Small Wars

This Week at War: Winners and Losers of the Defense Budget

Who benefits from the Pentagon's Rumsfeldian shift toward technology and special ops?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JANUARY 27, 2012

This Week at War: Iran's Learning Curve

Why we should take Tehran's threat to cut off the Strait of Hormuz seriously.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JANUARY 20, 2012

This Week at War: Playing Risk

America's new defense strategy makes some pretty bold assumptions about the future of warfare.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JANUARY 13, 2012

This Week at War: The Gathering Storm in the Gulf

What Iran should learn from Japan's pre-World War II mistakes.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JANUARY 6, 2012

This Week at War: Preparing for the Next Korean War

Kim Jong Un's forces could test the South soon. But don't expect it to look like 1950.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | DECEMBER 23, 2011

This Week at War: Arms Race on the Gulf

Will it take Saudi nukes to deter Iranian nukes?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | DECEMBER 16, 2011

This Week at War: Disposable Warfare

When you go to war with robots, occasional losses are unavoidable.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | DECEMBER 9, 2011

This Week at War: The Pakistan Equation

Islamabad enjoys significant leverage over Washington, but it won't last forever.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | DECEMBER 2, 2011

This Week at War: Bombs vs. Shovels

The escalating arms race between the Pentagon's bombmakers and Tehran's tunnel diggers.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | NOVEMBER 18, 2011

This Week at War: Doing More With Less

How can the U.S. still field a global military force in an age of austerity?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | NOVEMBER 11, 2011

This Week at War: Europe Powers Down

What would a break-up of the European Union mean for NATO?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | NOVEMBER 4, 2011

This Week at War: Mowing the Grass

Kenya and Turkey struggle to control the chaos next door.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | OCTOBER 28, 2011

This Week at War: Waiting for the Cyberbarbarians

If cyberwar is such a threat, why is the Pentagon doing so little to prepare for it?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | OCTOBER 21, 2011

This Week at War: Waiting for the First Punch

Why the U.S. won't pre-emptively attack Iran.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | OCTOBER 14, 2011

This Week at War: Corporate Downsizing Comes to the Pentagon

The White House falls in love with drones, and out of love with COIN -- and that's just the beginning.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | OCTOBER 7, 2011

This Week at War: Let's Talk About China

A new book argues that it's time to have an open conversation about the security challenges posed by the Middle Kingdom's rise, even if Beijing gets offended. 

BY ROBERT HADDICK | SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

This Week at War: The New Pacific Theater

The United States and its allies take the first steps toward countering a growing China.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

This Decade at War

What have we learned about combat since 9/11?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

This Week at War: The Pentagon's China Syndrome

A new report on the Middle Kingdom's growing military capabilities could lead to a war ... over defense spending.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

This Week at War: Hold That Model

It's too early to call Libya a success story.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | AUGUST 26, 2011

This Week at War: The Libya Model

Should the tactics used to bring down Qaddafi be applied elsewhere?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | AUGUST 22, 2011

This Week at War: Talking Time in Libya

Why it may still be possible to cut a deal with Qaddafi.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | AUGUST 19, 2011

This Week at War: Outsourcing the Drug War

Can U.S. private contractors turn the tide in Mexico's violent drug war?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | AUGUST 12, 2011

This Week at War: Into the Unknown

How can the Pentagon plan for future wars when it doesn't know what its budget will be?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | AUGUST 5, 2011

This Week at War: The Long Shadow of Battles Past

What lessons can we learn from the way the U.S. ends its wars?

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JULY 22, 2011

This Week at War: Petraeus's Next Campaign

The new CIA chief will take on the covert war in Pakistan.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JULY 15, 2011

This Week at War: Rumsfeld’s Revenge

Robert Gates was certainly more popular, but his predecessor was far more influential.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JULY 8, 2011

This Week at War: The Bremer Test

Iraqi reconstruction as a cautionary tale for Libya.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JULY 1, 2011

This Week at War: End of the COIN Era?

Obama's Afghan withdrawal speech may mark the end of the U.S. counterinsurgency experiment.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JUNE 23, 2011

This Week at War: Moral Hazard at NATO

Europe may not be able to rely on America's free security guarantee forever.

BY ROBERT HADDICK | JUNE 17, 2011