Contemporary Military Strategy and the Global War on Terror: US and UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq 2001-2012

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Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 19. juuni 2014 - 218 pages

Contemporary Military Strategy and the Global War on Terror offers an in-depth analysis of US/UK military strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to the present day. It explores the development of contemporary military strategy in the West in the modern age before interrogating its application in the Global War on Terror. The book provides detailed insights into the formulation of military plans by political and military elites in the United States and United Kingdom for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Alastair Finlan highlights the challenges posed by each of these unique theatres of operation, the nature of the diverse enemies faced by coalition forces, and the shortcomings in strategic thinking about these campaigns. This fresh perspective on strategy in the West and how it has been applied in recent military campaigns facilitates a deep understanding of how wars have been and will be fought.

Including key terms, concepts and discussion questions for each chapter, Contemporary Military Strategy and the Global War on Terror is a crucial text in strategic studies, and required reading for anyone interested in the new realities of transnational terrorism and twenty-first century warfare.

 

Contents

CHAPTER ONE Contemporary military strategy
1
CHAPTER TWO The Afghan conundrum
25
CHAPTER THREE Operation Enduring Freedom
51
The first five years 20012006
75
CHAPTER FIVE The Iraq puzzle
101
CHAPTER SIX Operation Iraqi Freedom
125
The first five years 20032008
149
CHAPTER EIGHT Contemporary military strategy and the Global War on Terror
181
Selected bibliography
201
Index
209
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About the author (2014)

Alastair Finlan is Lecturer in Strategic Studies at Aberystwyth University, UK. He is author of over a dozen books, including Contemporary Military Culture and Strategic Studies: US and UK Armed Forces in the 21st Century (2013).

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