Threat Potential of ISIS in the CENTCOM AOR

CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: Kashif Ehtisham, Lt Col, Pakistan Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 03 February 2023 Subject: Analysis of the threat potential of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the CENTCOM AOR. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present the CSAG’s analysis of the ‘threat from ISIS’ within CENTCOM AOR to formulate Read More >

International Military Officers’ Forum 2023

From 23–27 January 2023, the NESA Center hosted foreign military officers assigned to U.S. Central Command in Tampa and embassy officials in Washington D.C. for an International Military Officers’ Forum (IMOF) titled “The Biden Administration and Global Security.” NESA Center experts, including Professor Dr. Richard Russell and Deputy Director COL (Ret.) David Lamm, as well Read More >

Washington Seminar “A Superpower Awakens: Managing Security in Ukraine and the Middle East in the Modern Age”

On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a Washington Seminar Discussion in Washington, D.C. The seminar was titled “A Superpower Awakens: Managing Security in Ukraine and the Middle East in the Modern Age.” NESA Center Director LTG Terry A. Wolff, USA (Ret.) had an engaging discussion Read More >

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Some of its Implications on the USCENTCOM’s AOR and Beyond

By: CDR Hubert MROZ, POL Navy, CSAG CCJ5 5 August 2022 Overview: In many ways, the world will no longer be the same as it was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Paradoxically, the region where the effects of the war are most felt and capable of bringing about the greatest changes is not Europe, Read More >

UK Withdrawal in the 1970s and Reduction of US Military Footprint in 2021: A Comparison

By: LCDR Stipe Skelin, HRV Navy, CSAG CCJ5 22 June 2022 Overview: This document proposes through the study of a historical case – the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Middle East (ME) in the 1970s – to establish a comparison with the continuous reduction of the US footprint. The political, financial, and military Read More >

Executive Seminar: Conflict Beyond Evolving Warfare

From 31 January – 11 February 2022, the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA Center) hosted a virtual Executive Seminar on “Conflict Beyond Evolving Warfare.” Course Director NESA Center Associate Professor David Des Roches welcomed the group and started the seminar, followed by NESA Center Director LTG Terry A. Wolff, USA (Ret.) Read More >

The Syrian Situation and its Impacts on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

By: LTC Marco PRANZO, ITA Army, CSAG CCJ5 23 July 2021 Introduction: In 2020 the conflict in Syria was further exacerbated by the country’s worst economic crisis since 2011, international sanctions, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this challenging socio-economic situation, a so-called oligopoly, encompassing Syrian and non-Syrian entities has formed. For years, the entities that Read More >

US Withdrawal from Iraq and Conditions that Enabled ISIS’ Spread: 2011 and 2021 Comparison

By: LTC Octavian Dorobantu, ROU Army, CSAG CCJ5 23 July 2021 Introduction: In early 2019, the ISIS caliphate was declared “defeated” after losing the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani. However, in 2020, a significant growth in IS attacks has been witnessed in their traditional heartlands of Syria and Iraq, as well as an increasing presence in Read More >

Syria Next

By: Matthew Wollen, F GS-13 USAF AFSOC OC/SPDP 14 June 2021   Introduction Throughout the decades following WWII, the U.S. was the dominant economic, political, and military influencer in the Middle East.  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran all benefitted from one form of U.S. assistance or another.  No other Read More >