Strategic Issues

The Trouble With Strategic Communication(s) Dennis M Murphy Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Recently the U.S. Southern Command’s Admiral James Stavridis paraphrased World War II’s great naval commander and strategist Ernest King: 'I don’t know what the hell this [strategic communication] is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.' This past summer over 200 strategic communication practitioners and academics met at the National War College for the first annual Worldwide Strategic Communication Seminar. Senior government officials urged attendees to get on with the business of strategic communication, noting that 'we will be flying the plane while we’re building it'..."

Using Sustainability to Build Stability in Africa: Strategic Policy Issues for the Army Arthur L Bradshaw, Dr Kent H Butts, Mr Brian D Smith Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Sustainability means meeting the demands placed on the system today without compromising the needs of future generations. Thus, the over consumption, abuse, or pollution of a country’s natural resource base today will cause the country to fail when it cannot meet the demands placed upon the political system by future generations. The workshop series aims at to examine how the Army can leverage sustainability as an approach to engaging African nations. Working within the context of U.S. Africa Command’s (USAFRICOM) strategic vision, sustainability provides an approach to engagement that will support the capacity of African militaries so that they may help civilian governments address sustainability issues and maintain the legitimacy necessary to prevent state failure and instability. "

Creative Strategic Intelligence Analysis and Decision Making Within the Elements of National Power; Proteus Futures Workshop Report 2007 Workshop Report by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "From 14 to 16 August 2007 the Proteus Management Group USA hosted an Academic Workshop to bring together specialists from academia, the defense community, and civilian organizations to share information and insights on analyzing future complex national security challenges. "

Toward a Mathematical Theory of Counterterrorism; Proteus Monograph Series 1, Volume 2 Jonathan David Farley Monograph by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership, The Proteus Management Group 'In March 2006, The New York Times Magazine published an article entitled, 'Can Network Theory Thwart Terrorists?' When terrorist cells are depicted schematically, they are often shown as structures called graphs. These are not the graphs readers may have plotted in high school algebra, but collections of dots (called nodes), representing individuals, and lines (called edges) between nodes, representing any sort of relationship between the two corresponding individuals, such as a direct communications link."

Truth, Perception and Consequences Proteus Monograph Series 1, Volume 1 Christine A R MacNulty Monograph by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership, The Proteus Management Group "Today we, in the United States, tend to regard Sun Tzu’s maxim 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles' as being about the physical capabilities, C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), weapons, and warfighting capability of our own forces and those of the adversary. Given the rest of The Art of War, and its focus on preventing such actions, it is likely that Sun Tzu was referring much more to the understanding of the psyche than to the material aspects of warfare."

On the Uses of Cultural Knowledge Dr Sheila Miyoshi Jager Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph, by Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager, explores the role that cultural knowledge must play in thinking about a new strategy for counterinsurgency. Although the importance of cultural awareness and understanding of adversary societies has been widely recognized as essential to operations and tactics on the battlefield, Dr. Jager argues its significance has been largely ignored in formulating the broader strategic goals of counterinsurgency. This monograph highlights the importance of culture, and cultural awareness, in formulating a broad strategy for counterinsurgency which also has wide-ranging implications for U.S. foreign policy."

Regional Threats and Security Strategy: The Troubling Case of Today's Middle East Mr James A Russell Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph attempts to peel back the layers of complexity surrounding the regional threat environment as a first step in the process of constructing a security strategy that can effectively mitigate the threats to U.S. and global interests. The United States has relied on a remarkably effective Cold War template to protect and preserve its regional interests that includes such elements as access to host nation facilities, prepositioned military equipment, foreign military sales, and joint training and exercises. The question facing strategists is whether this template remains relevant to the regional environment. The author argues that changing internal political dynamics throughout the region will make it increasingly difficult for regional elites to continue to allow the United States to apply its tried and true Cold War template."

Force and Restraint in Strategic Deterrence: A Game-Theorist's Perspective Dr Roger B Myerson Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph is a short nontechnical introduction to the use of game theory in the study of international relations. The focus is on the problem of deterrence against potential adversaries and aggressors. The author, Professor Roger Myerson, uses game models to provide a simple context where we can see more clearly the essential logic of strategic deterrence. We should look to such theoretical analysis for basic insights that may have practical importance in policymaking. The main conclusion is that a great power’s use of its military forces may be rendered ineffective or even counterproductive when there are no clear internationally recognizable limits on this use of force."

The 2nd Annual Proteus Academic Workshop and the Way Ahead Mister William O Waddell, COL William L Wimbish III Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The Proteus Management Group (PMG) hosted the second annual Proteus Futures Academic Workshop 14-16 August 07 at the Center for Strategic Leadership, United States Army War College (USAWC) at Carlisle Barracks, PA. This year’s workshop provided international scholars from various organizations and institutions across government, academia and the private sector the opportunity to present papers on topics that explore complex issues within the future global security environment, as well as to examine Proteus related new and innovative concepts, strategies and processes to meet 21st century security challenges. Over 70 workshop participants from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds participated in this year’s event. "