Small wars are operations undertaken under executive authority, wherein military force is combined with diplomatic pressure in the internal or external affairs of another state whose government is unstable, inadequate, or unsatisfactory for the preservation of life and of such interests as are determined by the foreign policy of our Nation.

-- Small Wars Manual, 1940

Welcome. Small Wars Journal publishes contributed work from across the spectrum of stakeholders in small wars. We look for articles from serious, authentic voices that add richness, breadth and depth to the dialog that too often occurs in cloistered venues. We do not screen articles for conformance with a house view; our only position is that small wars are wicked problems warranting consideration of myriad views before action, to inform what will no doubt be imperfect decisions with significant unintended consequences. On the continuum from paralysis by analysis, to informed action with recognition & maybe mitigation of cascading effects, to bold & ignorant decisiveness, we strive to help our readers find the middle ground.

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Criminalization is as much or more of a concern than radicalization in the Syrian conflict.

Clausewitz and non-state actors - a combination that surely won't produce any disagreements, will it?

Capturing the investor's mindset in special operations.

An interview with Daniel R. Green, who served at the PRT in Uruzgan in 2005-2006 and in Kabul from 2009-2010.

Military officers should be intrapreneurs, not entrepreneurs.

swj blog

Via USNI e-mail: On Scene Report Day One - 2012 Joint Warfighting Conference

GEN Robert Cone, Commanding General U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, offers his thoughts on the upcoming Army Future Game.

A Harvard Business Review blog entry discusses the leaders in our midst.

The Cadre: Thinking Outside the Box About How Rotation Affects Operations by Andrew Person at Tom Ricks' Best Defense.

Continue on for today's SWJ news and opinion roundup and links to the USNI Daily and Real Clear World.