Commentary

Editor’s Note: On July 4, 1821, then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams gave the following Independence Day speech. And now, friends and countrymen, if the wise and learned philosophers of the elder world, the first observers of nutation…

As an aspiring Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course, I was taught how to prepare a program of instruction for an indigenous partner force. I learned to assess which aspects of our partner’s organization and…

On June 1, the Guardian reported that during a simulation conducted by the U.S. Air Force, an AI drone “killed” its operator. According to Col. Tucker Hamilton, chief of the Air Force’s AI Test and Operations, the drone had been ordered to…

The issue of sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine roiled German and European politics for months in late 2022. The United States and Europe had collectively committed to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Ukraine said it needed Western…

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As with many War on the Rocks readers, I was taken aback by the events of June 23rd to 25th in Russia. This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing this world-historic event at my cousin’s bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, and…

Japan’s ambitious national security and defense strategies offer the opportunity to build a far more operationally effective and deeply integrated U.S.-Japanese alliance. As Japan moves to stand up its first Permanent Joint Operational…

After decades of war in the Middle East, the joint force is retooling to pierce the bubble of China’s formidable anti-access, area-denial defenses. The national defense strategy calls China the pacing challenge and Defense Department…

There is widespread consensus among analysts that, although Russia and China have been moving toward closer cooperation through the entire post-Soviet era, the trend has accelerated rapidly since 2014. The specter of a Russian-Chinese…

On June 15, 2023, a convoy of white soldiers hit an improvised explosive device near Keibané, Mali, killing two and wounding eleven. They brutally retaliated against local villagers, killing five, including the local village chief.…