Collections

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 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?"

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."

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. "

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."

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. "

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)."

The Causes of Instability in Nigeria and Implications for the United States LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Understanding the political economy of Nigeria is needed to reveal the root causes of its many ethnic, religious, economic, and political problems and address them for the long term. The pressures now weighing on Nigeria could literally fracture the state along deep fault lines if rampant corruption and partisanship continues. The United States, in a mutually important partnership with Nigeria, should assist in specific but indirect ways to help Nigerians overcome their political economy problems, which could serve both the interests of the United States and Nigeria. Within such assistance, the role of the U.S. military is particularly delicate, but needed through focused aid to specific programs and sharing of expertise, all best managed through employing units that are regionally aligned to Nigeria or West Africa."

The Effectiveness of Drone Strikes in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism Campaigns Dr James Igoe Walsh Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The United States increasingly relies on unmanned aerial vehicles—better known as drones—to target insurgent and terrorist groups around the world. Proponents argue that drones are, in both political and military terms, an effective way to coerce such adversaries. Critics suggest that drone strikes not infrequently result in inadvertent civilian casualties, which terrorist and insurgent organizations use as rallying cries to garner support and legitimacy for their acts of violence. There is surprisingly little systematic evidence that either of these positions is correct. It is not clear if drone strikes have degraded their targets, or that they kill enough civilians to create sizable public backlashes against the United States. Drones are a politically and militarily attractive way to counter insurgents and terrorists, but, paradoxically, this may lead to their use in situations where they are less likely to be effective and where there is difficulty in predicting the consequences."