After a decade of vigorous fighting in Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are beginning to understand that a conventional battlefield military strategy, conducted by traditionally organized, trained, and equipped forces, does not work against a determined irregular adversary

It is sometimes said that United States military personnel and policymakers are more interested in making history than reading it. Due to this lack of local knowledge and cultural awareness, many of the United States’ modern wars—primarily those unconventional or irregular in nature—have turned out rather poorly...

The tax man should think twice before weighing in when professionals debate CT and COIN. But working in the tax profession will teach you a thing or two about the relationship between government and those governed...

During our first few academic quarters at NPS, my thesis partner, Wing Commander Srinivas Ganapathiraju (Indian Air Force), and I engaged in some sporadic dialogue while reflecting on the idea of how a country’s in-stability might make it the breeding ground for the kinds of insurgencies that are of interest to our respective countries’ armed forces.

The decade since the United States began its war against al Qaeda in Afghanistan has brought changes to how militaries operate. The insights gained during this time are being captured as part of the DoD-sponsored Counter-Terrorism Archive Project (CTAP), which preserves critical lessons applicable to future engagements.

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’s cunning argument for the “Islamization” of Pakistan in the 1970s enabled him to weaken his secular opponents and consolidate a decade of authoritarian rule over the country. His dogmatic Islamist reforms—especially with the amendment of the blasphemy laws—transformed the fabric of Pakistani society. Although the blasphemy laws originated in British-controlled India in 1860 to deter religious persecution of heterogeneous groups, Zia-ul-Haq’s tainted amendment of the laws paved the way for institutionalized socio-religious intolerance and violent extremism in Pakistan.

History books are so filled with stories of rebellion that it would seem that rebellion is a common thing. If we look at history as the flow of days and events, for most of those days for the vast majority of humans, rebellion has been a very rare thing.

When an individual retires or moves to a job with a different employer, there may be limits placed upon that individual’s activities in the new position. The former employee may be obligated to adhere to a rule that limits his or her future employment status.

India has witnessed one of the world’s highest levels of terrorist violence in the last three decades, with a unique hybrid of both domestic and international terrorism. Two audacious attacks, one on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the other in Mumbai in 2008, along with scores of smaller ones that have left thousands dead over the past ten years alone, have unsurprisingly brought into question the effectiveness of India’s security and intelligence agencies in counterterrorism.

The 9/11 Memorial website, set up to accompany the long-awaited Freedom Tower complex in lower Manhattan, reflects a longing for closure to an event that most Americans cannot seem to let go.