Unfolding the future of the long war : : motivations, prospects, and implications for the U.S. Army / / Christopher G. Pernin [et al.]

• Superior document: Rand Corporation monograph series
• TeilnehmendeR: Pernin, Christopher G., 1973-
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Language: English
• Series: Rand Corporation monograph series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxxiii, 194 pages) :; illustrations (some color), color maps, digital, PDF file
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

The United States is currently engaged in a military effort that has been characterized as the "long war." The long war has been described by some as an epic struggle against adversaries bent on forming a unified Islamic world to supplant western dominance, while others describe it more narrowly as an extension of the war on terror. But while policymakers, military leaders, and scholars have offered numerous definitions of the long war, no consensus has been reached about this term or its implications for the United States.

Table of Contents

Cover; Preface; Contents; Figures; Tables; Summary; Acknowledgments; Glossary; CHAPTER ONE- Introduction; Focus of This Study; Organization of This Report; CHAPTER TWO- What Is the Long War?; Background and Use of the Term "Long War"; CHAPTER THREE- Who Is Involved in the Long War?; Past Definitions of the Adversary; A Framework for Understanding the Participants in the Long War; Expanding the Framework of Participants Through Influence Diagrams; Conclusions; CHAPTER FOUR- What Will Affect the Way the Long War Unfolds?; Trends and Drivers of the Long War

Uncertainties: The Variables That Drive Alternative TrajectoriesSummary; CHAPTER FIVE- How Might the Long War Unfold?; Generating Alternative Trajectories; The Eight Trajectories; CHAPTER SIX- What Does This Mean for the Army?; Introduction; Seven Strategies for the Long War; Responses to and Implications of the Trajectories; CHAPTER SEVEN- Observations on the Long War; Broad Observations; The Army Should Plan and Prepare to Be Involved with Aspects from Across the GTI Construct; The Army Should Consider Mission Sets That Allow for a More Proactive Effect Across the GTI Construct

The Enduring Missions of the Force Combined with the Evolving Responses to the Long War Imply an Agile and Flexible MilitaryThe Military Should Consider the Vulnerability of the AssumptionThat Major Combat Operations Will Be Their Most Pressing Issue in the Medium and Longer Term; The Military, and More Specifically the Army, Should Plan for Potential Involvement in Medium- to Large-Scale Stability Operations and Nation Building; The Army Should Continue to Identify and Adopt Niche Capabilities to Prosecute the Long War; APPENDIX A- Short Descriptions of Ideology, Governance, and Terrorism

APPENDIX B- The Use of Civilizational Conflict When Describing the Long WarAPPENDIX C- Interpreting the Influence Diagram; APPENDIX D- Relating Long War Strategies to Grand Strategies; APPENDIX E- Location of Oil and Natural Gas Resources; APPENDIX F- Demographic Trends and Factors; APPENDIX G- Water in the Middle East; Bibliography