Recent Publications

“Tomorrow’s Wars and the Media”
June 30, 2022 — Distilling lessons from the author’s book, The Media Offensive: How the Press and Public Opinion Shaped Allied Strategy during World War II, this podcast provides applicable suggestions for the US military today. As in World War II, the press is both a weapon and a possible vulnerability in modern warfare... MORE

Culture, Identity, and Information Technology in the 21st Century: Implications for U.S. National Security
August 1, 2012 — Author: Dr Pauline Kusiak While it is impossible to predict the values and beliefs of future generations, a modest forecast is made by tracing global trends in the use of language and media, as well as in the use of information and communication technologies. The potential implications of these culture and identity trends for the strength of the... MORE

Cover for Culture, Identity, and Information Technology in the 21st Century: Implications for U.S. National Security

The Impact of Visual Images: Addendum
March 6, 2012 — Dr. Cori E. Dauber In briefings and presentations to military audiences over the last several years, I have offered one simple piece of advice: film everything. In a digital age, data storage is cheap. What is expensive is not being able to prove that propaganda claims about a particular mission, perhaps made months or years after the fact, distort... MORE

Op-Ed: What If They Threw a War and…
February 1, 2011 — Mr. Lawrence KaplanThis is the February Op-Ed of the SSI NewsletterAs a member of the media who reported on the U.S. military in Iraq, I had numerous opportunities to measure the “gap” between the press corps and the Armed Forces. One of these came a few years ago at a grubby Italian restaurant near a military base in North Carolina, where I was... MORE

Endgame for the West in Afghanistan? Explaining the Decline in Support for the War in Afghanistan in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Germany
June 1, 2010 — Author: Mr Charles A Miller Domestic public opinion is frequently and correctly described as a crucial battlefront in the war in Afghanistan. Commentary by media and political figures currently notes not only the falling support for the war in the United States but also in many of its key allies in Europe and elsewhere, making it all the more... MORE

The Goose and the Gander
April 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Cori E Dauber Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the April 2010 newsletter.Read Now MORE

YouTube War: Fighting in a World of Cameras in Every Cell Phone and Photoshop on Every Computer
November 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Cori E Dauber Terrorist attacks today are often media events in a second sense: information and communication technologies have developed to such a point that these groups can film, edit, and upload their own attacks within minutes of staging them, whether the Western media are present or not. In this radically new information... MORE

Afghanistan: Reconstituting a Collapsed State
April 1, 2005 — Author: LTC Raymond A Millen LTC Raymond A. Millen examines warlordism as the principal impediment to Afghanistan's revival and offers a shift in strategy that addresses the war of ideas, the counternarcotics initiative, and the incorporation of the Afghan National Army into the provincial reconstruction teams. As Lieutenant Colonel Millen... MORE

What should be Believed about Progress in Iraq?
October 1, 2003 — Author: Prof John R Martin Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the October 2003 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Strategic Planning and the Drug Threat
August 1, 1997 — Authors: COL William W Mendel, COL Murl D Munger The primary purpose of this publication is to show how the principles and techniques of strategic and operational planning can be applied to the supply reduction side of our national effort to curb the trafficking of illicit drugs. An earlier version was published in 1991 which introduced campaign... MORE

The Troubled Path to the Pentagon’s Rules on Media Access to the Battlefield: Grenada to Today
May 1, 1996 — Author: Dr Pascale Combelles-Siegel Ms. Pascale Combelles-Siegel examines the difficult road traveled by the press and the military since Operation URGENT FURY in 1983. She focuses on the development of the 1992 Joint Doctrine for Public Affairs as a practical tool for reducing tension and providing press access to the battlefield. Her analysis... MORE

The Impact of the Media on National Security Policy Decision Making
October 1, 1994 — Author: Dr Douglas V Johnson II What is the impact of the media upon national security policy decision making? Do network news personalities exert genuine power over the national command authority? Does the photograph of a mob dragging the body of a dead American soldier through the streets drive policy decisions? If the answers to these questions... MORE