Small Wars Journal

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. U.S. and Israeli Military Campaign Tests Limits of Air Power 2. Iran Signals a Fight to the End With Appointment of Khamenei’s Son 3. Commentary on Iran from GEN (RET) Scott Miller 4. ‘Simple plans, violently executed’: One Army unit’s old-school counter to high-tech chaos 5. Trump’s new cyber strategy calls for …
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The post 3/9/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE. SOF Weekly Update – March 9, 2026 March 9, 2026 SOF News Update 0 Curated news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world. Photo / Image: Aircraft is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 3, …
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The post SOF Weekly Update – March 9, 2026 appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Evan Ellis writes in his United Press International piece, “Strategic implications of the war in Iran for Latin America,” that Latin America will come away from the Iran war more divided and under greater duress than before. Divided, he forecasts, as countries will take sides over the U.S. role while remaining compliant with Washington in the context of its stronger …
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The post The Iran War and Latin America: What To Make of It appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The joint efforts by the United States and Israel to identify Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s location and kill him on February 28, 2026, were brilliant. These great intelligence and military successes must be transformed into political success. No one leader or group has enough capability or support to take power in Iran and establish a legitimate and stable …
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The post Iran After Khamenei’s Death appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The raid was textbook. The entry team breached, secured the High Value Target, and exfilled in under 12 minutes. No shots were fired. In the parking lot, the Team Leader marks the mission a complete success. He missed the point man, who is quietly vibrating against the bumper of the truck. Why? Because upon entry, a teenager reached for a …
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The post The Neuro-Tactical Debrief: Treating Cognitive Maintenance as a Logistics Function appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Espionage is not an unusual affair in international politics; it is one of the system’s most common habits. Since strategic surprises are expensive and uncertainty is dangerous, states have always tried to find out what their competitors are planning, what technologies they have, what their goals are, and how can they respond. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the …
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The post China’s Expanding Global Intelligence Footprint In The Digital Age appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Modern Hybrid Warfare: Russia Versus the West. By Ryan C. Maness and Brandon Valeriano. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025. ISBN: 978-1538198421. Pp. xv, 297. $39.00 at time of review. Ryan C. Maness and Brandon Valeriano’s Modern Hybrid Warfare offers a rigorous empirical assessment of Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy against Ukraine and the West. The authors argue that while hybrid operations, …
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The post Book Review | Modern Hybrid Warfare: Russia Versus the West appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Lockheed vs. Anduril: Who Will Build the Army’s Next Great Command and Control System? 2. In War’s First Week, a Punishing Military Campaign With No Coherent Endgame 3. Trump weighs daring mission to snatch Iran’s nuclear stockpiles 4. America’s Military Is Focused on Iran. Its Biggest Challenge Is China. 5. Next Task …
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The post 3/8/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. US Military Relying on AI as Tool to Speed Iran Operations 2. U.S. was only country in a worldwide survey to say most fellow citizens are bad 3. Overlapping military drills show ‘greater sense of urgency’ over Pacific threats, expert says 4. How the US and its allies can prevent an …
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The post 3/7/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

“How Colombian Mercenaries Spread Around the Globe” Henry Suckow Ziemer examines how Colombia has become a leading exporter of military labor in a piece for the World of Crime Newsletter. Thousands of former soldiers now operate across conflict zones, from Ukraine to North Africa to Mexico. Some serve with state militaries. Others work for private security firms. A smaller number …
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The post “Es Colombia, es Ucrania, y es…”: The Global Export of Colombian Mercenaries appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

  Dr. Nathan Jones of Homeland Security Today examines in “The Law Enforcement Implications of the Killing of El Mencho” what the removal of one of Mexico’s most powerful cartel leaders means for the country’s security environment and for law enforcement tasked with managing the aftermath. What Happens After CJNG built a vast national presence through alliances and subordinate groups …
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The post El Mencho Is Dead. Now Comes the Hard Part For Law Enforcement appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Top Pentagon official assures Congress that Iran is ‘not another Iraq War’ 2. Opinion | Elbridge Colby’s Warnings Are Coming True 3. U.S. Likely Hit Girls’ School Attached to Iranian Military Compound 4. CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say 5. Niall Ferguson: Could This Be …
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The post 3/6/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

“A ‘useful fiction’ narrative promotes reflection on what global trends and new technologies might mean for the U.S. Navy and Atlantic security.” USNI Proceedings 152, no. 3 (March 2026). In the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings’ recent article, “How a Pacific War Could Be Lost in the Atlantic,” authors August Cole and Dr. Peter Singer of Arizona State University  present a …
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The post Could a Pacific War Be Lost in the Atlantic? Lessons from a USNI “Useful Fiction” appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Check out episode two of The Joint Special Operations University’s SOF Professional Podcast! “Episode 2: AI All the Time? The Future of Military Education with Dr. James Lacey” Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming professional military education (PME)—not as a distant possibility, but as a present reality. In this episode, Dr. James Lacey, Horner Chair of War Studies at the Marine …
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The post JSOU’s SOF Professional Podcast | AI and the Future of Military Education appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

BBC correspondents Vanessa Buschschlüter and Chris Graham report in their article, “US and Ecuador forces launch operation to fight drug trafficking,” that Ecuadorian and U.S. authorities have started joint operations to target major trafficking networks operating through the country. According to the report, investigators working with Ecuadorian police, the U.S. military’s Southern Command, and Europol have dismantled a large drug-trafficking …
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The post Ecuador’s Cocaine Corridor: US and Ecuador Target Global Drug Networks appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

WASHINGTON – At a contentious House Armed Services Committee hearing with the Pentagon’s No. 3 official, lawmakers in both parties vented frustration Thursday over being kept out of the loop on major military operations. Many aired concerns that the 5-day-old conflict with Iran will deplete stockpiles, lead to a prolonged war and distract attention from other U.S. adversaries.  Elbridge Colby, …
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The post Top Pentagon official assures Congress that Iran is ‘not another Iraq War’ appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

“When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail” is a well-known cognitive bias known as the Law of the Instrument or Maslow’s Hammer. Psychologist Abraham Maslow observed that “it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail,” illustrating how reliance on familiar …
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The post When Crisis Becomes Culture: Boromir, Wicked Problems, and the Reward of Force appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Israel and the United States have successfully carried out air strikes against Iran which have led to the death of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This is a huge victory for not just such powers but also for the Iranian people, most of whom have long been weary of the fundamentalist regime. However, how does Iran move forward in the …
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The post Replacing Khamenei: Altruism Over Oil appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Assessing the Tactical Value of Tehran’s Long-Term Investment Common enmity toward the United States and Israel has turned Iran and Al-Qaeda into unlikely allies. Despite deep ideological rifts, Al-Qaeda’s central leadership has quietly used Iranian soil as a sanctuary and operational hub for years. Now, the group has issued an official statement declaring jihad against U.S. and Israeli military preparations …
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The post Will Al-Qaeda Actually Fight for Iran? appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Beyond Lethality: The Primacy of Influence in Cognitive Warfare In an article for the Irregular Warfare Initiative, Dr. Joseph Long argues that modern conflict is fought primarily in the cognitive domain. The industrial model of mass destruction has given way to contests over perception and narrative framing. In digitally connected societies, populations interpret events in real time and shape political …
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The post Winning Influence in the Cognitive Domain appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.