Navy Role in Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

Statements from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other Department of Defense (DoD) officials suggest that the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) that is currently in progress may lead to an increased emphasis in future U.S. defense budgets on capabilities for conducting irregular warfare (IW) operations, such as counterinsurgency operations. In addition, counterterrorism (CT) operations have received an increased emphasis since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Navy for several years has carried out a variety of IW and CT activities, and has taken some steps in recent years to strengthen its ability to conduct such activities. The overall issue for Congress is how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets, and whether decisions reached by DoD on this issue in the QDR are appropriate. In addition to this overarching issue, the Navy's IW and CT activities pose some specific potential oversight issues for Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 29, 2009
Accession Number
ADA501330

Entities

People

  • Ronald O'Rourke

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Coast Guard
  • Counterterrorism
  • Department Of Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Littoral Combat Ships
  • Maritime Domain Awareness
  • Maritime Security
  • Maritime Security Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Naval Operations
  • Navy
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Geospatial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Analytics
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting