Since August 10, 2015 Dr. Diane Maye, Nate Finney, and I have been writing a fictional story of a U.S. invasion of Iran one element at a time, with each part presenting the situation from a different point of view. We use the 2015 U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, and its possible failure, as a backdrop to explore many different issues within the national security space. As a guide for our current readers, and possible future readers, below we break down each part of our story, where it can be found on the internet, and the concepts explored therein. We hope our series is helpful to our readers and encourages them look at national security issues through many different lenses.
Part 1:
http://www.thestrategybridge.com/the-bridge/2016/1/13/2026-operation-iranian-freedom
– Life as the child of a military member.
– Was the U.S. policy of “De-Ba’athafication” a good decision (stability vs freedom)?
– Partitioning of Iraq.
– The U.S. government independently arming the Sunnis against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
– The national security impact of the development of new technology in the energy sector.
– An enduring U.S. footprint in Afghanistan.
– Women serving in direct ground combat.
– The pressure of military command.
Part 2:
http://www.thestrategybridge.com/the-bridge/2016/2/16/2026-operation-iranian-freedom
– Do treaties set the conditions for future wars?
– The national security impact of the development of new technology in the energy sector.
– The national security impact of NATO expansion.
– The value of grand strategy.
– The value of the punitive raid.
– Should general purpose forces be used for missions that require cultural competency?
– National Security Council information requirements from the field.
A Letter Home:
https://philwalter1058.com/2016/04/06/2026-operation-iranian-freedom-a-letter-home/
– The “hurry up and wait” lifestyle of the military.
– Choosing to serve your country rather than serve yourself.
– Military leadership.
– Life as the child of a military member.
– Future military technology such as flame resistant auto-tourniquet uniforms, virtual reality, and an A-10 drone.
Part 3:
http://www.thestrategybridge.com/the-bridge/2016/6/10/2026-operation-iranian-freedom
– Do treaties set the conditions for future wars?
– National Security Council Staff size.
– The civil-military divide.
– Pentagon usage of Microsoft PowerPoint.
– U.S. political extremes of interventionism vs isolationism.
– An extreme version of the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks.
– The partisan political climate.
– Focusing the DoD solely on killing people and breaking things.
– Should the U.S. promote democracy and universal rights abroad?
– How an immigrant views the U.S.
– How think tanks influence policy.
– U.S. freedom as compared to Iran.
– National Security Council information requirements from the field.
– The complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
– Preconceived notions of Jewish identity and relationships.
