Understanding the Iranian Threat Network

CSAG STRATEGY PAPER CDR Hubert Mróz, Polish Navy (CSAG/CCJ5) 29 July 2024   Introduction: The Iranian Threat Network (ITN) has emerged as a complex and multifaceted challenge in the CENTCOM Area of Operations (AOR). This strategic paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ITN, its models, significance, and the nuanced threat perceptions it Read More >

Lebanon: A Potential Game Changer in the CENTCOM AOR

CSAG STRATEGY PAPER By: LTC GIAMPIERO CURRADO, ITA Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 16 January 2024   Overview: Years of political instability in combination with an ongoing economic crisis — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in the Port of Beirut in August 2020 — have brought the country close to collapse. Moreover, the current institutional vacuum Read More >

The Hardest ‘Soft’ Approach on the Yemeni Crisis: An Opportunity to Retake the Initiative in the Middle East

CSAG STRATEGY PAPER By: MAJ Mihai-Florin GIRBOAN, ROU Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 29 June 2023   Overview: Armed conflicts, across human history, brought unquantifiable loss of fortune, lives, and cultural diversity, effectively stalling, nullifying, or even reversing civilization progress, in countless occasions.  This paper aims to clear the “fog of war” that is covering Yemen and the Read More >

Capt. America vs Capt. Agon (The Billion-Dollar Bargaining Chip for the Syrian Republic of Captagon)

CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: MAJ Ibrahim Elveren, Turkish Army (CSAG/CCJ5) and Lt Col Richard Pecinka, Czech AF (CSAG/CCJ5) 2 June 2023 Subject: Capt. America vs Capt. Agon (The Billion-Dollar Bargaining Chip for the Syrian Republic of Captagon) Purpose: This paper aims to present the CSAG’s analysis regarding how the Captagon drug industry in Syria affects Read More >

Hezbollah’s “Financial Pyramid”

CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: LCDR Stipe Skelin, HRV Navy (CSAG/CCJ5); LTC Rene Berendsen, NLD Army (CSAG/CCJ5); LTC Richard Pecinka, CZE AF (CSAG/CCJ5); and MAJ Mihai-Florin Girboan, ROU Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 6 April 2023 Subject: Hezbollah’s “Financial Pyramid” Purpose: This paper is the third in a series about Hezbollah. The aim is to present the results of Read More >

Hezbollah – IRGC Main Coordinating Tool in Middle East

CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: Stipe Skelin, LCDR, HRV Navy (CSAG/CCJ5), Richard Pecinka, LTC, CZE AF (CSAG/CCJ5), Mihai-Florin Girboan, MAJ, ROU Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 16 February 2023 Subject: Hezbollah – IRGC’s main coordinating tool in the Middle East. Purpose: This paper aims to present the results of the CSAG’s analysis of Hezbollah as the main coordinator for Read More >