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Summary By statute, the Department of Defense (DOD) is required, by Section 118, Title 10, U.S. Code, to submit to Congress a report based on its most recent Quadrennial Defense [...]

December 17, 2013 Summary This is a critical time for U.S. efforts in the war in Afghanistan. U.S. military engagement beyond December 2014, when the current NATO mission ends, depends [...]

August 13, 2013 On January 5, 2012, President Obama announced a new defense strategy entitled 'Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,' and commonly referred to as the [...]

Contents Introduction Why Strategy? Strategic Reviews and Reports with Statutory Requirements National Security Strategy (NSS) Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) National Defense Strategy (NDS) National Military Strategy (NMS) Quadrennial Roles and [...]

Contents Strategy Grand Strategy Military Strategy Recent Cases International Authorization Law Legitimacy Recent Cases Congressional Authorization Operations The Situation The Nature and Density of Adversary Air Defenses The Quantity and [...]

Contents Background Current System of Federal Budgeting How the Current System Addresses National Security How UNSB Advocates View the Current System Challenges to the UNSB School Unified Approaches to Budgeting [...]

December 6, 2012 Summary On May 1, 2012, President Obama gave a speech from Bagram Air Field in which he laid out U.S. government approaches for 'winding down' the war [...]

June 15, 2012 On May 1, 2012, President Obama gave a speech from Bagram Air Field in which he laid out U.S. government approaches for 'winding down' the war in [...]

Contents Summary Issues Worldview Goals Effects Prioritization Resources Assessments Integration Risk Contacts Author Contact Information May 4, 2012 Summary Over the last few years, the term 'partnership' has spread like [...]

Appendix A provides an overview of U.S. interagency institutions and arrangements. The subsequent appendices discuss salient reform proposals from 38 sources, with each appendix addressing one (or a subset of [...]

* AAD American Academy of Diplomacy * AUSA Association of the U.S. Army * AFRICOM U.S. Africa Command * CENTCOM U.S. Central Command * CEO Chief Executive Officer * CFR [...]

The United States' system for decision-making and implementing foreign affairs missions and activities is considered dysfunctional by many analysts. One recent study characterizes the exercise of foreign relations as 'a [...]

Congress has considerable authority regarding interagency reform. Through its appropriations power, Congress ultimately controls reforms that require additional resources, such as personnel, facilities, and additional education and training. Congress also [...]

The United States' ability to protect its interests and play a global leadership role may be significantly affected by the way in which it brings resources to bear on new [...]

(Materials listed alphabetically by the acronym or surnames used to identify them in Table 1.) ACTD 2007--U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy, Final Report of the State Department [...]

Some U.S. policymakers share widespread concern that the United States cannot conduct 'whole of government' missions and activities abroad efficiently and effectively. For the 112th Congress, various proposals to reform [...]

January 23, 2012 Summary Within the past two decades, prominent foreign policy organizations and foreign policy experts have perceived serious deficiencies in the authorities, organizations, and personnel used to conduct [...]

January 12, 2012 On January 5, 2012, President Obama announced new defense strategic guidance entitled 'Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense.' (1) This new guidance is significant [...]

January 6, 2012 On June 22, 2011, President Obama delivered a major policy speech in which he laid out the parameters for 'surge recovery'--the Administration's new term of art that [...]

Contents Strategy Grand Strategy Military Strategy Recent Cases International Authorization Law Legitimacy Recent Cases Congressional Authorization Operations The Situation The Nature and Density of Adversary Air Defenses The Quantity and [...]

For further information about Iraq-related issues, see CRS Report RL33110, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9111, by Amy Belasco; CRS Report RL34064, […]

A central tenet of counter-insurgency is reaching out to the local population and securing at least their acceptance, if not their active support. In Iraq, a number of U.S. military […]

Major combat operations in Iraq, launched in March 2003, roughly followed the course that had been outlined at the CENTCOM Component Commanders Conference in January that year. The coalition force […]

As of the beginning of 2009, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) consisted of three major groups: the Army, Navy and Air Force under the Ministry of Defense (MoD); the Iraqi […]

Over time, U.S. military strategy for Iraq--and thus also operations on the ground--have been adapted to support evolving U.S. national strategy. In turn, national strategy has directly drawn some lessons […]

Strategically based decision-making about the United States' next steps in Iraq and its future relations with that country requires a clear assessment of trends to date in security conditions, and […]

From the earliest days after major combat operations, civilian and military coalition leaders in Iraq recognized the central importance of the governance and economics "lines of operation"--indeed, military commanders have […]

The Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), like its predecessor CJTF-7, is a joint, combined force. It includes some Department of Defense civil servants, and it is supported by civilian contractors. Structure and […]

The security situation in Iraq is multi-faceted, geographically varied, and constantly evolving. In a society where the rule of law is not completely established, politics--the struggle for power, resources and […]

In 2009, the war in Iraq appears to be winding down, as security gains made since the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007 continue to be sustained, and […]

As the Prussian military theorist Karl von Clausewitz wrote, war planning includes articulation of both intended goals and how they will be achieved. (119) In the case of Operation Iraqi […]

This Report uses the term "post-major combat" to refer to the period from the President's announcement of the end of major combat, on May 1, 2003, to the present. This […]

April 2, 2009 Summary Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the U.S.-led coalition military operation in Iraq, was launched on March 20, 2003, with the immediate stated goal of removing Saddam Hussein's […]

The Administration's decision to launch Operation Iraqi Freedom had antecedents stretching back to the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath. Antecedents in the 1990s In the 1990's, the United States […]

January 23, 2009 Summary As the 111th Congress convenes and the Obama Administration assumes office, the war in Afghanistan has entered its eighth year. With a deteriorating security situation and […]

December 16, 2008 Summary A growing community of interest, including Members of Congress, senior officials in the executive branch, and think-tank analysts, is calling for a reexamination of how well […]

For further information about Iraq-related issues, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman; CRS Report RL32105, Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance, by Curt Tarnoff; CRS Report RL33110, […]

Over time, U.S. military strategy for Iraq--and thus also operations on the ground--have been adapted to support evolving U.S. national strategy. In turn, national strategy has directly drawn some lessons […]

From the earliest days after major combat operations, civilian and military coalition leaders in Iraq recognized the central importance of the governance and economics "lines of operation"--indeed, military commanders have […]

A central tenet of counter-insurgency is reaching out to the local population and securing at least their acceptance, if not their active support. In Iraq, a number of U.S. military […]

As of 2008, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) consisted of three major groups: the Army, Navy and Air Force under the Ministry of Defense (MoD); the Iraqi Police Service, the […]

Strategically based decision-making about the United States' next steps in Iraq and its future relations with that country requires a clear assessment of trends to date in security conditions, and […]

This Report uses the term "post-major combat" to refer to the period from the President's announcement of the end of major combat, on May 1, 2003, to the present. This […]

Major combat operations in Iraq, launched in March 2003, roughly followed the course that had been outlined at the CENTCOM Component Commanders Conference in January that year. The coalition force […]

The Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), like its predecessor CJTF-7, is a joint, combined force. It includes some Department of Defense civil servants, and it is supported by civilian contractors. Structure and […]

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)--the U.S.-led coalition military operation in Iraq--is ongoing, and Members of Congress, practitioners, and observers have been debating the United States' next steps in Iraq. One key […]

As the Prussian military theorist Karl von Clausewitz wrote, war planning includes articulation of both intended goals and how they will be achieved. (82) In the case of Operation Iraqi […]

The security situation in Iraq is multi-faceted, geographically varied, and constantly evolving. In a society where the rule of law is not completely established, politics--the struggle for power, resources and […]

Updated October 28, 2008 Catherine Dale Specialist in International Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade […]

The Administration's decision to launch Operation Iraqi Freedom had antecedents stretching back to the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath. Antecedents in the 1990s In the 1990's, the United States […]