The Past as Prologue: A History of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy in Colombia, 1958-66 Mr Dennis M Rempe Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, the author outlines the history of U.S. counterinsurgency policy and the recommendations made by U.S. Special Survey Teams in Colombia from 1958-66. The monograph comes at a time when the United States seriously is considering broadening its policy toward Colombia and addressing Colombia’s continuing internal war in a global and regional context. Thus, this report provides a point of departure from which policymakers in the United States and Colombia can review where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go."

U.S. Military Presence in the Persian Gulf: Challenges and Prospects Dr Sami G Hajjar Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The author of this monograph, Dr. Sami Hajjar, considers the critical questions of U.S. military presence in the Gulf, the challenges it faces, and the prospects that lay ahead. He relies, in his presentation and analysis, on a variety of regional sources including newspaper reports and personal interviews conducted in the United States and the Gulf region, as well as on government and academic sources. The result is a comprehensive study, including policy recommendations for U.S. military and civilian decisionmakers, that makes intelligible the complex subject of U.S.-Gulf relations."

The Rise of China in Asia: Security Implications Dr Carolyn Pumphrey Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "China boasts the oldest continuous civilization in the world and has been a major power for most of its history. Although China suffered a period of decline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, recent decades have seen a remarkable resurgence of Chinese prosperity and power. Five years ago analysts were confidently predicting that China would be the giant of the new century. Today, this is less clear. The first task of the conference was, consequently, to ascertain whether or not it is still appropriate to speak of the rise of China."

Defeating Terrorism: Strategic Issue Analyses Prof John R Martin Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Within only a few days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Army War College initiated a series of short studies addressing strategic issues in the war on terrorism. This collection of essays analyzes a broad array of subjects of great strategic importance. Because national leaders were pressed to issue orders on the prosecution of the war on terrorism, it was necessary to produce these papers on a very short time-line. This got the ideas included in the articles into the hands of decisionmakers as quickly as possible, giving them better understanding of factors affecting their various decisions. Issue analysis was never short-changed in this process, but authors were asked to provide “think pieces” quickly and to worry less about references and footnotes and more about capturing strategic insights. The shortened time-line in some cases also meant that it was possible to provide only an understanding of the context of the decision; specific policy recommendations were considered something that could be developed later if not included in these papers."

Colombian Army Adaptation to FARC Insurgency Dr Thomas A Marks Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph addresses the Colombian Army’s adaptation to the insurgency in that country. It outlines the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) threat to the control of the national territory and how the insurgents intend to achieve that objective. Then, the author analyzes the measures the Colombian Army has taken to counter the threat. He concludes that no one in the Colombian political establishment is directing the counterinsurgency war, and that the Army has been left to conduct the fight by itself. Recommendations range from the strategic to the operational levels. They argue the need for (1) a coordinated and integrated national campaign plan; (2) cogent and enforceable emergency laws and regulations; (3) enhanced information warfare; and, (4) an enhanced operational flexibility."

The Intervention Debate: Towards a Posture of Principled Judgment Dr John Garofano Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Deciding when and how to use force is one of the central elements of strategy. Throughout American history, debate has raged over whether force is appropriate only in defense of the homeland and vital national interests or whether it should also be used to promote more expansive objectives like regional security and stopping humanitarian disasters in regions with few tangible U.S. interests."

Transforming Defense Dr Conrad C Crane Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This collection regroups papers and presentations from the conference into three categories: Historical Overviews of Transforming Defense, Transformation Plans and Barriers, and External Views of Transformation. Each section contains an introduction describing the essays that follow, as well as summarizing other relevant conference presentations and discussions bearing on the topic. If presenters did not produce a formal article for publication, their key arguments are still described in the introduction."

The Transatlantic Security Agenda: A Conference Report and Analysis Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Immediately after the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, NATO members unanimously voted their support for the United States under Article V of the Washington Treaty. This unprecedented action, the first time such a vote has occurred in NATO’s history, underscores the vitality of the Atlantic Alliance and its tremendous strategic value for its members. This vote conferred great legitimacy upon any response that the United States will make to those attacks and reminded us that the solidity of NATO allows the United States to defend its interests on the world stage with great confidence about European security."

Colombia's Paramilitaries: Criminals or Political Force? Mr David Spencer Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph provides a sobering discussion of some important facts regarding Colombia’s paramilitary organizations. It points out that the paramilitary “self-defense” organizations pose a complex problem for the Colombian state in its search for a solution to current 40-plus-year-old internal war. First, the paramilitaries represent some important sectors of society and enjoy more popular support from the Colombian people than the insurgents..."