Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Hegseth Outlines New National Defense Strategy During Speech at Reagan Library 2. The National Security Strategy: The Good, the Not So Great, and the Alarm Bells 3. Ten Jolting Takeaways from Trump’s New National Security Strategy 4. Superpower Competition: The Missing Chapter in Trump’s Security Strategy 5. … Read more
R.D. Hooker Jr.’s “America’s Special Operations Problem” argues that SOF remain essential but that post-9/11 growth has “more than doubled in size” and elevated SOF to the face of the US military in ways that now warrant a hard look at strategic balance, especially as counterterrorism demands continue to shift. He suggests that such heavy investment in forces optimized for … Read more
Access SOF News HERE: Special Operations News – Dec 8, 2025 December 8, 2025 SOF News Update 0 Curated news, analysis, and commentary about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world. Photo / Image: Graphic illustration featuring 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) during training operations at Camp Shelby, Missouri, July, 2025. (U.S. Army graphic by Sgt. Jacob Bradford) Do you receive … Read more
A Strategic Opening: Fighting Haiti’s Criminal Insurgency by Bruce Vitor (Florida International University), Guido L. Torres (Irregular Warfare Initiative), José Gustavo Arocha (Center for a Secure Free Society), and Leonardo Coutinho (Center for a Secure Free Society) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Haiti is experiencing the most severe security collapse in its modern history with gangs consolidating territorial control, degrading state authority, and … Read more
John Vandiver reports in this Stars and Stripes article that the Pentagon has told European allies it expects them to assume the bulk of NATO’s conventional defense responsibilities for the continent by 2027, raising questions over the pace of European capability growth and whether Washington could scale back some NATO participation if the deadline is missed. European defense spending has … Read more
Compromises During the Early Stages of the Cold War 1947 – 1963: An Era of Equilibrium and Stalemate Abstract After qualitatively examining various events shaping the Cold Era, this paper argues that global stability was not only maintained through diplomatic efforts, but through a series of recognitions of boundaries amongst superpowers. This was demonstrated through mechanisms such as economic dependencies, … Read more
Since President Trump took office, he has focused on the American homeland, leading to a foreign policy characterized by isolationism and transactions. For Africa, this has meant expecting little support in areas that do not directly benefit the United States, exemplified by the Trump Administration’s rollback of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which in 2024 provided $6.5 billion … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Hegseth declares end of US ‘utopian idealism’ with new military strategy 2. See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could Unfold 3. Chinese Jets Locked Radar on Japanese Fighters 4. PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 5. New US National Security Strategy reveals Trump … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. U.S. Flips History by Casting Europe—Not Russia—as Villain in New Security Policy 2. China’s Growth Is Coming at the Rest of the World’s Expense 3. Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Targets Even Closest Wartime Allies 4. A look at CIA’s zero units after the National Guard shooting 5. Accused DC pipe bomber told FBI … Read more
As another turbulent year in global security winds down, the holiday season offers a rare pause—a moment to step back from the day-to-day churn of operations, analysis, and commentary. It’s also a chance to read more deeply. This curated holiday reading list, generated by members from the Small Wars Journal staff, brings together works that illuminate the evolving character of … Read more
The 2012 rise of the Mouvement de Mars 23 (M23) as a Rwandan proxy force triggered swift international condemnation, successfully impeding Rwanda’s momentum through bilateral sanctions and a United Nations-backed offensive operation. However, over the past decade, Rwanda has strategically endeared itself to Western donors, particularly the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, by demonstrating itself as a capable … Read more
Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. National Security Strategy of the United States of America 2. Opinion | Hegseth’s Order and the Admiral 3. Democrats Troubled by Video of Second Strike on Alleged Drug Boat 4. China debate delayed Trump security strategy 5. SECWAR Changes MISO Back to PSYOP 6.US halts plans to … Read more
Setting the Geo-Strategic Frame The world is sliding into a long political war. It moves without ceremony across the seas and archipelagos of the Asia-Indo-Pacific. Its front lines run through villages, ports, digital networks, and the minds of men and women who live under pressure from four authoritarian powers that now operate with shared purpose. China, Russia, Iran, and north … Read more
“The 14th Annual Special Operations Forces and Irregular Warfare Symposium will dive into the complexities of unconventional and hybrid warfare strategies, with a renewed focus on the strategic and operational challenges shaping the SOF enterprise in 2025 and beyond. This year’s symposium will gather senior leaders and decision-makers from across USSOCOM, the military services, regional combatant commands, international partners, government … Read more
The Discourse at Small Wars Journal moves at the speed of relevance—but we also look back to history to understand our past and where we’re heading. The ARSOF History Project offers essential context for understanding the origins, evolution, and future of America’s Special Operations Forces. Explore these SWJ articles that link USSOF today with its past: – Who We Are, … Read more
Earlier this week, USCENTCOM issued a press release announcing Task Force SCORPION STRIKE, the first US one-way-attack drone squadron in the Middle East. The squadron is equipped with low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) aircraft—$35,000, long-range, largely autonomous drones reverse-engineered from Iran’s Shahed-136 and launchable from catapults, rocket-assisted rails, or mobile vehicles. According to an ABC Report, the system is … Read more
When Sri Lankan armed forces fought with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) for thirty years, they confronted their biggest most ferocious threat. This threat came from the asymmetrical advancements of LTTE guerrillas, which challenged the conventional military strategies of Sri Lankan forces. With time, and at a heavy price, Sri Lankan forces became accustomed to grappling with asymmetrical … Read more
Gangs, Pseudo-Militaries, and Other Modern Mercenaries. By Max G. Manwaring. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 2010. ISBN: 978-0806141466. Maps. Photographs. Glossary. Notes. Sources Cited. Index. Pp. i, 258. $26.95. In Gangs, Pseudo-Militaries, and Other Modern Mercenaries, Max G. Manwaring argued that contemporary conflict had become a form of “indirect but total war,” where state and nonstate actors deploy gangs, militias, … Read more
How the US Army Command and General Staff College Combine AI-related Skills with Military Fundamentals to achieve Cognitive Overmatch Introduction: Modern conflicts such as the ongoing war in Ukraine demonstrate the enduring necessity of technical adaptation Regional conflicts like Nagorno-Karabakh and Sudan provide contemporary examples of how quickly crisis can escalate into war with regional and global implications. Strategic leaders … Read more