In early 1965, villagers across South Vietnam might have watched a curious military formation race through their hamlets. No, not heavily-armed troops shielded inside armored vehicles, but rural militiamen on bicycles. For nearly a year, authorities in Saigon and their American advisers considered adding bicycles to various rural units. Cheap and easy enough for provincial…
Category: Counter-Insurgency
British SAS Have been Operating in Libya
According to a leaked memo written by King Abdullah II, Jordanian troops have operated alongside UK Special Air Service troops in Libya since January. The memo was sent to US lawmakers by King Abdullah to brief them of Jordan’s plans to embed special forces “with British SAS” in Libya. The document also reveals that the…
Examining Terrorist Tactics: The Changing Logic Behind Suicide Bombings
(Note from Hammerhead: It was just announced that yet another ISIS suicide bomber killed 29 people in a Football Stadium in Baghdad). What was once purely a strategic action has become a tactical move meant to help hold territory. In October 2015, two suicide bombers killed more than 100 people outside a railway station in the Turkish capital…
Military Defense News: Increase, Don’t Decrease Marine Lethality
On February 2, the Senate Armed Services Committee heard conflicting testimonyfrom the Army and Marines about integrating women into the infantry. The Marine Corps had opposed the change, drawing the ire of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. So he took gender integration a giant step farther, ordering the Marines toabolish their separate male and female boot…
Crusader Corner: The Spreading Cancer of Islam in West Africa
Côte d’Ivoire has become the latest country in West Africa to suffer a major terror attack. No fewer than 15 civilians and three special forces troops died when six attackers opened fire on the beaches in Grand-Bassam, a seaside town that’s popular with expats. Thirty-three people were wounded. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed…
The Three Faces of Russian Spetsnaz in Syria
As the Russian drawdown from Syria continues, more information continues to emerge about the forces Moscow had committed to shoring up the Assad regime. One telling aspect is how involved Russia’s Spetsnaz special forces were in the deployment. They were involved in two of their three core missions — reconnaissance and special security missions —…
Espionage Files: Syrian Rebel Spy Chief Claims CIA Ignored Intelligence On Rise of ISIS
Free Syrian Army agent says his agents have been providing the US agency with GPS positions of its leaders and headquarters but the US has failed to act The “spymaster” of a key moderate Syrian rebel group has accused the CIA of failing to act on reams of detailed intelligence his network has been supplying…
War Movies Worth a Damn: Hyena Road
‘Hyena Road’ Brings Grinding Complexity Of Ground Combat In Afghanistan To The Screen New drama ‘Hyena Road’ takes a close look at the complex and often convoluted counterinsurgency doctrine in Afghanistan. Translating the experiences of those who served in the Global War on Terror onto film has yielded mixed results, with many movies focusing on…
Crusader Corner: The ISIS Paradox, Strength in Weakness
ISIS is a terrorist group attempting to become a state. It inherited al Qaeda’s strengths, including international networks, battle tested military doctrine and strategy, and a radical religious ideology, Jihadi Salafism. The ISIS ideology has a proven record in recruiting foreign fighters worldwide to support jihadist insurgencies and terror cells. ISIS also has some competitive…
The Rise of the Russian PMC (Private Military Contractor)
On Jan. 28, the Duma began discussing the possibility of legalizing private military companies in Russia. The law, which counts influential vice prime minister Dmitry Rogozin as a supporter, has one major goal — to ensure that Iraqi oil fields where Russian firms Rosneft and Gazprom operate no longer come under the protection of British…