Winning the Peace in Iraq: Confronting America's Informational and Doctrinal Handicaps

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military has proven itself the premier fighting force in the world. In Panama, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, American forces moved with speed and agility, crushing enemy forces. However, victory in combat is only a penultimate step in the larger task of "winning the peace." Winning the peace involves aligning the "hearts and minds" of a people with American political objectives, thus creating a politically and economically stable nation friendly to U.S. interests. However, in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), America's ability to win the peace is in doubt. While even critics of OIF recognize its military brilliance, the peace-winning efforts of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) have come under intense criticism. U.S. forces are struggling to balance the doctrinal principles of security and legitimacy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 05, 2003
Accession Number
ADA421583

Entities

People

  • Justin Gage
  • Pat Wingate
  • Tim Mitchell
  • William Joseph Martin

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Operations
  • Combat Support
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Iraqi-War
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Public Policy
  • Schools
  • Social Sciences
  • Terrorists
  • Training
  • United States
  • United States Military Academy
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.