Recent Articles

Operation EUFOR TCHAD/RCA and the EU's Common Security and Defense Policy Mr Bjoern H Seibert Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Mr. Bjoern Seibert provides timely and interesting insights into the EU’s new security structure. He examines the largest and most complex EU military operation in Africa, Operation EUFOR TCHAD/RCA, and provides an unprecedented look inside the workings of an EU military operation. Mr. Seibert highlights both successes and failures and then scrutinizes the impact of the operation on the ground. He then addresses an extensive list of lessons that can be drawn from this complex multinational stability operation in Africa. He correctly observes that the operation underscores the EU’s long remaining road toward realizing its ambitious agenda. This will not merely require a more expeditionary mindset, but also substantial shifts in budget priorities and reinvestment. Though the process may take years to complete, it is undoubtedly the right course for Europe to take, and would be in the best interest of the United States. "

SOLLIMS Sampler - Rule of Law and Legitimacy in Governance Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "“Rule of Law” (RoL) is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights principles. Effectively implementing the “RoL” is one of the key conditions for achieving success during peace and stability operations. The legitimacy of a government can be directly related to its ability to achieve and sustain the “Rule of Law”."

Harnessing Post Conflict Transitions: A Conceptual Primer Mr Nicholas J Armstrong, Ms Jacqueline Chura-Beaver PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, Strategic Studies Institute "Since the end of the Cold War, members of the international community have undertaken more than 20 major operations to stabilize post-conflict societies, yielding mixed results. Stability operations are tremendously complex and demand successful direction of multiple, simultaneous transitions that range from transforming violent conflict to a sustainable, peaceful environment, to the process of forging sustainable governing institutions from fragile or nonexistent infrastructure..."

Candidly, One Friend to Another Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Transatlantic Partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom has remained viable for the better part of a century. During that time it weathered assorted and sometimes severe storms—from trials over nuclear armament in the late 1940s, to the Suez crisis of the 1950s, to the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, and to today’s extensive and costly counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed, one could well say that the long-standing partnership between the U.S. and UK has been what Prime Minister David Cameron recently, and aptly, described as “the candid friend, the best friend” relationship. Advice offered by one partner to the other has always been refreshingly frank, even if it has been at times difficult to hear, and to heed."

Somalia: Line in the Sand--Identification of MYM Vulnerabilities LTC Eloy E Cuevas, Ms Madeleine Wells Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Continuing instability in Somalia has increased concern that terrorists who seek to establish a foothold in Africa may use such insecure places as a safe haven and launching pad. Several attempts have been made to establish lawful governments in Somalia; however, warlord and clan interests have managed to take center stage among the population. The Somali-based al-Shabaab (also known as the Mujahidin Youth Movement [MYM]) is a militant organization born out of both successive regional turmoil and international salafi-jihadi ideology, which continues to actively undermine the United Nations (UN)-supported African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, the fledging Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and all UN efforts to support Somalis in creating a stable state. "

An Army Transformed: The U.S. Army's Post-Vietnam Recovery and the Dynamics of Change in Military Organizations LTC Suzanne C Nielsen Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "It is common to hear the argument that military organizations are incapable of reforming themselves. In this paper, Lieutenant Colonel Suzanne Nielsen takes the opposite position. It is not only possible for senior military leaders to change their organizations, it is also necessary since only these leaders are likely to be able to do it."

A New Chapter in Trans-American Engagement Ms Eva Silkwood Baker, Dr Max G Manwaring Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University "General Fraser and the conference dialogue stressed the critical need to develop a serious hemispheric partnership for opening “A new Chapter in Trans-American Engagement.” In that connection, over 20 major issues and recommendations were put forward (some of which were redundant) at the 2010 Western Hemisphere Security Colloquium, held on May 25-26, 2010, in Miami, Florida. In one way or another, virtually every issue and recommendation stresses that building a viable regional security partnership in the Hemisphere is not a strictly short-term, or unilateral, or even bilateral defense effort. Regional security will result only from long-term, multilateral, civil-military partnering efforts. Thus, the generalized results of the colloquium emphasize three highly interrelated needs and an associated recommendation."

Preparing for One War and Getting Another? Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "When Edward Luttwak’s Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace was published in 1987, it drew the attention of the defense intellectual community almost immediately, and became required reading in many strategy courses. The idea that war or strategy was driven by a paradoxical logic was attractive. However, a number of questions remain unanswered. If war has its own logic, rather than its own grammar, where does the logic of policy fit in? If the logic of strategy is, in fact, paradoxical, how can it be taught? What are paradoxes, and can they be useful in guiding our strategic choices? All of these questions and more are touched upon in this monograph by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria II. He takes a closer look at the seemingly paradoxical logic that is driving aspects of defense thinking today. While the need for certain capabilities may indeed be genuine, the manner in which the arguments for them are made can actually undermine the overall rationale for change."

The International Conference of Military Engineers and the Environment Arthur L Bradshaw, Ms Marcela Ramirez Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Building trust and cooperation between the military and civilian sectors in the nations of South America is an essential step in their continuing evaluation as democracies. To that end, the United States Army Southern Command Engineers and the Chilean Army Engineers co-sponsored an event entitled “The International Conference of Military Engineers and the Environment,” 3-7 August 2009, in Santiago, Chile. The conference was opened by General Oscar Izurieta Ferrer, Commander in Chief of the Army, Chile, and Mr. Thomas Schoenbeck, Director, Enterprise Support, United States Army Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). It was hosted by Brigadier General Sergio Varela Solar, Commander of Army Engineers, Chile, and Colonel Norberto Cintron, Command Engineer, USSOUTHCOM. "