“FMSO Review of Selected Operational Environment Watch (OE Watch) Articles” Speaker: Bartles, C. (Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO)); Finch, C. (FMSO); Kaya, K. (FMSO); Wilhelm, T. (FMSO) Date: 27 August 2019 Speaker Session Preview A summary of this speaker session will not be provided, as per the speakers’ request. Speaker Session Audio File This speaker session was not recorded, as per the speakers’ request. Download the Speakers’ […]
Continue Reading“Trained to Kill: Battlefield Participation in Kurdish Fighters“ Speaker: Cancian, M. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Date: 16 August 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Matthew Cancian (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. During his presentation, Mr. Cancian posed the following question: Can US training improve battlefield participation of our partners? He […]
Continue Reading“Trends in Online Foreign Influence Efforts” Speaker: Shapiro, J. (Princeton University) Date: 15 August 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Professor Jacob Shapiro (Princeton University) as a part of its SMA General Speaker Series. To begin, Professor Shapiro outlined three criteria used to define a foreign influence effort: 1) “foreign” (i.e., an attempt by country […]
Continue Reading“The United States, Iran, and the Politics of the JCPOA” Speaker: Ansari, A. (University of St. Andrews / Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)) Date: 7 August 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Professor Ali Ansari (University of St. Andrews / Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker […]
Continue ReadingIranian Media Narrative Perspectives on the US and Global Competition: A Media Ecology & Strategic Analysis (MESA) Group Report Authors | Editors: Cooley, S. (Oklahoma State University); Hinck, R. (Monmouth College); Kitsch, S. (Monmouth College); Cooley, A. (Oklahoma State University) Executive Summary The following highlights Iranian perspectives on: geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East, the US, the global order, and the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region coming from Iranian news media intended for […]
Continue ReadingInfluential Violent Extremist Organizational Partners of Iran Authors | Editors: Logan, M. K. (University of Nebraska Omaha); Zimmerman, L. (University of Nebraska Omaha); Ligon, G. (University of Nebraska Omaha) Executive Summary This paper addresses two key Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) with close ties to the Iran regime. More specifically, we examine the organizational and leadership characteristics of the Badr Brigades and Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) using the Leadership for the Extreme […]
Continue Reading“An Iran Primer“ Speaker: Liebl, V. (Center for Advanced Culture Learning (CAOCL)) Date: 12 July 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Vern Liebl (Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning (CAOCL)) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. Mr. Liebl began by stating that Iran does not present a large military threat to the US. Moreover, Iran’s military capabilities are fairly […]
Continue Reading“Interrogating Tensions in the Persian Gulf: Iran, the US and the GCC“ Speaker: Mabon, S. (University of Leicester) Date: 9 July 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Simon Mabon (Lancaster University) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. During this presentation, Dr. Mabon discussed the complexity of the broader competition in the Persian Gulf, posed a […]
Continue Reading“Deterrence, Coercion, and Escalation Management vis-a-vis Iran: Lessons From Past Confrontations“ Speaker: Eisenstadt, M. (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Date: 28 June 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Michael Eisenstadt (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. During his presentation, Mr. Eisenstadt discussed Iran’s strategic culture and […]
Continue Reading“Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Iran Panel Discussion“ Speakers: Arquilla, J. (NPS); Ostovar, A. (NPS) Date: 21 June 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a panel discussion as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. The panelists included Dr. John Arquilla (Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)) and Dr. Afshon Ostovar (NPS). During his portion of the discussion, Dr. Ostovar addressed the following questions: 1) Understanding that Iran […]
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