Recent Publications

Strategic Insights: The Sinister Shadow of Escalating Middle Eastern Sectarianism
January 21, 2016 — Dr. W. Andrew Terrill In one of the opening scenes of the 1973 movie, The Exorcist, an older Catholic priest stands among the ruins of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Hatra.1 In the movie, he views an ancient statue of an Assyrian wind demon and stares directly into the stone representation of his enemy’s face. In the background, two extremely... MORE

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Military Engagement and Forward Presence: Down but Not Out as Tools to Shape and Win
January 1, 2016 — Author: Dr John R DeniMilitary engagement and forward-based U.S. military forces offer decisionmakers effective and efficient mechanisms for maintaining American influence, deterring aggression, assuring allies, building tomorrow’s coalitions, managing the challenge of disorder in the security environment, mitigating the risk of a major interstate... MORE

Leaderless Organizations and the Strategic Value of Airstrikes in Syria
December 29, 2014 — Lieutenant Colonel Michael A. Adelberg After more than three years of war in Syria, which has seen more than one million refugees, more than a quarter million dead, the use of chemical weapons, and dozens of atrocities on all sides, the United States finally became involved. On September 22, 2014 the United States and a coalition of Arab states... MORE

What the President’s ISIL Strategy Means to the Army
December 11, 2014 — Lieutenant Colonel Michael A. Adelberg When President Barack Obama gave his speech outlining his strategy to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on September 10, 2014, he was very clear that he would not send U.S. troops into Iraq with a ground combat mission. The United States will “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIL though... MORE

Strategic Insights: The Landpower Robot Revolution Is Coming
December 10, 2014 — Dr. Steven Metz **Click here for a PDF version of the article** Military technical revolutions have a distinct pattern. When new technology becomes available, it initially is used to augment existing operational methods and tactics. In Europe, for instance, the first firearms were used to give formations of pikemen more punch. On the battlefields... MORE

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Strategic Insights: The Strategic Relevance of Latin America for the United States
December 8, 2014 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis From October 12-14, 2014, the city of Arequipa, Peru, was host to this year’s largest unnoticed meeting of senior government officials from across the Western Hemisphere: the 11th annual Defense Ministerial Summit of the Americas. The meeting brought together Ministers of Defense and their equivalents from 34 nations from the... MORE

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Regionalizing East Mediterranean Gas: Energy Security, Stability, and the U.S. Role
December 1, 2014 — Author: Ms Laura El-Katiri, Dr Mohammed El-KatiriView the Executive SummaryThe East Mediterranean has been witnessing an unparalleled natural resource boom since the late-2000s, when Israel, followed by Cyprus, made its first significant offshore hydrocarbon discoveries in many years. These discoveries have since proven to be substantially larger... MORE

Operationalizing Counter Threat Finance Strategies
December 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Shima D KeeneView the Executive Summary This Letort Paper describes effective Counter Threat Finance strategies as a specific area where the capability of U.S. and allied militaries can be augmented for the purpose of targeted action against adversaries. With appropriate analysis and exploitation, financial data can be used to reveal... MORE

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American Grand Strategy and the Future of U.S. Landpower
December 1, 2014 — Authors: Major Joseph V Da Silva, Dr Hugh P Liebert, Prof Isaiah Wilson IIIView the Executive Summary The U.S. military faces a dramatic rebalancing among its services. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have waned, an era of budget austerity has emerged and the U.S. strategic focus has shifted toward the Pacific, American air and sea power have... MORE

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Re-examining the Roles of Landpower in the 21st Century and Their Implications
November 26, 2014 — Author: Dr William T Johnsen View the Executive SummaryAfter 13 years of prolonged ground combat, a weary American public is leery of further interventions requiring land forces. Shifting geostrategic conditions, such as a revanchist Russia and a rising China, reinforce this reluctance. At the same time, technological innovation once more offers... MORE

Strategic Landpower Task Force: Strategic Landpower in U.S. Conduct Of Modern Warfare
November 5, 2014 — Cadet Hamad Agha, Cadet Christopher Dante, Cadet Gregory Rice, Cadet Kord Roberts, Cadet Jackson Turner ForewordU.S. national security strategy is in the midst of a historic transformation as direct American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan ends and the nation searches for ways to exercise power more efficiently than in the past. The... MORE

Strategic Insights: Can the EU Declare Energy Independence From Russia?
November 4, 2014 — 2LT Scott CowmanSecond Lieutenant Scott Cowman is a reservist with the U.S. Army. From January to May 2014, during his last semester at Dickinson College, he was an intern with the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. The worsening situation in Ukraine has yet again reminded the European Union (EU) and the United States that Europe... MORE

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