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 | Wed, 06/19/2019 - 2:38am | 0 comments
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has privately delivered warnings intended for Iranian leaders that any attack by Tehran or its proxies resulting in the death of even one American service member will generate a military counterattack, U.S. officials said."
by The Los Angeles Times | Wed, 06/19/2019 - 1:26am | 0 comments
"The president was named Reagan, and Iran and Iraq were locked in a horrific war with each other over control of land and the Persian Gulf."
by Voice of America | Wed, 06/19/2019 - 1:15am | 0 comments
The United States explicitly stated Tuesday it is seeking a comprehensive peace agreement with the Taliban that would cover counterterrorism assurances, withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, intra-Afghan talks to find a political settlement to the war and a permanent cease-fire.
by Military Times | Wed, 06/19/2019 - 12:26am | 0 comments
"For the second time in six months, President Donald Trump is searching for his next defense secretary."
by The Wall Street Journal | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 2:42pm | 0 comments
"As the U.S. seeks an exit from the Afghan war, Central Asia is on the cusp of a new era, with Russia and China vying for influence in a region that will no longer be dominated by America’s post-9/11 undertaking to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan."
by Politico | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 1:42pm | 0 comments
"President Donald Trump said acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan will not move forward with the confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family."
by Foreign Policy | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 11:52am | 0 comments
"The trial of a senior operative reveals the extent of the terrorist organization’s reach in the United States and Canada."
by The Washington Times | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 2:39am | 0 comments
"The Chinese military is guilty of “irresponsible actions” toward American forces stationed at Djibouti’s Camp Lemonnier on the Horn of Africa, a senior U.S. military intelligence officer said."
by The New York Times, by The Washington Post, by The British Broadcasting Corporation, by Associated Press | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 12:11am | 0 comments
Continue on for updates on the developments in the US-Iran crisis, from the NYT, WaPo, AP and BBC News.
by The Washington Post | Tue, 06/18/2019 - 12:06am | 0 comments
"President Trump said in a tweet Monday night that U.S. immigration agents are planning to make mass arrests starting “next week,” an apparent reference to a plan in preparation for months that aims to round up thousands of migrant parents and children in a blitz operation across major U.S. cities."
by Voice of America | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 2:10pm | 0 comments
"The United States is reopening its permanent U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Somalia, 28 years since its closing on January 5, 1991. Although the U.S. never formally severed diplomatic relations with Somalia, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia was closed in 1991, when the civil war in the 1980s led to the collapse of the country's central government in 1991."
by U.S. Army TRADOC G2 Mad Scientist Initiative | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 1:20pm | 5 comments
At the conclusion of another successful Mad Scientist Science Fiction Writing Contest, we had received over 75 highly imaginative short stories. In addition to listing and linking you to the contest’s winning submission (as well as those of our finalists), today’s post reports back on the major cross-cutting themes we were able to distill from your collective creativity and provides effective writing tips from Dr. David Brin, our contest’s senior judge and multiple award-winning science fiction author. Enjoy!
by The Washington Examiner | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 11:24am | 0 comments
"The United Kingdom is deploying a contingent of Royal Marines to protect their warships in the Persian Gulf as tensions rise between the United States and Iran."
by Stars & Stripes | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 1:48am | 0 comments
"Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone at an altitude that U.S. Central Command said Sunday shows improved capability and likely assistance by Iran."
by The Wall Street Journal | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 12:25am | 0 comments
"The country’s top paramilitary force is maintaining support for armed groups in the Middle East and finding new sources of funding, defying U.S. efforts to curb its activities abroad as tensions between Washington and Tehran soar following fresh attacks in the Gulf of Oman."
by Voice of America | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 12:12am | 0 comments
Libya's internationally-recognized prime minister says he is refusing to hold talks with his rival for power." I will not sit down again with this person because of what he has done in past years shows he won’t be a partner in the political process," Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj told Reuters.
by The Washington Post | Mon, 06/17/2019 - 12:10am | 0 comments
WaPo op-ed by Major General (Ret.) Robert Scales
by The British Broadcasting Corporation | Sun, 06/16/2019 - 4:46pm | 0 comments
"Hundreds of thousands of people are protesting in Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill, despite the bill having been suspended."
by The Wall Street Journal | Sun, 06/16/2019 - 5:01am | 0 comments
"Hong Kong’s leader indefinitely suspended a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, backing down in an effort to end widespread public unrest fueled by fears that Beijing’s growing reach is eroding people’s rights."
by The Washington Post | Sun, 06/16/2019 - 4:06am | 0 comments
"On May 31, a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. convoy in eastern Kabul, killing four Afghan passersby and slightly wounding four U.S. servicemen and at least three civilians."
by The New York Times | Sat, 06/15/2019 - 3:22pm | 0 comments
"The United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools more aggressively, current and former government officials said."
by The Washington Post | Sat, 06/15/2019 - 3:09pm | 0 comments
"The top U.S. diplomat for Africa pushed Friday for Sudan to carry out an “independent and credible” investigation into a June 3 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left scores dead."
by Breaking Defense | Sat, 06/15/2019 - 11:55am | 0 comments
"A day after two commercial tankers are hit in the Gulf of Oman, reports emerge the Houthis are firing -- and hitting -- US aircraft."
by RAND Corporation | Fri, 06/14/2019 - 8:19pm | 0 comments
"Using primary and secondary sources, what is the history of the Battle for Baghdad? - What are the strategic lessons learned from the conflict?"
by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Fri, 06/14/2019 - 7:12pm | 0 comments
RFE/RL spoke with Scott Lucas, an Iran expert at Birmingham University in Britain and editor of the EA World View website, about the attack and its possible repercussions.