Al Qaeda and the Islamic State thrive in lawless and ungoverned spaces where there is no rule of law to keep them in check. Al Qaeda’s home base in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is the epitome of such a place, but the tide there has been turning against them over the last decade,…
Category: Warfare
World War Two History: The Nazi’s and the A-Bomb
Being a World War Two History buff and also an amateur historian and writer, I am always on the lookout for new books, movies or documentaries on the subject. Recently, Netflix came out with a 6-part Norwegian Mini-Series entitled The Heavy Water War that portrays Nazi Germany’s race to develop Atomic Weapons and the Allies subsequent…
Studies in Warfare: Russia Needs Three Days to Conquer Estonia and Latvia
In the event of an invasion, NATO’s options are ‘all bad’ according to a new study NATO has no way of stopping a Russian conventional invasion of Estonia and Latvia short of nuclear war, according to a new RAND Corporation study. That’s not surprising in itself. Russia has one of the world’s most powerful militaries,…
There’s Nothing Quite Like an Armored Vehicle Race
While watching this try to imagine a fleet of these (including Tanks, APC’s and Amphibs, like 50 or more) attacking at once…the “swarm” tactic is widely used in both Russian and Chinese Military doctrines, and not just with Armored Vehicles, but also with Drones and Attack Aircraft. -SF Russian, Chinese combat vehicles tackle obstacles, explosions, and even…
Russian Sub Activity Topping Cold War Levels
Key Points NATO is seeing Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic return to Cold War levels Russian submarines have also made a major jump in technical capability, according to NATO’s top naval commander Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic is currently equalling or even surpassing Cold War levels, according to NATO’s top naval…
Studies in Terrorism: Hamas The “Merchants of War” Who Seek to Destroy Israel
In the words of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the tunnels are being dug not only to “defend the Gaza Strip, but to serve as a launching pad to reach all of Palestine.” As one can see from any map of Palestine, “all of Palestine” does not mean living in peace alongside Israel; it means supplanting…
Lessons From Stalingrad 73 Years Later
As an amateur World War Two Historian, there are several theaters of the War you must study to get a grasp on the War as a whole. The European and Pacific Theaters take up the bulk of this study of course, but one that has fascinated me for several years is the German/Soviet Theater of…
Evolving the Marine Corps for Irregular Warfare
The concept of an evolution to a new type of warfare has been understood for decades, but the U.S. military, the Marine Corps included, has failed to adapt to the changing methods of waging war. The type of warfare that goes by the names irregular, counterinsurgency, low-intensity, and hybrid, among others, is not new…
Welcome to the Age of the Commando
A FEW months ago, my wife and I had dinner with a couple we didn’t know very well. It was awkward at first, but there was wine, and conversation soon followed. At one point, the wife asked about my tour in Iraq, where I served four years as a cavalry officer. I began talking about…
Crusader Corner: The Western Volunteers Fighting ISIS
“A lot of people come over here thinking they’re going to be Rambo. It’s not like that.” The village had no name. Everyone who had known the name of the village was now dead or had fled. When the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had recaptured the settlement from ISIS that spring, it was so full of…