Since 2007, when President Felipe Calderon declared his government's war on the drug trafficking organizations operating in his country, the level of narcotics related violence has increased dramatically. The violence, which had been largely...
The increasing volume and manner of violent deaths in Mexico nearly doubled in 2009 to just over seven thousand. Mexico appears capable of devolving into a failed state status where an insurgency threat could potentially thrive. These indices...
Since Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on the drug cartels in December 2006, more than 35,000 Mexicans have died due to narco-violence. This monograph examines whether the various Mexican drug trafficking organizations are insurgents...
This paper argues that to counter border spillover violence, America must control the border with Mexico and generate the public and political commitment to do so. This study applies a military problem solving methodology to identify how best to...
The security of the U.S.-Mexican border is an issue of considerable interest for both countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement has created a web of symbiotic links between the two countries. Unfortunately, this has also presented...
In 1969, President Nixon started the now well-known "War on Drugs." The reason behind his "declaration" of war was the increasing national security threat posed by the transnational drug trafficking organizations. With the aim of making as much...
Drug Trafficking Organizations within Mexico have become a challenge to the state and are affecting both Mexican and U.S. citizens within the U.S. and Mexico border region. As the situation continues to spiral out of control, the U.S. military,...
The drug war in Mexico is entering its fourth year as of 2011. The level of violence has spread throughout Mexico raising doubts as to Mexico's ability to win and assert its State authority. The violence in the Northern part of Mexico causes...
The recent escalation of violence between rival drug cartels, street gangs, and the government within Mexico has created a new and elevated level of concern for the population of the both the United States and Mexico. As the drug cartels continue...
With the U.S. high domestic consumption of illicit drugs, a relationship has formed between transnational gangs and powerful Latin American drug cartels. The ineffectiveness of the war on drugs, along with the high cost of such a program, begs the...
This monograph discusses the Army's Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) doctrine and how it applies to Liberation Theology. Both Operation Urgent Fury and Just Cause demonstrated the potential for conventional combat forces to be thrust into a LIC...
The professional education a captain receives is critical to the foundation of his military career. The Captains’ Career Course affords the opportunity to prepare these officers for the increasing responsibilities and challenges they will face,...
Arthur D. Simons Center for Interagency Cooperation
This study is the result of several months of academic research by a group of mid-career professionals participating in an alternative educational program with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) that focused on issues related to...
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...
Military support to law enforcement agencies is a key piece of solving the problem that exists along the southwestern border. Military support along the southwestern border has existed since the initial westward expansion of the United States....
Drug trafficking has been a menace in most Latin American countries for many decades. We know enough about how the phenomenon works as an economic and social problem and how it affects the continent, but in the last decade, with the attention of...
This study investigates the operational aspects of counter-narcotics operations in the maritime domain. Research utilizes design methodology to assess the current and desired operating environments, as well as identify operational gaps. Research...
This monograph argues that the Army's focus on fighting and winning wars often obscures the equally important mission of winning the peace. In the chaos that generally follows battle, the most potent policy instrument of the government is usually...
The fast tempo decisive combat operations has been called the "New American Way of War." This is in contrast to the traditional "American Way of War" which emphasized using massive amounts of firepower in a "grinding strategy of attritions" like...