Unfolding the Future of the Long War

Unfolding the Future of the Long War PDF Author: Christopher G. Pernin
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 083304673X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
The United States is currently engaged in a military effort that has been characterized as the "long war." This study explores the concept of long war and identifies ways in which it might unfold as well as the implications for the Army and the U.S. military more generally. This report uses the generation of either "trajectories" or alternative paths in which the long war might unfold to explore the implications for the U.S. military.

Unfolding the Future of the Long War: Motivations, Prospects, and Implications for the U.S. Army

Unfolding the Future of the Long War: Motivations, Prospects, and Implications for the U.S. Army PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
The United States is currently engaged in what has been characterized as the "long war." The long war has been described by some as an epic struggle against adversaries bent on forming a unified Islamic world to supplant Western dominance, while others characterize it more narrowly as an extension of the war on terrorism. But while policy makers, military leaders, and scholars have offered numerous definitions of the long war, no consensus has been reached about this term or its implications for the United States. This study explores the concept of the long war and identifies potential ways in which it might unfold as well as the implications for the Army and the U.S. military more generally. One way to think about the potential threats the United States faces in the long war is to consider the consequence of three problems raised by the war: those related to the ideologies espoused by key adversaries in the conflict, those related to the use of terrorism, and those related to governance. To ensure that this war follows a favorable course, the United States will need to make a concerted effort across all three domains. Also important for understanding the long war is a definition of the adversary. Because several of the adversaries that have attacked the United States have espoused an ideology laced with Islamic motifs and juridical justifications, this study examined groups operating within predominantly Muslim countries and organized them into categories based on an understanding of their motivating ideas and goals. The study identifies eight alternative "trajectories," or paths, that the long war might take. The trajectories emphasize not what the future looks like, but the ways in which it might unfold. This analysis, combined with the authors' understanding of the components of the long war, provided the basis for a set of seven strategy options for the United States in the long war.

Unfolding the Future of the Long War

Unfolding the Future of the Long War PDF Author: Christopher G. Pernin
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833046314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
"The United States is currently engaged in a military effort that has been characterized as the "long war." The long war has been described by some as an epic struggle against adversaries bent on forming a unified Islamic world to supplant western dominance, while others describe it more narrowly as an extension of the war on terror. But while policymakers, military leaders, and scholars have offered numerous definitions of the long war, no consensus has been reached about this term or its implications for the United States. To understand the impacts that this long war will have on the U.S. Army and on U.S. forces in general, it is necessary to understand more precisely what the long war is and how it might unfold over the coming years. To address this need, this study explores the concept of the long war and identifies potential ways in which it might unfold as well as the implications for the Army and the U.S. military more generally. This report uses the generation of either "trajectories" or alternative paths in which the long war might unfold to explore the implications for the U.S. military. The discussion focuses on the potential threats the U.S. faces in each trajectory and considers the confluence of three major problems raised by the war: those related to the ideologies espoused by key adversaries in the conflict, those related to the use of terrorism, and those related to governance (i.e., its absence or presence, its quality, and the predisposition of specific governing bodies to the United States and its interests). The goal of this report is not to determine which of these areas is the key problem. Instead, we take the stance that in order to ensure that this long war follows a favorable course, the United States will need to make a concerted effort across all three domains. Numerous broad conclusions and recommendations are given for addressing issues surrounding the long war." -- provided by publisher.

Oil and God

Oil and God PDF Author: Elie Elhadj
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1581126077
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

Book Description
Oil and God is an unabashed realpolitik analysis of U.S. oil geopolitics and Saudi Arabia’s symbiotic attachment to Wahhabism. Oil and God contends that oil hegemony is world hegemony. The U.S. has protected the al-Sauds since 1945. Some 35,000 U.S. soldiers are in regional air and naval bases to protect the oil fields and ruling sheikhs. In Washington’s hands, Saudi oil is a non-lethal WMD. Not even the 9/11 atrocities could make Washington punish Riyadh. Oil and God investigates why Iraq was destroyed, why Iran was allowed to dominate Baghdad, and why Shi’ite/Sunni wars continue to burn. Once oil is replaced by green energy, Washington will abandon Riyadh, Saudi cash will dwindle, and Wahhabi terror will diminish.

The Sword Arm

The Sword Arm PDF Author: Dr. Sanu Kainikara
Publisher: Vij Books India Pvt Ltd
ISBN: 938816136X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 521

Book Description
Military forces have long been the arbiters of national security and continues to be at the vanguard of assuring the sovereignty and stability of a nation. This is an enduring fact. However, in the past few decades, the role of the military forces have undergone an evolutionary change and now spans a much broader spectrum of activities than ever before. Accordingly, the responsibilities placed on the military forces, especially in democratic nations, have also undergone an upward revision. These changes have altered the status and stature of military forces. This book analyses the changing position of military forces and their relationship with other elements of national power vis-à-vis the need to ensure national security. The analysis is carried out in great detail—starting with a discussion of national policy, grand strategy and their connection to the military forces and ending with a discussion of the status of military forces in the national security calculus. It is arranged into five independent sections that contain twenty chapters. The Sword Arm examines the hypothesis that irrespective of the broad definition of national security that is prevalent in modern times and the whole-of-government approach that most democracies have adopted to ensure the security and safety of the nation, military forces continue to be at the vanguard of national security initiatives. On the other hand, democratic nations have a proclivity to sideline the military forces in times of relative peace, which could be detrimental to the overall security of the nation. The book critically investigates this dichotomy and suggests that in 21st century democracies, military forces need to be strengthened to ensure the security of the nation.

Russia's Geoeconomic Strategy for a Greater Eurasia

Russia's Geoeconomic Strategy for a Greater Eurasia PDF Author: Glenn Diesen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351815040
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
This book explains how Russia is adjusting to its ongoing realignment towards Asia while engaging in a parallel assessment of Russia's interactions with other significant actors in the region - China, the US, the EU, and NATO.

Global Justice & Finance

Global Justice & Finance PDF Author: Tim Hayward
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192580493
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Can global justice be promoted by distributing money more equitably? Could even relatively small financial sacrifices by the affluent work, through benign leverage, to achieve that goal? Global Justice and Finance casts new light on such questions by considering what is presupposed about finance. Redistributive proposals assume money to be a reliable measure, store of value, and medium of exchange. Yet maintaining stable interest, inflation, and exchange rates in a dynamic capitalist economy is a considerable achievement involving a complex financial system. Such global coordination could, if so directed, contribute immensely to humanity's betterment, yet under the direction of a profit seeking elite it leaves a majority disempowered, impoverished, and indebted. To pay debts, ever more desperate measures to wrest value from the world's natural resources increase ecological pressures to harmful extremes, and those pressures do not stop short of driving wars. The profit seeking economy is held in place by the complex legal arrangements that constitute finance. Globally, there has developed, unannounced and unaccountably, what amounts to a privatised constitution - binding agreements that transcend sovereign jurisdictions. Hopes of redirecting the financial assets created within this system, by means of modest reforms, towards objectives of social justice and ecological sustainability may prove illusory. To achieve such objectives arguably requires the constitution of a global normative order guided by public and political decision-making. The achievement of a publicly accountable constitutional order that is superordinate to the financial system might be regarded as a revolutionary transformation.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah PDF Author: James Worrall
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1440831351
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
This detailed analysis follows the rise and evolution of Hezbollah from an Islamic resistance movement to its role as a governing force in Lebanon, exploring the group's impact on the security and power dynamics in the Middle East. This is the first book of its kind to offer a comprehensive study of Hezbollah, providing an overview of the organization's key personalities, events, and structures over the past three decades. Inspired by the latest terrorism research and contemporary developments in the Middle East, the book reflects upon Hezbollah's religious foundations and its present role as a player in Middle East relations. Chapters place Hezbollah within the Middle East security environment, analyzing the rise of the Party of God within the context of Iranian-inspired Shi'a activism, examining the ideological underpinnings of the movement, and addressing its dominant political position post Arab Spring. This authoritative volume introduces the party's full range of activities, including resistance, propaganda, organized crime, and educational facilities. The content highlights Hezbollah's role as a social welfare provider—specifically, the types of aid given, the source of financing for the endeavor, and the challenge this role presents to the Lebanese state.

Battlefield of the Future - 21st Century Warfare Issues

Battlefield of the Future - 21st Century Warfare Issues PDF Author: Lawrence Grinter
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781478361886
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
This is a book about strategy and war fighting. It contains 11 essays which examine topics such as military operations against a well-armed rogue state, the potential of parallel warfare strategy for different kinds of states, the revolutionary potential of information warfare, the lethal possibilities of biological warfare and the elements of an ongoing revolution in military affairs. The purpose of the book is to focus attention on the operational problems, enemy strategies and threat that will confront U.S. national security decision makers in the twenty-first century.

Implacable Foes

Implacable Foes PDF Author: Waldo Heinrichs
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190616776
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 640

Book Description
On May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day-shortened to "V.E. Day"-brought with it the demise of Nazi Germany. But for the Allies, the war was only half-won. Exhausted but exuberant American soldiers, ready to return home, were sent to join the fighting in the Pacific, which by the spring and summer of 1945 had turned into a gruelling campaign of bloody attrition against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Germany had surrendered unconditionally. The Japanese would clearly make the conditions of victory extraordinarily high. In the United States, Americans clamored for their troops to come home and for a return to a peacetime economy. Politics intruded upon military policy while a new and untested president struggled to strategize among a military command that was often mired in rivalry. The task of defeating the Japanese seemed nearly unsurmountable, even while plans to invade the home islands were being drawn. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall warned of the toll that "the agony of enduring battle" would likely take. General Douglas MacArthur clashed with Marshall and Admiral Nimitz over the most effective way to defeat the increasingly resilient Japanese combatants. In the midst of this division, the Army began a program of partial demobilization of troops in Europe, which depleted units at a time when they most needed experienced soldiers. In this context of military emergency, the fearsome projections of the human cost of invading the Japanese homeland, and weakening social and political will, victory was salvaged by means of a horrific new weapon. As one Army staff officer admitted, "The capitulation of Hirohito saved our necks." In Implacable Foes, award-winning historians Waldo Heinrichs (a veteran of both theatres of war in World War II) and Marc Gallicchio bring to life the final year of World War Two in the Pacific right up to the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, evoking not only Japanese policies of desperate defense, but the sometimes rancorous debates on the home front. They deliver a gripping and provocative narrative that challenges the decision-making of U.S. leaders and delineates the consequences of prioritizing the European front. The result is a masterly work of military history that evaluates the nearly insurmountable trials associated with waging global war and the sacrifices necessary to succeed.