INSIDE THE KREMLIN’S GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY
In this episode of A Better Peace, host Dr. Tom Spahr interviews Russian intelligence expert Sean Wisweser about his forthcoming book, *Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War*. Wisweser explains how his CIA career, extensive Russian language skills, and collaborations with academic mentors shaped the book’s blend of heavy citation and personal anecdotes from interactions with the SVR, GRU, and FSB. He debunks popular myths that portray Russian spies as uniformly elite, highlighting endemic corruption and operational failures that hampered Russia’s campaign in Ukraine. Finally, Wisweser describes how state‑controlled media and historical narratives about World War II are used to sustain domestic support for Putin’s invasion.
ESTABLISHING THE COMBINED JOINT INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE – POLAR REGIONS
The United States and its Arctic and Antarctic partners are proposing a Combined Joint Interagency Task Force for the Polar Regions (CJIATF‑PR) to counter the People’s Republic of China’s expanding “allfare” operations, which blend legal, illegal and irregular activities. Chinese...
HUMAN AGENCY IN THE AGE OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
In this episode of A Better Peace, host Dr. Tom Spahr interviews Army War College faculty Lt. Col. Blair Wilcox and Col. Chase Metcalf about their research on the interaction between human commanders and artificial intelligence in military operations. Drawing...
THE RISE OF NON-STATE SPECIAL OPERATIONS
In this episode of A Better Peace, Dr. Craig Whiteside discusses his research on "non‑state special operations," arguing that violent non‑state actors can plan and execute missions with strategic impact traditionally associated with state special‑operations forces. He outlines the blind...
INSOMNIA, TRAUMA, AND SUBSTANCES MENTAL HEALTH AND U.S. SERVICEMEMBERS
U.S. servicemembers are experiencing a sharp increase in mental‑health diagnoses, with a 17% rise between 2022 and 2023. Only 13% of clinicians possess sufficient cultural competence to treat veteran populations, and merely 31.7% of affected personnel receive any care, while...
SHALL I PLAY A GAME? WARGAMING IN PME
After four years of experimentation, Keith Burkepile concludes that wargaming is essential for professional military education. He describes how the Joint Overmatch board game was integrated into the Army War College curriculum, highlighting faculty preparation, early introduction, and realistic expectations...
SEEING FIRST, WINNING LATER THE RISE OF SPACE IN U.S. WARFARE
Benjamin Moseman's analysis traces the evolution of U.S. space assets from the limited satellite reconnaissance of Operation Linebacker II to the fully integrated, real‑time intelligence that powered the 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer. The article shows how early shortcomings in space‑based situational...
THE LONG ARC OF THE IRAQ WARS
In this episode of A Better Peace, host Ron Granary talks with Sam Helfont, an Iraq War veteran and scholar, about his new Oxford Very Short Introduction, *The Iraq Wars*. Helfont argues that the Gulf War, the 2003 invasion, and...
WHEN STRATEGY LEAVES THE PAGE WHY WARGAMING STILL MATTERS
In this episode, Wes Daugherty argues that while writing is essential for clarifying strategic thought, it cannot test how leaders perform against a thinking adversary. He illustrates this with a classroom example where a well‑written analysis collapsed in a wargame...