U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that improving U.S. capacity for stabilization and reconstruction operations is critical to national security. To help craft a way ahead, the authors provide an overview of the requirements posed by stabilization and reconstruction operations and recommend ways to improve U.S. capacity to meet these needs.
Claude Chabrol's second film follows the fortunes of two cousins: Charles, a hard-working student who has arrived in Paris from his small hometown; and Paul, the dedicated hedonist who puts him up. Despite their differences in temperament, the two young men strike up a close friendship, until an attractive woman comes between them.
In a project entitled "Integrating the Interagency in Planning for Army Stability Operations," RAND Arroyo Center examined the question of how the Army can help make key civilian agencies more capable partners in the planning and execution of stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations. The authors identify the primary and secondary civilian agencies that should be involved in strategic-level planning and implementation of SSTR operations. Then, relying on available information on Provincial Reconstruction Teams and using a variety of federal databases, the authors identify the skill sets needed for the envisioned Field Advance Civilian Teams and where these skills reside in the federal government. The authors then assess the capacity of the main civilian agencies to participate in SSTR operations and analyze the recurring structural problems that have plagued their attempts to do so. The authors suggest a series of options that are worth considering in order to improve the current situation. Even without much action at the national level, the Army can still improve the situation by improving Army Civil Affairs and by executing a well-thought-out strategy of liaison officers assigned to the civilian agencies most important for SSTR operations.
Preface 2012 edition: The United States Code is the official codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The Code was first published in 1926, and a new edition of the code has been published every six years since 1934. The 2012 edition of the Code incorporates laws enacted through the One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second session, the last of which was signed by the President on January 15, 2013. It does not include laws of the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First session, enacted between January 3, 2013, the date it convened, and January 15, 2013. By statutory authority this edition may be cited "U.S.C. 2012 ed." As adopted in 1926, the Code established prima facie the general and permanent laws of the United States. The underlying statutes reprinted in the Code remained in effect and controlled over the Code in case of any discrepancy. In 1947, Congress began enacting individual titles of the Code into positive law. When a title is enacted into positive law, the underlying statutes are repealed and the title then becomes legal evidence of the law. Currently, 26 of the 51 titles in the Code have been so enacted. These are identified in the table of titles near the beginning of each volume. The Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives continues to prepare legislation pursuant to 2 USC 285b to enact the remainder of the Code, on a title-by-title basis, into positive law. The 2012 edition of the Code was prepared and published under the supervision of Ralph V. Seep, Law Revision Counsel. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the contributions by all who helped in this work, particularly the staffs of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and the Government Printing Office. -- John. A. Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., January 15, 2013--Page VII.
In 2004-2006, the U.S. government acted to revise the way that the planning and implementation of Stabilization, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) operations are conducted. The primary emphasis of the changes was on ensuring a common U.S. strategy rather than a collection of individual departmental and agency efforts and on mobilizing and involving all available U.S. government assets in the effort. The proximate reason for the policy shift stems from the exposing of gaps in the U.S. ability to administer Afghanistan and Iraq after the U.S.-led ousters of the Taliban and Ba'athist regimes. But the effort to create U.S. government capabilities to conduct SSTR operations in a more unified and coherent fashion rests on the deeper conviction that, as part of the U.S. strategy to deal with transnational terrorist groups, the United States must have the capabilities to increase the governance capacities of weak states, reduce the drivers of and catalysts to conflict, and assist in peacebuilding at all stages of pre- or post-conflict transformation. According to the Joint Operating Concept for Military Support to SSTR operations, these operations are civilian-led and conducted and coordinated with the involvement of all the available resources of the U.S. government (military and civilian), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international partners. Although military assets are an essential component of many SSTR operations, specific military goals and objectives are only a portion of the larger SSTR operation.
As the international political climate grows increasingly volatile, peacekeeping operations have become a mainstay in troubled regions. The alternative to military occupation is either to train indigenous police forces or to hire security corporations. Policy makers are worried that these forces are not capable of maintaining peace. In addition, moral and legal issues are factors for policy makers that are debating the extent to which peacekeeping forces should be allowed to infiltrate societies in turmoil. Other issues of concern that this book examines are the United States relationship with the U.N. and the World Bank as all three pursue their different responsibilities in peacekeeping.
