Trump’s Widespread Use of Military Goes Far Beyond Iran: ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ in Terms of Readiness
President Trump’s second‑term foreign policy has turned the U.S. military into a global strike platform, extending operations far beyond the Iran conflict. Since the Feb. 28 Tehran strike, the Pentagon has carried out ten airstrikes in Somalia, four vessel attacks in Latin America, a bombing in Ecuador, and a fuel blockade of Cuba. Simultaneous missions include a training deployment in Nigeria, planned bases in Greenland, and a surge of forces in the Middle East. Analysts warn that the cumulative “death by a thousand cuts” is eroding overall readiness for a larger war.
The New Battlespace: Cartels, Technology, and the Future of SOF in the Americas
Vanda Felbab‑Brown and Diana Paz García argue that emerging technologies are reshaping Latin American cartels, allowing them to generate revenue and project violence without relying on physical territory. Synthetic‑drug labs, AI‑driven fraud, cryptocurrency laundering, and inexpensive drones let groups like...
Putin’s Obsession with Ukraine
Four years after launching a full‑scale invasion, Vladimir Putin remains locked into a war that has cost Russia more than 1.2 million military casualties, severe equipment losses and a cascade of diplomatic setbacks. Early defeats of the army and navy, the...
Redefining Readiness: Why US Special Operations Forces Must Be Optimized for Irregular Competition
U.S. Special Operations Forces are being evaluated with conventional readiness metrics that prioritize deployability and equipment, undermining the human capital and relational capabilities essential for irregular competition. The article argues that this misalignment leads to overuse, eroding judgment, cultural fluency,...
From Science Fiction to Force Structure: Directed Energy Is Here
Directed‑energy weapons have moved from theory to operational use, offering high‑energy lasers and high‑power microwaves that dramatically lower the cost per shot compared with traditional missiles. The rise of inexpensive drone swarms, exemplified by Iran's Shahed series, forces defenders to...
4/15/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
The latest briefing aggregates a wave of geopolitical developments, highlighting Europe’s accelerated NATO fallback plan amid fears of a U.S. withdrawal, and a coordinated European post‑war strategy to free the Strait of Hormuz without American involvement. In parallel, Washington is...
Africa’s Militant Islamist Threat: Near-Record Fatalities and an Expanding Operational Footprint in 2025
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported that militant Islamist groups killed nearly 24,000 people in 2025, a 24% increase from 2024, and carried out 8,375 violent events—the highest on record. The insurgents now operate across an arc from Algeria...
From Rejection to Acceptance: Why Iran Agreed to a Ceasefire
After six weeks of intense fighting, Iran accepted a two‑week cease‑fire mediated by Pakistan, ending its initial opposition. Tehran’s leverage—blocking the Strait of Hormuz and striking regional energy infrastructure—had spiked oil prices but proved unsustainable. A credible U.S. threat to...
Revamping U.S. Military Assistance: A Four-Tier Model for a New Strategic Era
The article proposes a four‑tier model to overhaul U.S. foreign military assistance, arguing that the current $1.1 trillion program is driven by legacy relationships rather than strategic returns. It highlights misalignments such as Egypt receiving over $50 billion in military grants while...
Operational Exposure in the Age of Attribution: GRU Lessons for Digital Force Protection
The article uses the 2018 GRU intrusion against the OPCW as a case study to illustrate how ubiquitous technical surveillance (UTS) turns digital signatures into a decisive vulnerability. It argues that the Russian officers were caught not because of technical...
How Cartels Are Repositioning Into Africa
Cartel-linked drug manufacturers are moving production from the Americas to Africa, with Mexican networks establishing industrial‑scale methamphetamine labs in South Africa and Nigeria. The shift reduces interdiction risk by locating manufacturing closer to growing consumer markets and exploiting weak governance,...
The Resistance Hub: A Free, Open-Source Library for Irregular Warfare and Resistance Studies
The Resistance Hub, a free, open‑source library, consolidates core doctrine, theory, and primary source material for irregular warfare and resistance studies. Its resources page offers the ARIS series from Johns Hopkins APL, declassified OSS unconventional‑warfare manuals, and the Resistance Operating...
Transforming in Contact: The Army Needs an Unmanned Systems Command Now
The U.S. Army’s Transformation in Contact initiative calls for a dedicated Unmanned Systems Command (USAUSC) to embed drones at every level. Lessons from Ukraine’s rapid adoption of low‑cost commercial drones show how bottom‑up acquisition and integrated data networks can deliver...
Why Pakistan’s Once Little-Known Baloch Insurgency Now Matters in Washington
In December 2025 the U.S. Export‑Import Bank approved a $1.25 billion loan to fund the Reko Diq copper‑gold project in Balochistan, a move expected to generate up to $2 billion in U.S. mining‑equipment exports and create roughly 6,000 U.S. and 7,500 Pakistani jobs....
WEBINAR (04/16/26): Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution
Award‑winning journalist Anand Gopal will host a virtual webinar on April 16 to discuss his new book, “Days of Love and Rage,” which chronicles how ordinary Syrians in a northern city sparked a democratic uprising against a brutal dictatorship. The...
