War On The Rocks

It is no coincidence that Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland openly raised the possibility that his country may need to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Both major parties in South Korea are doing the same. This is a response to what is…

It is 2028. An infantry company, acting as an advanced guard, maneuvers to support an attack in the Indo-Pacific. Each platoon consists of manned-unmanned squad teams using autonomous ground vehicles equipped with sensors, mortars, and…

Was Pakistan’s military gambit across the Durand Line a clever maneuver or a spectacular miscalculation? The question hangs heavy over the volatile and still-contested Afghan-Pakistani border as a dangerous cycle of escalation unfolds. In…

Last week, a meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House exploded into acrimony in front of the cameras. Since then, an era-defining drama has been unfolding across the West as Europe prepares for a world where it…

<!-- category --> March 6, 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. ***…

Chris, Zack, and Melanie have a rather somber discussion about the Trump administration’s efforts to get a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Why is Trump so insistent on getting an immediate deal? What carrots and sticks, if any, are…

In the middle of the night, a CBS News crew onboard the Cape Engaño woke to the sound of alarms. The Philippine sailors directed the media team to put on life jackets while the crew prepared to defend themselves with clubs against a…

In 2020, Walker D. Mills, Dylan “Joose” Phillips-Levine, and Collin Fox wrote “‘Cocaine Logistics’ for the Marine Corps,” where they argued that the Marine Corps could learn from drug traffickers and create covert submarines to supply…

On Feb. 20, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced, per guidance from the Department of Government Efficiency, an 8 percent reduction to programs not related to 17 priority items he has identified to spare from the downsizing…

“In a world characterized by unpredictability and increasingly frequent surprise, there are heavy penalties for ponderous decision making and slow execution.”–Richard Danzig The U.S. Air Force is losing the race to field a crewed…