Few insurgencies are resolved by military means alone. Insurgents, by definition, pursue political ends and resolve to accomplish those objectives by means of violence. Today the United States and her Allies are engaged in two distinct...
Counterinsurgents have raised and employed irregular security forces in many campaigns over the last century. Irregular security forces are indigenous forces, not part of the regular police or military organizations of the host nation, that are...
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...
In January 2007, President of the United States George W. Bush announced a strategy called the New Way Forward in Iraq, a departure from the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq announced only thirteen months previous. Additionally, President Bush...
In this second of two interviews, Major Brian Russell, US Marine Corps, talks about commanding a military transition team (MiTT) in Anbar Province from December 2006 through December 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He discusses...
The Sunni tribal uprising against Al Qaeda in Iraq, known as the Anbar Awakening, was the decisive event in the counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. To capitalize on discontent between the Sunni population and Al Qaeda, U.S. commanders on the ground...
In this second of two interviews, Colonel Tony Deane talks about commanding 1st Battalion, 35th Armor in Kuwait and Ramadi, Iraq, from November 2005 through November 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He discusses the effect the election...
Monograph examines the use of security barriers and delves into circumstances leading to the removal of security barriers. The purpose was to explore whether there existed specific conditions or criteria for removal of security barriers. Specific...
The purpose of this monograph is to determine the ideal practices for militias and irregular forces in counterinsurgency operations. This study specifically addresses those groups organized by a legitimate sponsor such as the Host Nation or one of...
In the last ten years, the United States military has dealt with emerging counterinsurgencies in multiple operational theaters. To deal with the complex nature of counterinsurgency, organizational planning and operational processes increasingly...
Counterinsurgents have raised and employed irregular security forces in many campaigns over the last century. Irregular security forces are indigenous forces, not part of the regular police or military organizations of the host nation, that are...
MAJ Mark Battjes served as company commander and Military Transition Team (MiTT) chief in Baghdad, Iraq during 2007 and 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this October 2010 interview, MAJ Battjes discusses his prior research and...
The British and US experience with the use of local, irregular security forces suggest their importance in assisting the host nation government and counterinsurgent forces. Their successful establishment, training, and employment demonstrate the...
This paper demonstrates how a better understanding of culture can lend itself to a better understanding of meaning in discourse between two cultures who operate across a linguistic barrier. The paper falls under the tradition of cultural...
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...
Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious doctrines, of which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national security strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S....
Even though Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom have created a surging trend of research and literature connected with irregular warfare, there is still inadequate study and appreciation of the United States commitment in the Philippines at the...
As operations in Iraq and Afghanistan end, it is useful to analyze the current state of stability operations within the U.S. Army and determine its ability to conduct these types of operations in the future. Analyzing the state of stability...
This research presents an analysis of U.S. laws surrounding terrorism to assess the effect they have on military operations in asymmetric conflicts. Modern conflicts utilize unconventional approaches, such as co-opting or informing, as decisive...