Is the targeted killing of United States citizens legal? There are two competing models which address the legality of targeted killings: the law-enforcement model and the armed-conflict model. This paper examines arguments for and against each...
The prosecution of war has always been tempered by constraints, both real and artificial. These constraints are described by Clausewitz as the factors which prevent the conduct of absolute war. These factors include moral and professional codes of...
Criticism and condemnation of al-Qaeda that originate from the worldwide Muslim community present the most formidable challenge to its existence and legitimacy as an organization and movement. There is ample literature that questions whether or not...
Does third party military intervention help or hurt an incumbent government during an insurgency? This study attempts to answer this question by testing prevailing military theories of counterinsurgency in the context of third party intervention...
Bias caused by organizational culture is a constant companion of military planning. Cognitive models dominated by Newtonian, mechanistic, and reductionist thinking, have all but entrenched bias at the operational level of war where contextual, or...
On January 11, 2007, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) launched a direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon and destroyed one of their satellites. Uncovering Chinese motivations for this action has been problematic because the Chinese government...
In the contemporary environment of Global War on Terror, there is a growing perception of a linkage between Islamic teachings and terrorism. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the vulnerability of Islamic doctrine and teachings to...
The research question investigates how policy relates to the influence of threats, law, and treaty. It investigates how policy influences strategy, capabilities, resources, and evaluation of policy execution in order to understand how space policy...
The construct for predictive analysis is based on the unfounded assumption that technologies and sound analysis will dissipate uncertainty in war. U.S. military doctrine shows an expectation for prediction from the intelligence process; it assumes...
This monograph examines the potential roles of indigenous forces in the transition period from decisive combat through post conflict reconstruction. More specifically, should Unconventional Warfare doctrine assess, train and develop suitable...
The U.S. Army 's Military Decision-Making (MDMP) has been criticized repeatedly during the past decade for being untimely, unrealistic, dogmatic, and stifling creativity. U.S. Army Field Manual, FM 5.0, Army Planning and Orders Production, is...
Since the demise of the former Soviet Union, the world has witnessed greater international turmoil, aggression, and conflict. The possibility of a global conflict is minimal, but the opportunities for United States' involvement in regional...
American military doctrine and professional literature in the past decade have stressed maneuver warfare and the operational level of war. This monograph traces the evolution of maneuver theory and its conceptual opposite, firepower theory, and...
This monograph proposes an appropriate organizational structure for light infantry brigades in support of the operational concept derived for AirLand Battle Future. The follow on operational concept to AirLand Battle is expected to address...
This study examines the effects of democratizing Iraq in relation to the stability of the state. The international relations theory of the democratic peace states that democracies do not fight one another. Elements of the theory have been applied...
This paper analyzes the relevancy of the terms center of gravity and decisive points at the operational level of war in communist insurgencies. It begins by proposing acceptable meanings for the terms center of gravity, decisive points, subversion,...
This monograph examines the concept of a mutual tank-free zone for the European Central Region and tests its validity as a possible operational concept for NATO. The discussion assesses the military implications of the concept and its usefulness as...
The purpose of this monograph is to investigate the relationship and linkages between insurgencies and the illicit narcotics trade in general; to examine the specific root causes and influences on the drug trade and insurgencies in Colombia and...
Man has always been fascinated by the heavens. Not until late in the 19th and early 20th Centuries did man finally have the technology to reach the moon. Currently, the heavens abound with satellites as well as a manned space station. Throughout...
The monograph analyses the origins of the use of violence in the name of religion by the Salafist movement in Europe in order to enable identification of key characteristics to shape national strategies of prevention that are appropriate for...