Recent Publications

Op-Ed: Developing A New Approach To Conventional Arms Control
April 8, 2013 — Dr. Jeffrey D. McCauslandIntroduction. Now that President Obama’s national security team has been confirmed, the administration can begin to consider its priorities and the policies for the second term. Many might suggest that one of the greatest foreign policy achievements of the President’s first term was the negotiation and eventual... MORE

Op-Ed: Drones Are Making A Difference In Yemen
March 13, 2013 — Dr. W. Andrew TerrillUnmanned aerial vehicles (often known as drones) have recently been the subject of intense controversy due to their use in remote parts of the world to target individuals designated as terrorists. This concern is appropriate, because many aspects of their use are clearly in need of scrupulous legal and ethical consideration... MORE

Op-Ed: Thinking Inside A New Box: The Coming of the New Age of Mutualism; The End of Another
February 11, 2013 — COL Louis H. Jordan, JrThe recent announcement by the President on the transfer of responsibility for Afghan society back to the Afghan government, and the new role of U.S. forces as a trainers and advisors in the support of this objective, elicited many reactions from opposing points of view here at home. However, what is missing in the dialog is... MORE

Op-Ed: The Need For A “Half-Pivot to the Americas”
January 10, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. BunkerMuch discussion has been generated over the still relatively new U.S. strategic “Pivot to Asia” and what this will mean for our national defense policy and force structure. This pivot represents what will become a multi-year shift from the legacy of 9-11, with over a decade’s focus on ground and counterinsurgency operations in... MORE

Op-Ed: Can Sanctions Be More Effective Than Military Action In Iran?
December 7, 2012 — Dr. W. Andrew Terrill The United States and its allies are currently seeking to use international sanctions to prevent Iran from developing the technology leading to a nuclear weapons capability. It remains uncertain if the sanctions will be effective, and the U.S. leadership has correspondingly announced that all options—including military... MORE

Op-Ed: Getting to the Win
November 28, 2012 — Colonel Michael (Scott) S. Weaver The Armed Forces that U.S. national leaders will have available to meet future contingencies and conflicts, in 2023 or 2029 for instance, will follow from U.S. strategic designs now being formulated. In September, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff released the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint... MORE

Op-Ed: The Romance of Great Powers in Northeast Asia
October 23, 2012 — Dr. David Lai The Strategic SettingNortheast Asia is a place where five of the world's most powerful nations meet: China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. Three of these countries have the world's largest economies (the U.S., China, and Japan), and three of them have the largest militaries (China, the U.S., and Russia). In... MORE

Op-Ed: Rethinking the American Way of War and the Role of Landpower
September 10, 2012 — Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II Understanding the American way of war has never been easy. The distinguished historian Russell Weigley took more than 500 pages to come to terms with it in his classic, The American Way of War (1973). Even so, there was much he left out, as well as much he got wrong. For one thing, the actual origins of the American... MORE

Op-Ed: The New Security Reality: Not Business as Usual
August 20, 2012 — Dr. Max G. Manwaring The past several years have marked the beginning of a different security era than that to which we are accustomed. Accordingly, it requires a new orientation. Whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, and whether we are prepared for it or not, the United States and the West are engaged in a number of unconventional,... MORE

Op-Ed: Fixing the Future Rather Than the Past
July 16, 2012 — Dr. Jack A. LeCuyer To succeed, we must update, balance, and integrate all of the tools of American power. . . This requires close cooperation with Congress and a deliberate and inclusive interagency process so that we achieve integration of our efforts to implement and monitor operations, policies, and strategies.National Security Strategy of May... MORE

Op-Ed: Relearning War
June 3, 2012 — Dr. Stephen J. Blank Today, the United States stands at a strategic crossroads. As troops leave Afghanistan and U.S. policy reorients itself toward emphasizing the Asia-Pacific region, the visible signs of being at an inflection point multiply. Yet, there are some glaring absences in U.S. strategic thinking that could again lead us awry, as... MORE

Op-Ed: Where Do We Go From Here?
May 3, 2012 — COL Louis H. Jordan, Jr On January 5, 2012, the President announced new strategic guidance for the Department of Defense titled “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for the 21st Century” to support proposed cuts in defense spending that are the result of the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Simultaneously, lawmakers... MORE