Strategy & Policy

USAID & DoD: Analysis and Recommendations to Enhance Development-Military Cooperation Mister Benjamin D Kauffeld PKSOI Paper by US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "At the beginning of 2014, U.S. government agencies involved in national security, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), maintained a laser like focus on an imploding Syria, the impending transition in Afghanistan and the arc of instability spreading across Western Africa. Not on the radar screen was the horror movie unfolding in Ukraine or the explosion of unaccompanied children fleeing instability in Central America. As General Key, European Command’s (EUCOM) planning chief, remarked at the late winter EUCOM Strategy Conference, 'Our crystal ball is not so crystal.' "

Memorandum for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Secure Balance and Flexibility In Future Joint Forces; Insights from the 25th Annual Strategy Conference “Balancing the Joint Force to Meet Future Security Challenges” April 8-10, 2014 Mr Nathan P Freier Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Army War College recently hosted its twenty-fifth annual strategy conference in partnership with your J7’s Future Joint Force Development Directorate. The event’s theme was balancing U.S. and allied military capabilities to meet the most important future demands. A number of key insights emerged from this event. However, one dominated virtually every substantive conference discussion: given the breadth of American interests worldwide and trends in the international security environment, U.S. forces must prepare to confront challenges emerging from two very different origins."

Changing the Game: Human Security as a Grand Strategy Lieutenant Colonel John C Anderson PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, US Army War College Press "Dire forecasts of “game-changing” political, social and environmental upheaval over the next thirty years only add to the pessimism generated by constraining fiscal environments and tangible signs, the world over, of a rising China. These same pressures lend urgency to initiatives that seek greater organizational efficiency in the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of State (DOS)."

Avoiding Praetorian Societies: Focusing U.S. Strategy on Political Development Lieutenant Colonel Bruce K Ferrell PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, US Army War College Press "It is clear that fragile nation-states will continue to be a major contributor to instability in the international strategic environment. The United States, its allies and partners have attempted to mitigate the negative effects of fragile states through a variety of approaches, including military stability and reconstruction (S&R) operations such as those undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan. America’s success rate at conducting S&R operations, however, is mixed. Despite immense efforts undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of politically stable states in both countries eludes the U.S., partner states, and international allies."

Post-2014 Afghanistan Wargame Analysis Dr Richard L Winslow War Game Report by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The Afghanistan Futures Wargame conducted 14-15 January 2014 brought together specialists with expertise on Afghanistan, China, India, Iran and Pakistan, international relations and national security affairs from academia, government and private think-tanks to consider U.S. policy options for Afghanistan beyond 2014."

An Assessment of the DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace Dr Thomas M Chen Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In some ways, the cyber domain is quite different from the traditional operational domains of air, land, sea, and space. Cyber threats are stealthy and difficult to attribute; critical infrastructures are difficult to defend against unseen and unpredictable adversaries. The 2011 Department of Defense (DoD) Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace was a significant policy statement for publicly embracing cyberspace as an operational domain and declaring a number of strategic initiatives to maintain U.S. security in the face of emerging cyber threats. In this monograph, Dr. Thomas Chen explains the strategies as they have evolved from previous national strategies and examines each strategy critically for clarity, comprehensiveness, and novelty. "

Sharing Power? Prospects for a U.S. Concert-Balance Strategy Dr Patrick Porter Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Grand strategy is an important subject. It is about the dialectical relationship between power and commitments, ends, and means. Grand strategy concerns not only the alignment of resources with goals, but how to conceive those goals in the first place. At root, it is about the identity of the security community. What kind of country does it want to be, and what kind of country does it have the power to be?"

Egypt's New Regime and the Future of the U.S.-Egyptian Strategic Relationship Mr Gregory Aftandilian Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This monograph, completed in August 2012, analyzes the developments in Egypt from January 2011 to August 2012 and addresses the following questions that are pertinent to U.S. policymakers: How does the United States maintain good relations and preserve its strategic partnership with Egypt under Cairo’s new political leadership and the changing political environment in the country? How does it do so while adhering to American values such as supporting democracy even when those coming to power do not share U.S. strategic goals? The monograph first examines Egypt’s strategic importance for the United States by exploring Egypt’s role in the Arab-Israeli peace process, its geographical role (providing air and naval access) for U.S. military assets heading to the Persian Gulf, and joint training programs. With so much at stake in the Middle East, “losing” Egypt as a strategic ally would be a significant setback for the United States."

The Promise and Pitfalls of Grand Strategy Dr Hal Brands Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph offers a critical examination of the idea and utility of “grand strategy.” The concept is very much in vogue these days, with commentators of all stripes invoking it in one way or another. But what the term actually means often remains unclear, and discussions of the issue too often muddle or obscure more than they illuminate. The purpose of this monograph, therefore, is to provide a more precise understanding of the meaning, importance, and challenges of American grand strategy—not to recommend any single grand strategy that the U.S. Government should follow, but to illuminate the promise and limitations of grand strategy as a national endeavor. "