War on the Rocks
A platform for analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens.
U.S. Troops in Syria Are Critical For Multiple Missions: Keep Them On
Mar 8, 2024 · The Middle East has long been defined by complex conflicts, yet pride of place is likely Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. U.S. forces, operating there since 2014, officially against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are involved in one of the more perplexing elements of that conflict.
American Defense Planning in the Shadow of Protracted War
Nov 18, 2024 · The Decisive Battle Bias. As most U.S. observers agree, China is the rightful pacing challenge for the United States due to its economic growth, military strength, and revisionist ambitions. Despite skepticism in some quarters, there is also an informal consensus that intervening to defeat an invasion of Taiwan should be the pacing scenario for Department …
Escaping Russia’s Backyard: Armenia’s Strategic Defense Shift
Nov 5, 2024 · Leonid Nersisyan is a defense analyst and a senior research fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia. He focuses on military reform, defense technologies, and the interplay of geopolitical and regional stability. His research interests include Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries’ armed forces, defense industry and …
Professionalism is the Foundation of the Army and We Will …
Mar 18, 2024 · Gen. Gary Brito is the commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is responsible for strengthening the Army profession, building the next generation of soldiers and leaders, and delivering holistic solutions to the future force.
Seizing the Moment: Armenia and Azerbaijan at a Crossroads
Dec 5, 2024 · The geopolitical turbulence triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Western efforts to counter Moscow, and uncertainties surrounding the future of U.S. foreign policy underscore the strategic imperative of stabilizing the South Caucasus.
Can the United Kingdom and France Team Up in the Third Nuclear …
Oct 31, 2024 · Europe’s only nuclear powers have a lot in common. France and the United Kingdom have both been contributors to NATO’s nuclear deterrence posture since the Ottawa Communique of 1974.
Forging the Force: A Joint Task Force in the Indo-Pacific
Apr 26, 2024 · Referring to the People’s Liberation Army, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently reported to Congress that “we haven’t faced a threat like this since World War II.”The nature of this threat should compel allied militaries …
Addressing the U.S. Military Recruiting Crisis
Mar 10, 2023 · The other services barely met their active-duty recruiting goals last year, but it will be harder for them to do so in 2023. They all accelerated their delayed entry applicants at the end of the last fiscal year, leaving them with a far shallower pool to draw from this year. The Marine Corps may be able to compensate for this problem because its outstanding retention rates last …
What Would Be Japan’s Role in a New Korean War?
Oct 3, 2024 · Japan in the Korean War. Shortly after North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel on the morning of June 25, 1950, they employed their version of Blitzkrieg, forcing South Korean forces to retreat all the way to Pusan in the southeastern part of the peninsula. Although President Harry S. Truman announced on June 27, 1950 that U.S. forces would intervene …