Strategic Issues

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. "

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..."

New Media and the Warfighter: Workshop Initial Impressions Dennis M Murphy Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Managing media and “information effects” is a hallmark of the current geo-strategic environment in which the U.S. military fights. The global information revolution and rapid spread of the Internet and other digital media have leveled the playing field between nation-states, non-state actors, multinational corporations and individuals. Anyone armed with mobile technologies such as a camera cell phone and access to the Internet is capable of affecting strategic outcomes at very low cost, using a minimal information infrastructure. The U.S. military has increasingly leveraged advances in information technology to gain advantages in the modern battlefield and to tell their story on a macro level, but has just recently begun to exploit the exploding technology realm at the micro level by co-opting the use of YouTube and blogs to help achieve objectives. Clearly, managing the “message” while controlling the necessary technological “means” represent critical challenges in today’s military operating environment."

Collins Center Update Volume 10, Issue 1 Winter 2008 Colonel Phil Evans, Ritchie L. Dion, Colonel (Ret.) Eugene L. Thompson Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership

Intelligence Scotomas in Central and South America, The Proteus Monograph Series, Volume 1, Issue 4 John B Alexander Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership, Proteus Monograph Series Fellows Program " 'Why should I care?' This response from a U.S. Army staff officer may seem like a strange introduction to a monograph on national security issues, but it actually strikes at the crux of the problem. The comment was made by a lieutenant colonel assigned to the Department of the Army’s G-3 office when told that there were significant problems emerging in South America. He is far from alone in his reflexive analysis, or lack thereof. It is indicative of the understaffed, overworked, and terminally focused attitude that permeates everything in the Pentagon. Combat pilots call this target fixation, and for the Department of Defense, the current target is Iraq and the Middle East."