Just War and Culture, Baby!
Iran s greatest weakness may have been the static posture it maintained while its external defense in depth was progressively dismantled. However, that comes with a caveat. (See my article What Would War with Iran Look Like? Its regional network through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon had once resembled a modern strategic ribat, extending Iran s defensive frontier Continue reading "The Phantom Invasion…
Ever since the start of the U.S.-Iran war, or conflict, however one wants to describe it, the situation has placed a tremendous amount of pressure on China. That pressure comes from several directions: tariffs, technological restrictions, energy insecurity involving oil and other resources, and declining access to certain markets. Because of that, I have started Continue reading "China s Closing…
I. Introduction: The Problem in Brief In war, an action can accomplish its immediate purpose while simultaneously altering the surrounding environment in ways that strengthen, weaken, reverse, or transform the original success. Take counterinsurgency, or COIN, as an example. The United States employed COIN extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its immediate purpose was often to Continue reading…
Intro Most of us know War of the Worlds primarily through film, whether it is Byron Haskin s 1953 version or Steven Spielberg s 2005 adaptation, though both ultimately trace back to H. G. Wells s 1898 novel of the same title. After recently watching the 1953 version and revisiting Spielberg s 2005 adaptation, I started thinking about the Continue reading "The Battlefield Was Alive: War of the…
I. Erra and the Sibitti “Humanity. You never had it from the beginning.”— Charles Bukowski Erra s weapons grow impatient during peace. Ours learned to wear human faces. A mysterious yet ominous idea—one that leaves the reader asking: Who was Erra? Over centuries of Mesopotamian syncretism, Erra became closely associated—sometimes virtually interchangeable—with Nergal, the god of Continue reading…
Beast from the East is officially on the march. Today I signed my author s contract with Helion Company (https://www.helion.co.uk/), based in the UK, for The Beast from the East: The Mongol Invasion of Europe, 1236–1242. Years of research are becoming a reality. Publication is planned for 2027, arriving around the 800-year anniversary of the Continue reading "The Beast from the East: The Mongol…
Introduction On 12 April 2026, President Trump announced a move to close the Strait of Hormuz effectively, but with a twist. This isn t a literal blockade of all shipping. It s a coercive strategy aimed at undermining Iran s ability to control and monetize the strait. However, those in the EU, particularly Britain, do not agree. Sky Continue reading "NATO Isn’t Breaking. It’s Being Repriced."
For many weeks, there has been a common argument about any operation around Kharg Island that always lands on the same concerns: it s just too hard, too exposed, too squeezed by the terrain and the Strait. Because of this, drones will fill the sky, and the defender has every advantage; every movement gets funneled into Continue reading "To Kharg, or not to Kharg—that s the Question. But Kharg is…
Introduction This is a follow-up to my last article titled What Would War with Iran Look Like?, published on February 25th, 2026. In that article, I outlined what a conflict with Iran might look like militarily and strategically. In this somewhat shorter article, I want to examine what has actually been done strategically and tactically Continue reading "Pressure Without Victory: The Strategic…
So what would a war with Iran look like? I have no idea, but I have a rough idea, like most. I think the first thing we have to establish is that the real objective isn t destruction — it s controlled escalation. Before the first bomb, the core operational question is what political outcome is being Continue reading "What Would War with Iran Look Like?"