The real "long war"
Subtitle: the illicit drug trade and the role of the military
By: Geoffrey Till
Contributors: Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute; Army War College (U.S.)
Series: Letort papers; Letort papers
Publisher: Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Carlisle, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 64
ISBN-13: 9781584875918
Subjects: Drug traffic; Drug control; Armed Forces; Civic action
Description: The 21st century has seen the growth of a number of nontraditional threats to international stability on which, trade, and thus U.S. peace and security, depends, and for the moment at least a reduced likelihood of continental scale warfighting operations, and something of a de-emphasis on major involvement in counterinsurgency operations. These nontraditional threats are, however, very real and should command a higher priority than they have done in the past, even in a period of budgetary constraint. The military have cost-effective contributions to make in countering the manufacture and distribution of illicit drugs, and in many cases can do so without serious detriment to their main warfighting role. Successfully completing this mission, however, will require the military to rethink their integration with the nonmilitary aspects of a whole-of-government approach, and almost certainly, their institutional preference for speedy victories in short wars.
Notes: "September 2013."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 53-64).
Table of contents: title: Scaling the threat. Introduction; title: The threat to the individual; title: The threat to the state; title: The threat to the system; title: Assessing the overall threat; title: The military contribution to the war on drugs. The individual level : attacking demand; title: The state level : attacking production; title: The system level : attacking the transportation of illicit drugs; title: Facilitative defense diplomacy; title: Conclusions and implications for the U.S. military. Some tentative conclusions; title: Significance for the U.S. military.