermath of President Obama's recent decision to relieve General McChrystal of command in Afghanistan. This review of U.S....
Early in the history of the Republic, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention and the members of the subsequent Congresses understood that the President required power to execute the laws of the land. Under authority of the Militia Clause,...
This study investigates strategic intelligence failures of the pre-Vietnam and pre-9/11 time periods. The monograph presents PEMISI (political, economic, military, information, societal, and intelligence) environmental analyses of both time periods...
The end of the Cold War did not bring about the grand peace that was hoped for during four decades. Instead, the world has become more dangerous, with multiple complex problems. Military institutions worldwide must learn to adapt to the...
After the 11 September attack, the United States and the international community helped to create an Afghan government that can serve its people. 10 years later there are significant shortfalls in the performance of the Afghan government. As the...
The 1975 Lebanese Civil War was one of the most disastrous and costly civil wars in modern history. The human toll of the "First Phase" of the war was immense, with estimates of 40,000 dead, 60,000 wounded and 600,000 Lebanese civilians displaced...
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Congo) received its independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960. The Congo’s political development from the 1700s to 1960 resulted in a democratically elected Congolese administration that at the time of...
Prior to President Obama halting all ongoing military commissions, the United States charged six Guantanamo Bay prisoners with capital crimes. Further, his latest policy directive for new military commission rules has not excluded the death penalty...
This monograph analyzes three military operations Somalia, Haiti, and Kosovo in order to determine if and how casualties impact the commitment or withdrawal of US forces in the 1990s. These operations are viewed from the positions of the National...
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Bush administration chose to pursue a broad, offensive, and preemptive campaign against terrorists and their purported state sponsors, versus executing a focused response against Osama bin...
The interagency process is a series of hierarchical committees that set the conditions for the President to achieve national objectives by synchronizing the instruments of national power. After the fall of the Soviet Union, increased integration...
Successful civil-military relations pose an enduring dilemma for the professional officer. When civil-military relations fail, the negative implications are far reaching. Professional officers who understand their role within the structure...
Since 1993, the United States has conducted numerous reconstruction and stabilization operations including Operation Joint Endeavor, 1995 to 1996, and the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003 to 2004. Reconstruction and stability...
The successful management of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 set an unfortunate precedent for crisis management and national security crisis decision-making that persists into the contemporary security environment. The Cold War norm, roughly...
This study seeks to understand the influence of U.S. military reform on U.S. civil-military relations functioning within a zone of cooperation or conflict between political and military realms during times of war. It seeks to demonstrate how...
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Nonetheless, it has great geopolitical importance in South America due to its geographical position at the center of the continent and its potential impact on the stability of the entire...
This paper discusses the relationship between statesman and soldier with reference to important events of the Civil War, and what principles should govern a nation.
The catastrophic events of September 11, 2001, actively thrust the U.S. government into a war against terrorism, principally against the form of terrorism most closely associated with radical Islam, born in the Middle East region. The dark clouds...
This monograph analyzes the effectiveness of operational campaign design during the initial US ground combat in the Vietnam War. The focus is on the linkage of national strategic ends with military means and ways from the Spring of 1965 through the...