Notable Websites and Blogs

WOTR – Strategic Guidance for Countering the Proliferation of Strategic Guidance – 20 July 2017

Image: Senior Airman Amber Carter/U.S. Air Force By Mara Karlin and Christopher Skaluba https://warontherocks.com/2017/07/strategic-guidance-for-countering-the-proliferation-of-strategic-guidance/ “Having spent good portions of our Pentagon careers in the “strategy space,” we’ve been confronted by any number of arguments about the ultimate value of the strategic guidance enterprise. Credible points can be made that the department…



C-SPAN – War, Law, and Restraint – 22 June 2017

  https://www.c-span.org/video/?430315-1/historians-discuss-use-law-conflict-war War, Law, and Restraint Professors talked about how the law is used during conflict. They cited examples from the American Civil War, the world wars, and recent international conflicts as they questioned whether law could restrain war. The panel took place at the Society for Historians of American…



The Diplomat – China’s Maritime Operation: The ‘Gray Zone’ in Black and White – 18 May 2017

Image Credit: China Defense Blog http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/chinas-maritime-operation-the-gray-zone-in-black-and-white/ There is no problem in the “gray zone” because the “gray zone” does not exist. By Ben Lowsen May 18, 2017 “Much has been made lately of China’s maritime operations in the “gray zone,” referring to operations achieving military objectives like island seizure while…


Just Security – What Do Top Legal Experts Say About the Syria Strikes? – 7 April 2017

https://www.justsecurity.org/39712/top-legal-experts-syria-strikes/ “[Just Security] asked several of the very top legal minds about their views concerning Thursday night’s airstrikes by the United States in response to the Syrian government’s reported use of chemical weapons.  [They] have provided their verbatim responses … and will be adding more.” and for a brief video (albeit…


MWI – CONCRETE BARRIERS: A FALSE COUNTERINSURGENCY IDOL – 23 March 2017

http://mwi.usma.edu/concrete-barriers-false-counterinsurgency-idol/ “In his MWI article, ‘The Most Effective Weapon on the Modern Battlefield is Concrete,’ Maj. John Spencer argues that ‘concrete contributed to reducing the complexity of the urban environment, served as a major tool in establishing stability, and functioned as a powerful weapon against enemies using safe havens within…


MWI – “WHAT AN ARMY MEGACITIES UNIT WOULD LOOK LIKE” – 7 March 2017

http://mwi.usma.edu/army-megacities-unit-look-like/ “MWI’s Maj. John Spencer writes another thought provoking piece on the Army preparing for military operations in a megacity.” See also: IT’S TIME TO CREATE A MEGACITIES COMBAT UNIT By John Spencer http://mwi.usma.edu/time-create-megacities-combat-unit/ And also: Urban Warfare: Army, Marine Corps Prepare to Fight in Megacities November 2016 By Yasmin Tadjdeh…


MWI – “WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? THE UNFORTUNATE OMISSION IN THE ARMY’S COIN DOCTRINE” – 7 March 2017

http://www.mwi.usma.edu/women-unfortunate-omission-armys-coin-doctrine/ Where Are the Women? The Unfortunate Omission in the Army’s COIN Doctrine. “Megan Anderson provides a thought provoking analysis of the Army’s counterinsurgency doctrine.” And see: FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/Repository/Materials/COIN-FM3-24.pdf See also earlier examinations from other authors: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/477665/pdf Counterinsurgency and Gender: The Case of the Female Engagement Teams http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/11096/1/Khalili_-_Gendered_Practcies_of_Counterinsurgency.pdf…