The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been a tenuous one following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The research question investigates what type of threat Iran poses to Saudi Arabia and how the Saudi's will respond. This threat is not...
The United States has significantly increased the deployment of missile defense systems, specifically Patriot and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis-BMD), to the Persian Gulf over the past six years. The increase from no missile defense assets...
The 1991 Coalition victory in Desert Storm exemplified the awesome capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces weapons and doctrine. The Army's Air Land Battle doctrine was finally used in combat and proven effective. The short campaign ended with the...
In the past decade, it has become apparent that the Iranian Government is not willing to give up its Nuclear Fuel Program. Though it claims that its endeavors are merely the pursuit of making nuclear fuel, the threat of an unsupervised Iranian...
This thesis examines the intent of Iran's sea power strategy, and discovers that it is a definitive component of a coherent national security strategy of strategic deterrence designed to protect its strategic center of gravity--its oil....
The current rebalancing of U.S. forces to the Pacific requires an understanding of a number of factors. Among the factors are a greater understanding of emerging trends in the Chinese military and a clear assessment of the Chinese regional...
This monograph finds that theater commanders, with vital maritime choke points/canals in their theater, should have their J-5 planners develop and integrate a comprehensive counter mine plan into the theater's campaign plans. In the past, regional...
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the US Navy's ability to surge its forces to meet crises is and still meet its day-to-day commitments. This study reviewed the 43 treaties and agreements the U.S. has with other nations and the strategy and...
Successful interdiction operations are critical to the achievement of the Joint Force Commander's operational objectives and can significantly affect the outcome of war. Joint Pub 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations, defines interdiction as an...
Since 1991, there has been a significant drop in the number of amphibious ships, a change in the forcible entry concept and a singular military and fiscal focus on the land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current state of amphibious assault...
Iran is pursuing a public nuclear policy, which will lead it into regional power status. The Persian Gulf is a vital region for its natural resources that America and its trading powers require to maintain their economies. A disruption of Persian...
Proving the effectiveness of the application of air power has been an important goal for the United States Air Force. However, since World War II up through at least the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the American Air Force has not been consistent in...
This monograph discusses joint operational targeting and the Joint Target Coordination Board. Neither concept is new to the US military, but joint doctrine has recently included specifics of the Joint Target Coordination Board. The question is, are...
This paper provides Iranian considerations for war gaming from the Iranian perspective. The purpose of this paper is to provide the player representing Iran with a national security strategy. To do this, the paper begins with an analysis of Iran's...
This monograph sets out to prove that Geoffrey Blainey's theory about a disagreement over relative power between nations explains the causes of the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991. Blainey describes the diplomatic crisis leading to war 'like a crisis...
The Battle for Leyte Gulf in October 1944 was the largest naval battle of World War II both in terms of the number of ships involved, and the expanse of area the battle covered. The battle was a decisive victory for the Allied Forces, who...
This monograph examines the question of who should plan and control joint fires beyond the fire support coordination line (FSCL). Since the Gulf War, the Army and Air Force have met at the annual Army-Air Force Warfighter Talks to reconcile...
During the Civil War, there were no joint commands with all service components unified under the same commander, with few exceptions. Instead, the command and control structure was based on close cooperation between the services, which was termed...
This monograph discusses the difference between both ground and air commanders who are subordinate to an overall theater commander. Although joint doctrine has evolved and improved, there are still differences between the two kinds of commanders...
In October 1944, US forces executed amphibious landings on the Japanese-occupied island of Leyte in the central Philippines. Japanese naval forces, severely outnumbered by the US Third and Seventh Fleets, attempted to stop the invasion by attacking...