Small Wars Journal

small wars

How Did We Really Lose the Vietnam War? SWJED Thu, 02/07/2019 - 12:54am
In his State of the Union Address, President Trump sought to legitimate his negotiations with the Taliban over the future of Afghanistan with the argument that the Taliban were happy to negotiate with him. Of course, they are happy to do so. Through negotiations they will finally be in a position to take over Afghanistan - just as the North Vietnamese finally won the Vietnam War thanks to their private negotiations with Henry Kissinger – when there were no South Vietnamese present to prevent him from selling them out.

Why Can’t America Win its Wars?

Mon, 02/04/2019 - 1:00pm
The record of American disappointments is indeed impressive for money spent and results obtained: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, the War on Terror. Further, an inability to obtain a favorable balance of power can be seen in the South China Sea, Yemen, Libya, the Ukraine, North Korea, and the Middle East. Today, near insurgent conditions in much of Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras negatively impact American domestic tranquility through drug sales and illegal migration.

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The Decision to Depart and the Defeat of Violent Extremist Organizations SWJED Sat, 12/29/2018 - 9:37am
The President made it clear for some time that he is not in favor of these wars. His advisors, Senior Civilians, and Generals had almost two years to figure out how to disengage and they did not get it done. The President probably grew weary of hearing that if we depart, ISIS will resurge in the political vacuum.

Irregular Warfare Isn’t Going Away, Thai Counterinsurgency Lessons Matter

Thu, 10/25/2018 - 4:50am
Despite America shifting its national security focus from global terrorism and insurgency to conventional, near peer threats such as Russia and China, Irregular Warfare (IW) isn’t going away. Official US national security strategy will still aim to counter global movements such as ISIS and al Qaeda, Foreign Internal Defense will remain a key US Special Forces mission, and IW will continue to be a part of Russian, Iranian, Pakistani, and Chinese hybrid warfare strategies.

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The Challenge of Fighting Small Wars While Trying to Adequately Prepare for Big Ones SWJED Thu, 09/20/2018 - 2:51am
Except for the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, America has been fighting small, counterinsurgency wars since 9-11. This begs the question of whether fighting small wars inhibits or enhances our readiness to transition to large, high-intensity conflicts against peer or near peer competitors? The answer is complicated and somewhat ambiguous.
Win Friends, Kill Enemies: An Unyielding Call for Warrior-Diplomats in Modern Warfare SWJED Thu, 09/06/2018 - 12:47am
The uncomfortable truth that many in modern western society do not want to face is that war, by its very nature, will kill people and break things. However, in the midst of that truth is a second truth that many seem to forget: Namely, that the United States of America, more so than any other nation, expends great resources to develop and implement the means of mitigating the effects of the first truth on noncombatants and infrastructure in the war zone. No other nation in the history of the world has so earnestly sought to conduct military operations while simultaneously striving to minimize the killing and breaking.
Clausewitz as an Immovable Object or the Need for a New War Theory in the Study of Warfare in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria SWJED Fri, 09/22/2017 - 10:55pm

On Carl von Clausewitz: What is less spoken of is his study of small wars and people’s war.

The New Era of Non-State Actors: Warfare and Entropy SWJED Thu, 08/24/2017 - 11:05pm

This paper argues that while conventional military tensions are building with North Korea, Western allies should prepare for a dramatic increase in conflict against non-state actors.

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