FPRI Featured Articles July 2010

The McChrystal Affair And U.S. Civil-Military Relations

By Mackubin T. Owens

Writing before the 2008 election, Richard Kohn, the eminent historian and student of US civil-military relations, predicted that "the new administration, like its predecessors, will wonder to what extent it can exercise civilian 'control.' If the historical pattern holds, the administration will do something clumsy or overreact, provoking even more distrust simply in the process of establishing its own authority." Recent events demonstrate that he was correct.

In late June of this year, it was reported that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, and members of his staff had criticized top Obama administration officials. The story, published in Rolling Stone, quoted officers on McChrystal's staff making disparaging remarks about the vice president, the national security adviser, and the president himself. Gen. McChrystal was summoned to Washington D.C., where he offered his resignation, which the president accepted. Read “The McChrystal Affair And U.S. Civil-Military Relations” »

Additional Articles on Civil Military Relations

• Civil-Military Relations and the U.S. Strategy Deficit, Mackubin T. Owens, February 2010
• Dissent and Strategic Leadership of the Military Professions, Don M. Snider, February 2008
• Mind the Gap: Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America, Michael Noonan, January 2008
• Civil Military Relations, Ike Skelton, November 2007
• Dereliction of Duty Redux?, Frank Hoffman, November 2007

Why The Military Makes Public Health A Priority

By Sanders Marble

The military is involved in public health because diseases do not respect a uniform. The mosquito cannot tell whether the arm is in a uniform or not. The military has to protect itself—campaigns have been affected (even lost) because a force was unhealthy due to communicable disease. Read “Why The Military Makes Public Health A Priority” »

• Additional videos and materials from The Role Of The Military In America's (Domestic) History

Canada At Mid-Year 2010: A View From North Of The Border

By David T. Jones

Following World War II, Canadian politics were regarded as dull; then, all of a sudden, they weren't. For almost two decades, the country raced through the political science equivalent of a wind sprint marathon: Read “Canada At Mid-Year 2010: A View From North Of The Border” »

The Mavi Marmara Incident, Rafah, and Egypt's Steel Wall

By Tally Helfont

The Gaza Strip has represented a potentially strategic threat on both the local and regional levels for the past several years. During this time, various steps have been taken by Israel, Egypt, the United States, and the European Union to try to mitigate the considerable challenge posed by Gaza, though with very limited success. However, one recent measure initiated by the Egyptian government -- the building of a steel wall underneath the Egyptian-Gazan border -- stands a chance of making a decisive change on the ground. Cairo began constructing an underground border barrier in December 2009 in order to halt the smuggling of illegal weapons and other contraband via the Hamas-run underground tunnel network. This wall, however, is also emblematic of a new fault line that has emerged between competing sides in the Middle East, pitting the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, and in certain instances, Turkey. Read “The Mavi Marmara Incident, Rafah, and Egypt's Steel Wall” »

Recent Articles

• The July 4, 2010 Mexican Gubernatorial Elections
• The British General Election of 2010: A Moment of Reckoning for a Torn Country?
• Indonesia: Obama Must Go There, Theodore Friend, 6/2010
• The Question of International Cooperation in the War on Terrorism, Barak Mendelsohn, 6/2010
• Islamist Lawfare: Briefs as Weapons of Mass Disruption, Lawrence Husick, 6/2010
• More E-Notes »

Recent Audio and Video

• Audio - North Africa: Lessons in Counterterrorism, Ilan Berman, 7/21/2010
• Audio - Energy Security: Perceptions and Policies, Felix Chang, 7/14/2010
• Audio - The Foreign Policy Implications of Information and Communications Technologies, Lawrence Husick, 7/7/2010
• More Audio and Video »

From the Archive

Featured Video: James Mattis on Joint Warfare in the 21st Century

Joint Warfare in the 21st Century

James Mattis

February 12, 2009 / Washington, DC

James Mattis, the newly nominated commander of U.S. Central Command, spoke on Joint Warfare in the 21st Century.

This presentation was the keynote address at a February 2009 conference on National Security Challenges for the Obama Administration.

• Read Joint Warfare in the 21st Century, Feb 2009

Additional papers and videos from this conference are available.

Featured Media

Nation Building

Dominic Tierney, Assistant Professor Of Political Science, Swarthmore College, And Senior Fellow, FPRI

April 11, 2010 / Wheaton, Illinois

This presentation was part of The Role Of The Military In America's (Domestic) History: A History Institute for Teachers, presented by FPRI’s Wachman Center and the Cantigny First Division Foundation.

• Additional videos and materials from The Role Of The Military In America's (Domestic) History
• Read: The Military’s Role in Stimulating Science and Technology: The Turning Point
• Read: Why The Military Makes Public Health A Priority