Recent Publications

Strategic Insights: The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Taliban
August 1, 2016 — Dr. M. Chris Mason 2015 was a bad year for the Afghan National Security Forces. They ended the Western calendar year badly battered, like a punch-drunk prize fighter on the ropes. At least 5,500 of them died in 2015, the worst annual casualty toll since American involvement in Afghanistan’s civil war began in 2001. By the end of Western calendar... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Taliban

The Human Terrain System: Operationally Relevant Social Science Research in Iraq and Afghanistan
December 11, 2015 — Author: Dr Christopher SimsView the Executive Summary The Human Terrain System embedded civilians primarily in brigade combat teams (BCTs) in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2007 and 2014 to act as a collection and dispersal mechanism for sociocultural comprehension. Set against the backdrop of the program’s evolution, the experiences of these social... MORE

Training Humans for the Human Domain
November 2, 2015 — Authors: Mr Keir Giles, Dr Steve TathamView the Executive Summary Experience from Afghanistan and Iraq has demonstrated the vital nature of understanding human terrain, with conclusions relevant far beyond counterinsurgency operations in the Islamic world. Any situation where adversary actions are described as “irrational” demonstrates a... MORE

Strategic Insights: The Will To Fight
September 11, 2015 — Dr. M. Chris MasonEvents on world battlefields over the past two years should give the U.S. Army pause to reconsider the entire Foreign Internal Defense (FID) mission. The seemingly unarguable axiom that "good training makes good soldiers" has been proven to be not always true. Good training does not always make good soldiers. If the definition of... MORE

Reassessing the Barriers to Islamic Radicalization in Kazakhstan
July 29, 2015 — Authors: Ms Zhulduz Baizakova, Mr Roger N McDermott View the Executive SummaryCentral Asia has been experiencing an increase or activation of radical Islamic movements over the last decade or so. These complex processes include increasing urbanization, institutional and individual corruption, the growing gap between rich and poor, the inability of... MORE

The Strategic Lessons Unlearned from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan: Why the ANSF Will Not Hold, and the Implications for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan
June 25, 2015 — Author: Dr M Chris Mason View the Executive SummaryThe wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were lost before they began, not on the battlefields, where the United States won every tactical engagement, but at the strategic level of war. In each case, the U.S. Government attempted to create a Western-style democracy in countries which were decades... MORE

U.S. Policy and Strategy Toward Afghanistan after 2014
October 28, 2014 — Author: Dr Larry P Goodson, Prof Thomas H Johnson View the Executive SummaryWhat should the United States do about Afghanistan? After nearly 13 years and substantial U.S. national commitment in a country on the other side of the world, much has changed in Afghanistan, the United States, Afghanistan’s region, and the globe. To prepare policy and... MORE

Soldiers of Misfortune?
May 13, 2014 — Author: Dr Thomas R MockaitisView the Executive Summary In examining the role of security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, the author draws broad lessons from which he provides concrete recommendations to improve the conduct of further missions. Rather than do away with contractors altogether, the author recommends limiting their roles,... MORE

Augmenting Our Influence: Alliance Revitalization and Partner Development
April 16, 2014 — Author: Dr John R Deni View the Executive SummaryAs the United States and its allies prepare to withdraw most of their military forces from Afghanistan and following the end of the war in Iraq, fundamental questions have arisen over the future of American Landpower. Among them are the role of allies and partners in terms of contributing to the... MORE

Cover for Augmenting Our Influence: Alliance Revitalization and Partner Development

U.S. Governmental Information Operations and Strategic Communications: A Discredited Tool or User Failure? Implications for Future Conflict
December 3, 2013 — Author: Dr Steve Tatham View the Executive SummaryThrough the prism of operations in Afghanistan, the author examines how the U.S. Government’s Strategic Communication (SC) and, in particular, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Information Operations (IO) and Military Information Support to Operations (MISO) programs, have contributed to U.S... MORE

Central Asia After 2014
November 3, 2013 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank View the Executive SummaryAs NATO and the United States proceed to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, the inherent and preexisting geopolitical, security, and strategic challenges in Central Asia become ever more apparent. The rivalry among the great powers: the United States, China, Russia, India, and others to a... MORE

Conflict Management and Peacebuilding: Pillars of a New American Grand Strategy
October 16, 2013 — Authors: Dr Robert H Dorff, Dr Volker C Franke View the Executive SummaryThe authors examine the utility of the U.S. Government’s whole-of-government (WoG) approach for responding to the challenging security demands of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They specifically discuss the strategic objectives of interagency cooperation particularly in... MORE