Articles
Our articles cut through the noise on irregular warfare to connect strategic theory to operational reality and translate complexity into insight for practitioners and policymakers. No time to read? Check out our podcast, "Insider: Short of War," which transforms our articles into concise, engaging audio pieces you can listen to anywhere. Available directly in most of our articles and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.
Lessons From The Philippines: Irregular Warfare In Action
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the world watched as the United States began a punitive expedition to Afghanistan to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, oust the Taliban, and
Out of Africa: The Strategic Mistake of US Disengagement from Somalia
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In December 1992, as an infantry platoon commander, I was among the first Marines to land in Mogadishu at the onset of Operation Restore Hope. It was a mission that made
Not Your Grandfather’s Counterinsurgency: The United States Must Prepare for Radically New Forms of Nonstate Violence
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Twenty years of costly counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have left many national security experts—and the American public—ready to move on. However, while the United States may
Will Culture Defeat Strategy? The British Military And Irregular Warfare After Afghanistan And Iraq
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In their recent introduction to the Irregular Warfare Initiative, Jacob Shapiro and Patrick Howell propose that a combination of Russian revanchism and China’s increasingly muscular global ambitions provides ample opportunity
Failing To Train: Conventional Forces In Irregular Warfare
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. A recent election saw a nationalist Estonian party take control of the government. Frustrated by the election outcome and lack of citizenship, the ethnic Russian minority, 20 percent of the population,
China's Irregular Approach To War: The Myth Of A Purely Conventional Future Fight
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Since early March, up to 220 boats from China’s maritime militia have been moored near Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has asked the Chinese government
American Vulnerabilities In An Age Of Great Power Competition: The Case For Understanding Domestic Extremism Through An Irregular Warfare Lens
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In the United States, we often analyze distant armed conflicts and counterterrorism efforts as if watching from a remote observation tower. We keep an eye on expeditionary initiatives abroad, dissecting and
Learning To Fly: How The US Military Can Fix The Problems Plaguing Aviation Advising Missions
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In 2017, Afghan Mi-17 helicopters flown by crews from the elite Afghan 777 Special Mission Wing saved the day. Shortly after notification of an ISIS-Khorasan attack on a hospital
Gray is Here to Stay: Principles from the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance on Competing in the Gray Zone
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Earlier this month, the White House released its Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, the foreign policy blueprint that will inform the Biden administration’s national security strategy. Most analysis of the
Introducing the Irregular Warfare Initiative
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Can satire predict reality? Sometimes it definitely seems to. On May 18, 2016, the satirical Duffel Blog reported with tongue firmly in cheek that “the Pentagon’s top spokesperson said he
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