Op-Eds

National Security Strategy Reform: Rebalancing the President's Agenda Dr Robert H Dorff Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The common wisdom about presidential success in achieving major goals is simple: Focus on only one or at most two major initiatives. Presidents who try to accomplish too much risk accomplishing nothing, and multiple agenda items distract the team from “staying on message” providing ample opportunity for opponents to undermine the efforts."

The Role of Cuban Paramilitary Organizations (People's Militias) in the Post-Castro Era Dr Max G Manwaring Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Armed nonstate groups all over the world are directly challenging targeted governments’ physical and moral right and ability to govern. This almost chronic chaos is exacerbated by traditional nationstate actors using nonstate popular militias, youth leagues, gangs, or their equivalents to help the take control, maintain control, or regain control of a given political-economic-social entity. It is in this context that popular militias have been organized, trained, and nurtured in Cuba."

Pakistan - The Most Dangerous Place in the World Dr Larry P Goodson Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Pakistan is the most dangerous foreign policy problem facing the United States for five major reasons. First, Pakistan is a nuclear country, with at least 60 nuclear warheads (according to both journalistic and unclassified U.S. Government sources), a regular supply of fissile material with which to make more, multiple delivery systems, and a history as a known proliferator. Pakistan developed nuclear weapons because of its long and bloody history with its bigger next-door neighbor, India, to which it has lost four major military conflicts since 1947. They have not squared off again since the Kargil Conflict of 1999, and the world holds its breath over their next spat."

China's Maritime Quest Dr David Lai Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) turned 60 on April 23, 2009. China held an unprecedented celebration on this occasion. For the first time in its history, China invited foreign navies to the PLAN’s birthday event. Chinese President Hu Jintao and all the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) senior leaders reviewed a parade of China’s major warships from a Chinese destroyer."

Preventing Iraq from Slipping Back into Sectarian Chaos Dr W Andrew Terrill Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "It is at least possible, if not likely, that different choices on two key 2003 U.S. decisions would have allowed the United States to withdraw most of its troops from Iraq well before the present date. The two decisions that are now widely understood to have been disastrous mistakes are the dissolution of the Iraqi Army and the decision to pursue harsh punitive actions against vast numbers of former Ba’ath party members beyond the leadership of Saddam’s regime. Both decisions alienated Iraq’s Sunni Arabs and opened the door for a strong al-Qaeda presence in Iraq..."

Drug Trafficking, Violence, and the State in Mexico Dr Phil Williams Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Headlines and television commentaries about Mexico becoming a failed state as a result of drug-related violence have become a dime a dozen. Terms such as “criminal insurgency,” “narco-terrorism,” and narco-insurgency are all used to describe the widespread killings. The Joint Operating Environment Report of 2008 even suggested that Mexico, along with Pakistan, could suffer from a dramatic collapse of the state, with serious implications for U.S. national security."

Training for the “Political” War COL Louis H Jordan Jr Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "During a coffee break discussion that one esteemed colleague refers to as the “kaffe klatsch,” we addressed a scenario depicted in a recent work on our efforts in Iraq. The scene is familiar. An officer arrives in theater to discover the unpredictable environment surrounding him. In this case, he comments that he has found himself in a “political” war and not a “military” war."

Kiss the Embargo Goodbye Dr Alex Crowther Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The embargo on Cuba has been in place for almost 50 years. Although it may have been an appropriate policy response to the Cuban Revolution in the milieu of the Cold War, the reality of the 21st century calls for its abolishment. It is time to kiss the embargo goodbye, while maintaining an unyielding stance that democracy is the only acceptable form of government in the Western Hemisphere."

The Army's Ethic Suffers under its Retired Generals Dr Don M Snider Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The recent New York Times article on how Barry McCaffrey handled his conflicting loyalties as retired Army general, defense industry rain-maker, West Point professor, and respected public voice of CNN and NBC, highlights once again an unsolved and haunting problem for the current strategic leaders of the Army Profession..."