A Framework for Restructuring the Military Retirement System COL David S Lyle, Dr John Z Smith, Mr Roy A Wallace Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "For more than a century, the military has provided a defined benefit (DB) pension to service members who render 20 or more years of active-duty service. The U.S. civilian labor force has long since replaced DB pension programs with defined contribution pension programs where employers and employees contribute to a 401(k)-type account. The military, however, has continued to provide a DB pension plan worth in excess of a million dollars to veterans who retire as early as 38 years of age. With annual military retirement system outlays exceeding $50 billion, senior officials have begun calling for pension reform on the grounds that the current system is fiscally unsustainable. "

The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. Terrill uses this monograph to explore how Yemen’s “Arab Spring” uprising paralyzed that country’s government and shattered its military into hostile factions for over a year beginning in early 2011. This prolonged crisis prevented Yemen’s government, under President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from doing much more than attempting to survive. Saleh used those military units that remained loyal to him for regime protection against anti-government demonstrators and troops who defected to those demonstrators. The uprising subsequently led to a security vacuum that helped allow AQAP and its insurgent force, Ansar al-Shariah, to expand their activities beyond terrorism due to the government’s preoccupation with the Arab Spring. Although AQAP and the Arab Spring demonstrators felt no kinship towards each other, AQAP was more than willing to take advantage of the disorder produced by the uprising. In this new security environment, the militants were able to seize and hold significant amounts of territory in southern Yemen. Despite this focus on capturing territory, Dr. Terrill also notes that AQAP has remained interested in striking at U.S. interests in Yemen and especially in implementing spectacular acts of terrorism against the U.S. homeland. "

The Future of the Arab Gulf Monarchies in the Age of Uncertainties Dr Mohammed El-Katiri Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Seismic cultural and political shifts are under way in the Arab Gulf monarchies. The political upheavals and transitions that have swept through the Arab world over the last 2 years have not toppled the Arab Gulf rulers, but did not leave them untouched either. Rulers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states face heightened internal and external challenges and uncertainties. Pro-democracy protests and calls are extending from Bahrain to other oil-rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The expectations of GCC citizens, particularly the educated youth, are increasingly moving from socio-economic demands to political ones. They are now not only asking for jobs or wage increases, but also for more political participation and accountability."

Nigerian Unity: In the Balance LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret), Mr Gerald McLoughlin Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This monograph examines why Nigeria is important to the United States, and the historic, religious, cultural, political, physical, demographic, and economic factors that will determine if Nigeria remains whole. It identifies Nigeria’s major fault lines and makes policy recommendations for the United States to support Nigerians in their efforts to maintain a functioning and integrated state and, by so doing, advance U.S. interests."

War and Insurgency in the Western Sahara Geoffrey Jensen Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "At a crucial crossroads between Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and the “Arab World” and the West, Morocco has long had a special place in U.S. diplomacy and strategic planning. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Morocco’s importance to the United States has only risen, and the more recent uncertainties of the Arab Spring and Islamist extremism in Africa have further increased the strategic value and operational relevance of the Moroccan-American alliance. Yet, one of the pillars of the legitimacy of the Moroccan monarchy, its claim to Western Sahara, remains a point of violent contention..."

Asia-Pacific: A Strategic Assessment Dr David Lai Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. David Lai provides a timely assessment of the geostrategic significance of Asia-Pacific. His monograph is also a thought-provoking analysis of the U.S. strategic shift toward the region and its implications. Dr. Lai judiciously offers the following key points. First, Asia-Pacific, which covers China, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia, is a region with complex currents. On the one hand, there is an unabated region-wide drive for economic development that has been pushing Asia-Pacific forward for decades. On the other, this region is troubled with, aside from many other conflicts, unsettled maritime disputes that have the potential to trigger wars between and among Asia-Pacific nations."

Cyber Infrastructure Protection: Vol. II Dr Vincent Boudreau, COL Louis H Jordan Jr, Dr Tarek N Saadawi Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "There is a relentless struggle taking place in the cybersphere as government and business spend billions attempting to secure sophisticated network and computer systems. Cyber attackers are able to introduce new viruses, worms, and bots capable of defeating many of our efforts. The U.S. Government has set a goal of modernizing the nation’s energy grid. A cyber attack on our energy grid could cut off service to large areas of the country. Government, business, and academia must therefore work together to understand the threat and develop various modes of fighting cyber attacks, and to establish and enhance a framework for deep analysis for this multidimensional issue."

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?"

Making Strategic Sense of Cyber Power: Why the Sky Is Not Falling Dr Colin S Gray Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Generically viewed, the challenge that cyber power poses to our understanding is a familiar one. After all, within living memory (just about) we have had to try and make sense of air power, and then, a generation later, of nuclear weapons and their possible delivery by ballistic missiles. What unites our experience with air power, nuclear weapons, and now cyber, is the authority of strategic explanation conveyed in the general theory of strategy—Carl von Clausewitz’s rules, even though he was ignorant of hydrogen fusion weapons and of networked digital compute."