Recent Articles

AFRICOM at 5 Years: The Maturation of a New U.S. Combatant Command Mr David E Brown Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the newest of the six U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) geographic combatant commands (CCMDs), was created in 2007 amid great controversy in both Africa and the United States over its location and mission. Over the last 5 years, AFRICOM has matured greatly, overcome much of the initial resistance from African stakeholders, and addressed most U.S. interagency concerns about the Command’s size and proper role within the U.S. national security/foreign policy community. AFRICOM is a CCMD Plus, because it also has: 1) a broader soft power mandate aimed at building a stable security environment; and, 2) a relatively larger personnel contingent from other U.S. Government agencies."

Cartel Car Bombings in Mexico Dr Robert J Bunker, Mr John P Sullivan Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Improvised explosive devices and car bombs have long been identified as threats to U.S. Army personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have gained considerable attention and notoriety, even infamy, among our troops, who have had to learn the appropriate responses and countermeasures to contend with the fielding of these systems against them. Far less recognized is the fact that a similar threat—embodied in car bombs—has emerged much closer to our homeland within Mexico. Since mid-2010, cartel car bombings have taken place in a country on our southern border and have been targeted against both the forces of opposing cartels and those belonging to Mexican military and law enforcement agencies. "

The Security Concerns of the Baltic States as NATO Allies Dr James S Corum Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The end of the Cold War in the early-1990s signified a huge and very positive transformation in world politics. Nations that had been Warsaw Pact enemies for 5 decades became, almost overnight, allies of the West. Even nations that had been republics of the Soviet Union—the best examples being Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—moved immediately to become staunch Western allies. The full post-Cold War transformation was consummated in 2004 when the three formerly Soviet Baltic republics, along with some former Warsaw Pact nations, became new members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

The Causes of Instability in Nigeria and Implications for the United States LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Understanding the political economy of Nigeria is needed to reveal the root causes of its many ethnic, religious, economic, and political problems and address them for the long term. The pressures now weighing on Nigeria could literally fracture the state along deep fault lines if rampant corruption and partisanship continues. The United States, in a mutually important partnership with Nigeria, should assist in specific but indirect ways to help Nigerians overcome their political economy problems, which could serve both the interests of the United States and Nigeria. Within such assistance, the role of the U.S. military is particularly delicate, but needed through focused aid to specific programs and sharing of expertise, all best managed through employing units that are regionally aligned to Nigeria or West Africa."

The Effectiveness of Drone Strikes in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism Campaigns Dr James Igoe Walsh Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The United States increasingly relies on unmanned aerial vehicles—better known as drones—to target insurgent and terrorist groups around the world. Proponents argue that drones are, in both political and military terms, an effective way to coerce such adversaries. Critics suggest that drone strikes not infrequently result in inadvertent civilian casualties, which terrorist and insurgent organizations use as rallying cries to garner support and legitimacy for their acts of violence. There is surprisingly little systematic evidence that either of these positions is correct. It is not clear if drone strikes have degraded their targets, or that they kill enough civilians to create sizable public backlashes against the United States. Drones are a politically and militarily attractive way to counter insurgents and terrorists, but, paradoxically, this may lead to their use in situations where they are less likely to be effective and where there is difficulty in predicting the consequences."

Development of the Baltic Armed Forces in Light of Multinational Deployments Dr James S Corum Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Coalition operations have been an important part of U.S. warfighting in the last decade of conflict. In the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan coalition partners, especially from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations, have played an important role. Given the ongoing instability in several regions of the world, there is a strong possibility that in the near future the U.S. Armed Forces will again have to operate with allied coalition partners to help support or rebuild a country devastated by internal conflict."

2013-14 Key Strategic Issues List Professor John F. Troxell Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Today’s global environment is the most uncertain the Army has faced in several decades. It is unpredictable and dynamic. We do not know when we will have to deploy Soldiers to fight again; but history tells us that we will. We owe it to them to ensure they have the proper resources to be ready when needed. Research on the topics contained in this document will assist us in shaping the Army of the future. In 2012, the Army began with an initial vision of this future in the Army Strategic Planning Guidance (ASPG). The 2013 ASPG refined that vision by incorporating a year’s worth of study, analysis, and experience. Through research in the following topics, we will continue to transition to the Army of the future. We organized these topics to support the four imperatives and related objectives discussed in the 2013 ASPG."

SOLLIMS Sampler - Multinational Operations Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "This report provides several current lessons from the SOLLIMS database that accentuate the importance of analyzing the many difficult issues of multi-national operations and then developing appropriate solutions/improvements – for the benefit of future missions/interventions."

Collins Center Update, Volume 15, Issue 3 (Spring 2013) Colonel John Mauk, Mr. Chip Cleckner, Prof. B.F. Griffard, Prof. Bert B. Tussing, LTC Chris Rogers Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership