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 Washington Post | Thu, 03/29/2018 - 11:30pm | 4 comments
"After the Vietnam War, the U.S. military deliberately set out to forget everything it had learned about the brutal and unpleasant business of fighting guerrillas. The generals were operating under the assumption that if they didn’t prepare for that kind of war, they wouldn’t be asked to fight it."
by DoD News | Thu, 03/29/2018 - 3:03pm | 0 comments
A new Army formation deployed to Afghanistan is dedicated to focusing the power of the Afghan military and government on taking the fight to the Taliban to convince the group to reconcile. The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade will help the Afghan national security apparatus to increase its effectiveness.
by The Center for a New American Security | Thu, 03/29/2018 - 1:18pm | 2 comments
A new study from the Center for a New American Security examines how the spread of advanced technologies and operational concepts has enabled state competitors to contest U.S. military primacy. It closes with recommendations for assuring an American military advantage to the year 2025 and beyond.
by Combating Terrorism Center at West Point | Thu, 03/29/2018 - 11:20am | 0 comments
Continue on for links to all of the articles in the latest CTC “Sentinel”.
by Stars & Stripes | Wed, 03/28/2018 - 9:25pm | 0 comments
"Moscow recently invested $20 million to rebuild the ruined edifice of an old Soviet Union-era cultural center in downtown Kabul, giving it a new name as Russia continues to rebrand itself in a country where it waged a long and bloody war."
by Voice of America | Wed, 03/28/2018 - 8:11pm | 0 comments
Afghan officials have been warning for months about the flow of 3,000 foreign fighters, many of whom had been coming from Pakistan and Uzbekistan to join the Islamic State terror group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan. Now, officials are warning of a new surge of jihadists, many coming to Afghanistan from places like Iraq and Syria via routes that lead through Pakistan.
by The Washington Post | Wed, 03/28/2018 - 5:07pm | 0 comments
"Nearly 200 former U.S. ambassadors and veteran diplomats have signed a letter expressing alarm over the slide in U.S. leadership in the world and urging senators to grill Mike Pompeo about his plans to reverse the corrosion of the State Department if he is confirmed as secretary of state."
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 03/28/2018 - 10:10am | 0 comments
Continue on for an overview of the Army Future Command provided by the Army Futures Command Task Force via STAND-TO!
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 03/27/2018 - 10:24am | 0 comments
Continue on for an overview of the Army's Security Force Assistance Brigades provided by U.S. Army Forces Command via STAND-TO!
by Voice of America | Tue, 03/27/2018 - 7:44am | 0 comments
Taking advantage of the rivalry between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, Islamic State is regrouping and increasing deadly attacks in disputed territories across northern Iraq, Kurdish and Iraqi officials warned.
by Stars & Stripes | Mon, 03/26/2018 - 11:19pm | 0 comments
"Military leaders have said they’re overwhelmed by unnecessary training requirements, but seasoned officers at this airfield in southern Afghanistan said they see signs of a turnaround as the Pentagon looks to streamline military policies."
by The Washington Post | Mon, 03/26/2018 - 10:25pm | 0 comments
"These are central Africa’s ministates — overlapping and unrecognized fiefdoms in a Texas-size country riven by disorder, situated in one of the world’s worst neighborhoods. These lawless territories are extremely volatile and controlled by violent groups prone to infighting."
by The Wall Street Journal | Mon, 03/26/2018 - 9:33pm | 0 comments
"President Donald Trump has, to great fanfare, remade his national-security team in recent days. But the most intriguing and consequential member of that team isn’t one of the newcomers, but rather the one who has been there all along: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis."
by The New York Times | Mon, 03/26/2018 - 8:17pm | 0 comments
"Dismissed as a warmonger during the Obama presidency, the defense secretary may be the only reliable voice of caution left in an administration inching closer to the brink."
by The New York Times | Sun, 03/25/2018 - 5:41pm | 0 comments
"The United States military carried out its first ever drone strike against Qaeda militants in southern Libya this weekend, signaling a possibly significant expansion of the American counterterrorism campaign in the North African nation."
by The Hill | Sun, 03/25/2018 - 4:31pm | 0 comments
"By last November, U.S. and coalition forces had retaken Mosul, Iraq, and the Islamic extremist terrorists had been all but driven out of the region. Their search for refuge among like-minded brethren pointed some of them to the southern Philippines region of Mindanao."
by SWJ Editors | Sun, 03/25/2018 - 3:56pm | 0 comments
"For a counter-insurgency force that is the largest of its kind in the world, the Rashtriya Rifles receives very little attention in discussions and writings on India’s endless war in Kashmir."
by Bloomberg News | Sat, 03/24/2018 - 4:36pm | 0 comments
"President Donald Trump’s shakeup of his national security team adds to the burden on one man at the center of any decision about war and peace: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis."
by Associated Press | Sat, 03/24/2018 - 4:20pm | 0 comments
"The Turkish army and Syrian opposition fighters it backs have “total control” of the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria, according to the country’s official news agency on Saturday, nearly a week after they captured the main town that carries the same name."
by Voice of America | Fri, 03/23/2018 - 8:07pm | 0 comments
A high-level U.S. delegation, including diplomats and members of the U.S.-led coalition, visited Manbij on Thursday in the wake of a disagreement with Turkey over the fate of the town in northern Syria.
by Military Review | Fri, 03/23/2018 - 12:40pm | 0 comments
"It is instructive to reexamine the previous U.S. tribal engagement in Anbar as U.S. advisors once again plan for phases IV (stabilize) and V (enable civil authority) of joint operations."
by SWJ Editors | Fri, 03/23/2018 - 11:15am | 1 comment
CRS report via US Naval Institute News - Continue on for a summary and link to the full document.
by Stars & Stripes | Thu, 03/22/2018 - 8:17pm | 0 comments
About one in 10 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan are foreign fighters, the top U.S. general in the country said Thursday, in a statement touting recent U.S. and Afghan operations targeting the group.
by The New York Times | Thu, 03/22/2018 - 8:09pm | 0 comments
After two months of uncertain fighting, Turkey appears suddenly to be riding high in its military campaign to take control of a larger piece of northern Syria.
by The Washington Post | Thu, 03/22/2018 - 7:03pm | 0 comments
"President Trump said Thursday that he was naming former ambassador John Bolton, a Fox News commentator and conservative firebrand, as his new national security adviser, replacing Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster."