Beyond Iraq: The Lessons of a Hard Place

Abstract

The war in Iraq is revealing the weakness of a U.S. foreign policy focused disproportionately on conventional military power and unilateral action, and distracted from the challenge of a global jihadist insurgency that is undercutting the modern states system. Understanding cultural and historical differences between the West and the rest of the world, as well as the primacy of economic development over political process is critical to ensuring U.S. interests are advanced. Alliances with and mechanisms for support of regional states are essential to safeguard the current order. Even as military capabilities to mount counterinsurgency operations are improved, containment and shaping of the inevitable instability in the Middle East remain key challenges for U.S. strategists and policy makers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2007
Accession Number
ADA471306

Entities

People

  • Anton K. Smith

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cold War
  • Economic Systems
  • Education
  • Governments
  • Insurgency
  • Market Economy
  • Middle East
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Violence
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies