America entered the Global War on Terrorism with little understanding of the enemy it faced. Al-Qaeda is a splinter faction of militant Islamism intent on establishing its vision of strict Islamic rule in the Muslim world through armed action. Global…
After the Taliban regime was driven out of Afghanistan in late 2001, the United States and other members of the international community undertook efforts to establish and stabilize a liberal democratic form of government in that country. Such an undertaking…
The differences in approach and culture between the U.S. Departments of State and Defense are stark despite the fact that these organizations are members of the same team and share related national objectives. Understanding the nature of these differences is…
The U.S. inability—or unwillingness—to connect strategic ends and appropriate means to accomplish those ends has occurred so often over the past 15 years that one could make a credible argument that it has become a disturbing and pervasive characteristic of…
Since the 1980s, the U.S. military has placed great emphasis on the theories and concepts of Clausewitz. Concomitantly, a tremendous emphasis has been placed in doctrine on the center of gravity (COG) as a central element of campaign planning. The…
Canada’s first ever National Security Policy (2004), followed by the International (Foreign) Policy Statement and Defence Policy Review (2005), has publicly articulated Canada’s principal security interests for the post-September 11, 2001, world. However, the realities of Canada’s present engagement in…
The Army needs to implement Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) in addition to its ongoing transformation and move to a more modular force. To achieve a campaign quality Army with joint and expeditionary qualities fully, the Army must do so quickly,…
China’s rising maritime power is encountering American maritime power along the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) that connect China to vital energy resources in the Middle East and Africa. The “String of Pearls” describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical…
The United States is so culturally different by virtue of its “New World paradigm” that its direct leadership style is becoming counterproductive. If the United States were more “street smart” on the world scene, it could better identify nuanced subtleties…