Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Jan 8, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis explores the modern historical lineage of absolutism in Bahrain, and the history of challenges to absolutist state authority during the peak of British influence in the Persian Gulf, the period between the First World War to the Suez crisis of 1956. It rewrites the history of Bahrain and British colonialism in the Persian Gulf through two distinct narrative threads. First, it presents a new history of the colonial-dynastic state in Bahrain and the longer tradition of indirect rule from which its architects drew, and second, it retrieves the history of the popular movements that came to challenge it. This entails an examination of not only how colonial and dynastic authority was jointly exercised, but the ideas that justified such authority over a population conceived of as a set of cultural, and more specifically religious communities governed by their own 'custom' - the conceptual centerpiece of indirect colonial rule. Both these narrative strands constitute part of a broader history of the ideological clash between late colonial ideologies of rule and anticolonial nationalism in the twentieth-century Persian Gulf - a region that was never formally colonized, nor became the site of any successful popular nationalism. Yet both these forces exerted a profound influence on the nation-states that would emerge in the late twentieth century, especially on Bahrain. To chart that historical conjuncture, the thesis begins with the creation of the modern colonial-dynastic state in Bahrain in 1923. It ends in 1956 with the last and most important uprising in Bahrain's during the 20th century, one that was largely a revolt against the political and institutional structures that colonial reformers had established three decades earlier. At its broadest, the thesis argues that the process of state-building under indirect colonial rule in Bahrain derived from a body of colonial thought on native political life and behaviour, and particularly, on the prevention of rebellion that has its origins in mid nineteenth century North India. In Bahrain and the Persian Gulf, as elsewhere in the late colonial world, ideas about empire, the state, authority and rebellion are the intertwined threads that shaped political life and the prose of history.

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Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis analyzes a range of possible future scenarios governing security conditions in the Persian Gulf, in order to determine future requirements for forward-deployed Naval forces in the region. Examination of the past 30 years of U.S. Naval activity in the Persian Gulf provides examples of a full spectrum of deployment options ranging from a nominal presence in the 1970's to the recent deployment of forces unmatched in naval history. Two contrasting scenarios, "best case" and "worst case" are proposed by way of establishing a framework to evaluate the naval presence requirements that may arise in the future. Factors that could effect naval presence in the Gulf are success or failure of nationbuilding in Iraq, the path Iran takes regarding weapons of mass destruction, the progress of the Global War on Terrorism and the perception of American forces by the Arab world. These scenarios reveal the need for sustained naval presence in order to meet the future trends in the Persian Gulf. The Navy's recently implemented Fleet Response Plan calls for "deployment for a purpose." The purpose of naval forces in the Persian Gulf is clear: to provide persistent maritime dominance, power projection and effective crisis response. / Lieutenant, United States Naval Reserve

Within days of a major failed strike by attack helicopters during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) analysts were questioning the value of such platforms on the modern battlefield. As OIF moved from combat to stability operations, helicopter losses from enemy action actually increased seemingly strengthening the argument of those who see the helicopter as unsuitable to some combat operations. Attack helicopter operations have diverged into two distinct categories, interdiction and close air support (CAS), since their inception. This thesis argues that attack helicopters are most suited to perform CAS while their employment in interdiction is problematic at best. Doctrine, tactics, and threat are studied as they applied in the Soviet-Afghan War, Desert Storm, and OIF in order to examine the issue across a range of time and types of warfare.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar o papel do estreito de Ormuz nas dinâmicas de competição no Golfo Pérsico. Ormuz é um estreito geograficamente estratégico, uma vez que é a única via marítima entre o Golfo Pérsico, o Golfo de Omã e o Oceano Índico e encontra-se em uma área rica em hidrocarbonetos. Em vista disso, o primeiro capítulo busca analisar o conceito e as características que qualificam a relevância que alguns estreitos possuem para o Sistema Internacional, caracterizando-os como Pontos de Estrangulamento e, nesse sentido, averiguar as razões que definem o estreito de Ormuz como o principal ponto de estrangulamento marítimo no mundo. Já o segundo capítulo tem como foco o estudo da Competição Estratégica, estabelecida entre Estados Unidos e Irã (2003-2013), que somente tornou-se possível graças às características de Ormuz (e, à assimetria de capacidades). Por fim, o terceiro capítulo procura averiguar o papel do estreito na escalada das rivalidades entre Arábia Saudita e Irã que deflagram a Guerra Proxy, e o seu transbordamento para outros pontos de estrangulamento do Oriente Médio. Espera-se como resultado oferecer uma melhor contextualização e compreensão sobre o tema de Ormuz em particular, bem como dos pontos de estrangulamento, contribuindo dessa forma para a instrumentalização dessas categorias no estudo das Relações Internacionais contemporâneas. / This study aims to analyze the Strait of Hormuz role in the competition dynamics in the Persian Gulf. Hormuz is a strait geographically strategic, since it is the only maritime way between the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean and is located in an area rich in hydrocarbons. In view of this, the first chapter analyzes the concept and characteristics that qualify the relevance of some straits to the International System, characterizing them as Choke points and, accordingly, find out the reasons that define the Strait of Hormuz as the main maritime choke point in the world. The second chapter focuses on the study of the Strategic Competition, established between the United States and Iran (2003-2013), which only became possible because of the characteristics of Hormuz (and because of capacity asymmetry). Finally, the third chapter seeks to ascertain the strait role in escalating rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Iran that trigger the Proxy War and its spillover to other bottlenecks in the Middle East. It is expected as a result provide better context and understanding of Hormuz particular theme and bottlenecks, thus contributing to the exploitation of these categories in the study of contemporary international relations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 280-296).

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1995-96. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 28, 2003). "March 1998." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1991-92. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 28, 2003). "June 1993." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1993-94. / Title from title screen (viewed Nov. 5, 2003). "October 1995." Includes bibliographical references.