Fighting the War Above Iraq: Employing Space Forces to Defeat an Insurgency: Wright Flyer Paper No. 24

Publisher Marketing: The 2002 National Security Strategy states that "the struggle against global terrorism . . . will be fought on many fronts." The front currently receiving the greatest attention is the counterinsurgency effort in Iraq. Given this war's importance, the US armed forces must use every tool at their disposal to effectively prosecute this campaign. Can space forces be employed to help fight this and other insurgencies? To answer this question, this book first validates that fighting insurrections is an enduring requirement and therefore worth expending the effort required to change. Next, a review of space (including nearspace) forces' capabilities is provided for background. Three areas of current need in Iraq are then introduced. In each of these, a discussion of historic attempts to solve similar problems ensues, showing the challenges in Iraq are not unique and providing lessons for future operations. Based upon requirements in Iraq and the historical examples, the capabilities space forces can bring to fight rebellions are then highlighted. This books shows that in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and other counterinsurgency operations, space forces will not be "war winners" but can provide crucial support. Specifically, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities can help isolate the battlespace. These systems can also enhance the ability to combat fielded rebels through surveillance, reconnaissance, and communications. Finally, the effects space forces generate can support the government and help strengthen its ability to solve the insurgents' cause. The discussion concludes with specific recommendations to improve performance against this and future insurrections. Contributor Bio:  Air University Press Walter Gary Sharp Sr. serves as a senior associate deputy general counsel for intelligence at the US Department of Defense, where he advises on legal issues related to intelligence, covert action, intelligence and counterintelligence policy, intelligence oversight, information security, information sharing, security classification policy, information operations, and computer network operations. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Sharp served as an associate deputy general counsel for international affairs at the Department of Defense; the director of legal research for international, comparative, and foreign law at the Law Library of Congress; the director of global and functional affairs within the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the State Department; and a principal information security engineer at The MITRE Corporation. A veteran with 25 years of service, Dr. Sharp retired as a decorated US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel with prior enlisted service. His military assignments include commanding officer of a field artillery battery, senior prosecutor, deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and international law adviser for the commanding general of the Unified Task Force in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope. Dr. Sharp's military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, and his many awards for writing excellence and academic achievement include the Judge Advocate General's School Alumni Association Annual Professional Writing Award and an American Bar Association Award for Professional Merit. Dr. Sharp is the author of numerous articles and three books: UN Peace Operations (1995), CyberSpace and the Use of Force (1999), and Jus Paciarii (1999). He serves as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center where he currently teaches a counterterrorism course, The Law of 24. He has also taught graduate-level seminars on United Nations peace operations and international peace and security. He lectures internationally in universities and other diverse public forums on wide-ranging topics of international law and national security law, such as international peace and security, conflict management, and peacekeeping operations.