Articles Published During April, 2013

Article Excerpts

• The JPME Saga of Joe Etudiant by Dan McCauley
  What happened to the sports college?
• The Pakistani Godfather: The Inter-Services Intelligence and the Afghan Taliban 1994-2010 by Adrian Hänni and Lukas Hegi
  The study demonstrates the naivety of a superpower that allows an alleged ally to receive billions of dollars with which Pakistan financed groups that kill American soldiers almost on a...
• Iraq and Afghanistan through the Lens of American Military Casualties by Scott Sigmund Gartner
  Unlike other major wars the US has fought, Iraq & Afghanistan demonstrate extremely low occurrence of troops who become POW/MIA & high injury survival rates.
• Irregular Warfare: Network Warfare and the Venture Capital Green Beret by EM Burlingame
  As SOCOM takes on the task of addressing population-centric conflict post-Iraq/Afghanistan, it must field a new type of SOF Operator--master of the full-spectrum of the human domain and skilled at engaging all 7...
• Has Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines Been a Success? by Mark Munson
  Despite success at degrading Philippine terrorist networks, much of the security gains have been transitory, while the underlying socio-economic problems in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago remain.
• Understanding Groupthink by Keith Vore
  Deeper understanding of groupthink, its causes, and mitigation techniques should help a commander and his staff prevent it from occurring, and red teams can assist in the cause.
• Aligning FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency with Reality by Stephen L. Melton
  The “U.S. in the Lead” COIN approach usually fails where security force assistance could succeed.
• Why Do We Often Fail to Correctly Measure Success in Wars? by Nicholas Murray
  If physical success on the battlefield cannot be translated into part of a larger aim, it is largely irrelevant even if it does a great deal of physical damage to...
• Of Groundhogs and Ground Combat by Joseph J. Collins
  One consistently wrong—but always convenient—prediction has been the improbability of ground wars and the declining utility of ground forces.
• Gender and Transition in Afghanistan by Vanita Datta
  The issue of the reach of the state needs to be put into a wider focus by including women and gender issues as part of the narrative.
• Venezuela's Presidential Election: Chavez Runs Again - By Proxy by Thomas Macias
  Chavista strategists have decided its best course of action is to run Chavez for president for a fifth time, only this time by proxy.
• The War on Terror... Over? Part 2 by Jai Singh and Ajay Singh
  Some US objectives remain unmet.
• A Review: Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present by Youssef Aboul-Enein
  Guerilla warfare is not an “Eastern Way of War,” it is the universal war of the weak.
• Case Study: The IRA’s Hyde and Regent's Parks Attacks in London, July 20, 1982 by Jeremiah Foxwell
  Understanding the correlation between an insurgency’s goals and their IED design is crucial to defending against the devices and forecasting IED threats.
• Breaking Down “Hearts and Minds”: The Power of Individual Causal Mechanisms in an Insurgency by Octavian Manea
  An interview with MIT Professor Roger D. Petersen.
• Lessons from the Battle Road: A Story of Mission Command, Miscalculation, and Adaptive Thinking by Thomas M. Williams
  Good stories trump doctrine for effecting cultural change because they reach us emotionally; they inspire.  Consider America's first battle and what we can glean its many relevant lessons.
• Interoperability: Merging the Organizational Cultures of Special Forces and the Infantry by Matthew Myer and Michael Eliassen
  Interoperability is a function of leadership, hardship, and time. To quickly achieve it, focus on individual personalities, understand that everyone has value, and exercise mission command.
• A Ball of Mirrors: Iraq’s Lessons for Future Counterinsurgencies by Haider Ali Hussein Mullick
  Unlike a certain mathematical solution counterinsurgency is a laden with human error and complexity.
• So, You’re Going to be an Advisor? by Pat McKavitt
  Ten easy to follow recommendations to help you become an effective military advisor.
• Under the Veil of Discourse by Teresa Lappe-Osthege
  A critical analysis of statements by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri reveal a fragmented and weakened Al Qaeda disguising its internal incoherence and lack of appealing strategic and political...
• Promoting Cross-Cultural Competence in Intelligence Professionals by Robert R. Greene Sands and Thomas J. Haines
  A new perspective on alternative analysis and the intelligence process
• Succeeding in Afghanistan by Peter F. Schaefer
  If we ignore village life – or try to bend it to our view of what it should be – we will fail in Afghanistan as we did in Vietnam.
• An Age of Instability by Gary W. Montgomery
  Why is this new age an age of instability—instead of an age of empires, or warring states, or even peace and prosperity?
• Social Banditry and the Public Persona of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán by Guy Fricano
  Implications for information operations in Guatemala.
• The Horizon Framework by Christian Bayer Tygesen and Kristian Knus Larsen
  Bringing time into the assessment of counterinsurgency warfare.