Recent Articles

Guide to Rebuilding Public Sector Services in Stability Operations: A Role for the Military? Professor Susan Merrill Guides and Handbooks by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, Strategic Studies Institute "This paper provides guidance helpful to U.S. peacekeeping personnel in planning and executing stability operations tasks related to restoration of public sector services and infrastructure. It is designed to supplement existing and emerging guidance, and is specifically relevant to addressing the needs of public sector rebuilding in a post-conflict situation by peacekeeping forces. The material presented here draws both from theory and analytic frameworks and from on-the-ground experience of practitioners."

Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction Beth Cole, Professor William J Flavin Guides and Handbooks by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, United States Institute of Peace, United States Institute of Peace Press "Terrorists, transnational organized crime syndicates, local warring factions, warlords, and petty thieves have all found common cause in states and regions in conflict. This nexus of interests has grown in sophistication over the past decade, aided by money and technology and fueled by greed and fanaticism. Civilians have increasingly become the victims of violence fostered by this nexus. The required response is a comprehensive one that brings together specialized organizations to stabilize extremely dangerous and hostile environments while laying the foundations for a sustainable peace."

War's Second Grammar Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "With the publication of FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5, Counterinsurgency, the U.S. military officially embraced a second grammar of war. As an official statement of counterinsurgency doctrine, these manuals have received their share of criticism and praise, neither of which will be repeated here. Instead, the purpose of this opinion piece is to suggest that, no matter how different war’s second grammar is from its first, it is still a grammar. To be sure, holding true to good grammar contributes immensely to favorable outcomes in war. However, even an exquisite grammar cannot save a dubious logic; nor can it encompass all factors that contribute to military success."

The Army's Professional Military Ethic in an Era of Persistent Conflict Major Paul Oh, Dr Don M Snider, Major Kevin Toner Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In the series forward, General Casey challenges us to deeply study the richness of the Army professional Ethic formed over our 234 year history, the last 35 years of which comprised as an all-volunteer professional force. Dr. Snider and his fellow authors take on General Casey’s challenge and engage in vibrant and thoughtful dialog about our profession and our PME. They call us toward a deeper understanding of what it means to be a professional, to be part of a professional body, and our responsibilities to that body and to the nation it serves in continuing to advance our Ethic."

Food Security Mr Brent C Bankus, Jason Delosua Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "For a majority of Americans and western Europeans, sufficient food is readily accessible and its cost is a relatively small percentage of their annual income. This, however, is not the case for almost a billion people around the world, including large numbers in the strategically important states of Egypt, India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. In these countries, and in others, food insecurity has been or is a contributor to regional or domestic instability, "

Congressional Gridlock, Town Hall Vitriol...and the Information Dennis M Murphy Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Speed, access to news, connectivity…. The information age, as Thomas Friedman likes to remind us, has made the world flat. From many perspectives, that’s good news. You can access news from anywhere, at any time with a click of a mouse. You have the capability to watch literally hundreds of television channels, in multiple languages from the comfort of your couch. You can listen to rock, jazz, metal or classical music without interruption driving from coast to coast…or you can listen to talk radio a mind-numbing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And the future will only bring more capability, more options, and more information."

Mind-Sets and Missiles: a First Hand Account of the Cuban Missile Crisis Mr Kenneth Michael Absher Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This Letort Paper provides a detailed chronology and analysis of the intelligence failures and successes of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The author, Mr. Kenneth Absher, contends that, when our national security is at stake, the United States should not hesitate to undertake risky intelligence collection operations, including espionage, to penetrate our adversary’s deceptions. At the same time, the United States must also understand that our adversary may not believe the gravity of our policy warnings or may not allow its own agenda to be influenced by U.S. diplomatic pressure."

Escalation and Intrawar Deterrence During Limited Wars in the Middle East Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The number of declared nuclear powers has expanded significantly in the last 20 years to include Pakistan, India, and North Korea. Additionally, other powers such as Iran are almost certainly striving for a nuclear weapons capability while a number of countries in the developing world possess or seek biological and chemical weapons. In this milieu, a central purpose of this monograph by W. Andrew Terrill is to reexamine two earlier conflicts for insights that may be relevant for ongoing dangers during limited wars involving nations possessing chemical or biological weapons or emerging nuclear arsenals. "

Russian Elite Image of Iran: From the Late Soviet Era to the Present Dr Dmitry Shlapentokh Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Since the late Soviet era, the presence of Iran has loomed large in the minds of the Russian elite. Their vision of Iran has been incorporated in the general view of the Russian relationship with the Muslim world. Soon after the end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)—and even before—increasing numbers of Russian intellectuals became disenchanted with the West, especially the United States, and looked for alternative geopolitical alliances. The Muslim world, with Iran at the center, became one of the possible alternatives. "