Recent Articles

Creating an Effective Regional Alignment Strategy for the U.S. Army Major Raven Bukowski, Major John Childress, LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "As the war in Afghanistan draws to a close, the U.S. Army is increasingly focused upon “regionally aligning” its forces. To do so effectively, however, it must undertake several initiatives. First, the Army must acknowledge and liberate the unique productive capabilities (talents) of each individual. Second, it must shift from process-oriented, industrial age personnel management to productivity-focused, information age talent management. Third, the Army must foster enduring human relationships between its organizations and the governments, militaries, and populations to which they are regionally aligned. Hand in hand with this, it must redesign its Force Generation Model to create regional expertise at both individual and organizational levels. Fourth, the Army must ensure that regional alignment does not degrade the worldwide “flex” capabilities of its forces."

Strategic Insights: Should General Dempsey Resign? Army Professionals and the Moral Space for Military Dissent Don M. Snider Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Given that all Army professionals have taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” in what instances may, or even should, the stewards of the profession dissent in a public way—including resignation or retirement—from an administration’s policy that they believe to be so incorrect as to be ineffective, potentially endangering the Republic’s security."

Strategic Insights: Should China Be Given the Benefit of the Doubt? David Lai Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The South China Sea territorial dispute is a protracted and complicated problem. Recently, it has become an even more contentious issue between the United States and China. At the center of this disagreement is China's massive territorial claims and its persistent approach to dealing with the disputes in bilateral and diplomatic ways."

Battling the Bug: The Army's Response to Epidemics and Pandemics Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Michael E Lynch, Dr James D. Scudieri Historical Research Review by US Army War College, Army Heritage and Education Center "Numerous Ebola outbreaks have devastated West African communities. Beginning in March 2014, 7,470 people contracted the virus and 3,431 died in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, and Nigeria. The disease has since spread to the United States and Europe. In the U.S., the disease has claimed one life and two more have become infected. Previous Ebola epidemics occurred in West and Central Africa in 1976, 1995, 2000, and 2007. The 2014 outbreak is by far the deadliest, already approaching ten times the number of cases of the 1976 outbreak, the previous worst in history and the year of the virus’ discovery."

Rethinking Victory in Counterinsurgency COL Michael C Griffen PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, US Army War College Press "As a general rule, Americans are averse to war and are easily frustrated with wars of limited objectives. As such, Americans have a cultural aversion to counterinsurgency (COIN) – which is ironic given our success using asymmetric tactics against the British in the Revolutionary War. Moreover, Americans have grown to expect total victory in the form of unconditional surrender as the termination of any conflict. We consider anything less as a loss or stalemate."

United States-Gulf Cooperation Council Security Cooperation in a Multipolar World Dr Mohammed El-Katiri Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Profound changes in regional geopolitical dynamics in the Arabian Gulf since the early-2000s render the region a highly challenging environment for U.S. foreign policy and military engagement. At a time of continuing domestic instability in Iraq and an increasingly isolated Iran, the geopolitical weight of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has risen dramatically over the past 10 years; the GCC states’ enormous economic power, coupled to some of the most stable political systems in the entire Middle East and North Africa region, call for continuously close U.S.-GCC relations in the security sphere as an important element in U.S. foreign policy."

Maneuvering the Islamist-Secularist Divide in the Arab World: How the United States Can Preserve its Interests and Values in an Increasingly Polarized Environment Mr Gregory Aftandilian Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Mr. Gregory Aftandilian examines why the Islamist-secularist divide in such Arab countries as Egypt and Tunisia has become so intense and polarizing and what can be done, from the perspective of U.S. policy, to mitigate such divisions and preserve U.S. interests and values. He demonstrates that having Islamist parties in dominant positions in Arab societies often provokes a backlash from secular elements because the latter see the Islamists as threatening their social freedoms, which leads to unrest. For countries beginning the transitory process from authoritarianism to democracy, Aftandilian recommends that the United States press for a broad governing coalition and a delay in holding elections, similar to what took place in Italy and France toward the end of World War II and which aided the moderate parties. Such practices would allow secular-liberal forces the opportunity to build their political parties and compete with Islamist parties."

Distinguishing Acts of War in Cyberspace: Assessment Criteria, Policy Considerations, and Response Implications Mr Jeffrey L Caton Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Currently, there is no internationally accepted definition of when hostile actions in cyberspace are recognized as attacks, let alone acts of war. The goal of this monograph is to provide senior policymakers, decisionmakers, military leaders, and their respective staffs with essential background on this topic as well as to introduce an analytical framework for them to utilize according to their needs. The examination canvasses existing decisionmaking policies, structures, and influences to provide a holistic context for the assessment that extends beyond limits of the legal and technical communities. Its approach focuses on the synthesis and integration of material from existing experts, deferring the detailed analysis to the many published studies."

U.S. Policy and Strategy Toward Afghanistan after 2014 Dr Larry P Goodson, Prof Thomas H Johnson Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "As the United States continues to withdraw troops from and prepares to leave Afghanistan, Afghanistan faces multifaceted and significant challenges of governance, economy, security, and regional dynamics. These are all occurring within the context of the potential for an expanded civil war when international forces leave the country. It is time to refocus from the conflict itself and ask hard, but realistic, strategic and policy questions as to the future of Afghanistan, and what role, if any, the United States should play in shaping that future."