Syrian Kurds and Potential Destabilization in Northeastern Syria
Lt. Cmdr. Joshua M. M. Portzer, U.S. Navy
The author argues that the People’s Protection Units (YPG) must distance itself from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to appease Turkey, and shaping the YPG’s messaging and dialogue with Turkey should be the Syrian Kurds’ main line of effort.
Published in the May-June 2020 Edition of Military Review, p 92
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A Whole-of-Government Approach to Evaluating Civil Authority
Lt. Col. Peter Brau, U.S. Army
In a follow-up article to the previously published “Civil Authority in Manbij, Syria,” a civil affairs officer recounts U.S. efforts to help restore normalcy to northeast Syria through interagency coordination and support of local civil councils.
Published in the March-April 2020 Edition of Military Review, p 96
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Russian Operational Art in the Syrian Campaign
Lt. Col. Nicholas Sinclair, U.S. Army
The author describes the unique logic of Russian military thought and how Russia successfully implemented operational art during its campaign in Syria.
Published on 5 November 2019, Military Review Online Exclusives.
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By Michael Kofman & Matthew Rojansky, JD
Discussion of the defense of the Baltic States against Russian aggression must also include consideration of what a successful end state would look like should a war be fought in the region, as well as how to take advantage of Russia’s self-identified weakness—its own public.
Published: March-April 2018 Edition of Military Review, p 6
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Reinvigorating U.S. Strategy in Iraq and Syria
Maj. Kyle D. Packard, U.S. Army
An Army strategist describes how using a Fabian strategy—a guerrilla-style war of attrition to isolate and starve an enemy force—could be effective against Islamic extremism in Iraq and Syria.
Published in the September-October 2017 Edition of Military Review, p 60.
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The Need for a Revolution in Civil-Military Affairs
By Anthony H. Cordesman
Using the situation in Syria as an example, the author explains how the United States needs a revolution in civil-military affairs to be successful in fighting failed-state wars that involve major counterinsurgency campaigns and reliance on host-country forces.
Published in the May-June Edition of Military Review 2017, p 44.
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View from Turkey
By Karen Kaya
A Middle East and Turkey analyst for the Foreign Military Studies Office provides insight into the impact of the Syrian crisis on Turkey, the Middle East, and the international community.
Published in the March-April Edition of Military Review 2014, p 43.
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By Capt. Walter C. Haynes, U.S. Army
The influx of refugees caused by the Syrian Civil War could destabilize Jordan, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, through a deterioration of that country’s national identity. The author provides context for the current crisis by examining a similar refugee flow of Palestinians during the 1940s and 1950s and discusses several possible outcomes.
Published in the January/February 2016 Edition of Military Review, p 45.
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Russia Lessons for the Art of Strategy
By Dmitry Adamsky
Published: July 2018 by Russie.Nei.Visions
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By Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair; Director, Transnational Threats Project; and Senior Adviser, International Security Program
Published: May 17, 2018 by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
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By Genevieve Casagrande and Kathleen Weinberger
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) produced this report with the Critical Threats Project (CTP). The insights are part of an intensive multi-month exercise to frame, design, and evaluate potential courses of action that the United States could pursue to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) and al Qaeda in Syria. The ISW-CTP team recently released “America’s Way Ahead in Syria,” which details the flaws in the current U.S. approach in Iraq and Syria and proposes the first phase of a strategic reset in the Middle East
Published by the Institute for the Study of War, March 2017.
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By Chuck Bartles, Foreign Military Studies Office December 28, 2017
US-backed Syrian Civil Council Pardons Dozens of Islamic State Members
By Rikar Hussein and Mahmoud Bali, voanews.com August 16, 2017