Recent Articles

Adaptability of Land Forces to 21st Century Security Challenges Prof Bernard F Griffard Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Transforming a nation’s military to face 21st century challenges requires recognition of the need for change and then taking action to accomplish that change. Neither component of this two-step process is easy, but adapting the national military culture and equipping the force for full spectrum operations is the hardest part. With this in mind, the 2008 Land Forces Symposium brought together Army commanders or their representatives from 23 countries within the U.S. Central Command region to discuss the Adaptability of Land Forces to 21st Century Security Challenges. "

Strategic Vision Workshop; National Grand Strategy – A Constellation of Choices Prof Douglas B Campbell, Prof Philip M Evans, LTC Artur M Loureiro, MG Robert M Williams Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The United States Army War College (USAWC), in support of the Army Staff and in cooperation with national security faculty and researchers at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program, and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, conducted a series of workshops from 7-10 April 2008 entitled Strategic Vision Workshop: National Grand Strategy. The Strategic Vision Workshop was organized to assist the Department of the Army in the understanding of Grand Strategy and future policy options that will prepare the Army to meet challenges in a world of persistent conflict."

The Second Berlin Wall LTC Raymond A Millen Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The latest contretemps in NATO regarding burden sharing in Afghanistan has the distinguishing feature of being altogether pedestrian. European reluctance to contribute more troops and funding to Afghanistan has less to do with disagreements over strategy than it does with a pattern of behavior stemming back to the birth of the Alliance."

Borders: Technology and Security--Strategic Responses to New Challenges Dr Douglas V Johnson II Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, New Mexico State University "The New Mexico State University Government Department, in cooperation with the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, conducted a 2-day colloquium, “Borders: Technology and Security—Strategic Responses to New Challenges,” on April 1-2, 2008. Approximately 60 invitees attended the event, which took place in Las Cruces, New Mexico. "

U.S. Foreign Policy and Regime Instability Dr James Meernik Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This Letort Paper examines the relationship between U.S. military ties with foreign states and the extent to which the depth of these ties influences the level of political instability and violence in those states. Many pundits and scholars have criticized U.S. foreign policy for its reliance on military means of influence and have argued that other foreign policy tools, such as economic aid, cultural exchanges, and diplomacy can better promote American interests. Yet, few scholars have chosen to evaluate empirically whether the military relationship encourages or discourages political instability and violence in these nations. The author, Dr. James Meernik, analyzes these issues in a systematic and objective fashion and finds that the relationships between a U.S. military presence, U.S. military aid, the use of military force, and other factors are much more complex and subtle than many have believed."

Albania - Observations on a Changing Nation COL William R Applegate, COL Patrick O Carpenter, Prof Bernard F Griffard Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Today’s nation of Albania is the result of a long tortuous journey through history, during which it was mostly not treated well. Thought to be descended from the Illyrian Albanoi tribe, Albanians have been subjugated by Philip of Macedonia, Tiberius of Rome, the Ottoman Turks, and Mussolini’s Italian Army. Geographically, Albania has encompassed much of the area we know as the Balkans; it has also been partitioned and disappeared as an entity from the maps of Europe. To German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck at the 1878 Congress of Berlin Albania was no more than a “geographical expression.” It was not until 1913, with the end of the Second Balkan War and the conclusion of the Treaty of Bucharest, that the boundaries of today’s Albania took form."

Collins Center Quarterly Update, Vol 10, Iss. 2 (Jan-Mar 08) Colonel Brad Ward, Harry V. Phillips, Ritchie L. Dion, John Auger, Bill Waddell, Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership

The Evolution of U.S. Turkish Relations in a Transatlantic Context Dr Frances G Burwell Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Since World War II, the relationship between Turkey and the United States has been characterized by complexity and flux; there have been periods of remarkable cooperation, even when significant disagreements existed. Relations between the two countries are never merely bilateral, for the two are also linked to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). The relationship between those two organizations is also complicated because of differing core purposes and somewhat differing memberships. Current Turkey-U.S. diplomatic and military relations are more strained than in recent years, but both countries recognize how vital it is to address issues of mutual importance."

Precision in the Global War on Terror: Inciting Muslims through the War of Ideas Dr Sherifa D Zuhur Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph questions the messages conveyed to Muslims about their religion and extremism in the war of ideas. Why do American strategic messages on this issue play so badly in the region? Why, despite broad Muslim disapproval of extremism as shown in surveys and official utterances by key Muslim leaders, has support for bin Ladin actually increased in Jordan and in Pakistan since some polling suggests bin Ladin’s approval in Jordan suffered a great deal after the hotel bombings? A reason that the United States is winning so few “hearts and minds” in the broader Islamic world is confusion and imprecision in American strategic messages. The grand strategy of defining, isolating, and destroying Islamism or radical Islamism may not be possible if America does not proceed more carefully, and listen to what its allies think, know, and feel about their faith."