This monograph examines the role of maneuver brigades in post conflict operations. Tactical combat units are increasingly expected to support both the combat as well as the post conflict phase of contingency operations. With limited resources, most...
Irregular wars generate significant internal political debate over appropriate strategy and resource allocation, a function of the relative complexity and ambiguity of irregular wars. This study examines whether operational commanders in the...
Phase III Operation Iraqi Freedom has shown our military’s propensity to focus on major combat operations (MCO) often at the expense of post-MCO security and reconstruction. Without clear doctrinal guidance of how to establish effective security...
Throughout history, terrorist organizations have attacked nation-states using increasingly more sophisticated methods of destruction. The attacks on 11 September 2001, demonstrated a higher level of commitment by state and non-state actors to...
History illustrates that without unity of command and a mechanism to enable unity of effort, achieving strategic and regional objectives is rare. AFRICOM, a newly established Combatant Command, faces innumerable challenges within the continent of...
U.S. military, Department of State, and Iraqi officials face many challenges moving a unified Iraq forward. This paper attempts to answer a critical question: Can local Iraqi grassroots councils facilitate a strategic endstate like achieving...
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...
The Ottoman Empire is often portrayed as a bloodthirsty Empire bent on conquering Europe and opposing the great European powers of its time through its military strength. From its beginnings in the thirteenth century the Ottoman Empire expanded its...
This monograph discusses the linkage of military operations with defined regional strategy objectives designed to achieve conditions favorable to long-term U.S. interests. Most recent U.S. military endeavors may serve to show the existence of...
In 2009, conflict, violence and the fear of governmental persecution caused over forty-three million people worldwide, equivalent to the population of Canada, to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere. Twenty-seven million displaced within...
There is broad consensus that attention to health sector needs plays an important role in addressing the causes of state fragility, whether to avoid conflict, during conflict, or post-conflict. Based on the premise that health-related interventions...
The Coalition's success in Iraq will be defined by how well it balances the strategy of Rapid Decisive Operations (RDO) against the realistic requirements for post-conflict reconstruction operations. There are many questions posed about how the...
This document discusses communications and control of public opinion in Germany. The following contents are: mechanism of control (propaganda agencies of the government, German-dominated international organization, etc.); media of propaganda...
During Hurricane Katrina, the levees in New Orleans failed turning a potential crisis into a catastrophic incident. The public began to question the responsibility and requirements of the United States (US) government in responding to the total...
The evolving U.S. stabilization, reconstruction and development doctrine displays the tenets necessary to stabilize a state following conflict; however, this doctrine remains insufficient for insuring long-term stability. To adequately guide...
In May 2005, President Bush signed into effect National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 44, Management of Interagency Efforts Concerning Reconstruction and Stabilization, in an attempt to promote increased interagency coordination and...
Psychological Operations (PSYOP) is a cornerstone of the United States' Information Operations and is a combat multiplier. As defined by Joint Doctrine, Psychological Operations (PSYOP) are operations planned to convey selected information and...
This paper seeks to answer the question, “What role should the militaries of the US and their NATO allies play in the counter-narcotics effort in Afghanistan?” This monograph shows the United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization...
In the event of an intervention, how could U.S. conventional forces operating in Somalia best support the Transitional Federal Government in stabilizing the country? Somalia stands as the greatest example of state failure and collapse in the world...