Center for American Progress. February 6, 2013.
Events over the past month in North Africa have illustrated two basic facts. First, despite the success the United States has achieved over the past four years in destroying the core Al Qaeda organization that attacked us on 9/11, violent Islamist extremist groups will remain a security threat in many regions of the world. Second, the tactic of terrorism will unfortunately remain a tool for violent extremists of varying and diverse ideological persuasions for the foreseeable future. Both these facts argue that the United States should formulate a broader-based and sustainable counterterrorism strategy that looks beyond the demise of Al Qaeda central and the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, in order to better use the full range of tools the United States possesses to combat an increasingly fragmented but dangerous menace. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
Center for Strategic and International Studies. February 8, 2013.
This report looks at the political-military aspects of cybersecurity and attempts to place it in the larger context of international security. Cybersecurity has been an issue for national security since the 1990s, but the U.S. response has been ad hoc and reactive, marked by uncertainty over how to deal with a major new problem for international security. This report identifies six principles that should guide the United States in developing a strategic approach. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://csis.org/files/publication/130208_Lewis_ConflictCyberspace_Web.pdf [PDF format, 70 pages].
Center for Strategic and International Studies. December 27, 2012.
An uncertain future and looming budgetary constraints raise legitimate questions about what the US military will look like years down the road. The United States has invested vast amounts of time and resources in working out an answer, be it through the Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review, the Quadrennial Defense Review, the Navy’s 30-year Shipbuilding Plan, or simply the defense authorization put forth every year. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://csis.org/files/publication/Pac1288.pdf [PDF format, 2 pages].
Center for Strategic and International Studies. December 30, 2012.
History has made it all too clear that there is no easy way to assess progress in counterinsurgency, or to distinguish victory from defeat until the outcome of a conflict is final. Time and again, “defeated” insurgent movements have emerged as the victors in spite of repeated tactical defeats. The Burke Chair has reviewed recent official reporting on the progress in the war as of the end of 2012 and found major gaps in unclassified reporting, and serious problems in the limited metrics that have been made available. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://csis.org/files/publication/130102_uncertain_afghan_violence.pdf [PDF format, 61 pages].
The Brookings Institution. December 11, 2012.
Whether it is a report about the latest drone strike into Pakistan or an awesome web video of a cute robot dancing in the latest style, it seems like robots are taking over the world, figuratively if not yet literally. But within their growing appearance in the news is perhaps something bigger, a story that is reshaping the overall history of war and politics, and even humanity. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/11-robotics-military-singer [HTML format].
