Small Wars Journal

Blog Posts

SWJ Blog is a multi-author blog publishing news and commentary on the various goings on across the broad community of practice.  We gladly accept guest posts from serious voices in the community.

by The British Broadcasting Corporation | Fri, 03/01/2019 - 12:11am | 0 comments
"The United States is offering a reward of up to $1m (£750,000) for information about the son of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Hamza."
by Military Times | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 7:46pm | 0 comments
"The conclusions reached in a new think-tank study by the Rand Corp. looking at competitiveness between the services and how their culture succeeds or fails in beating out the other services for resources."
by Military Times | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 7:22pm | 0 comments
"Special operations is an intense career, and with the lucrative civilian job market looking for the experience and security clearances that go with it, the incentives to leave active duty can be strong."
by The New York Times | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 7:20pm | 0 comments
"All American troops would withdraw from Afghanistan over the next three to five years under a new Pentagon plan being offered in peace negotiations that could lead to a government in Kabul that shares power with the Taliban."
by The Wall Street Journal | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 7:19pm | 0 comments
"The U.S. and North Korea blamed each other for their failure to reach an agreement at their second summit aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons program, leaving an uncertain path for one of President Trump’s signature foreign-policy issues."
by Real Clear Defense | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 10:22am | 0 comments
"The magic 8-ball that is the Trump Administration’s foreign policy sent Washington and world leaders on another whipsaw last week, this time announcing the U.S. would leave 200 troops in Syria. Not even two months ago, President Trump announced the military mission to liberate ISIS-held territory was (nearly) complete and that it was time to bring American forces home."
by The Wall Street Journal | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 9:21am | 0 comments
"President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to reach an agreement at a second summit aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, with Washington saying Pyongyang sought sanctions relief without offering enough in return."
by Voice of America | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 12:42am | 0 comments
"American and Afghan Taliban officials have temporally paused ongoing peace talks in Qatar to consult with their respective leaderships before returning to the table on Saturday."
by The New York Times | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 12:39am | 0 comments
"Two nuclear-armed siblings with a long history of armed conflict. Two prime ministers facing public pressure for military action. And a snowy, mountainous region that both nations have coveted — and occupied with troops — for more than 70 years."
by The Washington Post | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 12:30am | 0 comments
"Despite the dueling accounts, one thing was certain: For the first time in almost half a century, Indian aircraft ventured beyond the Line of Control separating the two countries to hit targets on Pakistani soil. The act marked a potentially grave escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In a statement, the Pakistani government said on Tuesday that it would “respond at the time and place of its choosing.”"
by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Thu, 02/28/2019 - 12:22am | 0 comments
"The United States, European Union, China, and Russia have expressed growing concerns that the worst crisis in years between bitter nuclear rivals India and Pakistan could spiral out of control."
| Wed, 02/27/2019 - 2:14pm | 0 comments
Continue on to read the 26 February update to CRS' "Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy Brief".
by Voice of America | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 12:40pm | 0 comments
"Tensions escalated between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan Wednesday amid claims and counter claims of shooting down each other's fighter planes. Pakistan said it downed two Indian planes after they crossed over to its side of the Line of Control, the de-facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, following Pakistan's airstrikes into an "open space" on the Indian side designed to send a message. Pakistan said it captured one Indian pilot."
by Voice of America | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 11:35am | 0 comments
"In an effort to reduce the burden of Islamic State foreign fighters, U.S.-backed Syrian forces have recently handed over more than 300 IS militants, who have been captured in Syria, to the Iraqi government, which will reportedly try them for their actions against Iraqi civilians and security forces."
by The Washington Post, by The New York Times | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 8:17am | 0 comments
"Pakistan said it shot down two Indian aircraft over its territory Wednesday and launched strikes inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, one day after Indian jets bombed targets in Pakistan for the first time since 1971 in retaliation for a recent terrorist attack in India’s portion of Kashmir."
by The Washington Times | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 12:17am | 0 comments
"America’s elite special operations forces are getting new marching orders as the Pentagon moves away from its post-9/11 focus on radical terrorist groups and trains its eye on big-power rivals such as China and Russia."
by Military Times | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 12:15am | 0 comments
"It is happening in Syria now. Iraqi forces faced it in Mosul. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran all boast complex facilities laced with reinforced command and control and the ability to deploy thousands of troops, tanks, missiles and even launch planes from underground runways."
by Military Times | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 12:03am | 0 comments
"The possible emergence of a new era of tunnel warfare will challenge the Air Force to think of new ways to find, and defeat, a hidden enemy."
by Military Times | Wed, 02/27/2019 - 12:01am | 0 comments
"What’s on the wish list for underground operations? Retired Army Maj. John Spencer, who served as an officer and enlisted soldier in the infantry, is now chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Modern War Institute at West Point. He commanded troops in Baghdad during the Iraq War. Military Times asked Spencer what he would want, beyond standard kit, for an underground fight. He said most gear already in the tool bag centers around the important breaching and communicating tasks."
by The New York Times, by The Washington Post | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 11:06pm | 0 comments
"The succession of setbacks left the opposition here scrambling Tuesday to sustain what has become the single biggest challenge to 20 years of socialist rule and manage inflated expectations of a rapid ouster of Madur"
by The Washington Post | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 11:01pm | 0 comments
"The nuclear-armed neighbors have a long history of animosity. The main, ongoing source of conflict is Kashmir, a Himalayan border region whose status has been contested ever since India gained independence and Pakistan was created in the partition of British India."
by Military Times | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 10:59pm | 0 comments
"The Taliban continue to threaten Afghanistan’s provincial capitals, particularly Ghazni and Farah cities, both of which came under siege during the 2018 fighting season, according to the Department of Defense Inspector General."
by The Wall Street Journal | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 9:18pm | 0 comments
"The House voted to block the White House from redirecting federal funds toward building a border wall, and the Senate inched closer to doing the same, raising the specter of President Trump exercising his veto power for the first time."
by The Washington Post | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 2:01pm | 0 comments
"The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the Kremlin’s operations against the United States are not cost-free."
by Associated Press | Tue, 02/26/2019 - 12:46pm | 0 comments
"The Taliban and Washington's peace envoy are close to reaching an agreement on U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Islamic insurgents said Tuesday amid a new round of talks with the United States."