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Ending Wars to Build Peace

Conflict Termination Workshop

Date: Monday, July 14, 2014 / Time: 4:30am - 8:45am 

Center: Applied Conflict Transformation Center

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Designing a conflict termination strategy is an essential but often overlooked component of warfighting. Improperly planned or incorrectly implemented, a failure to effectively terminate a conflict will leave open the original issues that brought on the war and likely create the conditions for future conflict.

Ending-War
Pictured left to right, The Honorable James Kunder, Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, Tara Sonenshine, LTG Mark A. Milley, LTG Robert L. Caslen Jr.

The famous British military theorist, B.H. Liddell-Hart, observed after World War I that the logical conclusion of any war is peace.  In his 1976 commentary to Clausewitz's On War Bernard Brodie wrote "… war in all its phases must be rationally guided by meaningful political purposes."  In the last century the United States has fought many wars and not one has resulted in its intended outcome or the establishment of a peaceful world order, but in reality has left us to deal with many unintended consequences.

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), U.S. Military Academy's Center for the Study of Civil-Military Operations and RAND Corporation hosted an event July 14th that featured notable experts who shared their observations and concerns about the issue of war termination, its planning, transition and challenges. 

Speakers

Gideon Rose
Author How Wars End

Lieutenant General Robert Caslen
Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy

Ambassador Jim Jeffrey
Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq

The Honorable James Kunder
Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development

Lieutenant General Mark Milley
Commander, U.S. Army III Corps

Dr. Rick Brennan
Senior Political Scientist, RAND

Tara Sonenshine, Moderator
Distinguished Fellow, George Washington University

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