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 Georgetown University Center for Security Studies, by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/17/2016 - 10:24am | 0 comments

Couldn’t make the 2016 Mad Scientist Conference? Continue on for the video presentations.

by The Washington Post | Tue, 08/16/2016 - 5:10pm | 0 comments

"The recapture of an Islamic State stronghold in Syria will serve as a model for future U.S.-backed operations there."

by Keith Nightingale | Tue, 08/16/2016 - 7:27am | 0 comments

The smell of the issue facility as you move through. There is a lot of old stuff here. Your first night in country. Will you know the last?

by The Washington Post | Mon, 08/15/2016 - 10:58pm | 1 comment

Iraq would see a “robust civilian presence,” Clinton told reporters afterward, summing up the Obama administration’s pledges to Maliki. “We are working to achieve that.”

by Mark Gilchrist | Sun, 08/14/2016 - 11:29am | 1 comment

The nature and character of war is not only the most important concept for the profession of arms, it also the central understanding upon which the profession thrives or fails.

by Keith Nightingale | Sat, 08/13/2016 - 3:10pm | 0 comments

They carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs, watches and dog tags, insect repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid...

by Defense News | Sat, 08/13/2016 - 2:46pm | 0 comments

"Let’s set our sights on 2050: what will the strategic security environment look like then?"

by The Washington Post | Sat, 08/13/2016 - 8:07am | 0 comments

"There is no question that the Islamic State will be defeated in Mosul; the real question is what comes afterward."

by The Wall Street Journal | Sat, 08/13/2016 - 2:58am | 0 comments

“The militant group has forced thousands to become child jihadists. As many escape, Nigeria wonders what to do with them.”

by SWJ Editors | Fri, 08/12/2016 - 2:51pm | 0 comments

A huge SWJ BZ to Irina A. Chindea.

by The Washington Post | Fri, 08/12/2016 - 7:40am | 0 comments

"The defeat of the IS’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq, at least in terms of territory, is on the horizon. And so too are new problems and potentially new conflicts."

by The Washington Post | Thu, 08/11/2016 - 5:05pm | 1 comment

An investigation has found that the U.S. military’s Central Command regularly produced intelligence that distorted the results of the campaign against the Islamic State.

by Voice of America | Thu, 08/11/2016 - 3:21am | 0 comments

Tensions are increasing, not only in the Donbas but on the Ukraine-Crimea frontier following the off-and-on closure over the weekend of all three border crossings by Russia.

by Voice of America | Thu, 08/11/2016 - 2:58am | 0 comments

More than half the men and women who have left the U.S. to join the conflict in Iraq and Syria may actually be battling against the Islamic State instead of fighting for it.

by The Wall Street Journal | Wed, 08/10/2016 - 4:57am | 2 comments

“For those concerned that America’s military is in decline or somehow not up to the next challenge, we offer a few reassuring facts.”

by The New York Times | Wed, 08/10/2016 - 4:34am | 1 comment

“We’ve really been trying to reinforce the fact to Afghans that we are committed to you, and this gives the enemy some propaganda to say, ‘Hey, these people really aren’t committed to you.’”

by Army News Service | Tue, 08/09/2016 - 7:43pm | 1 comment

TRADOC’s commander challenged military, industry and academic leaders attending the Mad Scientist Conference at Georgetown University to think differently about the future.

by Keith Nightingale | Tue, 08/09/2016 - 6:57pm | 1 comment

Every Grunt has a well of courage that is drawn upon as he moves through his tour.  It is a pool that resides in us all.

by The Modern War Institute, by William Rothrock | Tue, 08/09/2016 - 2:28pm | 0 comments

Dumping large sums of money into solutions that have provided no relief will only weaken the current state.

by James Sheehan | Tue, 08/09/2016 - 7:46am | 0 comments

Governments should double down on this unfortunate incident and encourage police departments to highlight the positive contributions of Muslim officers.

by Voice of America | Sun, 08/07/2016 - 5:13am | 0 comments

After years of undercover work, the U.S. is starting to pull back the veil on what appear to be loose-knit, perhaps deeply rooted networks of would-be terrorists.

by The New York Times | Sat, 08/06/2016 - 6:09pm | 1 comment

“Russia has won the proxy war, at least for now.”

by The Wall Street Journal | Sat, 08/06/2016 - 5:12am | 0 comments

“The Continent’s jihadists plot attacks while on the dole.”

by The Washington Post | Fri, 08/05/2016 - 8:28pm | 18 comments

“Ukraine had become Russia’s means for showcasing what might happen if we ever fought a firepower-intensive battle against it.”

by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/03/2016 - 6:34pm | 4 comments

Continue on for a summary and a link to download the US Army Special Operations Command’s UW Pocket Guide.