An American military presence has been prevalent on the Korean Peninsula since the end of World War II. As Korea attempted to recover from decades of bitter Japanese rule, internal struggles and politics led to the division of Korea into North and...
Over the past 60 years, the Sino-Indian relationship has swung from a cool détente to all out war. Many Western international relations theorists applying the "realist" school of thought view China as a dangerous threat to not only the region but...
Coercion theory centers on an actor's ability to influence the decision making of an opponent. This monograph examines military operations in Libya 2011, Operations Unified Protector and Odyssey Dawn, through the lens of coercion theory. It seeks...
This monograph discusses the implications of private military companies (PMCs) in the global war on terror (GWOT). The recent upsurge in the use of PMCs to support the prosecution of the global war on terror has impinged increasingly on what is...
Because the protection cell is such a recent creation and is still being developed in many corps and divisions, there is little literature regarding the operational effects of these operational planning units. The resultant lack of understanding of...
Military officials often utilize the PMESII-PT acronym (Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure, Physical Environment, and Time) as an analytical start point to assess an operational environment. However, the linear...
American policy in Afghanistan has evolved since the initial engagement of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It has become increasingly clear that strategic focus must include a plan to concentrate upon and continue development of a stable and secure...
The premise of this monograph is that the Elements of Operational Design are incapable of linking the tactical employment of forces to strategic objectives and that Systemic Operational Design is a viable alternative. This monograph introduces the...
The purpose of this study is to determine why intelligence officers acting as battalion S-2 have difficulty predicting the enemy. It hypothesizes that two causes: lack of experience of the principal officers conducting IPB and inadequate emphasis...
Military forces conduct information operations against one of the most complex, adaptive systems – the human mind. Linear thought processes, prevalent in the military, correspond to, and understand well, the linear mathematics that measure the...
This monograph will address two juxtaposed themes: first, the primacy of state sovereignty, the founding assumption of contemporary international relations, embodied by the principles of Westphalia; and second the assertion arising out of...
Few insurgencies are resolved by military means alone. Insurgents, by definition, pursue political ends and resolve to accomplish those objectives by means of violence. Today the United States and her Allies are engaged in two distinct...
The preponderance of literature and scholarly debate on counterinsurgency (COIN) focuses on the strategic or operational approach: leader-focused; large group-focused; special operations; conventional operations; enemy centric; and the latest,...
The United States Air Force (USAF) faces a fiscally constrained environment today and will likely become even more constrained in the near future. With a reduced budget and important programs and critical functions that require funding, the USAF...
Broadly applied strategy-driven initiatives in a local environment may have unintended effects on the targeted nation's local economy. In addition to direct influences, a foreign force's service and resource requirements have the potential to...
Just as many football players have failed to become great coaches, so too have many governmental leaders, leaders of industry and military officers failed to succeed when placed at higher levels of responsibility. Understanding how to solve...
This monograph discusses whether U. S. Army operational commanders are still susceptible to surprise. The principle of surprise remains an important consideration for campaign planners. Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm relied heavily on...
This monograph discusses the relevant components of the Islamic financial sector, otherwise known as Shari’ah Compliant Finance, in order to gain a better understanding of an industry quickly spreading around the globe and the greater...
The current operating environment faced by the United States military presents many challenges based on the global nature of United States strategic interests. Pursuant to these interests is a need to operate in, and effectively communicate with, a...
Planning for hypothetical wars represented one of the most daunting challenges for the Army in the interwar years (1919-1941). A challenging strategic environment, a weak force lacking in significant capability, and no unified national security...