Expert Related Publication Feeds

The Emerging Anti-Access/Area-Denial Challenge

sherry — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Emerging challenges to U.S. regional access and freedom of action have generated a great deal of conceptual debate over the past year. While access challenges transcend military threats, the Department of Defense (DoD) plays a unique role defending U.S. interests in the face of them.

Stabilization and Reconstruction After Iraq and Afghanistan

ian — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The following conversation derives from an on-line chat between Global Forecast editors and two CSIS scholars on what stability operations might look like under the next administration.

As Washington debates the pace of withdrawal from Afghanistan, it may be time to look back and ask what we have learned as a country after a decade of massive state-building operations.

Projecting Force Ashore: Gaining and Maintaining Operational Access

ian — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Last month, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps released the “Gaining and Maintaining Access” concept (GMAC). GMAC is a comprehensive discussion of the Army-Marine role in cracking future Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) challenges. GMAC—like AirSea Battle (ASB)—is subordinate to the recently released Joint Operational Access Concept (JOAC).

Key Risks in the New Defense Guidance: What Kind of War and Where?

sherry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

On January 5, the president announced new foundational defense guidance. Fiscal challenges clearly dictated the timing of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most recent comprehensive review. However, new guidance was essential at some point if DoD was to transition into the post–Iraq/Afghanistan world in the most deliberate and responsible way possible.

Challenges to American Access: The Joint Operational Access Concept and Future Military Risk

sherry — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The recently released Joint Operational Access Concept (JOAC) foreshadows an era of increased constraints on U.S. military actions abroad. The reality is that U.S. military power now competes on a substantially more complicated playing field in a number of important regions around the world. As a consequence, U.S.

Endangered Ground Forces?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Tomorrow General Raymond Odierno, the chief of staff of the Army, and General James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the potential impact of sequestration.

U.S. Ground Force Capabilities through 2020

jdunton — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

As an era of greater austerity rushes in, policymakers face numerous difficult choices about how to prioritize shrinking resources. This study is an effort to inform those choices in the particular area of U.S. ground force capabilities, based on an examination of how well current plans align with potential future challenges ground forces might be called upon to address.

The Role of Land Forces In Future Conflict

ian — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The coming year promises to be decisive in national defense policy. The Defense Department is gearing up for another round of cuts, new leadership (both civilian and military) will be settling in, and preparations for the 2012 elections will begin in earnest. These circumstances do not bode well for U.S. ground forces.

The 2011 Unified Command Plan—A Missed Opportunity?

mentman — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Last month President Obama signed the Unified Command Plan (UCP). The UCP establishes responsibilities and geographic boundaries for the U.S. military’s six regional and four functional four-star combatant commands (COCOMs).

Bin Laden's Gone: What Now for Defense Policy?

ian — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The death of Osama bin Laden (OBL) at the hands of U.S. special operations forces is a watershed moment for defense strategists. Like the 9/11 attacks, it isn’t really the beginning or end of anything new. The world didn’t change on 9/11. What did change was how the United States and its national security community perceived threats and their likelihood.

Doing Less with Less? Assessing the Impact of the UK Strategic Defense and Security Review

ian — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today, the UK government released its much anticipated Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR), which sets priorities for national security spending over the coming decade in light of constrained resources and continuing debate over Britain’s role in the world.

The End of Operation Iraqi Freedom and DoD’s Future in Iraq

ian — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Last night, President Barack Obama announced a formal end to the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. With roughly 50,000 Americans remaining behind until next year, it is certain that U.S. service personnel have not seen the end of hostile action.

"Don't Stop Now, Mr. Secretary. You're on a Roll!"

sherry — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ most recent decision to shutter Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and to cut the Department of Defense (DoD) contract workforce are new examples of his penchant for bold decisionmaking. The centrifugal pressures of ongoing wars, long-term readiness, and looming federal deficits are forcing his hand.

The Iraqi Elections and Beyond: Hope for the Best, Plan for Something Less

sherry — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: In his February 17 speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Ambassador Christopher R. Hill noted that a top U.S. priority in Iraq is helping it “build political and democratic institutions in a secure environment.” How are Iraqi and U.S. officials preparing for potential violence related to the upcoming March 7 national parliamentary election?

Comments on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review

ian — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Let me first take an opportunity to congratulate my many friends and former colleagues in the Department of Defense (DoD) on surviving and succeeding in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) process. It’s an immense undertaking.

The Afghan "Surge": Beginning, Middle, or End?

sherry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Last night President Obama described a new way forward in Afghanistan. Throughout months of intensive deliberations, it was always clear that answers to two key questions would determine how we proceed. The first: where collectively do we want to go? Rebuild Afghanistan from the bottom up or reinforce our strategic position against those that might use Afghanistan as a terrorist sanctuary?

Iraq versus Afghanistan: A Surge Is Not a Surge Is Not a Surge

ian — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

One critical component in the current debate on whether to surge more U.S. forces into Afghanistan centers on popular conceptions about the surge in Iraq. Those advocating an Afghan surge argue that what worked in Iraq will work in Afghanistan; skeptics contend that conditions are quite different.

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Defining and Operationalizing “Balance” in Defense Strategy

pfrank — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The U.S. secretary of defense often invokes “balance” when discussing future Department of Defense (DoD) capabilities, readiness, and risk assessment. In his view, a “balanced” force operates in totality effectively across the entire spectrum of conflict. There are significant details to iron out on this subject.

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A Risk-Management Approach to Afghanistan?

sherry — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: What is current conventional wisdom on the Afghan war?

A1: The short answer? Either we are “losing,” or we “won” by some definition a while ago. How you view the issue depends on your answers to four questions.

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The Departure of U.S. Forces from Iraq's Cities

sherry — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: How significant is the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq’s cities?

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DoD Leaders, Strategists, and Operators in an Era of Persistent Unconventional Challenge

jdunton — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

This study argues that the future security environment will be dominated by unconventional threats and challenges that lie outside the boundaries of traditional warfighting. This is the new defense and national security status quo. And the dominant demand on key defense actors in this new status quo will be the active management of persistent unconventional conflict.

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The Impending Withdrawal from Iraq and Its Implications

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Q1: What are the most important takeaways from President Barack Obama’s announcement of a gradual U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq?

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Transitioning Defense Organizational Initiatives

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The CSIS U.S. Defense and National Security Group and Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group examined eight years of defense reforms during the administration of George W. Bush and identified for the incoming administration (1) successful reforms to maintain, (2) partially successful reforms to improve, (3) and failed experiments to halt.

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