SMA Reachback Panel Discussion with Experts from Naval Postgraduate School.
Author | Editor: Robinson, G. (Naval Postgraduate School) & Canna, S. (NSI, Inc).
On 1 November 2016, a team of experts from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) prepared a two-hour panel discussion based loosely on the first round of CENTCOM¹s reach back questions. The team addressed the following topics:
Topic 1: How the Mosul Campaign Shapes the Future of Iraq
John Arquilla, Chair of the Defense Analysis Department, spoke about how the Mosul campaign will shape the future of Iraq.
Topic 2: Potential of Dispersing Foreign Fighters
Mohammed Hafez, Chair of the National Security Department, is a major contributor to the literature on local Jihadism writ large and discussed the issue of dispersing foreign fighters.
Topic 3: Two Trajectories of a Future ISIS Insurgency in Iraq Post-Mosul
Dr. Craig Whiteside, a professor in the Naval War College, spoke about the two trajectories of a future ISIS insurgency in Iraq post-Mosul.
Topic 4: Lessons from ISIS’s Use of Social Media
Dr. Sean Everton, Co-director of the CORE lab and faculty member of the Defense Analysis Department. Dr. Everton will talk about lessons learned and not learned yet from ISIS’s use of social media.
Topic 5: Thoughts on War-gaming the Coming Instability of a Nation after ISIS
Rob Burks, Senior Lecturer in the Defense Analysis Department of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Director of NPS’ Wargaming Activity Hub, spoke about wargaming and the potential instability of Iraq after ISIS.
Topic 6: The Future of the Global Jihad after the Loss of the Caliphate
Glenn Robinson, political scientist and on the DA faculty at NPS, spoke about the future of global jihad and the loss of the caliphate.
Contributing Authors
Arquilla, J., Burks, R., Everton, S., Hafez, M., Robinson, G., Whiteside, C., (Naval Postgraduate School)