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“For Dave Dilegge and Bill Nagle, founders and editors of Small Wars Journal. They gave the counterguerrilla underground a home, at a time when misguided leaders banned even the word ‘insurgency,’ though busily losing to one. Scholars, warriors, and agitators, Dave and Bill laid the foundation for battlefield success: our generation owes them a debt of gratitude.”
-- David Kilcullen ('Counterinsugency' Dedication)
"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
-- Old MOUT Adage
"In 1991 the Gulf War showed everyone how not to fight us, but the 2003 invasion of Iraq showed everybody how to fight us."
-- David Kilcullen
“It takes a brave man to be a coward in the Red Army.”
-- Joseph Stalin
“With no other security forces on hand, U.S. military was left to confront, almost alone, an Iraqi insurgency and a crime rate that grew worse throughout the year, waged in part by soldiers of the disbanded army and in part by criminals who were released from prison.”
-- John Spratt

"Small wars are operations undertaken under executive authority, wherein military force is combined with diplomatic pressure in the internal or external affairs of another state whose government is unstable, inadequate, or unsatisfactory for the preservation of life and of such interests as are determined by the foreign policy of our Nation."

-- Small Wars Manual, 1940

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Journal

Commentary – A designation constraining peace: why the US’ delisting of FARC as a foreign terrorist organisation is critical

by Alexandra Phelan | Tue, 11/23/2021 - 11:12pm | 0 comments

Five years after the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), it is reported that the Biden administration will remove the organization from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations. SWJ–El Centro Fellow Alexandra Phelan examines the delisting in this commentary.

The Triple Border, a criminal haven

by Pablo A. Baisotti | Fri, 11/12/2021 - 11:58pm | 1 comment

The triple border has become a free territory for criminal activities and even worse, for terrorist activities. Despite the multiplication of actions, laws and meetings of the authorities of the highest hierarchies of the countries that make up this area: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, in addition to the monitoring of different governmental agencies of the United States.

La Triple Frontera, refugio criminal

by Pablo A. Baisotti | Fri, 11/12/2021 - 7:35pm | 1 comment

La Triple Frontera se transformó en un territorio “liberado” para las actividades criminales y, peor aún, para las actividades terroristas. Ello, pese a que se multiplicaron las acciones, leyes y encuentros de las autoridades de las más altas jerarquías de los tres países — Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay — que lo integran y del monitoreo de diferentes agencias gubernamentales de los Estados Unidos.

Commentary—Narcos: Mexico Season 3: A View From El Paso and Ciudad Juárez

by Howard Campbell | Fri, 11/12/2021 - 3:11pm | 3 comments

Dr. Howard Campbell, professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) weighs on Season 3 of "Narcos: Mexico." In his commentary, Campbell, author of “Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Juárez” and the recently released "Downtown Juárez: Underworlds of Violence and Abuse" asserts that the Cártel de Juárez should actually be called the Cártel de El Paso y Juárez.

SWJ El Centro Book Review – Downtown Juárez: Underworlds of Violence & Abuse

by Daniel Weisz | Fri, 11/12/2021 - 12:04am | 1 comment

Review of Howard Campbell's "Downtown Juárez: Underwords of Violence & Abuse by SWJ−El Centro Associater Daniel Weisz. In this book, Campbell, a noted ethnographer of Mexico's "Drug War Zone," examines he conditions that lead to violence in central Juárez.

Global Competition For Africa

by Bem Japhet Audu | Wed, 11/10/2021 - 4:23am | 2 comments

The proliferation of arms and military bases on the continent of Africa according to some scholars, has been responsible for violence, crime, and terrorism especially in the sub-Saharan region. It has become one of the banes to security and development challenges in Arica since the end of the cold war. The wave of proliferation across Africa has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people each year in countries like Somalia, Kenya and Nigeria. In Nigeria for instance, arms and violence conflict proliferation across the country has ravaged lives and properties, and over 2000 people reported dead in the country.

Renewable Energy in China’s Cross Hairs

by Emilio Iasiello | Wed, 11/10/2021 - 4:19am | 0 comments

Beijing uses five-year plans as guides to support its intelligence collection efforts, particularly cyber espionage campaigns that can be executed against several targets across the globe. Already Chinese operations against renewable energy organizations have provided competitive advantage to Chinese companies who were able to win contracts and help bankrupt at least two foreign competitors.

The South African Border War (1966-1989) and its Callwellian influence

by Andre R. Mohammed | Wed, 11/10/2021 - 4:13am | 0 comments

The roots of modern counterinsurgency are often traced to Colonial Wars or Small Wars of the 19th Century. One case which may demonstrate such a relationship is the South Africa Border War (1966-1989) in which variables such as, intelligence and people-centered operations utilized by the South African Defence Force (SADF) demonstrated striking similarities to C.E. Callwell’s reflection on 19th Century Small Wars.

NATO-Turkey: An Ambiguous Relationship in an Unpredictable Security Domain

by Cüneyt Gürer, by Mehmet Alper Sozer | Wed, 11/10/2021 - 4:09am | 0 comments

The NATO and Turkey relationship has a history of almost 70 years, and it has not always gone smoothly and in harmony, rather this alliance can be described most of the time problematic at best. That fact does not necessarily mean that each side has not mutually benefited from one another though.

Rules of Engagement: Pro Bono ex Militari

by Ian Kippen | Tue, 11/09/2021 - 2:55am | 0 comments

Rules of engagement (ROE) are the embarrassing uncle at a family party. He is engaged in polite conversation but spends most of the time in the corner being denied top-ups on the drinks and someone, normally the legal advisor in the family, stays sober to drive him home at the earliest opportunity. The operational family is obliged to invite him to the party, but everyone scrupulously avoids conversation and looks forward to his departure.