Journal

The post-Iraq and Afghanistan US national security environment is predictably yearning for a renewed era of engagement.

Aid Dependence In Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy by Sophal Ear. SWJ book review by John Wilcox.

A Partnership Forged in Hell: A Non-traditional Approach to Assured Mobility and Security Force Assistance in the Devil’s Elbow

Using lessons learned from the PRU and PRT teams, how does an interagency organization improve its collaboration and cooperation in future engagements?

In 2012, the U.S. Border Patrol transitioned from a resource-based to a new, risk-based approach for measuring border security and informing planning efforts along U.S. borders.

This essay argues that General George S. Patton Jr. was a proficient practitioner of small wars in three different contexts.

If the US allows Afghanistan to slip from its grasp, it opens the door in classic Great Game theory to other powers.

Saving the Kiowa: A Case for Augmenting the Reconnaissance and Security Brigade with the Aviation it Needs

NATO’s Post ISAF Challenges and the Danger of a Hollow Alliance: SWJ Interview with Dr. Andrew A. Michta

Mega cities will complicate and greatly challenge Army urban combat missions in the 2030-2040 timeframe.

The words,”put up or shut up” come to mind when talking about the advisor mission.

America’s recent counterinsurgency campaigns have caused a disconnect between strategic and foreign policy objectives.

Continuing the Fight: How New Joint Doctrine Advances the Counterinsurgency Debate

Lessons From Previous Competitive Strategies: SWJ Interview with Thomas G. Mahnken

More than Weather: The Strategic Importance of Remote Environmental Monitoring Capabilities to DOD.

U.S.-Iran Rapprochement: A Counterintuitive Alternative to Thirty-five Years of Distrust

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 16: Recent Santa Muerte Spiritual Conflict Trends

How much Army is enough and too much? The essence of the argument, the size of the active Army, puts the cart before the horse.

Part 7 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Part 6 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Part 5 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Absent an effective U.S. counterbalance, Sunnis in Anbar have returned to old alliances with al Qaeda and other sympathetic resistance forces.

Part 4 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Part 3 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Much is at stake as to whether the United States officially accepts R2P as an international norm.

Part 2 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

Moviegoers looking for realistic portrayal of SOF commandos will not be disappointed by Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor.

Part 1 of a series that provides a retrospective look at the first year of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Sexenio with comments on the prospects for 2014.

The Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force recently signed an updated United States Air Force (USAF) Irregular Warfare (IW) Strategy.

Finding Strategic Balance: How Should the USAF Balance Continuing Irregular Requirements with High-end A2/AD Requirements?

Book Review - Dr. Brian Glyn William Predators: The CIA’s Drone War on al Qaeda.

“Narco Cultura,” a documentary by Israeli photojournalist Saul Schwarz, is billed on as “an explosive look at Mexican drug cartels’ cultural influence on both sides of the border.”

The problem can be summarized as follows: allied troops are better trained and equipped, while local forces enjoy a greater familiarity with the terrain, including above all the population.

The effectiveness and efficiency of foreign policies depends on a great number of factors, and not in the slightest on the initial design of those policies.

The COIN Manual is being re-written and it is important to define Rule of Law if it is to be included or rejected from counterinsurgency doctrine.

President Enrique Peña Nieto is rapidly approaching a defining moment in his Presidency.

Drawing Lessons from Zimbabwe's War of Liberation: Efficacious Use of Propaganda and Violence.

This essay attempts to provide one perspective on how, in a time of war, many contribute to the mission in ways other directly engaging the enemy.

Strategy and Choices for the Next QDR: SWJ Interview with Shawn Brimley.

Understanding the Dialectic of Nomad and State: The Tectonics of Conflict, Trade and Modes of Living in Afghanistan.

Up until recently, weapons that provide for armor and bunker defeat capability at the levels that the RPG-29 is capable of, have not been seen in the hands of the Mexican cartels.

The rivalry between Kenya and al-Shabaab is not new. Kenya has long been active in Somalia’s internal politics, sponsoring a peace process that yielded the Transitional Federal Government.

Acronyms and Translations of Security and Government Agencies in Mexico’s Drug War.

Within the realm of Latin America, one country that that has been particularly impacted by gangs and transnational organized crime is Brazil.

SWJ Discussion with Dr. David Kilcullen on his recently released book “Out of the Mountains. The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla”.

Special Operations Forces have a problem: in order to be more effective in the “human domain” we have to paradoxically dump the concept.

It’s been about two months since al-Shabaab gunmen employed the new playbook.

The relationship between Russia and Iran since the collapse of the Soviet Union forms a necessary and essential aspect of international relations.

A close analysis reveals the Peace Corps is an important contributor to our national security.

Al-Qaeda’s plan to cripple the U.S. through a series of proxy wars: an integral – and currently the most pertinent – component of its aggregate strategy.