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,...
With combat formations schedule to begin drawing down in July 2011 and the role of US forces in Iraq already shifting away from the lead, the future of these two nations will grow increasingly dependent upon the indigenous security forces and the...
The United States' post-9/11 global strategy demonstrates an interest in Africa that contrasts with decades of relative indifference. The 2006 National Security Strategy has stated the United States' commitment to promote security, stability,...
The United States is now in the eighth year of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). For America, the war began with the surprise attacks against targets in Washington D.C. and New York City on September 11, 2001. For al Qaeda, the war began centuries...
After ten years of global conflict with al Qaeda, the time has come to reassess the threat and determine the parameters within which it operates. Questions regarding its continued validity as a threat, its capability to employ synchronized tactical...
The United States is a nation at war. It will be a long war. The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 were the catalyst that brought the US to this war: the Global War on Terrorism. However, US and coalition responses to Islamic extremism since...
Since 11 September 2001, Americans have asked why America is hated by Arab Muslims. Analysts have offered a variety of explanations but few have identified the basis for this growing anti-American sentiment throughout the Arab Muslim world. This...
The construction of a US-Mexico border fence has proved an increasingly divisive method for securing the southern US border since its initial construction as the San Diego Fence in 1990. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the...
There is a healthy debate about hybrid warfare in American military journals and publications. Much of this discussion describes hybrid threats as a nascent phenomenon, citing the Israeli Defense Force's 2006 struggle against Hezbollah militants in...
The Maoist Revolutionary model provides a template of a successful revolution. Both the Taliban and the Chinese underwent similar circumstances. Both movements formed as a result of failed states seeking ways to restore unity and order within their...
On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda and affiliated jihadist organizations declared war on the United States. Since that day, the U.S. government has initiated a series of policies, legislation and actions to confront the new threat. Seven years into...
Thirteen individuals were killed and thirty-two individuals were injured in the Fort Hood shooting. The U.S. Army bearing the wound left a nation questioning how one of their own military members could be accused of such catastrophic events. In the...
Suicide terrorism is re-emerging as the dominant tactic in asymmetric warfare. Al Qaeda in association with affiliates in the greater Salafi-jihadi movement conduct suicide terror or martyrdom campaigns against strategic and operational targets....
The question this monograph attempts to answer is whether "coercive strategies and their associated defeat mechanisms provide valid courses of action (COAs) for the US against global terrorists networks and nations that harbor terrorists?" The...
The post-9/11 security environment is extremely dynamic and complex. There has been much discussion regarding the threat, the nature of the conflict and the national strategies to address this environment. It is the hypothesis of this monograph...
This study examines modern transnational terrorism from the 1960s to the present day, with special emphasis on the adaptation Al Qaeda and other nonstate actors have taken in response to the actions of the United States and its allies. This work...
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia performs a key role in the war on Islamic extremism and terrorism. The Kingdom maintains the distinction of being the birthplace of Islam and its government is the epitome of Islamic rule in the region. The Kingdom's...
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...
“Liberty or Death”, “Freedom or Death” it doesn’t matter if it is Thomas Payne on the steps of Independence Hall or “a strong young fellow named Rizvan… There is no third way for us… Svoboda ili Smert” in the village of Goity the...
There are many lessons of immediate and long-term value to be learned – and relearned – by a case study of two modern counter-insurgency campaigns: one, the French – Algerian insurgency, from its genesis in WWII until the final French defeat...