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Begin New Search Topic Military Affairs Content Type Special Report Publishing Institution Open Society Foundations

1. Armed Drones in Europe

Author:
Srđan Cvijić, Lisa Klingenberg, Delina Goxho, and Ella Knight
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The use of armed drones in the European Union has become a topic rife with controversy and misinformation. This report gives a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the approach to, and use of, armed drones in five European countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. Further, the report is intended to start a wider debate about armed drones in Europe and to serve as a guide on this topic for the European Parliament.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Military Strategy, Military Affairs, and Drones
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Germany, Italy, and Netherlands

2. Untangling the Web: A Blueprint for Reforming American Security Sector Assistance

Author:
Rose Jackson
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Since the attacks of 9/11, the United States has spent more than $250 billion building up military and police forces around the world. From attempts to build whole armies in Iraq and Afghanistan to efforts to help Yemen or Nigeria fight terrorism, the impact of these efforts has been mixed and in some cases counterproductive, exacerbating local corruption, human rights abuses, and even terrorism. A knot of U.S. offices and agencies have evolved to provide this aid, mostly pulling in different directions. Untangling the Web: A Blueprint for Reforming American Security Sector Assistance describes the main failures in the system and sets out immediate steps the next administration can take to improve how the U.S. government plans, coordinates, and executes its security-related assistance. This would significantly increase transparency and accountability and link the aid more closely to the human rights, development, and governance outcomes that are essential to U.S. foreign policy interests and national security.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, National Security, Terrorism, War, International Security, Military Affairs, Counter-terrorism, and Grand Strategy
Political Geography:
Middle East and Global Focus

3. The Strategic Costs of Civilian Harm

Author:
Chris Kolenda and Chris Rogers
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
During the early years of the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan, the U.S. military was killing too many civilians and depriving too many others of basic rights and liberties. By 2008, nearly 40 percent of civilian deaths in Afghanistan resulted from U.S. military operations. The level of “civilian harm”—the military’s term for killing innocent civilians and causing major political, social, and economic disruption—was adversely impacting the United States’ efforts to defeat the Taliban and weakening the legitimacy of the U.S. and Afghan governments. The report, The Strategic Costs of Civilian Harm: Applying Lessons from Afghanistan to Current and Future Conflicts, examines how the U.S. military learned from its early mistakes in Afghanistan and applied lessons to mitigate civilian harm. In fact, starting in 2009, the U.S. military recognized its mistakes and started to understand the high strategic cost of civilian harm. The military’s changes led to a significant reduction in civilian deaths during the next few years. The report argues that the United States should develop a Uniform Policy on Civilian Protection. The new standards would apply to all U.S. military operations in current and future conflicts and, hopefully, better protect civilians caught in conflict.
Topic:
Human Rights, War, Military Affairs, Military Intervention, Conflict, War on Terror, Civilians, and Casualties
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States

4. After the Dead Are Counted: U.S. and Pakistani Responsibilities to Victims of Drone Strikes

Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Over the past decade, U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan are estimated to have killed well over 2,000 individuals, including an unknown number of civilians. A new report from the Open Society Foundations urges the U.S. and Pakistani governments to properly investigate and provide redress, including compensation, to civilian victims of drone strikes. Based on investigations of 27 separate U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, and interviews with current and former U.S. and Pakistani officials, the report documents civilian casualties and analyzes the broader threats of militancy and military operations in areas affected by drones. Despite Pakistan’s strong public opposition to U.S. drone strikes, and the United States’ promises on transparency, neither government has addressed the losses suffered by civilians. The report concludes that the U.S. and Pakistani governments should create mechanisms to investigate civilian harm from drone strikes and provide compensation to victims.
Topic:
War, Military Affairs, Weapons, Drones, Civilians, and Casualties
Political Geography:
Pakistan and United States

5. U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia: Who Benefits?

Author:
Joshua Kucera
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
U.S. military aid to Central Asia has substantially increased over the past 10 years with an increasingly large percentage going toward the training and equipping of Central Asian special forces units. In several cases, funding has been misappropriated by host governments, while the United States has tended to look the other way at such abuses. Military aid can have varying goals, but increases in funding and ambivalence by U.S, officials toward possible abuse of funds by Central Asian governments suggest that the primary motive of U.S. aid is to “buy” access to regional governments and militaries for cooperation in Afghanistan, rather than to improve defense institutions and militaries.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Central Asia

6. Remaking Bagram: The Creation of an Afghan Internment Regime and the Divide over U.S. Detention Power

Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This report by the Open Society Foundations highlights concerns about the transition of the U.S. detention facility in Bagram, Afghanistan, from U.S. to Afghan control. Remaking Bagram exposes a deep divide between U.S. and Afghan officials on the eve of the planned handover that puts U.S. intentions to maintain detention authority in Afghanistan against the Afghan government’s insistence that Afghans can no longer be detained by the United States on “Afghan soil.” Remaking Bagram, which was released on September 6, also highlights the Afghan government’s efforts to take custody of detainees held by the United States by creating an Afghan internment regime that would detain individuals without trial. Many Afghan legal experts call this new system unconstitutional and have expressed fears that it is susceptible to abuse.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Military Affairs, Military Intervention, State Building, and Detention
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States

7. The Cost of Kill/Capture: Impact of the Night Raid Surge on Afghan Civilians

Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This report from the Open Society Foundations examines how the recent, dramatic increase in night raids by international forces has affected Afghan civilians and fueled even deeper hostility towards such operations. Broader targeting strategies have put more civilians in harm’s way, as have mass, indiscriminate detentions of civilians, leaving Afghans feeling increasingly caught between the two sides of the conflict. Civilian casualties, detentions, cultural offense, property destruction, and lack of accountability continue to provoke popular and political blowback that risks seriously undermining relations with the Afghan government as well as the international community's long-term security and political goals. The Cost of Kill/Capture: Impact of the Night Raid Surge on Afghan Civilians recommends that international forces: 1) cease targeting noncombatants and the indiscriminate detention of civilians; 2) employ alternative detention methods and law enforcement tactics, particularly whenever detaining non-combatants; and 3) implement reforms to improve transparency and accountability over night raids operations.
Topic:
Military Affairs, Military Intervention, War on Terror, Accountability, Civilians, and Casualties
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

8. U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Commissioned by the Open Society Foundations Central Eurasia Project, U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia, 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy analyzes U.S. military and police aid to Central Asian countries pre- and post-9/11. The research shows that the Pentagon established many new military and assistance programs, and that such programs contain six times the funds that are earmarked for the promotion of rule of law, democratic governance, and respect for human rights. The paper's findings suggest that the U.S. military has acquired an oversized impact on U.S. foreign policy toward Central Asia.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Military Affairs, and Budget
Political Geography:
Central Eurasia

9. A Timeline of U.S. Military Aid Cooperation with Uzbekistan

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
"A Timeline of U.S. Military Aid Cooperation with Uzbekistan" tracks U.S.-Uzbek military cooperation from July 1994 to January 2010. Published by the Open Society Foundations, the paper serves as an appendix to the first paper in this series, "U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy."
Topic:
Diplomacy, Human Rights, Foreign Aid, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
United States and Uzbekistan

10. The Trust Deficit: The Impact of Local Perceptions on Policy in Afghanistan

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This report from the Open Society Foundations highlights the erosion of Afghan confidence in international forces due to civilian casualties, wrongful and abusive detention operations, deteriorating security, and a lack of accountability. This distrust reflects a growing divide between the perceptions of the Western public and policymakers and those of Afghan citizens about the intentions and accomplishments of international forces in Afghanistan. The Trust Deficit: The Impact of Local Perceptions on Policy in Afghanistan recommends that the international community urgently address the underlying policies that are feeding these negative perceptions.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, War, International Security, Military Affairs, Military Intervention, War on Terror, Civilians, and Casualties
Political Geography:
Afghanistan