I have wondered many times whether external reality exists independently from how the observer sees it. What, in other words, is reality? A few years ago, in the Italian town of Monza, keeping a goldfish in a bowl was banned. The explanation was that it was cruel to keep a fish in a bowl with curved sides, because the fish would have only a distorted view of reality...

The United States’ prospects for success against the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan seem inexorably linked to its ability to inspire co-operation among disparate actors in a land of dynamic alliances. To centralize power in a way that will keep the Taliban from establishing sanctuary—much less overt control—in significant regions of the troubled state, the United States and its allies must find ways to foster a capable Kabul government...

Immediately after the Soviet Union’s occupation and annexation of Estonia in June 1940, Estonians commenced various types of resistance, both passive and open, against this foreign power. In the context of the conventional warfare that prevailed in the 20th century, the resistance that arose in Estonia, culminating in the summer of 1941 as the German invasion of the Soviet Union commenced, was viewed by Soviet historians as an inseparable part of World War II...

The Forest Brothers’ resistance movement in post–world war II Estonia is a topic that has received quite a lot of attention in recent literature, from many different perspectives. At the same time, no study has been published so far that examines the Forest Brothers’ activities as a military operation...

The nexus between some terrorist organizations and the illegal drug trade has broadened since the end of the Cold War.1According to a recent study, “The illegal drug trade is estimated to turn over more than $330 billion annually,” and terrorist organizations have actively participated in this trade. In order to combat terrorist activities effectively, counterterrorism forces and agencies should address the question of funding, of which drug trafficking is a main source...

Human rights are recognized worldwide as a means to protect the individual from abuses and to guarantee each and every human being the freedom to pursue his own prerogatives. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was written in the midst of the French Revolution, and was followed by the Declaration of Human Rights issued by the U.N. in 1948, shortly after the Second World War...

This interview is taken from the collection of the Combating Terrorism Archive Project.1 LTC Kashif Jamal Khan, Pakistani Air Force, spoke on 6 May 2013 with LTC Ramey Wilson, U.S. Army, about LTC Wilson’s career as a military medical officer...

If you’re reading this column, odds are you’re involved to some degree in the service and defense of your country. The odds are even better that as a result of your service, you’re presumed to be a man or woman of high personal ethics. In most cases, that will be the default expectation, but there are, of course, exceptions...

In this concise JSOU monograph, Dr. Rich Yarger considers the 21st century security environment, previous work on special operations theory, and various other perspectives of SOF gleaned from his research to synthesize an American SOF school of thought...