International SecurityCategory

Silent Partners: Organized Crime, Irregular Groups, and Nation-States

The U.S. Army increasingly faces adversaries that are difficult to define. The threat landscape is further complicated by the silent partnership between criminal organizations, irregular groups, and nation-states. This collaboration, whatever its exact nature, is problematic, because it confounds understanding of the adversary, making existing countermeasures less effective, and thus directly challenging U.S. national security… Continue Reading Silent Partners: Organized Crime, Irregular Groups, and Nation-States

Exit Strategy: Rule of Law and the U.S. Army

Establishing the rule of law is a key goal and end state in counterinsurgency (COIN) operations and is a critical aspect of securing peace and preventing future conflict. However, recent experience in theaters such as Afghanistan has shown that establishing effective rule of law institutions and practices is not a straightforward task. Consequently, considerations as… Continue Reading Exit Strategy: Rule of Law and the U.S. Army

Relevance of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the United States in the 21st Century

The “America First” approach to foreign policy seems to call into question the value of institutions like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). However, in a more competitive and uncertain strategic environment, NATO and the EU remain vital to promoting U.S. interests.

New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

The United States and Russia signed the New START Treaty on April 8, 2010. Following ratification by the American and Russian legislatures, it entered into force on February 5, 2011, after Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov exchanged the instruments of ratification. Reductions were to be implemented by February 5, 2018, a goal… Continue Reading New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

Islamic State and U.S. Policy

The Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da’esh) is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 through 2017. The group attracted a network of global supporters and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi,… Continue Reading Islamic State and U.S. Policy

Success in the Shadows: Operation Enduring Freedom–Philippines and the Global War on Terror, 2002–2015

Written by a reserve officer who spent a tour in the Philippines producing a classified history for US Special Operations Command, this first-ever publicly available history of OEF-P provides both a detailed accounting of the operation’s successes and a model for trainers and advisers providing assistance to host-nation security forces around the globe. Stentiford emphasizes… Continue Reading Success in the Shadows: Operation Enduring Freedom–Philippines and the Global War on Terror, 2002–2015

Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future-Second Edition

Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future, Second Edition explores what nuclear future we may face over the next three decades and how we currently think about this future. Will nuclear weapons spread in the next 20 years to more nations than just North Korea and possibly Iran? How dire will the consequences be? What… Continue Reading Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future-Second Edition

Impacts of Anti-Access/Area Denial Measures on Space Systems

The 2018 National Defense Strategy and National Space Strategy both reaffirm the vital interests that the United States has in the domain of space. However, space remains an inherently hostile environment that has become congested, contested, and competitive among the nations. What are ways for the U.S. Army to assure the success of its space-dependent… Continue Reading Impacts of Anti-Access/Area Denial Measures on Space Systems

Security Role for the United States in a Post-ISIS Syria?

  Syria has become one of the most vexing and complex problems for U.S. strategic planners in recent times. Currently, the United States has about 2,000 troops in the northeastern part of the country whose primary mission has been to aid the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up primarily of Kurds and some Arab tribesmen,… Continue Reading Security Role for the United States in a Post-ISIS Syria?

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been a central U.S. foreign policy concern since 2001, when the United States, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led a military campaign against Al Qaeda and the Taliban government that harbored and supported Al Qaeda. In the intervening 16 years, the United States has suffered more than 2,000… Continue Reading Afghanistan