U.S. withdrawal could affect Iraq's internal security and stability, which could, in turn, affect U.S. strategic interests and the safety of U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq. U.S. policy-makers need a dynamic analytic framework with which to examine the shifting motivations and capabilities of the actors that affect Iraq's security. Within this framework, the United States should be able to contribute to continued strengthening of the internal security and stability of Iraq even as it withdraws its forces.

Looking to the 2030-2040 time frame, the U.S. Army will play an important role in helping U.S. policy and military strategy strike a balance between cooperating with China and deterring potential Chinese expansionism.

In Iraq and elsewhere, the United States finds itself in need of a law enforcement capability for stability operations. How should such a force be created and what specific capabilities should it embody? This report examines the characteristics of such a force and the functional and organizational challenges that must be faced in creating it. The author evaluates five major options, both civilian and military, for creating these forces and assesses each option under nine criteria for effectiveness. He concludes by giving a clear picture of each option's relative strengths and weaknesses and suggests areas to be examined to complete the picture of how best to create the force.

Uses the Office of Personnel Management's Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework, which advocates strategic alignment, workforce planning and development, and leadership and knowledge management, to assess the U.S. civilian personnel and staffing requirements for stability and reconstruction operations.

Land-based anti-ship missiles (ASMs) feature prominently in the capabilities of many island nations in the Western Pacific, but the United States currently lacks such systems. This report illustrates the potential strategic advantages of the United States working with partners to build a coalition ASM capability, particularly in the event of a conflict with China, and includes an assessment of logistical challenges and positioning approaches.

Ending the U.S. war in Iraq required redeploying 100,000 military and civilian personnel; handing off responsibility for 431 activities to the Iraqi government, U.S. embassy, USCENTCOM, or other U.S. government entities; and moving or transferring ownership of over a million pieces of property in accordance with U.S. and Iraqi laws, national policy, and DoD requirements. This book examines the planning and execution of this transition.

This study considers the creation of a high-end police force for use in stability operations, examining its ideal size, how responsive it needs to be, where in the government to locate it, its needed capabilities, its proper staffing, and its cost. A 6,000-person forceOCocreated in the U.S. Marshals Service and whose officers are seconded to domestic police agencies when not deployedOCowould be the most effective of the options considered.

Security force assistance (SFA) is a central pillar of the counterinsurgency campaign being waged by U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. This monograph analyzes SFA efforts in Afghanistan over time, documents U.S. and international approaches to building the Afghan force from 2001 to 2009, and provides observations and recommendations that emerged from extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan in 2009 and their implications for the U.S. Army.

Congress recently requested a study of the U.S. ground combat and tactical wheeled vehicle fleets. The authors reveal risks in the technologies required to close capability gaps, the business processes used by the U.S. Department of Defense in managing vehicle production and modification initiatives, and the modeling and simulation process supporting research, development, and acquisition, making recommendations for mitigating these risks.

Security assistance and security cooperation are interrelated missions that rely on military staffs in U.S. embassies in partner countries. In countries threatened by insecurity or instability, actions may be required that are not easily accomplished under current systems. This report examines three options for improving current approaches to security assistance and cooperation. They range from changes in current practices to options requiring new policies, procedures, organizations, or authorities.