Articles & Multimedia
Showing 1-18 of 18 Publications
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The All-Volunteer Force Is in Crisis
Commentary
Fifty years ago, one American faced Independence Day having just lost much of his personal freedom. Dwight Elliot Stone, the U.S. military’s last draftee, was inducted into th...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey & Gil Barndollar
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Don’t Believe the Generals
The outcome of America’s commitment was an Afghan government and military that couldn’t hold out long enough even for U.S. forces to leave with a semblance of dignity....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey & Gil Barndollar
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We Got Afghanistan Wrong, but There’s Still Time to Learn Something
Instead of building a force that fit Afghanistan, we built an Army of mini-me’s...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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The opportunities and challenges facing Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
Commentary
Austin’s forty years in the military represent both the risk of inertia and a real opportunity to address serious issues....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey & Emma Moore
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John Kelly lent his military credibility to Trump. It’s too late now to stay neutral.
Commentary
There is, however, no middle ground whereby former officers can enter the political fray but then claim the mantle of nonpartisan servants when things do not turn out the way ...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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What Afghanistan Can Teach Us About Fighting Coronavirus
Commentary
As worried Americans look for answers in the midst of a global pandemic, it is no surprise that many have turned to the symbols and language of war. Public officials from Gove...
By Pat A. Basu & Dr. Jason Dempsey
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How Donald Trump Ruined the Navy
Commentary
No communications firm, pressed to design a case study on public-relations disasters, could likely top the Navy’s recent bungling of a coronavirus epidemic on the USS Theodore...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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America never committed to training Afghan forces. I know because I tried.
Commentary
I first met Maj. Sboor in 2009 as he waited to take over his own Afghan army battalion. We were working together as operations officers of partnered Afghan and U.S. infantry u...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Military and Public Service Policy Forum
Commentary
The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS) held a hearing on potential policies to encourage or require military, national, and public service ...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman, Elsa B. Kania & Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Time for the U.S. to Learn Its Lessons from Afghanistan
Commentary
The United States failed in Afghanistan. The only points of debate left for analysts and historians are by how much and who is to blame. With negotiations and withdrawal plans...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Combat High
Afew months before the United States invaded Iraq, in 2003, Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary at the time, was asked on a radio show how long the war would take. “Five da...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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The Pentagon’s Wars: Winning at Home While Losing Overseas
With his latest book, The Pentagon’s Wars, Mark Perry has written an informative volume about the pinnacle of national security decision-making — the interaction between the J...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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It is time for Trump to send H.R. McMaster to Afghanistan
Commentary
It is time to send H.R. McMaster to Afghanistan. Following reports of the National Security Advisor’s imminent departure from the White House, speculation on where the lieuten...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Will Trump’s Military Fetish End Up Hurting American Democracy — Or Saving It?
It is difficult to read a story about President Donald Trump without also hearing about “his generals.” Since Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster became national security advisor and retir...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Trump’s right — we are losing in Afghanistan
President Trump is not wrong on Afghanistan. During a contentious July meeting with his top military and national security advisors, he repeatedly questioned the quality of ad...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Don't Celebrate Dropping The 'MOAB' In Afghanistan - It's Just More Of The Same
Last week's utilization of a 21,000 pound bomb to destroy an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan was oddly met with jubilation. But as the dust settles, both literally and metaph...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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We Need More Of The Right Forces In Afghanistan
Afghanistan is at an inflection point. Again. For anyone keeping track, this has become an annual ritual as our efforts over the last decade have been characterized by the sus...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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Elephants in Afghanistan: The Military’s Counterinsurgency Failure
Earlier this year, several former ISAF commanders and diplomats wrote President Barack Obama, imploring him to freeze troop levels in Afghanistan until the next administration...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
