Cornered, Not Conquered: Turkish Intelligence and the End of the PKK Insurgency

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In May 2025, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced it would dissolve and lay down its arms, closing an insurgency that had cost Türkiye on the order of forty thousand lives. The timing

Russian Psychological Operations and Informational Warfare in the Middle East and North Africa

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The speed of Ukrainian counter-messaging and will to fight has rendered Russian psychological operations in Ukraine ineffective. However, throughout the Middle East, Russia has successfully used information operations to frame the Israel-

Geoeconomics of Irregular Warfare: Iran and the Global Ripple Effects — Part XI

In Part Eleven of Irregular Warfare Initiative’s special series on the conflict with Iran, presented by the Economic & Legal Warfare Team, Hamlet Yousef (IWI Economic & Legal Warfare Advisor) and Ioannis (Gianni) Koskinas (CEO, Hoplite Group) are joined by special guest Dave Pitts (President, IPA; Former CIA Senior

Hidden Costs of Precision

How do drone strikes shape civilian behavior? Episode 164 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores research using 12 billion cell phone records from Yemen, revealing civilian displacement on par with natural disasters, and discusses what this means for the strategic logic of precision airpower.

Terrorism After Ideology

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. On April 29, two Jewish men were stabbed in north London in what British police declared a terrorist incident. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), an "Islamic resistance" group that

Russian Intelligence, Europe, and Putin’s Secret War

How does Russia use intelligence operations to shape the political and security environment before, alongside, and below the threshold of open conflict — and how can Europe and its transatlantic partners deny those efforts' strategic effect?

Meaning, Myth, and Force Design in U.S. Special Operations

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The debate over the future of U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) has increasingly become a debate about its past. Critics argue that decades of counterterrorism, security force assistance, and persistent global engagement

A Case for Cyber Privateering

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The United States should employ cyber corsairs to deter exploitation and attacks in the cyber domain. Malicious activity such as economic espionage, ransomware attacks, and fraud results in trillions of dollars’ worth of

What Iran's Crypto Insurance Proposal Means for Irregular Warfare and Shipping in Asia

Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. On May 17, 2026, Iran proposed a “Hormuz Safe” platform for ships seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz. This Bitcoin-denominated platform would enable cargo owners to purchase cryptographically-backed insurance instead

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