Part 4 Actor Interests and Motivations
SMA CENTCOM Reach-back Reports – Part 4: Regional Actor Interests and Motivations. Author | Editor: SMA Program Office. This is Part 4 of a 9 part series of SMA Reach back responses to questions posed by USCENTCOM. Each report contains responses to multiple questions grouped by theme. At the request of United States Central Command […]
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Views of Sunni and Shia Extremism
Question (R2 QL8): How does the U.S./Coalition view Shia extremism? Different from Sunni extremism? How do Sunni communities, Shia communities, MENA countries, and media perceive the U.S./Coalition position on combatting extremists? Author | Editor: Canna, S. (NSI, Inc). How does the U.S./Coalition view Shia extremism? How does the U.S./Coalition view Sunni extremism? Experts who volunteered […]
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SMA Reachback: Part 8 Post ISIL Governance
SMA CENTCOM Reach-back Reports – Part 8: Post ISIL Governance. Author | Editor: SMA Program Office. This is Part 8 of a 9 part series of SMA Reach back responses to questions posed by USCENTCOM. Each report contains responses to multiple questions grouped by theme. At the request of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), the […]
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Military Influence in Post-ISIL Levant
Question (R2 QL7): What significance will small military groups, particularly in Northern Syria, have in a post-ISIL Levant? How should CENTCOM best shape or influence these groups? Author | Editor: Reedy, K. (RAND). The primary theme that all of the experts touched upon is that there will be no single unified situation regarding either the […]
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Part 3 Encourage Regional Stability
SMA CENTCOM Reach-back Reports – Part 3: Encouraging Regional Stability. Author | Editor: SMA Program Office. This is Part 3 of a 9 part series of SMA Reach back responses to questions posed by USCENTCOM. Each report contains responses to multiple questions grouped by theme. At the request of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), the […]
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Syrian Reaction to Salafi Institution
Question (R3 QL6): How will the population in northwest Syria react to future Salafist political institutions? Author | Editor: Astorino-Courtois, A. (NSI, Inc). Similar to points made by other contributors to this SMA Reach-back report, Dr. Kathleen Reedy of Rand includes a caveat in her response to the CENTCOM question. Given international pressure to avoid […]
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Discussion with NPS Experts – Jan 2017
SMA Reachback Panel Discussion with Experts from Naval Postgraduate School – Jan 2017. Author | Editor: Nicole (Peterson) Omundson (NSI, Inc.) Speakers were John Arquilla, Ryan Gingeras, Glenn Robinson, and Hy Rothstein of the Naval Postgraduate School. Glenn Robinson: Let me go over the agenda very briefly. As I mentioned yesterday Doc, unfortunately Craig Whiteside […]
Continue ReadingBlack Swans to Defeating ISIL in al-Raqqah
Question (R2 #5): What are potential unanticipated complications or reactions (or “black swans”) with respect to defeating ISIL in al-Raqqah? Author | Editor: Reedy, K. (RAND). Predicting the unanticipated is always a challenge, but contributors have identified a couple of considerations for thinking about both potential complications involving external actors such as Turkey (Yeşilada) and […]
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Learning From the Countries Favorable to ISIL
Question (R2 #2): In countries where polling shows favorable opinions of ISIL (Syria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Malaysia), what does this tell us? What do these countries have in common? What is our best approach to influence/inform? Author | Editor: Steckman, L. (MITRE). The contributors to this Quick Look responded to GEN Votel’s follow-up question, […]
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Part 5 The Various Sources of Extremism
SMA CENTCOM Reach-back Reports – Part 5: Sources of Extremism. Author | Editor: SMA Program Office. This is Part 5 of a 9 part series of SMA Reach back responses to questions posed by USCENTCOM. Each report contains responses to multiple questions grouped by theme. At the request of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), the […]
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