Europe & Russia

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Europe LTC Raymond A Millen Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "War with Iraq will signal the beginning of a new era in American national security policy and alter strategic balances and relationships around the world. The specific effects of the war, though, will vary from region to region. In some, America’s position will be strengthened. In others, it may degrade without serious and sustained efforts."

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Post-Soviet States Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "An American-led war with Iraq will affect the international state system profoundly, particularly the potentially volatile set of regions that comprise the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Because the war with Iraq is not directly related to prevailing security conditions in the FSU, we can make the following predictions with reasonable certainty. Some, if not all, currently existing strategic factors in the FSU will continue, whether or not the United States goes to war with Iraq, and whether or not the war is short or long, conventional or one that witnesses the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other forms of unconventional warfare."

Russia in Afghanistan and Chechnya: Military Strategic Culture and the Paradoxes of Asymmetric Conflict Major Robert M Cassidy Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Major Robert Cassidy uses a detailed assessment of the Russian experience in Afghanistan and Chechnya to draw important conclusions about asymmetric warfare. He then uses this to provide recommendations for the U.S. military, particularly the Army. Major Cassidy points out that small wars are difficult for every great power, yet are the most common kind. Even in this era of asymmetry, the U.S. Army exhibits a cultural preference for the “big war” paradigm. He suggests that the U.S. military in general, including the Army, needs a cultural transformation to master the challenge of asymmetry fully. From this will grow doctrine and organizational change."

European Adaptation to Expeditionary Warfare: Implications for the U.S. Army Dr Andrew M Dorman Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As has North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU) is adapting to the changing regional and global security environment in the wake of the Cold War. Almost immediately, Europe began to recognize that it could not barricade itself from the world and live off the peace dividend while instability rampaged along its border. The existing European security organizations (Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe [OSCE], Western European Union [WEU]) were ill-suited to deal with the host of new challenges, and as the Balkans conflicts revealed, the European contribution to NATO had fallen woefully behind."

Avoiding Vietnam: The U.S. Army's Response to Defeat in Southeast Asia Dr Conrad C Crane Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Dr. Crane asserts that the Army must change in order to operate effectively in the full spectrum of future requirements, and it is time to reexamine the war in Vietnam. His study also draws attention to the service’s “Lessons Learned” process, and provides insights as to how the experience gained in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM should be analyzed and applied."

The Future of Transcaspian Security Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph explores the unprecedented opportunities that are now before the United States and recommends actions that the Government and armed forces, especially, but not only the U.S. Army, should undertake to consolidate and extend the newly emerging military partnership and cooperative security regime that are now developing. Because the opportunities being presented to the United States and NATO were never possible before to this degree, the proper way to exploit them will become a subject of debate."

Beyond Nunn-Lugar: Curbing the Next Wave of Weapons Proliferation Threats from Russia Mr Thomas Riisager, Mr Henry D Sokolski Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute Commissioned by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) "With so many analyses already available of U.S.-Russian cooperative threat reduction efforts, it is not obvious why one should bother with yet another. There are, however, three good reasons for doing so. First, with the recent warming in U.S.-Russian relations, it makes sense to review what is clearly the current mainstay of existing U.S.-Russian cooperation—the one billion dollars per year worth of government-funded Nunn-Lugar programs—to see what can be done better. Certainly, if the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program’s worthy objectives can be better achieved, this, in turn, should enhance the prospects for increased U.S.-Russian security cooperation generally. Of course, the reverse is also true."

Defeating Terrorism: Strategic Issue Analyses Prof John R Martin Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Within only a few days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Army War College initiated a series of short studies addressing strategic issues in the war on terrorism. This collection of essays analyzes a broad array of subjects of great strategic importance. Because national leaders were pressed to issue orders on the prosecution of the war on terrorism, it was necessary to produce these papers on a very short time-line. This got the ideas included in the articles into the hands of decisionmakers as quickly as possible, giving them better understanding of factors affecting their various decisions. Issue analysis was never short-changed in this process, but authors were asked to provide “think pieces” quickly and to worry less about references and footnotes and more about capturing strategic insights. The shortened time-line in some cases also meant that it was possible to provide only an understanding of the context of the decision; specific policy recommendations were considered something that could be developed later if not included in these papers."

ESDP and Missile Defense: European Perspectives for More Balanced Transatlantic Partnership Mr Martin Aguera Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Are transatlantic relations currently in a crisis? The public debates over U.S. plans for a missile defense shield and European efforts to create a coherent and stronger military force might support such a thesis. However, as the author argues, transatlantic relations with NATO as its main security institution are not in a crisis. Rather, the European Security and Defense Policy as well as missile defense are transatlantic approaches, although not always commonly organized in the past, that seek to adjust to a more fragile international system. These new approaches have become necessary since the end of the Cold War, but only cooperation and mutual understanding for both projects will guarantee their final realization."