Journal

There has been a lot of alarm spread about Ebola and the past weeks, and I am loathe to add fuel to the fire, but I am concerned about the possible weaponizing of Ebola by Islamic extremists.

Interview with Dr. John Nagl on his just released book Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice, The Penguin Press, New York, 2014.

The war in Cameroon remains little known and its very existence has been denied by official French spokesmen.

But UW Is Being Practiced Around The World By Those Who Are Interested In It

Southern Europe’s mass migration problem is out of control.  The U.S. government may be forced to address this fact sooner rather than later.

As the world watches the 2014 iteration of the Middle East conflict observers should remember that history is continuous rather than episodic.

The fundamentals of basic combat training are not new, only the specifics have changed.

I thought that I might build on the previous essay I wrote for DEF on how to develop an understanding of war and warfare through the study of military history in width, depth, and context.

Our current system of military operations is reaching a point where it is not producing options which fit the expectations of our civilian leaders and perhaps the conditions of 21st century war.

Army doctrine does not adequately address the relationship between transition, collaboration and risk.

The purpose of this research is to propose the initial stages of development of a construct of an actual information domain.

The ability to understand how and why insurgencies end can provide better insight for counterinsurgent stakeholders and for more accurate applied foreign policy prescriptions.

We arrive in late 2014 at a 1947-like institutional moment.

The conventional wisdom about strategic inertia, doing little or nothing, is that whatever might be done might make things worse.

This is an attempt at establishing the facts as to how Georgia’s armored capability fared against what emerged to be as the Russian 58th Army’s 19th Motor Rifle Division.

Network-centric warfare doctrine continues to fall short of revolutionizing the battlefield, even after a decade of upgrades born out of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The actions and consequences of the Venezuelan struggle extend to all of the countries of Central America, the Caribbean, and the northern Andes.  They will especially affect the chances for final resolution of the long-suffered Colombian war.

Posted today: The U.S. Army Operating Concept (AOC): Win in a Complex World

The Light Reconnaissance Strike Group is a break from the Army’s Cold War past and a bridge to the Army’s future in 21st Century Joint warfare.

As long as ISIL controls territory and shelters among civilian populations in easily fortified urban environments, a combined arms ground force will be required to root them out.

The 2014 QDR puts significant emphasis on the need to build capacity in foreign militaries and rely on those partners to both improve regional security and further US interests

Sufism in Asymmetric Warfare: Human Networks of the Somali Qadiriyya tariqa

Sheriff and State Advisor Border Summits: Mexican Cartel, Gang, and Criminal Alien Security Issues

This article examines the origins, organization and execution of the Mpeketoni terror attacks in Kenya.

As the Army resets after protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan it is an appropriate time to challenge  existing Army beliefs about force structures and design.

The significant influence of the informal network that surrounds artisanal mining is therefore an important security concern that can extend across borders and have far-reaching impacts.

So-called “ungoverned spaces” present the United States with significant security challenges in an era characterized by “softened sovereignty."

Radical Islamist factions have risen and established a firm presence in the conflict, and it is now time to question whether a hands-off policy has really worked in favor of western interests.

The Rule of Law in the Context of US Military Operations: An Insider’s View from JTF/CJIATF 435 in Afghanistan 2010-2011

The US must begin a serious dialogue with Mexico to propose long-term solutions to the grave situation in which the police and military forces as well as the people of Mexico find themselves.

One way to understand ISIS is to seek to understand it as a complex adaptive system.

Some argue cyberspace will cause transformational change to warfare, while others argue cyber operations are more likely to evolve into the canon of older, traditional military means.

If we believe that passion is a reason for joining the ISIS cause, perhaps there is a counter-narrative that can be deployed.

President Obama is repeating three key strategic mistakes that President Johnson made in Vietnam.

Together with Tony Koltz General Zinni co-authored the just released book “Before the First Shots are Fired. How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield”.

The U.S. Army is the most appropriate (and truly only) instrument of U.S. national power capable of conducting global stability operations.

Fifth Dimensional Operations: Space-Time-Cyber Dimensionality in Conflict and War - A Book Review

The sword of democracy was a rather blunt instrument and no match—when wielded by the indigenous peoples—to that of the sharper blade held by the various Islamist forces.

With the recent eruption of violence in Iraq and the ongoing civil war in Syria the topic of foreign fighters has once again been brought to the forefront.

The governance vacuum created by sectarian violence has provided the Kurds with a seemingly golden opportunity to declare independence.

There is a growing consensus that the United States should not engage in another major land war in Asia or Africa, a view encapsulated in the catchphrase “no more boots on the ground.”

Today, a group that even al Qaeda thinks is extreme, has established its own sanctuary in eastern Syria as well as north and western Iraq.

To properly face the numerous threats in cyberspace, the Army needs to invest in the development of ‘cyber leaders’ who will possess technical acumen and strategic vision.

Our Own Worst Enemy: Lessons Learned from Recent Negotiating Successes with the Afghan Ministry of Defense

The seizure of territory by a non-state entity is the most significant turn of events in Iraq and Syria for many years.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or the Levant, is re-enacting the early history of Islam in order to establish its legitimacy with the peoples of the Middle East.

"ISIL Will Attack Baghdad and Sectarian War Will Continue to Expand"

The role of women as actors in all phases of conflict is a vital aspect of stability operations, yet is generally ignored.

The Ties That Bind: Mass Conscription Reinforced an Attrition Borne Allegiance Shift by Tying Rural Families to Government as Military Dependents: A Vietnam Case

Now that Americans are dropping bombs on the forces of al Baghdadi’s Caliphate, it may be appropriate to examine his warfighting style.