This article argues that traditional economic statecraft fails against hybrid actors such as Hezbollah and the Houthis (Ansar-Allah) due to the concept of “Parasitic Resilience.” It demonstrates how these groups adapt to sanctions and blockades by creating new forms of illicit revenue network, requiring a shift from economic statecraft to kinetic degradation. Introduction The reliance on economic statecraft has long … Read more
This article argues that Colombia’s long-running counterinsurgency success was not the result of military pressure alone, but due to the integration of security operations with public diplomacy and institutional reform aimed at addressing the underlying drivers of violence. It further contends that one of the most challenging aspects of a counterinsurgency campaign emerges after major combat operations, as insurgent organizations … Read more
ABSTRACT Despite Beijing’s ambition to dictate the game, the Indo-Pacific region is no longer a wéiqí board — it is a pressure cooker, and at its center, an unlikely duo is rewriting the rules. This paper examines the emerging China, Russia, Iran, North Korea (CRINK) alignment — anchored by the operational partnership between Russia and North Korea — and its … Read more
Cárteles Unidos: The United Coalition to oppose the Jalisco Cartel in Michoacán, by Robert Burrell and Manuel Carranza (Read on Substack). This article analyzes Cárteles Unidos, a Mexican criminal alliance based in Michoacán, and examines why the United States designated it as a foreign terrorist organization. Cárteles Unidos formed as a defensive coalition of several cartels and armed groups to resist … Read more
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell | Central Intelligence Agency February 4, 2026 One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. The World Factbook served the Intelligence Community and the general public as a longstanding, one-stop basic reference about countries and communities around the globe. Let’s take a quick look … Read more
In China’s Redlines Aren’t Where You Think They Are, Lt. Col. Brian Kerg argues that U.S. planners consistently misread the sources of escalation risk in the Taiwan Strait. Drawing on the First, Second, and Third Taiwan Strait Crises, he shows that Chinese escalation has been driven by perceived threats to political narratives and objectives rather than by the mere presence … Read more
The Changing Face of War (Winter 2026) issue of the Texas National Security Review is a standout, featuring a slate of compelling articles that tackle “the world’s hardest problems.” In their opening article, TNSR directors Adam Klein and Joseph Maguire connect that ambition to the moment, writing that the post–Cold War order is “being battered by several concurrent trends,” and … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. China aggression renews question of whether Trump would defend Taiwan with US military 2. The US Is Not Built For War Or Peace 3. The devil you know is better than the one you don’t: Proponents still fail to detail benefits of Beijing-led order 4. What the … Read more
Abstract War injuries are more than collateral damage; they are historical markers that reveal how wars are fought, the weapons used, and the doctrines that shape them. From Napoleonic amputations to traumatic brain injuries in modern conflicts, and the collapse of the “Golden Hour” in Ukraine, these wounds testify to the evolving interplay between weapons, protection, and human vulnerability. They … Read more
ABSTRACT An informal essay proposing engineering designs or options that could help the United States intercept a single missile rogue nuclear attack like that presented in the 2025 Netflix motion picture film A House of Dynamite. Theoretical modern technology designs are presented that the United States Department of Defense (War) and advanced military armament and space organizations can consider for … Read more
Access SOF News HERE. Special Operations News – Feb 2, 2026 February 2, 2026 SOF News Update 0 Curated news, analysis, and commentary about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world. Photo / Image: Members of the U.S. Special Operations Mountain Warfare Training Center (SOMWTC) and Danish Special Operation Forces (DANSOF) trek up the mountains of Mestersvig, Greenland, March 6, 2024. … Read more
“O God, God of our salvation, look with mercy upon your humble servants, hear us and have mercy on us: for behold, those who desire to fight have gathered against Holy Rus’, seeking to divide and destroy its unified people.” Introduction Since the reforms of Peter the … Read more
Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat. At present, the American people are observing allegedly successful tactics in the monitoring and destruction of alleged drug running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard are intercepting oil tankers of the so-called Russian “Shadow Fleet” while conducting a selective blockade of Venezuela. We also witnessed a remarkably … Read more
Special Forces operators in team rooms around the world are talking about the new NSS and NDS. They are trying to judge what it means for their regions. They are trying to see what it means for their teams and the missions they will be told to execute. I miss those arguments. I miss the map on the table, the … Read more
Apply to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s internships for undergraduate and graduate students here. DIA-Sponsored programs DIA Sponsored Programs offer valuable work experience for college students at every education level. DIA seeks the best and brightest students to bring their knowledge and skills to our multifaceted workforce.
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. China’s Xi, Now Alone Atop His Military, Is the Sole Voice in Tackling Taiwan 2. Missiles filled with water and broken silos. Inside Xi’s corrupt military 3. Iran’s Gen Z Helped Propel the Protests. They Paid With Their Lives. 4. Before Any Strike on Iran, U.S. Needs … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Trump’s Armada Is Getting in Place. Now He Must Decide What to Do With Iran. 2. The Maduro Operation: Five Insights On Power And International Relations – Analysis 3. Panama High Court Gives Trump a Win Over Canal by Ousting Hong Kong Port Operator 4. Essay | How America First … Read more
‘Narco sub’ seized on way to Europe with £520m of cocaine reports that Portuguese authorities intercepted a semi-submersible vessel near the Azores carrying nearly nine tons of cocaine valued at about £520 million. Investigators said the crew used a fiberglass “narco-submarine” designed to evade radar and operate across the Atlantic shipping corridor. Officials described the seizure as evidence of increasingly … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Experts have questions about the new National Defense Strategy—on China, force design, and more 2. What the Indo-Pacific thinks of the new US National Defense Strategy 3. Opinion | Why the U.S. Needs Diego Garcia 4. Do Americans think China will overtake the US? The results of … Read more
In The Impact of Chinese Organized Crime in Latin America on the Region’s Resources and Environment, published by Legado a las Américas, R. Evan Ellis explains how Chinese organized crime poses a direct threat to Latin America’s natural resources, governance, and hemispheric security. Drawing on testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, Ellis documents how criminal networks linked … Read more