Small Wars Journal

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. The Era of Free Seas Is Unraveling—and Now Everyone’s Going to Pay 2. A 2023 special ops exercise in Wyoming was a preview of the Iran rescue mission 3. Iran Has Thousands of Missiles and Could Retrieve Launchers, U.S. Intelligence Finds 4. Opinion | U.S. missile burn rate in Iran leaves …
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The post 4/11/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

“Monday’s firebombing of four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in Golders Green, north London, and the apparent claim of responsibility, yet to be verified, from a supposed new group said to have links to the Iranian regime, has brought a renewed focus on Iran’s use of terror against dissidents and Jewish communities.” Iran is expanding its use of proxies …
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The post How Iran Is Outsourcing Violence appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: Korean News: 1. What Strategy Demands from Influence Practitioners: Why Meeting Strategic Intent from the recent NSS, NDS, and NDAA Requires Institutional Transformation 2. Iran Shows You Don’t Have to Be a Superpower to Wage Economic Warfare 3. Trump Once Talked Tough With China. Now He’s Playing Nice. 4. Judge Rejects …
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The post 4/10/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The University of South Florida (USF) will host the 2026 International Security Experience from April 14–17, 2026, a four-day event series bringing together students, scholars, and practitioners to explore the evolving landscape of intelligence, technology, and national security. Organized in partnership with USF’s Global and National Security Institute (GNSI), the program integrates three core events: Intelligence & Technology Conference (April …
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The post University of South Florida to Host 2026 International Security Experience appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The Strategic Signal The operator sits in a secure basement, awaiting the green light to push out a digital expose’ onto carefully selected social media platforms and networks. The information in the expose, all truthful and professionally curated to attract attention, is meant to awaken the populace to ever increasing foreign maligned influence. The only problem: the request to publish …
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The post What Strategy Demands from Influence Practitioners: Why Meeting Strategic Intent from the recent NSS, NDS, and NDAA Requires Institutional Transformation appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Seth Harp, The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces. New York: Viking, 2025. 357 pp. Hardcover. $30.00. ISBN 9780593655085. To most Americans lacking a military background, the mythologization of the Special Operation Forces (SOF) has been predominantly shaped by popular culture narratives and mainstream media depictions in TV shows, movies, and even AAA videogames. SOF …
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The post Book Review – The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The “crowdsourced” and “networked” nature of Ukraine’s war against Russia has received significant attention, but its most explosive implication has not yet been confronted: it collides with the architecture of international humanitarian law by eroding one of its core principles –the distinction between civilians and combatants. Ukraine’s participatory warfare model is not just innovative; it is quietly rewriting who can …
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The post The Erosion of Distinction: Participatory Warfare in Ukraine and Its Implications for International Humanitarian Law appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract AI is at the heart of the Iran war. On one hand, the US and Israeli militaries use AI technologies massively in order to wage war against Iran. However, Iran retaliates and strikes the Persian Gulf countries. Iran strikes targets, among others, AI infrastructures, while directly threatening the offices and the staff of the US AI companies. And on …
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The post The Iran War: A War With or Against the AI Sector? appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The reported killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes might look like a turning point. According to Angi English in her Medium article “The Digital Insurgency: Assessing the CJNG’s Technological Evolution and the Rise of the “‘Operadores Droneros,’” it is not. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has already moved past the kind of leader-centric model that “kingpin” strategies are built to …
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The post Rethinking Counter-Narcotics in the Age of Digital Cartels appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Here’s What We Know About the U.S. Cease-Fire With Iran—and What Happens Next 2. The Ceasefire That Wasn’t 3. Trump says he’s considering ‘joint venture’ with Iran for Strait of Hormuz tolls 4. How Tolls in the Strait of Hormuz Would Undercut International Law 5. A Prospectus for the ‘Tehran Toll Booth’ …
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The post 4/9/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Future Security Initiative Spring Speaker Series 2026 The Future Security Initiative (FSI) is a partnership between ASU and New America, a DC-based think tank, exploring global security challenges and seeking creative, interdisciplinary solutions.  Becoming America: A Personal History Of A Nation’s Immigration Wars Date: Thursday, April 9 Time: 4:00-5:00 pm AZ time/7:00-8:00 pm ET Online Register for this Event Those registering for …
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The post WEBINAR (4/9/26): Becoming America: A Personal History Of A Nation’s Immigration Wars appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

¿Cómo reaccionarías si te dijera que los criminales más peligrosos de México ya no usan balas, sino también inteligencia artificial? A growing body of evidence suggests that Mexican criminal organizations are undergoing a structural shift. Groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are are integrating artificial intelligence into core operations, extending their reach into digital, financial, …
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The post Video: AI and the Rewiring of Organized Crime | MILENIO appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

TNW’s “Iran Threatens to Destroy OpenAI’s $30bn Stargate Data Center in Abu Dhabi” is three days old, but it highlights the threat calculus of the 2026 Conflict and the target sets that remain active under the cover of the recent ceasefire. The IRGC has already executed kinetic strikes against commercial data centers, so the Stargate threat is not mere rhetoric. …
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The post Iran’s Stargate Threat: IRGC Targeting Doctrine and the Vulnerability of Gulf AI Infrastructure appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The 2026 US-Israel campaign against Iran reveals a breakdown in the traditional categories used to understand warfare. The distinctions between combatants and civilians, state and non-state actors, and military and non-military instruments are increasingly blurred. These shifts have direct implications for how conflict is understood, managed, and anticipated in contemporary strategic environments. Introduction At 06:35 UTC on February 28, 2026, …
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The post The War Against Iran and the Dissolution of Classical Strategic Categories appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract Quantum technologies are changing the strategic advantage from one system’s operational dominance to mutual denial: the ability to degrade an enemy’s advantage without creating a permanent, measurable equilibrium. This article contributes to the discussion of quantum power parity, showing that computing, communications, and sensing create mutually vulnerable conditions and that policy priorities that require escalation are best served by …
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The post Quantum Power Parity: The Next Front in U.S.–China Strategic Competition appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract  This article argues that reacquiring a permanent military base in Panama gives the U.S. three strategic “birds” in hand: (1) enhanced quick reaction capabilities to any Canal threats; (2) a strategic and monitoring position for strikes in Central and South America against designated terrorist organizations; and (3) a more realistic permanent jungle operations training center for U.S. troops. It proposes an old U.S. Army garrison, Fort Sherman, as the best location to accomplish this objective.  …
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The post Writing A New Chapter in the Army’s “Jungle Book”: How the U.S. Can Gain Three Birds via Panama’s Hand and Leave China in the Bush appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran complies with his demands left MAGA supporters and other Republicans deeply divided. Carrying through on the threat – issued Tuesday morning, about 12 hours before a deadline he set for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – would clearly amount to a war crime …
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The post Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s civilization shocked even some supporters, raised war crime concerns appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Exclusive | The secret, never-before-used CIA tool that helped find airman downed in Iran: ‘If your heart is beating, we will find you’ 2. Inside the US Army’s Nuclear Disablement Teams: Surgical Strike Forces Against Nuclear Weapons 3. After clashes with Hegseth, Army secretary says he isn’t going anywhere 4. The …
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The post 4/8/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Dr. Joseph Long, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer and Director of the Irregular Warfare Initiative SOF Program, presents a data-driven framework for understanding leadership failure in irregular warfare across a three-part series published at the Irregular Warfare Initiative. In the first installment, “The Guerrilla Leader Theory: A Data-Driven Approach to Winning within the Human Domain,” Long introduces the …
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The post Guerrilla Leader Theory and the Leadership Problem in Irregular Warfare appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF news for the enitre articele HERE. Comment: Useful summary with references.  Ceasefire Agreement Announced for Iran War April 8, 2026 SOF News Middle East 0 The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week long ceasefire that will provide the time to negotiate a permanent agreement to end the Iran War. Israel has agreed to observe the two-week ceasefire as well. One …
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The post SOF News: Ceasefire Agreement Announced for Iran War appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.