Douglas Ollivant
Encyclopedia
Douglas Ollivant is a Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation
as well as a Principal of the O2 Group and an operating advisor to Monument Capital Group. Most recently, Doug was a senior counterinsurgency advisor to Regional Command-East
, as part of the International Security Assistance Force
COIN Advisory and Assistance Team. A former Director for Iraq on the National Security Council
under the Bush and Obama administrations. Ollivant has served two tours in the Iraq War, first as the operations officer for the First Battalion, Fifth Cavalry Regiment during OIF II and later as the Chief of Plans for Multi-National Division-Baghdad
during the “Surge
”, leading the team which wrote the Baghdad Security Plan
, in what was labeled by Tom Ricks as Petraeus’s “brain trust” or "warrior-intellectuals". Others in this list include, Brigadier General Bill Rapp, Colonel(P) H.R. McMaster
, Colonels Peter Monsoor, and Michael Meese, Lieutenant Colonels John Nagl
, Mike George, Jen Easterly, Paul Yingling
, Bill Ostlund and Charles Miller, as well as Dr. David Kilcullen
and Dr. Carter Malkesian.
In her 2008 book, Tell Me How This Ends, Linda Robinson called Ollivant the “right person in the right place at the right time” for his work in devising the operational implementation of the successful Baghdad Security plan.
The white paper, which was based on Ollivant and Chewning’s experience during combat operations in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, significantly influenced the tactical deployment of US and Iraqi ground forces during the “Surge
”. From October 2006 to December 2007 Ollivant was Chief of Plans for Multi National Division-Baghdad and was the lead coalition force planner for the development and implementation of the Baghdad Security Plan
in coordination with the Iraqi Security Forces.
In 2008 a review symposium on the FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency Manual sponsored by Perspectives on Politics
, Ollivant called for an expansion of irregular warfare doctrine and warned of a potential over reliance on counterinsurgency frameworks in the future. He notes that the absence of a larger framework of warfare tends to pull all instances of irregular war into the counterinsurgency model. This theoretical lacuna presents a difficulty since future conflicts will require peace enforcement, peacekeeping, nation building, and other paradigms to also compete as frameworks for action.
In March 2010, Ollivant and Chewning published an article in The American Interest outlining the military, political, and economic actions necessary for a successful US-Iraqi relationship after the US troop withdrawal.
and Orestes Brownson
, and edited a book of collected essays on the former.
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
as well as a Principal of the O2 Group and an operating advisor to Monument Capital Group. Most recently, Doug was a senior counterinsurgency advisor to Regional Command-East
Regional Command East
Regional Command is an international military formation, of roughly division size, which is one of the components of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The United States Army has usually provided the force headquarters...
, as part of the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
COIN Advisory and Assistance Team. A former Director for Iraq on the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
under the Bush and Obama administrations. Ollivant has served two tours in the Iraq War, first as the operations officer for the First Battalion, Fifth Cavalry Regiment during OIF II and later as the Chief of Plans for Multi-National Division-Baghdad
Iraq War order of battle
Below is a estimate of the list of the major units deployed with the Multi-National Force - Iraq and other U.S. military units operating in Iraq under United States Central Command . It has been compiled through the synthesis of many many wikipedia contributors in the years 2006-2009...
during the “Surge
Iraq War troop surge of 2007
In the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
”, leading the team which wrote the Baghdad Security Plan
Operation Imposing Law
Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order , Operation Fardh al-Qanoon , was a joint Coalition-Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad...
Military service
A former assistant professor at the United States Military Academy's Department of Social Sciences, he is affiliated with a group of military intellectuals, who have been tapped to provide insight and recommendations to General David PetraeusDavid Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
, in what was labeled by Tom Ricks as Petraeus’s “brain trust” or "warrior-intellectuals". Others in this list include, Brigadier General Bill Rapp, Colonel(P) H.R. McMaster
H. R. McMaster
Herbert Raymond McMaster is an American soldier, and a career officer in the U.S. Army. McMaster is currently the Director of CJIATF-Shafafiyat at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is known for his role in the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and his reputation for questioning U.S...
, Colonels Peter Monsoor, and Michael Meese, Lieutenant Colonels John Nagl
John Nagl
John A. Nagl is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army who is regarded as an influential expert in counterinsurgency....
, Mike George, Jen Easterly, Paul Yingling
Paul Yingling
Colonel Paul Yingling is an officer in the United States Army currently serving as a professor of security studies at the George C. Marshall Center in Germany...
, Bill Ostlund and Charles Miller, as well as Dr. David Kilcullen
David Kilcullen
David John Kilcullen F.R.G.S is an Australian author and consultant who is a leading theorist on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. In 2007 he served as the Senior Counterinsurgency Adviser to the Commander of the Multi-National Force - Iraq responsible for planning and executing the Joint...
and Dr. Carter Malkesian.
In her 2008 book, Tell Me How This Ends, Linda Robinson called Ollivant the “right person in the right place at the right time” for his work in devising the operational implementation of the successful Baghdad Security plan.
Military Writings
In 2006 Ollivant co-authored, with Captain Eric Chewning, an influential article in Military Review, entitled "Producing Victory: Rethinking Conventional Forces in Counterinsurgency Operations", and a 2007 follow-on article, entitled "Producing Victory: a 2007 postscript for implementation", that articulated the need for US forces to abandon sprawling forward operating bases and move into Iraqi communities. The premise of the essay was that counterinsurgency requires military units to simultaneous execute security operations, train local security forces, promote economic development, and foster political institutions. Ollivant and Chewning argued that conventional military units best operate in such an environment when partnered with indigenous security forces co-located among the target population.The white paper, which was based on Ollivant and Chewning’s experience during combat operations in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, significantly influenced the tactical deployment of US and Iraqi ground forces during the “Surge
Iraq War troop surge of 2007
In the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
”. From October 2006 to December 2007 Ollivant was Chief of Plans for Multi National Division-Baghdad and was the lead coalition force planner for the development and implementation of the Baghdad Security Plan
Operation Imposing Law
Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order , Operation Fardh al-Qanoon , was a joint Coalition-Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad...
in coordination with the Iraqi Security Forces.
In 2008 a review symposium on the FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency Manual sponsored by Perspectives on Politics
Perspectives on Politics
Perspectives on Politics is one of the leading journals in the academic field of political science. It is published by Cambridge University Press for the American Political Science Association...
, Ollivant called for an expansion of irregular warfare doctrine and warned of a potential over reliance on counterinsurgency frameworks in the future. He notes that the absence of a larger framework of warfare tends to pull all instances of irregular war into the counterinsurgency model. This theoretical lacuna presents a difficulty since future conflicts will require peace enforcement, peacekeeping, nation building, and other paradigms to also compete as frameworks for action.
In March 2010, Ollivant and Chewning published an article in The American Interest outlining the military, political, and economic actions necessary for a successful US-Iraqi relationship after the US troop withdrawal.
Other Writings
Beyond his contributions to military theory, Ollivant wrote a series of articles and book reviews dealing primarily with Catholic political theorists Jacques MaritainJacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
and Orestes Brownson
Orestes Brownson
Orestes Augustus Brownson was a New England intellectual and activist, preacher, labor organizer, and noted Catholic convert and writer...
, and edited a book of collected essays on the former.
Education & Professional Associations
Ollivant, a graduate of the US Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies, holds a PhD and MA in political science from Indiana University (political theory and American politics) and a BA in political science from Wheaton College. He is also a life-member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Political Science Association.Media Appearances
Following his retirement from the military, Ollivant has appeared on media outlets to provide perspective on the current state of military and political affairs in Iraq.External links
- Sunni Fighters Find Strategic Benefits in Tentative Alliance With U.S. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802549.html
- Embedded in Najaf http://www.slate.com/id/2108995/entry/2109068/
- IRAQ INSPECTION: A LOOK AT WHERE NATION IS HEADED http://www.nypost.com/seven/09042007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/iraq_inspection.htm?page=0
- In Najaf, Iraqi Politics Dictate U.S. Tactics http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27049-2004Aug23?language=printer
- New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/opinion/10eaton.html
- Iraq Ain't No Insurgency, Say Former Petraeus Aides http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/iraq-cooled-fro.html
Written works
- "Review of FM 3-24” in Perspectives on Politics, Volume 6, Number 2 (June 2008)
- “Producing Victory: A 2007 Postscript for Implementation,” in Military Review (March/April 2007)
- “Producing Victory: Rethinking Conventional Forces in COIN Operations,” in Military Review (July/August 2006)
- “Review of Eliot A. Cohen, Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime”, in Society 41:3 (March/April 2004).
- “Brownson and Maritain on the American Project,” in Perspectives on Political Science, Volume 37, Number 1 (Winter, 2008).
- Review of George Weigel, The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics without God in Society, 43:2 (January/February 2006).
- “Review of Jean Bethke Elshtain, Just War Against Terror”, in Society 41:5 (September/October 2004).
- Jacques Maritain and the Many Ways of Knowing, (ed.) The Catholic University of America Press, 2002.
- “The Politics of Realism: Locke, Maritain and Hallowell on Liberalism and Knowledge” in Jacques Maritain and the Many Ways of Knowing, The Catholic University of America Press, 2002.
- "Maverick Conservatism," a review of John A. Murley and John E. Alvis, ed., Willmoore Kendall: Maverick of American Conservatives” in The Modern Age Volume 45, Number 4; Fall 2003.
- “Categorical Imperatives Impair Christianity in Culture” in RELIGION & LIBERTY: A Publication of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Volume 13 • Number 4, July and August 2003.