Strategic Issues

  •  Collins Center Update Volume 13 Issue 3

    Collins Center Update Volume 13 Issue 3

    Collins Center Update Volume 13 Issue 3 Professor Bernard F. Griffard, Colonel Sam White, Jr, LTC Vince Lindenmeyer, Professor Dennis Murphy, Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership
    • Published On: 7/18/2011
  •  Strategic Minerals: Is China's Consumption a Threat to United States Security?

    Strategic Minerals: Is China's Consumption a Threat to United States Security?

    Strategic Minerals: Is China's Consumption a Threat to United States Security? Mr Brent C Bankus, Dr Kent H Butts, LT Adam Norris Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The vitality of a powerful nation depends upon its ability to secure access to the strategic resources necessary to sustain its economy and produce effective weapons for defense. This is especially true for the world’s two largest economies, those of the United States and China, which are similarly import dependent for around half of their petroleum imports and large quantities of their strategic minerals. Because China’s economy and resource import dependence continue to grow at a high rate it has adopted a geopolitical strategy to secure strategic resources. China’s resulting role in the mineral trade has increased Western security community concern over strategic minerals to its highest point since the end of the Cold War. "
    • Published On: 7/18/2011
  •  Assessing the Strategic Environment: Developing Critical Thinking Skills at the Ethiopian Defense Command and Staff College

    Assessing the Strategic Environment: Developing Critical Thinking Skills at the Ethiopian Defense Command and Staff College

    Assessing the Strategic Environment: Developing Critical Thinking Skills at the Ethiopian Defense Command and Staff College Prof Bernard F Griffard Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "A government’s failure to understand the impact of global variables on the domestic environment can result in major destabilizing events. Emperor Tewodros II of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) learned this lesson the hard way. In 1862, after a snub by the British Government, the Emperor took the British Consul and other Europeans hostage to pressure the Crown to meet his request for equipment and training support. Being a somewhat impatient ruler, he also detained the British delegation sent to negotiate the initial hostages’ release. Because Britain’s ruling Liberal Party was reluctant to engage in “imperial adventures,” the hostages were still in loco Abyssinia into 1867."
    • Published On: 7/18/2011
  •  Examining Military Governance as a Part of Professional Military Education

    Examining Military Governance as a Part of Professional Military Education

    Examining Military Governance as a Part of Professional Military Education Mr Brent C Bankus, Ms Lorelei E W Coplen, Prof James O Kievit Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "After the capture of Baghdad in 2003, the expectation was that an Iraqi entity would quickly step forward to begin to fill the role of government in the territory formerly ruled by Saddam Hussein. Instead, there was a power vacuum which the United States – and in particular the United States military – had to fill. Similarly, in Afghanistan, despite the relatively quick identification of Hamid Karzai as the “designated” national leader, it also became clear that the new national government lacked many of the essential capabilities required to actually implement good governance. Again, despite the clear preference of many of today’s military officers to have some other entity (whether of the U.S. government, the United Nations, or even non-government private contractors) be responsible for doing so, that responsibility initially fell largely, if not exclusively, on U.S. military commanders. Even though the U.S. military, especially the U.S. Army, has had a long history of military governance activities, many of those commanders felt unprepared and/or that it was 'not really my job.'"
    • Published On: 6/15/2011
  •  Developing a Diplomatic Corps that is Second-to-None

    Developing a Diplomatic Corps that is Second-to-None

    Developing a Diplomatic Corps that is Second-to-None Mr Samuel R White Jr Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The 2010 National Security Strategy (NSS) marked a change in emphasis in United States foreign policy direction after more than a decade of continuous military engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Global operations against violent extremist groups and entrenched and pervasive terror networks moved policy emphasis toward traditional” hard power” levers – primarily military and economic coercion. Though these elements have dominated U.S. efforts since 9/11, the current NSS implements foreign policy across a wider range of engagement options, balanced between appropriate measures of hard and soft power – coined “smart power” by Joseph Nye."
    • Published On: 6/7/2011
  •  In the Dark; Military Planning for a Catastrophic Critical Infrastructure Event

    In the Dark; Military Planning for a Catastrophic Critical Infrastructure Event

    In the Dark; Military Planning for a Catastrophic Critical Infrastructure Event Mr Kevin J Cogan Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The earth is situated in a strategic location just 93 million miles from its sun. Since its creation it has survived the cataclysms of temperature extremes, meteor bombardments, and solar storm events. It has survived these events so well that life, including humans, has flourished and prospered in increasing numbers and progressively higher standards of living. For all but the last 150 years, the infrastructure constructed for better human living standards has been relatively unaffected by localized geological disasters or the broader effects of solar storms. But the harnessing of electrical power, begun in the mid-nineteenth century and its distribution via an interconnected grid to which 86% of the U.S. population is now connected, has created the potential for a near certain catastrophe of unprecedented proportion if it fails..."
    • Published On: 5/18/2011
  •  Collins Center Update, Volume 13, Issue 2 (Spring 2011)

    Collins Center Update, Volume 13, Issue 2 (Spring 2011)

    Collins Center Update, Volume 13, Issue 2 (Spring 2011) Colonel John Laganelli, Colonel (Ret.) Charles W. Allen, Professor Bernard F. Griffard, Dr. Kent H. Butts Collins Center Update by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership
    • Published On: 4/8/2011
  •  Implementing a New Vision: Unity of Effort in Preparing for and Responding to Catastrophic Events

    Implementing a New Vision: Unity of Effort in Preparing for and Responding to Catastrophic Events

    Implementing a New Vision: Unity of Effort in Preparing for and Responding to Catastrophic Events Prof Bert B Tussing Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "From 17-18 November 2010, the Consortium for Homeland Defense and Security in America – consisting of the United States Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership, George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Heritage Foundation – held its annual symposium to examine pressing issues of shared concern regarding the domestic security of the United States and its allies. Conducted at Carlisle Barracks, the event was constructed around four panels, each devoted to a topic of interest specifically selected by the consortium partners. The first of these panels addressed the challenges of achieving Unity of Effort in preparing for and responding to catastrophic events."
    • Published On: 3/24/2011
  •  Climate Change, Adaptation and Security in Central America and the Caribbean

    Climate Change, Adaptation and Security in Central America and the Caribbean

    Climate Change, Adaptation and Security in Central America and the Caribbean Dr Kent H Butts, Ms Marcela Ramirez Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Secretary of State Clinton began her term as the United States Secretary of State by calling for a U.S. foreign policy led by Diplomacy, Development and Defense. Success in applying this concept has been quickly realized at the regional level where cooperation between the Department of State (DOS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Combatant Commands has been ongoing, particularly in the area of environmental security. United Nations data showing the link between resources and environmental issues and conflict are well known to regional economic and security organizations; but so too, is the potential for resource scarcity and environmental change to create opportunities for confidence building measures and multilateral cooperation that builds host nation capacities. Today, with its impact on water and food security and governmental legitimacy, climate change adaptation has emerged as a leading regional security issue and major concern to regional governments and their populations."
    • Published On: 3/24/2011
Page 14 of 44