In the latest news, Russian intelligence services has been providing valuable intelligence to the Hezbollah terrorist group concerning Israeli military activities, prompting concerns in Tel Aviv that any future initiatives against Hezbollah may not...
The Noncommissioned Officer Corps (NCO’s) has seen a significant shift in responsibility and empowerment over the last 200 years. Selection of early NCO’s were not due to overall performance or potential as much as it was to their large...
There is a belief among a significant number of military historians that history never repeats itself. We have learned that encouraging our leaders to review past conflicts or historical engagements for lessons learned and applying them to current...
Social identity is commonly defined as a person's sense of self. It is derived from a perceived membership in social groups. This monograph examines the impact of Muslim immigrants on the national identity of Great Britain and the difficulty...
Though the United States military has excelled in winning wars, it has not enjoyed the same success at "winning the peace". That requires a coordinated effort from several Departments and agencies of the United States government-- an Inter-Agency...
In the wake of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the most intensely debated issues concerning the conduct of the war has been the level of troops committed to the effort. Military observers, policy makers, military officers, and...
Governments attempting to counter insurgent threats often lack the authority, influence, and control to counter these threats, creating what some have described as 'ungoverned' spaces. A number of governments seek alliances with non-state armed...
This monograph tells the narrative of the FARC in Colombia from the perspective of the counterinsurgent and presents a summary of the evolution of the FARC. The Colombian government has achieved recent success against the FARC after more than forty...
The most critical component to theater opening and distribution is the strategic-to-operational seam. Covering this seam are four U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) deployment and distribution capabilities. These capabilities include the...
In the words of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, "The United States, our allies, and our partners face a spectrum of challenges' We must balance strategic risk across the responses, making the best use of the tools at hand within the U.S....
The deployment of a US Ground-based Mid-course ballistic missile Defense (GMD) within what Russia considers its rightful sphere of influence is an unacceptable challenge to Russian national security. Russians, according to Makhmut Gareev, believe...
What is success in war? Who defines success? A review of past theorists such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Jomini and Clausewitz along with modern scholars such as William Martel, Azar Gat, and J. Boone Bartholomees produces a model for understanding...
Between April and August 1943, the U.S. Army’s II Corps saw two of its division commanders relieved of their commands. Each relief appeared tied to battlefield setbacks. MG Orlando Ward of the 1st Armored Division was relieved after his division...
The information sphere is an integral part of the current environment. The center of gravity (CoG) theory currently is matched for conventional, linear, industrial age warfare in the physical domain. The CoG concept is thus not suited to work in...
The purpose of this monograph is to show that US counterinsurgency doctrine would benefit from greater emphasis on social, cultural, and political aspects of the operating environment, using the case of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal as an example....
Doctrine is under attack from within the military and by the American press. The length of the current conflict has been "perceived" as too long, and the United States Military, according to some has been to slow to adapt. Accusations of "gaps"...
This monograph studies the challenges facing the U.S. Navy in 2009. It is principally an historical study that attempts to draw a parallel between today's strategic environment and past environments. The historical analysis focuses on past maritime...
While all warfare is an expression of politics, none is more pervasively so than irregular conflict. The irregular side, most probably employing a mixture of guerilla tactics and terrorism, will seek favorable political effect from several courses...
Islamist violent extremists (VE) and violent extremist organizations (VEO) require a broad range of material, social, and financial support to organize, train, conduct operations, and sustain their ideologies and terrorist/insurgent endeavors....
The extensive use of propaganda by all belligerents during World War I created sensitivity to the relationship between modern communications technologies and the manipulation of public opinion. Government elites and academicians were so concerned...