counterinsurgency

The United States military failed America in Afghanistan. It wasn’t a tactical failure. It was a failure of leadership. The ascent of David Petraeus and the Army’s rediscovery of counterinsurgency doctrine led many to believe that the military had dramatically adapted itself for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately the transformation was only skin deep. Petraeus […]

In the early 1960s the United States Army Special Forces was engaged in a secretive mission in the remote country of Laos in Southeast Asia. During this time we were in the midst of a Cold War with the Soviet Union, Red China, and other communist bloc nations. The perception (and reality) was that slowly […]

On 6 June, 2011, the men from Bravo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion were patrolling near a village in Afghanistan’s Sangin Valley. That morning, all women, children, and livestock could be observed quickly evacuating the village, an occurrence termed “mass exodus,” which preceded all significant attacks against the Marines. This was observed by three surveillance aircraft, two […]

The conflict in Yemen cannot fairly be described as a singular war. The main war is being fought between a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states who back the Sunni-dominated internationally recognized government against Shia clans called the Houthis. But amid this, another war is being fought against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemeni-based […]

As the world continues to react to the horrific terrorist attacks in Brussels, it is becoming increasingly clear that the European authorities are utterly baffled.

Boko Haram kidnaps hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls to be used as sex slaves. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb guns down dozens of victims at the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Still other terrorists attack the Radisson Blu in Mali, just one week after the Islamic State attacked Paris. Africa has been suffering from […]

Terrorism does not adhere to geographical boundaries and can not be considered an issue that is the problem of one, or any, country in particular.

There are those who suspect that the reason for their reticence in extraditing him was to avoid some of the cartels’ influence in the higher levels of government coming to light in the US.

Following the Iraqi government breakup of a Sunni protest camp in Ramadi on Dec 30, fighting erupted in Fallujah, with the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham seizing the southern half of the city.  The black Al Qaeda battle flags now fly from government buildings in Fallujah.  The Iraqi government is saying that the […]

Modern warfare, as waged by the US, seems to be mostly about timelines.  In some respects this is necessary, especially in a combined-arms environment.  When you’ve got a lot of moving parts to the operation, to include ground, air, artillery, multiple units moving in the AO at the same time, having time hacks built into […]