Journal

In this article, I apply Jonathan Matusitz’s insights from Symbolism in Terrorism to identify and isolate the plotline of the ISIS beheading narrative.

The recent National Security Strategy (NSS) as well as events unfolding in Iraq may point the way for what we will see in the years to come and how we can expect to deal with it.

Last year was witness to three police operations against gangs in Catalonia, targeting the Latin Kings, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), and the Bloods.

It was the anniversary of the passing of Ed “Too Tall” Freeman, Congressional Medal of Honor winner and a true shepherd of the National flock.

Outlines the root causes of Colombia’s existing security and development challenges and highlights some of the shortcomings in Colombia’s “counterinsurgency” strategy.

This article examines the effectiveness of the Australian Defence Force’s interaction with government and non-government agencies in ‘small wars’ since 1999.

The hope is that this investigation will shed light on a little-remembered chapter of American history; thus providing policy makers with yet another historical data point to draw upon.

Interview with Carter Malkasian, the author of “War Comes to Garmser. Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier”.

Given global urbanization trends, the Army must be prepared to confront challenges arising in megacities to remain a relevant instrument of national power.

While it would be tempting to posit Paris as another bloody data point explained by our conceptual schema, Paris is in fact cause for broadening and expanding it.

Within Army culture there is a basic misunderstanding regarding Standards and Rules. They are not the same, despite a long-standing military belief in equivalence.

Leaders today face increasing pressures as they navigate their organizations through a constant barrage of dynamic business conditions and more demanding stakeholder expectations.

Small Wars Journal interview with Robert Martinage.

The Baga attack signifies the genocidal nature of Boko Haram’s violence, the group will undermine West Africa’s security unless Nigeria can quickly improve its COIN operations.

The Regionally Aligned Forces concept is certainly not business as usual, but is also the result of a sobering truth: leveraging national military power to secure our vital interests.

The West must orient itself to the composite that ISIS presents and avoid the catastrophic pitfall of trying to create the enemy it wants to fight at the expense of the one presented.

Going back to 1989, and certainly since 2001, the US has failed to construct a coalition of moderates that might be able to enhance legitimacy and increase stability.

Asian support for ISIL will largely be based in Southeast Asia, which possesses the largest Muslim population in the region and will manifest through Asian nationals traveling to the Middle East.

Before we embark on our next foreign adventure, Americans need to remember as long as we accept the moral responsibility for ungoverned spaces, insurgent forces will attack us.

The study of European—and particularly British—imperial experiences with insurgency produced two contending schools of thought on the legacy of counterinsurgency.

This article suggests that a new definition of religion is necessary to properly conceptualize and develop policy in response to violent religious behaviors.

Our National Guard forces should be retooled for asymmetrical warfare and domestic utilization, while our active duty forces should maintain their kinetic combat supremacy.

Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand vs. The Taliban: Bottom-Up Expeditionary Diplomacy in Fragile States – Best Practices from the Civilian Surge in Afghanistan

In the future global environment, the U.S. military will rely more heavily on distributed command groups for managing and responding to crises and threats.

Adding another joint function to the current set of six, which is attuned to the human domain, will fill a significant gap.

Since the end of the Liberian Civil War in 2003, the United States has been engaged in a partnership with the UN and the Government of Liberia to rebuild the Liberian security sector.

Welcome to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, otherwise known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State.

The demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration plan focuses on those who may be swayed.

To successfully combat 21st Century problems, in an era of resource and geo-political power constraints, the U.S. and its Allies need to develop a JIIM approach to Irregular Warfare.

This review essay looks at: the memoir of a Secretary of Defense, a recent RAND study, the cri de coeur of a retired general, and the memoir of a combat veteran and leading coindinista.

Radicalization is not necessarily related with Islam as Russian examples clearly demonstrate.

Understanding how the democratization of Iraq failed could be instructive to future endeavors towards democratization throughout the world.

This article examines the activities of Australian Jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

This essay provides an examination of current thought on how to build a team capable of performing at a high level.

As the U.S. charts a way forward in its campaign to combat ISIL, it must not repeat the same mistakes from U.S. whole-of-government operations over the past decade-plus of war.

The war against the self-styled Islamic State is beginning to look more and more like the late, unlamented war in Vietnam.

Modern military uniforms simultaneously serve two contradictory purposes—identification and concealment.

The threat posed by ISIL cannot be eradicated in the short term, and the involvement of U.S. ground forces would do little to address the underlying problems.

In the world of anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) discussions the anti-access portion is the stand out issue.

The Military Police Corps continues to be the DOD proponent for the protective service mission in support of our senior military and civilian government leaders abroad.

The violence is spreading, resulting in acute violations of human rights that jeopardize the stability of fragile states.

Starting around 2008 Russia began providing military support to Nicaragua through the provision of funds, equipment and training.

This article argues that the recent resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham gained momentum during the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Understanding how the Islamic State fits the profile of a hybrid threat is integral to the development of unified strategies to counter them.

If you just give the Host Nation (HN) stuff or do stuff for them you become their system.

Have you ever read a military concept or doctrine publication, or an academic or professional paper about warfare or military operations, and wondered how it came to include such an ill-conceived idea?

The movement to understand the nature of Unconventional Warfare through the lens of Special Movement Theory is a continuing effort.

What is the purpose of civil-military guidelines?  Who are the authors and their intended audience?  What is the extent of their readership?  How can they help practitioners improve humanitarian outcomes?

Lessons learned from development efforts as well as practitioners’ perspective and observations on the effectiveness of DOD’s efforts to train and advise foreign security forces.

If historical examples are any indicator irregular warfare will remain a part of current and future conflicts.