Past Publications

Lashkar-I-Taiba: The Fallacy of Subservient Proxies and the Future of Islamist Terrorism in India Dr Ryan Clarke Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This work provides a discussion of the foundation of Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) and the development of its modus operandi, and it engages in an investigation of LeT activities in India, Pakistan, and the Kashmir region. Further, LeT fundraising methods are touched upon and LeT relationships with regional state and nonstate actors such as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company are analyzed. Also, the impact that these developments have on domestic Islamist terrorism in India are addressed."

Foreign Policy Continuity: War Finds Us Mr Lawrence Kaplan Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In recent months, a chorus has emerged to blame (or credit) President Barack Obama for sustaining many of the signature national security policies of his predecessor, President George W. Bush. Yet anyone puzzled by the similarities between the foreign and defense polices of Presidents Bush and Obama would do well to cast a glance backward, for this is hardly the first time we have heard such complaints."

Towards a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy for Success: Developing Talent LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle, COL Casey Wardynski Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The U.S. Army has always touted itself as a capstone developmental experience and still does so today—You made them strong—we’ll make them Army Strong. The Army is almost universally acknowledged as an organization that powerfully develops talent in areas such as leadership, teamwork behavior, work ethics, adaptability, fitness, and many others. Yet despite this well-earned reputation, the Army must remain vigilant. Authorized strength and inventory mismatches, an inverse relationship between responsibility and formal developmental time, and sparse non-operational development opportunities are serious challenges that the Army must address. "

Transnational Insurgencies and the Escalation of Regional Conflict: Lessons for Iraq and Afghanistan Dr Idean Salehyan Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Dr. Idean Salehyan examines several recent transnational insurgencies and their implications for regional relations. While the majority of cases resulted in an escalation of conflict between neighbors, in some instances countries have been able to construct successful border security regimes. This monograph discusses these patterns of conflict and cooperation. Additionally, detailed analyses of the relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as India and its neighbors, are offered to shed light on positive and negative dynamics."

A Death Knell for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Prof John R Martin Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The U.S. military's so-called “don't ask, don't tell” policy, which prohibits homosexual personnel from serving openly in the uniformed Services, is frequently mentioned when President Barack Obama's Democratic base complains that he has not kept his campaign promises. In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama vowed to “work with Congress and our military” to repeal the “don't ask, don't tell” law."

Accessing Talent: The Foundation of a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle, COL Casey Wardynski Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Once the Army accesses a cohort of officers, it must live with them throughout a 30-year career span. This is because, unlike most enterprises, the Army cannot buy talent from elsewhere to fill shortfalls at its mid and upper-level ranks. The Officer Corps embodies a unique profession whose culture and core warfighting abilities take years to develop. This means that each new officer cohort represents far more than the Army’s latest crop of junior leaders; they are the feedstock for its future field grade and general officers. As a group, they must therefore possess the depth and breadth of talent needed not just to lead platoon-sized formations, but to meet future operational and strategic leadership demands as well."

Decisionmaking in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM: Removing Saddam Hussein by Force Prof John R Martin, Dr Steven Metz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "With this initial volume of its Operation IRAQI FREEDOM Key Decisions Monograph Series, the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) also attempts to write about key decisions while they are still fresh in the memories of the participants. As with General Smith’s articles, this series will not produce a definitive history; that is still years away. However, the series will make a major contribution to understanding decisions made by senior military and civilian leaders during the several years thus far of the war in Iraq. I am pleased to inaugurate the series, which looks more at the how and why of certain decisions than at the results of those same decisions. This will be particularly useful to senior leaders—both uniformed and civilian—as they reflect on how decisions were made regarding Iraq and how better decisions might be made in future conflicts."

Do Oil Exports Fuel Defense Spending? Dr Clayton K S Chun Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph explores the impact that oil revenue had on the national defense spending of five oil-exporting countries. Despite periods of falling oil revenues, these countries typically did not lower defense spending. In some cases, defense spending increased sharply, or the rate of decrease was much lower than the drop in oil revenues. This condition creates challenges for national security professionals. If nations face falling oil revenues and still have the will and ability to expand their military or security capabilities, then they might do so through the sacrifice of domestic spending or regional stability. Economic sanctions, worldwide recession, or falling oil demand may not stop these oil-exporting nations from purchasing weapons and creating large security forces. Although oil might have been a key to provide past or future earnings expectations to fund defense, perhaps there are other reasons why nations want relatively high defense spending levels despite lower oil revenue. The politics of oil and its impact on government control, regional threats, national interests, and other strategic factors may explain why these nations pursue defense spending despite falling oil revenue."

The Army Officers' Professional Ethic--Past, Present, and Future COL Matthew Moten Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph briefly surveys the history of the Army’s professional ethic, focusing primarily on the Army officer corps. It assesses today’s strategic, professional, and ethical environment. Then it argues that a clear statement of the Army officers’ professional ethic is especially necessary in a time when the Army is stretched and stressed as an institution. The Army officer corps has both a need and an opportunity to better define itself as a profession, forthrightly to articulate its professional ethic, and clearly to codify what it means to be a military professional. Finally, this monograph articulates such an ethic. "