Recent Publications

Creating Great Expectations: Strategic Communications and American Airpower
November 5, 2018 — Author: Dr Conrad C CraneAmericans have always been uniquely attracted to airpower, a fact that has been successfully exploited by generations of U.S. Air Force leaders in information campaigns. But as a result, the nation has often entered conflicts with exorbitant expectations about what airpower could actually accomplish, creating unique... MORE

Cover for Creating Great Expectations: Strategic Communications and American Airpower

Precedents, Variables, and Options in Planning a U.S. Military Disengagement Strategy from Iraq
October 1, 2005 — Authors: Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr W Andrew Terrill The questions of how to empower the Iraqis most effectively and then progressively withdraw non-Iraqi forces from that country is one of the most important policy problems currently facing the United States. The authors seek to present the U.S. situation in Iraq in all of its complexity and ambiguity,... MORE

Reconstructing Iraq: Challenges and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario
February 1, 2003 — Authors: Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr W Andrew Terrill With the winds of war swirling around Iraq, it is time to plan for its post-conflict reconstruction. To assist such planning, this study proposes a construct for identifying the postwar missions to be accomplished following a victory over the Hussein regime and suggests the time phasing for the... MORE

Avoiding Vietnam: The U.S. Army’s Response to Defeat in Southeast Asia
September 1, 2002 — Author: Dr Conrad C Crane As American operations against terrorism spread around the globe to places like Afghanistan and the Philippines, an increasing tendency has been for commentators to draw parallels with past experience in Vietnam. Even soldiers on the ground have begun to speak in such terms. The author analyzes the Army's response to that... MORE

Facing the Hydra: Maintaining Strategic Balance while Pursuing a Global War against Terrorism
May 1, 2002 — Author: Dr Conrad C Crane The author analyzes the impact of the war on terrorism and the requirements of the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review on the many essential missions conducted by the U.S. Armed Forces. Focusing primarily on the Army, he highlights the requirements associated with combat operations against terrorists, accelerating... MORE

Transforming Defense an Era of Peace and Prosperity
December 1, 2001 — Author: Dr Conrad C Crane The ideas and issues presented in this collection of papers from the Twelfth Annual Strategy Conference conducted by the U.S. Army War College in April 2001 will educate and inform anyone interested in the past and future course of American defense reform. Though conference attendees had many differing opinions about the... MORE

Landpower and Crises: Army Roles and Missions in Smaller-Scale Contingencies During the 1990s
January 1, 2001 — Author: Dr Conrad C Crane The author analyzes the role of landpower in the 170 smaller-scale contingencies conducted by the United States during the last decade. He divides such contingencies into engagement, enhanced deterrence, hostility, and stabilization phases, and discusses the military's role in each one. The author especially emphasizes the... MORE

Alternative National Military Strategies for the United States
December 1, 2000 — Author: Dr Conrad C Crane The 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) will have to address all the relevant issues about the future course of American national security strategy and provide useful recommendations to the new administration as it develops a new security strategy. The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College and the... MORE