Journal

Engaging the villages is not enough to ensure success

Examining progress in the development of Afghanistan’s infrastructure from an Afghan perspective

Critique of recent budget cuts

Why have the post 9/11 wars not had the same degree of protests as Vietnam?

Spending an inordinate amount of resources in executing a relatively narrow segment of our national defense interests – COIN – will undermine America’s future national security.

The whole concept of “nation-building” is flawed, because nations aren’t built, nations grow. We can no more build a nation than we can build an oak tree.

FM 3-24 fails to adequately describe the realities of refugees and the necessary steps required to assist

Recent intervention continues fifty years of US military action in Africa with little success

Despite the increased use of robots and projected future R&D spending, there is no clearly articulated and agreed upon roadmap for their future growth and development.

Seven proposed categories of illegal slum land use are tested against a recent, complex Latin American case.

The Obama administration reversed the policies of its predecessor, and established a counterterrorism strategy that appears to exactly mirror the European model.  In a world of economic and security interdependencies it was the better choice.

With Sri Lanka’s defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009, should the US pursue establishing a naval base in Sri Lanka?

How the Media, the Military, and the World Struggles with Telling the “Real Story” in Afghanistan

There is neither a shortcut to knowledge nor a process that forces critical and creative thinking on those individuals incapable of or unprepared for its complexities.          

Author argues that the MDMP is burdened by linear procedures that do not reflect natural cognitive processes and proposes an alternative model based on six concurrently developed components derived from the systems approach to problem solving.

Guía de Prácticas Recomendadas en la Evaluación de Medidas Contrainsurgencias (Best Practices Guide for Conducting Assessments in Counterinsurgencies)

How Corruption Affects National Security of the United States: An Explorative Hypothesis on Mexican Transnational Criminal Networks Operating in the United States

If money is a weapon system, then it must surely be targeted as precisely as any other weapon system. 

The French Army´s Failed Counterinsurgency Effort

If money is a weapon system, then it is imperative to know how to operate the safety less we face fratricide

Placing the current Libyan conflict in historical perspective by focusing on the dynamics between the country’s two main regions (Tripolitania and Cyrenaica) during key moments of the 20th century.

A Critique of Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars

The challenge presented by competing forms of centralization may have become clearer in the wake of the Arab Spring, especially in comparing events in Egypt and Libya. 

Interviews with Eric Schmitt, Thom Shanker, and Matthew Kroenig

Poor performance erodes deterrence just as surely as good performance creates it

Bob Jones expands on his thoughts on modern insurgency

How violent will Syria become?

Not an Intifada: Reexamining “War” Amongst Israelis and Palestinians

Cities are likely to play major roles in the distribution of future global power.

Indian Perspective on on-going conflicts in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India

The purpose of this paper is to provide research information on doctrinal convergence and divergence, and elaborate upon the role of language and culture in counterinsurgency operations.

A glimpse into the history of the Phillipines

Defining differences between design theory and design planning

Decolonization, insurgency, and nation and state building in Africa

Critique of OIF/OEF memoires

Knowing how insurgencies last so long can help to understand why they last so long

Any future framework for operational adaptation must incorporate the effects of technological change, while avoiding the seductions of strategic paralysis theory.

Why Better Information Operations are needed

Kyrgyzstan as a tipping point for charters?

Examining the structure and relationships between lines of operations (LOOs), measures, and indicators at various organizational levels

Sometimes in the course of military operations ill-conceived ideas survive to produce unacceptable outcomes.  When this happens, frustrated leaders might ask, “What made us think this would work?”

The importance of leadership in insurgent mobilization, recruitment, and expansion of the base

Better understanding the plight of the Fatah

How do we get the "Big Picture" right?

The Story of the Ultimate Counterinsurgent: An Interview with William Doyle, Author of A Soldier’s Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the  Awakening of Iraq. SWJ Interview by Octavian Manea.

Ditching Career Centric COIN:  Exhuming Robert Komer with the Drawdown in Afghanistan

Better understanding China

When is a child ready to fight?

Rebellion at sea

The creation of South Sudan leaves Sudan's doors open for the growth of terrorism, but the perilous situation is fertile with potential for focused U.S. engagement.