"Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities/PSD-10" and the 2010 National Security Strategy elevated mass atrocities to a core national security interest. This study argues that PSD-10 will be implemented in a world where international borders...
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,...
Today's forces operate in the ever shifting and complex environment of intra-state and ethnic conflict. Marked by excessive violence and rising anarchy due to the disintegration of governing mechanisms, these conflicts pose new challenges to...
The 1740 strategic Siege of St. Augustine, Florida offers an excellent historical example of a flawed joint operation. Although it occurred in colonial North America over two centuries ago, the difficulties the British encountered in this joint...
Powerful nations often find themselves physically and geographically embroiled in the affairs of other nations in the form of empires, protectorate treaties, military occupations, and peacekeeping and stability operations. Generally speaking, they...
With the commencement of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), the U.S. military entered a new age of combat. Taking the battle directly to the terrorists and insurgents in their home countries, the military has suddenly found itself operating in a...
The Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Army has played an integral role since the inception of the Army itself. As with European Armies of the time and throughout most of the 19th century, the NCO was relegated to the tasks of keeping...
At the core of U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine is the concept of “hearts and minds.” Although the concept has significantly deviated from its historical grounding and has become a nebulous concept that is frequently maligned, misunderstood, 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...
America is critically reliant upon space exploitation for a wide variety of activities. These range from strictly military capabilities such as intelligence gathering and secure communications to civilian financial transaction timing and remote...
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...
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 Army's Operational Concept emphasizes that Army forces must be prepared to conduct a combination of offensive, defensive, and stability or civil support operations to create opportunities and achieve desired results. The 2010 Quadrennial...
The demands of 21st century military operations require an organization that is trained and equipped for independent offensive, defensive, and stability operations. This type of organization, the armored cavalry regiment, is fading from the U.S....
The United States military has conducted counterinsurgency campaigns against violent Islamic extremists for the last eight years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, communication-minded, technology-savvy, insurgencies...
This monograph analyzes whether major combat operations or stability operations should be more of a priority for United States Army general purpose forces given the likely future threat, future operating environment, requirements and resources....
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...
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...
Islamic Terrorism in Southeast Asia constitutes the second front in the Global War on Terrorism. Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf, transnational terrorist organizations with ties to Al Qaeda, have frustrated U.S. efforts to eradicate terrorism and...
The US military, as with all US government agencies, shares the responsibility for countering proliferation efforts. Although we have identified the types of threat we face, the systems through which it operates are somewhat more difficult to...