Monographs

Russia in Afghanistan and Chechnya: Military Strategic Culture and the Paradoxes of Asymmetric Conflict Major Robert M Cassidy Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Major Robert Cassidy uses a detailed assessment of the Russian experience in Afghanistan and Chechnya to draw important conclusions about asymmetric warfare. He then uses this to provide recommendations for the U.S. military, particularly the Army. Major Cassidy points out that small wars are difficult for every great power, yet are the most common kind. Even in this era of asymmetry, the U.S. Army exhibits a cultural preference for the “big war” paradigm. He suggests that the U.S. military in general, including the Army, needs a cultural transformation to master the challenge of asymmetry fully. From this will grow doctrine and organizational change."

Waging Ancient War: Limits on Preemptive Force Dr D Robert Worley Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this study, conducted under the U.S. Army War College’s External Research Associates Program, Dr. D. Robert Worley addresses the ways that the age of terrorism is affecting American grand strategy. He contends that terrorism has made many of the basic concepts of international relations and national security obsolete. Declaring war on a tactic—terrorism—erodes the clarity necessary for coherent strategy. Dr. Worley then develops what he calls a “guerra strategy” more appropriate for dealing with terrorism and other nonstate threats."

Reconstructing Iraq: Insights, Challenges, and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "During the latter half of the 20th century, U.S. military leaders and planners focused heavily on winning wars, and not so much on the peacekeeping or nation-building that comes afterwards. But national objectives can often be accomplished only after the fighting has ceased. With the winds of war swirling around Iraq, it is time to begin planning for the post-conflict reconstruction of that state. This monograph presents some historical insights from past occupations and peace operations, provides some additional analysis of the unique requirements involved in remaking Iraq, and, most importantly, develops a detailed list of potential tasks to help contemporary military commanders plan for post-conflict operations there."

Reconstructing Iraq: Challenges and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "With the winds of war swirling around Iraq, it is time to plan for its post-conflict reconstruction. To assist such planning, this study proposes a construct for identifying the postwar missions to be accomplished following a victory over the Hussein regime and suggests the time phasing for the accomplishment of specific tasks."

Plan Colombia: Reality of the Colombian Crisis and Implications for Hemispheric Security Dr Luz E Nagle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Professor Luz E. Nagle has never been a believer in Plan Colombia as the solution to her native country’s array of problems. Now she has again published on the subject, in an article which is eloquently critical about the plan’s results during the administration of President Andrés Pastrana, yet which holds out hope for a better turn of events in the new administration of President Alvaro Uribe. It is a study written with passion and commitment. But also, as befits a law professor, it is scholarly in its degree of documentation and factual content."

European Adaptation to Expeditionary Warfare: Implications for the U.S. Army Dr Andrew M Dorman Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As has North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU) is adapting to the changing regional and global security environment in the wake of the Cold War. Almost immediately, Europe began to recognize that it could not barricade itself from the world and live off the peace dividend while instability rampaged along its border. The existing European security organizations (Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe [OSCE], Western European Union [WEU]) were ill-suited to deal with the host of new challenges, and as the Balkans conflicts revealed, the European contribution to NATO had fallen woefully behind."

Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy Dr Stephen D Biddle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The defense debate tends to treat Afghanistan as either a revolution or a fluke: either the “Afghan Model” of special operations forces (SOF) plus precision munitions plus an indigenous ally is a widely applicable template for American defense planning, or it is a nonreplicable product of local idiosyncrasies. In fact, it is neither. The Afghan campaign of last fall and winter was actually much closer to a typical 20th century mid-intensity conflict, albeit one with unusually heavy fire support for one side. And this view has very different implications than either proponents or skeptics of the Afghan Model now claim."

Dragon on Terrorism: Assessing China's Tactical Gains and Strategic Losses Post-September 11 Dr Mohan Malik Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Dr. Mohan Malik of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies fills this gap as he assesses how the war on terrorism has affected China. He concludes that the war on terrorism radically altered the Asian strategic environment in ways that negated China’s foreign policy gains of the last decade and undermined its image as Asia’s only great power. Dr. Malik then offers a range of recommendations for a more stable relationship with China."

Colombia's Conflicts: The Spillover Effects of a Wider War Mr Richard Millett Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As this country’s leadership focuses on homeland security, it is important that we look to our own Western Hemisphere. Terrorism does not solely originate in the Middle East. Colombia’s multifaceted conflicts are by no means confined to that country, a fact long appreciated by civilian and military strategists who are engaged in the search for solutions there. Professor Richard L. Millett documents succinctly in this monograph how the spillover from Colombia affects each of the five countries on its border (Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, and Brazil), as well as those somewhat more distant (Bolivia, Paraguay, and the Caribbean states)."