War On The Rocks

How should the United States address the multiple cyber “typhoons” emanating from China? Over the past year, Chinese cyber threat actors have gained access to important U.S. networks. The most high-profile of these are Volt Typhoon, which…

Time is our most precious resource, and yet, we squander it daily. This is not just about efficiency or a better return on taxpayer dollars — it’s about our humanity. How we value and leverage time reflects how we prioritize ourselves as a…

After years of training, a recon commando marches into the briefing room and declares, “I’ve got little flying drones, cyber forensic tools, and a long-range rifle. I want a target.” The boss looks at the commando and replies, “Look, scout,…

This year began alarmingly with the terrorist attack on New Orleans’ famed Bourbon Street. The assailant, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran with a troubled past, claimed to have joined the self-proclaimed Islamic State in 2024 and…

U.S. diplomacy faces a paradox: The State Department is filled with some of the most knowledgeable foreign policy experts in the world, yet its impact is diluted by bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of focus. Secretary of State Marco…

<!-- category --> February 20, 2025 Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.…

In this show, Melanie, Chris, and Zack discuss Timothy Heath’s recent paper on China’s military capabilities. Heath argues that the People’s Liberation Army mostly focused on preserving the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, and that does not…

When most people hear the words “intelligence failure,” they think of a surprise event that an intelligence service failed to predict. But what if that’s all wrong? Are the assumptions surrounding that term based on an inaccurate…

<!-- category --> February 19, 2025 In 2021, Sameer Lalwani and Tyler Sagerstrom wrote “Avoiding a Collision Course With India,” which argued that U.S.-Indian relations risked being overlooked in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal…

One year ago, experts had many reasons to think China and North Korea would become closer than ever before. But that’s not what happened. Instead, Beijing and Pyongyang have become distinctly discordant and discourteous. This gap between…