Past Publications

Conflict Management and Peacebuilding: Pillars of a New American Grand Strategy Dr Robert H Dorff, Dr Volker C Franke Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press The symposium discussions ranged from the conceptual to the practical, with a focus on the challenges and desirability of interagency cooperation in international interventions. Invited panelists shared their experiences and expertise on the need for and future of an American grand strategy in an era characterized by increasingly complex security challenges and shrinking budgets. Panelists agreed that taking the status quo for granted was a major obstacle to developing a successful grand strategy and that government, the military, international and nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector are all called on to contribute their best talents and efforts to joint global peace and security efforts. The panelists engaged the audience in a discussion that included viewpoints from academia, the military, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and industry. Despite the broad range of viewpoints, a number of overarching themes and tentative agreements emerged. The reader will find them in the chapters of this edited volume.

Closing the Candor Chasm: The Missing Element of Army Professionalism COL Paul Paolozzi Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Expressing openness and transparency is something we all say that we want but often choose to forego. Candor intimidates and creates discomfort; consequently, its presence is most often inversely proportional to rank and organizational size. There is no shortage of reasons why authentic communication is not used, but it is difficult to find precisely where candor stops being important or why it seems to be so undervalued. It is tough to measure, cannot be legislated, and is often organizationally absent, even when everyone seems to want it desperately. "

A Transatlantic Bargain for the 21st Century: The United States, Europe, and the Transatlantic Alliance Dr Ellen Hallams Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. Ellen Hallams’s monograph explores the nature of the bargain that has framed relations between the United States and its NATO allies, and considers what the terms of a revised bargain might be. Debate over a revised bargain raises many important questions: What are the sources of Washington’s frustration with the Alliance? What are the implications of Washington’s increasing focus on the Asia-Pacific for Europe and NATO? What is the nature of Alliance burden sharing in the context of modern military operations? In what ways can America’s European allies and partners generate greater burden sharing? Dr. Hallams proposes that a truly strategic partnership between the United States, NATO, and the European Union should be at the heart of a revised bargain, one that casts aside Cold War constructs and approaches transatlantic relations with a new maturity and pragmatism."

The Real "Long War": The Illicit Drug Trade and the Role of the Military Prof Geoffrey Till Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Since the end of the Cold War, for the United States and everyone else, the concept of security has widened enormously. It has moved far beyond the confines of national defense against military threats from other nation states, incorporating threats ranging from transnational criminality, through cyber attack, international terrorism, and aggression from rogue and other hostile states. This poses increasing challenges to the world’s militaries, especially those also grappling with the consequences of reduced financial support. It raises the question of choice and priority. How should the United States allocate its priorities and resources, for example, between the worst kind of threat the nation faces and the most likely?"

An Assessment of the DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace Dr Thomas M Chen Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In some ways, the cyber domain is quite different from the traditional operational domains of air, land, sea, and space. Cyber threats are stealthy and difficult to attribute; critical infrastructures are difficult to defend against unseen and unpredictable adversaries. The 2011 Department of Defense (DoD) Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace was a significant policy statement for publicly embracing cyberspace as an operational domain and declaring a number of strategic initiatives to maintain U.S. security in the face of emerging cyber threats. In this monograph, Dr. Thomas Chen explains the strategies as they have evolved from previous national strategies and examines each strategy critically for clarity, comprehensiveness, and novelty. "

The Security Concerns of the Baltic States as NATO Allies Dr James S Corum Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The end of the Cold War in the early-1990s signified a huge and very positive transformation in world politics. Nations that had been Warsaw Pact enemies for 5 decades became, almost overnight, allies of the West. Even nations that had been republics of the Soviet Union—the best examples being Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—moved immediately to become staunch Western allies. The full post-Cold War transformation was consummated in 2004 when the three formerly Soviet Baltic republics, along with some former Warsaw Pact nations, became new members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

Cartel Car Bombings in Mexico Dr Robert J Bunker, Mr John P Sullivan Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Improvised explosive devices and car bombs have long been identified as threats to U.S. Army personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have gained considerable attention and notoriety, even infamy, among our troops, who have had to learn the appropriate responses and countermeasures to contend with the fielding of these systems against them. Far less recognized is the fact that a similar threat—embodied in car bombs—has emerged much closer to our homeland within Mexico. Since mid-2010, cartel car bombings have taken place in a country on our southern border and have been targeted against both the forces of opposing cartels and those belonging to Mexican military and law enforcement agencies. "

AFRICOM at 5 Years: The Maturation of a New U.S. Combatant Command Mr David E Brown Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the newest of the six U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) geographic combatant commands (CCMDs), was created in 2007 amid great controversy in both Africa and the United States over its location and mission. Over the last 5 years, AFRICOM has matured greatly, overcome much of the initial resistance from African stakeholders, and addressed most U.S. interagency concerns about the Command’s size and proper role within the U.S. national security/foreign policy community. AFRICOM is a CCMD Plus, because it also has: 1) a broader soft power mandate aimed at building a stable security environment; and, 2) a relatively larger personnel contingent from other U.S. Government agencies."

Development of the Baltic Armed Forces in Light of Multinational Deployments Dr James S Corum Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Coalition operations have been an important part of U.S. warfighting in the last decade of conflict. In the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan coalition partners, especially from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations, have played an important role. Given the ongoing instability in several regions of the world, there is a strong possibility that in the near future the U.S. Armed Forces will again have to operate with allied coalition partners to help support or rebuild a country devastated by internal conflict."