Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Disaster Wrought By Man: The Battle For Manila, 1945, Russell W. Glenn

Journal of Strategic Security

Urban warfare tends to be intimate. If soldiers do not see the faces of those they kill—and they frequently will—those men and women will hear the screams or muffled groans of the wounded. US forces waging the battle to recapture Manila in 1945 experienced these horrors. Yet it was the noncombatants who suffered far more; 100,000—approximately one of every ten Manileños at the time—died during the fighting. Thousands more suffered wounds, disease, or struggled with hunger and malnutrition. Recent fighting in Syria, Ukraine, Khartoum, and elsewhere tells us too little has changed three-quarters of a century later.

Though urban warfare …

Urban Security: From High-Intensity Crime To Large-Scale Combat Operations And Everything In Between, John P. Sullivan, Ph.D., Nathan P. Jones, Ph.D., Daniel W. Argomedo, Ph.D.

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence And Urban Operations, Anthony King

Journal of Strategic Security

It is widely believed that AI is about to revolutionise military operations. Many scholars have claimed that AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons, especially drone swarms, are about to take over the battlefield. This article assesses the merits of those claims in relation to urban operations. Examining the cases of the Joint Special Operations Command in Baghdad in 2004-08 and the IDF's Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, it argues that AI will primarily be for military intelligence and targeting, rather than lethal autonomy.

Digitized Statecraft In Multilateral Treaty Participation: Global Quasi-Legislative Behavior Of 193 Sovereign States. By Takashi Inoguchi And Lien Thi Quynh Le. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2021., Melisa Perut, Etel Solingen, Ph.D.

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Military Advisors, Service Strategies, And Great Power Competition, Mike Anderson

Journal of Strategic Security

United States professional military advisors play a critical role across the spectrum of conflict within the various services’ strategies in support of the overall National Defense Strategy. In an era of great power competition, the role of advisory forces within the shadow of large-scale conflict, provide a crucial edge for the US military services fulfilling their strategic role. Within each of the services’ unique strategies - the Army’s multidomain operations, the Marine Corps expeditionary advanced base operations nested within the Navy’s broader littoral operations in a contested environment, and the Air Force’s forward projecting agile basing concept - advisors from …

Distinguishing Principled Beliefs From Causal Beliefs In American Foreign Policy, Leo Blanken, Justin Overbaugh

Journal of Strategic Security

We use the concepts of “principled beliefs” and “causal beliefs” to critically interrogate American foreign policy during the Post-Cold War era (1990-2016). This period was characterized by an American push to establish a globalized Liberal order that conflated principled beliefs (beliefs about what is normatively right and wrong) with causal beliefs (beliefs about the way the word objectively works) with pernicious consequences. We examine the sources of this conflation and offer recommendations to rectify this problem moving forward.

Taiwan’S Asymmetrical Defense: Policies And Alternatives, Shang-Su Wu

Journal of Strategic Security

In view of the increasingly serious threats by China’s rising military power, Taiwan has been compelled to adjust its strategy towards asymmetrical warfare owing to its inferior military capabilities. Taiwan does not have a better alternative to an asymmetrical strategy because it cannot return to a symmetrical strategy or move to a strategy centered on people’s war. Through its indigenous defense industry and an external arms supply by Washington, Taipei has built up considerable capabilities for sea denial against Beijing’s sophisticated platforms that are indispensable for thwarting invasion. These denial capabilities enhance the island’s defense, but Taiwan’s various conditions represent …

Creating Light At Tunnel’S End: Ukraine’S Post-War Urban Recovery, Russell W. Glenn

Journal of Strategic Security

The US response to Iraq’s recovery in the aftermath of 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom suffered from an initial conclusion that it was the country’s petroleum infrastructure rather than its electrical networks that were in greater need of recovery resources. The resulting misallocation of resources delayed power restoration to much of the country and frustrated those in affected regions.

Whether the cause is war or a catastrophe sparked by Mother Nature, accurately identifying and correctly prioritizing post-disaster requirements is fundamental to an effective and efficient response. Ukraine has demonstrated a commendable ability to repair war damage even as conflict continues, but …

Decision Advantage: Intelligence In International Politics From The Spanish Armada To Cyberwar. By Jennifer E. Sims. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022., Adam D.M. Svendsen

Journal of Strategic Security

This article provides an annotated review essay of Jennifer E. Sims’ book, Decision Advantage (2022). She communicates several valuable insights into how intelligence manifests in international affairs. Qualities are accomplished through Sims’ development of the concept and theory of ‘decision advantage’ in a variety of intelligence contexts, articulated via a series of different historical case studies ranging chronologically from the Spanish Armada to Cyberwar. Alongside acknowledging intelligence systems and engineering, notions of ‘intelligence power’ and ‘intelligence advantage(s)’ emerge as central, together with ideas of agility and adaptability amongst exponents. While undeniably forming a useful start, what Sims’ work ultimately discloses …

Understanding Pakistan’S Nuclear Security Regime, Tahir Azad, Karl Dewey

Journal of Strategic Security

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 there has been renewed attention on the security and protection of civilian nuclear infrastructure. This has been a long-standing issue in Pakistan, where the security of the country’s nuclear estate has attracted considerable international attention for decades. However, rather than looking at Pakistan’s civilian estate, assessments have instead prioritised the security of the country’s nuclear arsenal. They have also been widely divergent: Western analysts have raised serious concerns over Pakistan’s ability to secure sensitive nuclear materials, the country’s domestic instability and its poor non-proliferation history. In contrast Pakistani officials downplay these risks, …