Middle East & North Africa

SOLLIMS Sampler (Nov 2016) – Strategic Communication / Messaging in Peace & Stability Operations Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Strategic communication / messaging has proven to be a key enabler for the conduct of peace and stability operations. Recent operations that have borne this out include: Operation Atlantic Resolve (Eastern Europe), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (Afghanistan), Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines (OEF-P), Operation Joint Endeavor (Bosnia-Herzegovina), the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Liberia (UNMIL), Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector (OOD/OUP) (Libya), and Operation United Assistance (OUA) (West Africa). This lesson report provides lessons from those operations – covering a range of issues, such as planning, execution, coordination, evaluation, tracking, and partnering."

The Quest for Military Cooperation in North Africa: Prospects and Challenges Dr Mohammed El-Katiri Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In the aftermath of the ousting of dictatorial regimes in 2011, the fragile political and security situations in Tunisia and Libya have contributed to the emergence of new threats that menace the stability of both countries and of their neighbors. Severe terrorist incidents have become frequent throughout the region. To name but one incident, the borders that Algeria shares with those two countries exposed it to a major terrorist attack on the Tiguentourine gas facility in January 2013."

An Arab NATO in the Making? Middle Eastern Military Cooperation Since 2011 Dr Florence Gaub Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Two features have been consistent in the Middle East and North Africa since the era of independence: ongoing violence of all sorts—and the absence of a collective security structure, which could tackle this violence. Since the end of World War II, the region has seen multiple attempts to organize collective and cooperative security, all of which failed."

Strategic Insights: The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Taliban Dr M Chris Mason Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Stability Operations in Somalia 1992-1993: A Case Study Glen M Harned PKSOI Paper US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, US Army War College Press "Operation RESTORE HOPE, a U.S.-led peace enforcement operation conducted in Somalia under United Nations (U.N.) auspices from December 1992 to May 1993, offers many lessons that are applicable to a range of possible challenges in the future. Unlike peacekeeping operations, which rely on the consent and good will of the parties to a dispute, peace enforcement operations involve the show or use of military force in an armed conflict to separate combatants and create, maintain, or reinstate a cease-fire."

SOLLIMS Sampler – Investing in Training for, and during, Peace and Stability Operations Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Perhaps the greatest “enabler” for successful peace and stability operations is Training. It is absolutely imperative that contingents, teams, and individuals designated for deployment to complex environments are properly trained on the spectrum of peace/stability tasks required to accomplish the mission/mandate –and that host nation personnel assuming new roles and responsibilities for their fragile nation/government in the aftermath of conflict/instability are likewise comprehensively trained to accomplish their new duties. The following selection of lessons attests to this imperative."

Peace & Stability Journal, Volume 6, Issue 3 Mister Robert C Browne Peace and Stability Journal by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Against the backdrop of the Taliban’s late September 2015 seizure of Kunduz as well as the emergence of Islamic State groups mainly in south and east Afghanistan, the jury is out on the long-term effectiveness of the Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF). To address this challenge, Afghan leaders should consider creating an Afghan Army Reserve (AAR) that recruits mainly former ANA soldiers, Afghan Local Police (ALP) that supplement National Police personnel at the local level, and village-level militias that have traditionally responded to tribal elders."

SOLLIMS Sampler – Lessons on Stability Operations from U.S. Army War College Students (May 2015) Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "In Academic Year 2015, U.S. Army War College students in PKSOI elective courses were given the opportunity to enter a lesson learned into the SOLLIMS database – based on operational experience, course readings, research, or case studies. Most lessons were at the strategic level; however, several students also submitted lessons at the operational and tactical levels. Lessons encompassed an array of stability topics, including Security, Development, and Rule of Law."

Impunity: Countering Illicit Power in War and Transition Michelle Hughes, Michael Miklaucic Guides and Handbooks by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Strategies that weaken illicit power structures and strengthen legitimate state authority are vital to national and international security. As Dr. Henry Kissinger observed, we may be “facing a period in which forces beyond the restraints of any order determine the future.” Because threats to security emanate from disorder in areas where governance and rule of law are weak, defeating terrorist, insurgent, and criminal organizations requires integrated efforts not only to attack enemy organizations, but also to strengthen institutions essential to sustainable security."