Strategic Issues

Work Group 3 - The New Criticality of the National Guard Bureau Prof Bert B Tussing Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "On 28 & 29 May 2008, the United States Army War College conducted the 7th annual Reserve Component Symposium at the Center for Strategic Leadership at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The series began in 2000, and is dedicated to examining issues of critical importance to the Services’ Reserve Component and the United States National Guard. Following 9/11, the preponderance of these symposiums have been devoted to issues surrounding the vital role of the Reserve Component in homeland security, homeland defense and civil support. The trend continued in this year’s forum, which was devoted to examining the evolving role of the Guard and Service reserves in support of civilian authorities. In the wake of studies, new legislative directives, and executive initiatives devoted to those ends, that role is undergoing remarkable change."

Collins Center Quarterly Update, Vol 10, Iss. 3 (Apr-Jun 08) LTC Art Loureiro, Professor James Kievit, Mr. John Auger, Mr. William O. Waddell, COL (Ret.) B.F. Griffard, LTC Edward McLarney, Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership

Wars of Ideas and the War of Ideas Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Despite widespread emphasis on the importance of winning the war of ideas in recent strategic literature, we find few analytical studies of wars of ideas as such. With that in mind, this monograph offers a brief examination of four common types of wars of ideas, and uses that as a basis for analyzing how the United States and its allies and strategic partners might proceed in the current war of ideas. "

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."

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. "

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 Strategy Deficit Mr Nathan P Freier Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "An honest survey of post-Cold War national security policy exhibits a dangerous strategy deficit. The word “strategy” is overused. The concept, too, is poorly applied. It is many things to contemporary policymakers except, well—strategy. In the current environment, strategic communications and strategy have become synonymous. Strategic communications is the carefully crafted but overly general and widely consumable articulation of key political messages—“assure, deter, dissuade, defeat”; “as they stand up, we’ll stand down”; “clear, hold, build”; “phased strategic redeployment”; etc, etc, etc..."