Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College

Publications Tagged: terrorism

Added September 14, 2007

Kuwaiti National Security and the U.S.-Kuwaiti Strategic Relationship after Saddam. Authored by Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.

The author examines the national security concerns that Kuwait must address in the turbulent post-Saddam era. Challenges involving Iraq, Iran, and terrorism are severe and will require both Kuwaitis and Americans to rethink and revise previous security approaches to meet important shared goals.

Added May 30, 2007

Roots of Terror. Authored by Corinna Johnson.

The conference speakers’ goals were to examine (1) recruitment and support strategies used by terrorist organizations, (2) the environments that enable terrorism, and (3) implications for the future of counterterrorism.

Added September 26, 2006

Strategic Challenges for Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terrorism. Edited by Dr. Williamson Murray.

This collection of essays written by students enrolled in the U.S. Army War College Advanced Strategic Art Program (ASAP) reflects the development of their strategic thought applied to a wide range of contemporary issues based in theory, doctrine, strategy and history.

Added April 01, 2006

Counterterrorism in African Failed States: Challenges and Potential Solutions. Authored by Colonel Thomas A Dempsey.

How serious is the threat posed by terrorist groups operating from failed states in Africa? This monograph asserts that the threat is very serious indeed, and presents alternative U.S. strategies to confront terrorist groups using failed states as sanctuaries and platforms for attacks on America and its partners.

Added November 01, 2005

Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran. Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski, Mr. Patrick Clawson.

This book examines what additional security threats Iran might pose as it becomes increasingly capable of making nuclear weapons, what steps the United States and its friends might take to deter and contain it, and what should be done to assure Iran's neighbors do not follow in Tehran's nuclear footsteps.

Added November 01, 2005

Fourth-Generation War and Other Myths. Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

Dr Antulio J. Echevarria II critiques the theory of fourth-generation warfare, examining its problematic assumptions and logical flaws. He argues that this theory is hopelessly flawed and that its proponents undermine their credibility by subscribing to it.

Added October 01, 2005

Natural Allies? Regional Security in Asia and Prospects for Indo-American Strategic Cooperation. Authored by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

American military power has created a strategic revolution by its successful and prolonged projection into and from Central Asia. This monograph explores the strategic and policy ramifications of that revolution in strategic affairs.

Added September 01, 2005

Balik Terrorism: The Return of the Abu Sayyaf. Authored by Dr. Zachary Abuza.

The author analyzes the historical roots and recent resurgence of the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization. He examines the triangular relationship between the ASG, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the Moro Islamic Liberation front, and the impact that this relationship has on Philippine and regional security.

Added July 01, 2005

U.S. Defense Strategy After Saddam. Authored by Dr. Michael E. O'Hanlon.

What kind of military will the nation need in the future--and at what cost? The war on terror and the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced upon this country soaring defense budgets and unprecedented challenges in policymaking.

Added July 01, 2005

Sustainability of Colombian Military/Strategic Support for "Democratic Security". Authored by Dr. Thomas A. Marks.

At a time when counterinsurgency is again widely discussed, embattled Colombia has implemented a Democratic Security and Defense Policy that shows every sign of success against a complex narco-insurgency that has raged for four decades. The strategic initiative has been seized by acting upon the principle that personal security is the basis for state vitality.

Added July 01, 2005

Law vs. War: Competing Approaches to Fighting Terrorism. Authored by Ms. Shawn Boyne, Mr. Michael German, Dr. Paul R Pillar, Dr. Dallas D. Owens.

The readings in this volume address one of the fundamental assumptions underlying the conduct of the War on Terrorism - the nature of our enemy, whether perpetrators of terrorist activities are criminals or soldiers (combatants).

Added April 01, 2005

Dismantling North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Programs. Authored by COL David J. Bishop.

This paper examines the choices available to the United States for dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

Added April 01, 2005

The Transatlantic Defense Industrial Base: Restructuring Scenarios and Their Implications. Authored by Dr. Terrence R. Guay.

The author examines the economic, political, technological, and security factors that have shaped recent developments in the U.S. and European defense industries. The author also identifies issues that will shape further industrial restructuring and consolidation in the short- and medium-term, and makes recommendations for assisting the development of a transatlantic, rather than bipolar, defense industrial base.

Added April 01, 2005

American Grand Strategy After 9/11: An Assessment. Authored by Dr. Stephen D. Biddle.

Three years after 9-11, some of the most important choices for American grand strategy have yet to be made. Heretofore, the costs of pursuing ambitious but ill-defined goals have been high but tolerable; the Iraqi insurgency, however, is raising the costs to the point where choices must be made. The two natural alternatives, rollback and containment, each have strengths. But they also have real drawbacks--and the choice between them rests on some basic, and inherently subjective, value judgments.

Added March 01, 2005

Street Gangs: The New Urban Insurgency. Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.

The author identifies the political-strategic challenges of contemporary unconventional conflict. He focuses on the political complexity of the gang phenomenon, and the common linkage between third generation gangs and insurgents.

Added March 01, 2005

Saudi Arabia: Islamic Threat, Political Reform, and the Global War on Terror. Authored by Dr. Sherifa D. Zuhur.

What should the United States do about Saudi Arabia? What is the best course for strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in light of Islamic extremism in the Kingdom, and calls for political and religious reform?

Added February 01, 2005

Strategic Implications of Intercommunal Warfare in Iraq. Authored by Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.

This study considers the regional consequences of intercommunal warfare in Iraq by examining how such an eventuality may develop and how neighboring states might become involved in such a conflict. This work does not predict an Iraqi civil war but rather views it as a worst-case eventuality. The danger of an Iraqi civil war requires serious U.S. cooperation with those regional states that also have a stake in preventing this outcome.

Added November 01, 2004

Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in the 21st Century: Reconceputalizing Threat and Response. Authored by Dr. Steven Metz, LTC Raymond A. Millen.

Modern insurgency warfare presents fresh challenges for the United States, which must re-conceptualize its approach to fighting such conflicts. Because the dominant characteristics of insurgency--protractedness and ambiguity--effectively stymie the American military's approach to war, the United States needs to reorient its strategic thinking.

Added November 01, 2004

Islamic Rulings on Warfare. Authored by Dr. Sherifa D. Zuhur, LTCDR Youssef H Aboul-Enein.

Why do Muslims claim that beheadings, hostage-taking, and suicide attacks are un-Islamic? If key Islamic texts argue for proper conduct in war, why are they being misinterpreted?

Added October 01, 2004

Current and Future Challenges for Asian Nonproliferation Export Controls: A Regional Response. Authored by Dr. Scott A. Jones.

How countries in the Asia region respond to the relentlessly changing nature of the proliferation challenge will affect profoundly the shape of global security for many years to come. In many instances, the countries of the region are major transshipment and assembly points for critical strategic dual-use goods and technologies. This monograph examines the current state of export control system development in the greater Asia region, with particular emphasis on the economic and security environment in which these systems operate.

Added June 01, 2004

Female Suicide Bombers. Authored by Ms Debra D Zedalis.

Female suicide bombers have been used in the past, but the spate of these type bombings in different venues, in different countries, and for different terrorist organizations encourages closer examination of this phenomenon. The author looks at the history, characteristics, and changes, and also provides within a strategic assessment the implications of change in future female suicide bombings.

Added May 01, 2004

Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights. Authored by Dr. Jeffrey Record, Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.

The authors conclude that the two conflicts bear little comparison. They also conclude, however, that failed U.S. state-building in Vietnam and the impact of declining domestic political support for U.S. war aims in Vietnam are issues pertinent to current U.S. policy in Iraq.

Added May 01, 2004

Strategic Consequences of the Iraq War: U.S. Security Interests in Central Asia Reassessed. Authored by Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick.

The U.S.-led war in Iraq complicates security cooperation between the United States and Central Asia at a time when other regional powers—especially Russia, China, and India—are competing for influence in the region more overtly. The author argues that the United States should do more to address the underlying human security problems in Central Asia, which increase its vulnerability to terrorist movements.

Added March 01, 2004

Toward an American Way of War. Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

This monograph addresses trends in American strategic thinking to the war in Iraq. It argues that the American way of war is really a way of battle and offers some recommendations for change.

Added February 01, 2004

Countering Global Terrorism: Developing the Antiterrorist Capabilities of the Central Asian Militaries. Authored by Mr. Roger N. McDermott.

The author offers a framework for improving the antiterrorist capabilities of the Central Asian militaries, including increased and focused military training with a special emphasis on Special Forces units.

Added February 01, 2004

The United States and Iraq's Shi'ite Clergy: Partners or Adversaries? Authored by Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.

The author addressed the critical need to gain the cooperation or at least the passive tolerance of the Shi'ite clerics and community. Such an effort could become more challenging as time goes on, and one of the recurring themes of this monograph is the declining patience of the Shi'ite clergy with the U.S. presence. Some key Shi'ite clerics are deeply suspicious of the United States, exemplified by conspiracy theories.

Added January 01, 2004

Checking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions. Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski, Mr. Patrick Clawson.

The fear about what Iran might do with nuclear weapons is fed by the concern that Tehran has no clear reason to be pursuing nuclear weapons. The strategic rationale for Iran's nuclear program is by no means obvious. Unlike proliferators such as Israel or Pakistan, Iran faces no historic enemy who would welcome an opportunity to wipe the state off the face of the earth.

Added December 01, 2003

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism. Authored by Dr. Jeffrey Record.

The author examines three features of the war on terrorism as currently defined and conducted: (1) the administration's postulation of the terrorist threat, (2) the scope and feasibility of U.S. war aims, and (3) the war's political, fiscal, and military sustainability. He believes that the war on terrorism--as opposed to the campaign against al-Qaeda--lacks strategic clarity, embraces unrealistic objectives, and may not be sustainable over the long haul.

Added October 01, 2003

National Security Challenges for the 21st Century. Edited by Dr. Williamson Murray.

Officers who participated in the Advanced Strategic Art Program (ASAP) during their year at the U.S. Army War College wrote these chapters. The challenges facing the defense establishment in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century are daunting indeed; however, the thoughtful essays included in this volume--including two award winners--representing some of the thinking by students at the U.S. Army War College, provide insights into these trials that will prove useful to policymakers both in and out of uniform.

Added August 01, 2003

Maintaining Effective Deterrence. Authored by Dr. Colin S. Gray.

Today there is a sense that terrorism has rendered deterrence obsolete and forced the United States to substitute preemption for it. The author provides both a conceptual framework for understanding deterrence or, more accurately, the psychology of deterrence and policy guidance on how the United States can most effectively use it. The author concludes that an adaptable and flexible military with robust landpower is the only tool that can maintain deterrence.

Added March 01, 2003

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Australia and New Zealand. Authored by Dr. Andrew Scobell.

The author has been asked to analyze four issues: the position that key states in their region are taking on U.S. military action against Iraq; the role of America in the region after the war with Iraq; the nature of security partnerships in the region after the war with Iraq; and the effect that war with Iraq will have on the war on terrorism in the region.

Added March 01, 2003

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Europe. Authored by LTC Raymond A. Millen.

The vast majority of European states will contribute to the peacekeeping mission in Iraq if asked bilaterally. Given its proximity, the European Union can provide substantial economic and diplomatic resources for stabilizing the region. The European Union will seize upon the opportunities of greater regional democratization to practice diplomacy and crisis resolution.

Added March 01, 2003

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Post-Soviet States. Authored by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

The author has been asked to analyze four issues: the position that key states in their region are taking on U.S. military action against Iraq; the role of America in the region after the war with Iraq; the nature of security partnerships in the region after the war with Iraq; and the effect that war with Iraq will have on the war on terrorism in the region.

Added March 01, 2003

Security Transformation: Report of the Belfer Center Conference on Military Transformation. Authored by Dr. John Deutch, Dr. John White.

The magnitude of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the administration's aggressive and expansive response have changed the definition of national security. Meeting these challenges demands a fundamental transformation of American strategy, armed forces, and national security organization. This conference identified key issues and questions and was the inaugural event in a long-term project to assess defense transformation.

Added March 01, 2003

Globalization and the Nature of War. Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

Globalization—the spread of information and information technologies, along with greater public participation in economic and political processes—is transforming every aspect of human affairs. What is not yet clear, however, are the impacts of these trends, especially how they might affect the nature of war. This monograph argues that the Clausewitzian trinity—hostility, chance, purpose—is still a valid way of looking at the nature of war in the 21st century.

Added March 01, 2003

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Latin America. Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.

The author has been asked to analyze four issues: the position that key states in their region are taking on U.S. military action against Iraq; the role of America in the region after the war with Iraq; the nature of security partnerships in the region after the war with Iraq; and the effect that war with Iraq will have on the war on terrorism in the region.

Added February 01, 2003

Waging Ancient War: Limits on Preemptive Force. Authored by Dr. D. Robert Worley.

The author addresses the ways that the age of terrorism is affecting American grand strategy. He contends that terrorism has made many of the basic concepts of international relations and national security obsolete. Declaring war on a tactic—terrorism—erodes the clarity necessary for coherent strategy.

Added October 01, 2002

Dragon on Terrorism: Assessing China's Tactical Gains and Strategic Losses Post-September 11. Authored by Dr. Mohan Malik.

The U.S. relationship with China and the global war on terrorism are the two most significant strategic challenges faced by the Bush administration. The author assesses how the war on terrorism has affected China. He concludes that the war on terrorism radically altered the Asian strategic environment in ways that negated China's foreign policy gains of the last decade.

Added August 01, 2002

Hizballah: Terrorism, National Liberation, or Menace? Authored by Dr. Sami G. Hajjar.

The author reviews the history of Hizballah since its inception in 1982, and examines its role in the recent political turmoil of Lebanon and the region. Not only is Hizballah's role central in the dispute over the Sheb'a Farms enclave between Lebanon and Israel, it is part of an entangled set of linkages involving Syria, Iran, the United States, the European Union, and the Palestinians.

Added May 01, 2002

Facing the Hydra: Maintaining Strategic Balance while Pursuing a Global War against Terrorism. Authored by 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 transformation and the new emphasis on homeland security and force protection.

Added April 01, 2002

The Inescapable Global Security Arena. Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.

The author outlines the violent characteristics of the new security-stability environment and briefly examines the problem of terrorism and the related problem of governance. Finally, he enumerates some civil-military implications for playing effectively in the contemporary global security arena.

Added March 01, 2002

The Past as Prologue: A History of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy in Colombia, 1958-66. Authored by Mr. Dennis M. Rempe.

The author outlines the history of U.S. counterinsurgency policy and the recommendations made by U.S. Special Survey Teams in Colombia from 1958-66. An examination of that history and the concomitant recommendations indicates that a review of that record would be in order. It provides a point of departure from which policymakers in the United States and Colombia can review where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go.

Added January 01, 2002

Defeating Terrorism: Strategic Issue Analyses. Edited by Professor John R. Martin.

Within only a few days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Army War College initiated a series of short studies addressing strategic issues in the war on terrorism. This collection of essays analyzes a broad array of subjects of great strategic importance. This volume provides historical documentation of some of the advice given the military leadership in the early days of the war, but it also continues to be a source of solid strategic analysis as the war lengthens and perhaps broadens.

Added March 01, 2000

Future Leadership, Old Issues, New Methods. Edited by Dr. Douglas V. Johnson, II.

Each year, the Army After Next Seminar students are asked to orient their Strategy Research Papers on topics appropriate to the programs 30-years in the future focus. Thirty years ago, the United States Army was deeply involved in Vietnam and in the Cold War.

Added May 01, 1999

Transnational Threats from the Middle East: Crying Wolf or Crying Havoc? Authored by Anthony H. Cordesman.

There is no doubt that the Middle East can present significant potential threats to the West. The author of this monograph examines these threats in order to put them into perspective--to distinguish between "crying wolf" and "crying havoc." After thorough analysis, he contends that the problems caused by narcotics and organized crime, immigration, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction do not as yet require draconian action by the Western nations.

Added June 01, 1997

Assessing the Costs of Failure. Authored by Lawrence R. Velte, Shibley Telhami. Edited by Dr. Stephen C. Pelletiere.

The two papers presented here are particularly timely, as the authors examine the likely effects of breakdown, or breakthrough, on America's broader regional interests, extending in particular to the Persian Gulf. As U.S. policies with respect to the Gulf and the Arab-Israeli peace process come under increasing stress, these authors elaborate linkages between them. They also make clear that the outcomes will have profound implications for U.S. security commitments and, potentially, future missions and deployments.

Added May 01, 1995

Terrorism: National Security Policy and the Home Front. Authored by Dr. Stephen C. Pelletiere.

The recent bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma has highlighted the complexity of the phenomenon of political extremism. Until this occurred, inside the United States foreign terrorists were the focus of attention, particularly the so-called Islamic fundamentalists. Undue emphasis on the "foreign connection" can make it appear that only Middle Eastern terror is of consequence. The Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) has long resisted this approach.

Added November 01, 1994

Hamas and Hizbollah: The Radical Challenge to Israel in the Occupied Territories. Authored by Dr. Stephen C. Pelletiere.

This study argues that Hamas and Hizbollah, the two main religious groups fighting Israel, probably are more threatening to U.S. interests than is generally believed. It discusses the various openings that the groups were able to exploit to advance themselves, and particularly how they profited from errors on the Israelis' part. At the same time, the study contends, there has been a corresponding rise of religious radicalism in Israel.

Added July 01, 1994

Responding to Terrorism across the Technological Spectrum. Authored by Dr. Bruce Hoffman.

In April 1994, the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute held its annual Strategy Conference. This year's theme was "The Revolution in Military Affairs: Defining an Army for the 21st Century." Dr. Bruce Hoffman presented this paper as part of a panel examining "New Technologies and New Threats." Terrorism, of course, is not new. Hoffman warns, however, of the changing nature of terrorism. In the past, terrorists have been motivated by limited political and ideological objectives.