# cogs of war (audio feeds) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 1 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover cogs of war. Page: Feed: --- ## [“Zero Problems” Abroad, Plenty at Home: Reassessing al Sharaa’s Leadership in Syria](https://warontherocks.com/zero-problems-abroad-plenty-at-home-reassessing-al-sharaas-leadership-in-syria/) _2026-08-26 · Rob Geist Pinfold · War on the Rocks_ In 2025, Rob Geist Pinfold wrote, “The March Massacres Show That Syria Urgently Needs Solutions, Not Sanctions,” in which he argued that sanctions relief was a major way the West could positively engage with the new Syrian government. A year later, after sanctions relief materialized and the United States removed Syria from its list of terrorism sponsors, we asked him to revisit his arguments and… ## [The Marine Corps’ Plan for the Future of Ground Combat](https://warontherocks.com/the-marine-corps-plan-for-the-future-of-ground-combat/) _2026-08-26 · Jason Morris · War on the Rocks_ The Marine Corps just released its plan to fight against adversaries on land, and Ryan had the two architects of the plan, Ground Combat Element 2040, on the show to talk about it. They discuss drones, resilience, long-range fires, logistics, and what marines will need to survive and fight on an increasingly transparent battlefield while still preserving the critical human element.Image: Khalil… ## [Would Wartime Elections Save Democracy or End It?](https://warontherocks.com/46430/) _2026-08-26 · WOTR Staff · War on the Rocks_ Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum, only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces… ## [From Hormuz to the Caucasus: The New Geography of Energy Security](https://warontherocks.com/from-hormuz-to-the-caucasus-the-new-geography-of-energy-security/) _2026-08-26 · Aidin Panahi · War on the Rocks_ Every crisis in the Middle East returns the world’s attention to the same stretch of water. When tankers are seized, or missiles fly near the Persian Gulf, oil prices move, insurers reprice risk, shipping reroutes, and the United States repositions naval and airpower to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The reflex is sound, because the strait carries volumes nothing else can. Alongside the maritime… ## [Russia’s Next Top General: Promotions in Russian Military Leadership](https://warontherocks.com/russias-next-top-general-promotions-in-russian-military-leadership/) _2026-08-25 · Dmitry Gorenburg · War on the Rocks_ Judged by the initial strategic goals set by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022, Russia’s military lost its war against Ukraine some time ago. Yet Russia’s armed forces have not stopped fighting and continue to prosecute large-scale combat operations in a brutalizing, protracted war sucking up much of Russia’s assets of national power, from pure military capacity to foreign policy priorities… ## [Command and Politics in the War Between Moscow and Kyiv](https://warontherocks.com/command-and-politics-in-the-war-between-moscow-and-kyiv/) _2026-08-24 · Dara Massicot · War on the Rocks_ Our intrepid team covers a lot of ground in this episode: the increasing fluidity of the battlefield, drones and air defense, the biting Black Sea campaign, the causes and aftermath of the firing of Ukraine’s popular defense minister, why Ukraine probably cannot produce PAC-3 air defense missiles (despite what some journalists are telling you), and the likelihood of a new round of Russian… ## [Betting on Autonomous Aircraft](https://warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/betting-on-autonomous-aircraft/) _2026-08-24 · Brandon Tseng · War on the Rocks_ This exclusive Cogs of War interview is with Brandon Tseng, the co-founder and president of Shield AI and a former Navy SEAL, whose company builds the Hivemind autonomy software, the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon synthetic reality and simulation technologies. We asked Brandon about the bet at the center of his company — that the AI pilot matters more than the airframe — and about what a… ## [The Risks of Downplaying China’s Military](https://warontherocks.com/the-risks-of-downplaying-chinas-military/) _2026-08-24 · Thomas Shugart · War on the Rocks_ China has spent years modifying civilian ferries to launch amphibious armored vehicles, developing specialized equipment to move forces ashore without conventional port facilities, hardening dozens of air bases, and rapidly expanding the missile forces that could be used to deter or defeat a U.S. intervention. Yet at the same time, a recurring line of analysis has argued that concerns about… ## [Pressure Points: Economic Strain, Allied Discord, and War Fatigue](https://warontherocks.com/pressure-points-economic-strain-allied-discord-and-war-fatigue/) _2026-08-21 · WOTR Staff · War on the Rocks_ Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.\*\*\*IranU.S. strikes on Iranian soil tapered off in August after frequent exchanges throughout July. The hiatus seems more of an adjustment in tactics to wear down Iran’s finances rather than further degrade its… ## [A Rock and China’s Three-Sea Problem](https://warontherocks.com/a-rock-and-chinas-three-sea-problem/) _2026-08-21 · Shuxian Luo · War on the Rocks_ Two rocks surrounded by coral, with a total land size of less than 10 square meters (approximately 108 square feet) at high tide, are the entire basis on which Japan claims a 150,000-square-mile exclusive economic zone, an area nearly the size of Japan itself. The uninhabited feature, located more than 1,000 miles south of Tokyo, is called Okinotori.In late July, Japan protested Sino-Russian… ## [Crush Every Threat in Real Time (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/r4HHdn5Y2GZS) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ One agent for real-time detection, exposure tracking, and active defense. ## [Mental Health Is a Warfighting Readiness Problem for the U.S. Navy](https://warontherocks.com/mental-health-is-a-warfighting-readiness-problem-for-the-u-s-navy/) _2026-08-21 · Heath “Hank” Brightman · War on the Rocks_ “You cannot be at mental peace always. You will be worried. So even my family — they are scared all the time, and they were anxiously praying \[for\] the vessel \[to\] come out of this area safely.” While Captain Chirag operates a commercial cargo vessel in the Red Sea, his comments in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks in the Middle East could just as easily be attributed to the… ## [War: Watt Is It Good For?](https://warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/war-watt-is-it-good-for/) _2026-08-20 · Harry Krejsa · War on the Rocks_ Military analysts are captivated by how the material nature of war is transforming in Ukraine. Unmanned systems have captured Russian infantry units, battered Russian naval and commercial ships, and even, with the help of on-board AI, conducted autonomous strikes deep into areas where Russian jamming foils remote piloting. These technologies are powering a dramatic democratization of military… ## [China’s Military Says AI Can’t Replace Commanders. Xi Is Testing That](https://warontherocks.com/chinas-military-says-ai-cant-replace-commanders-xi-is-testing-that/) _2026-08-20 · Jaehwan Lim · War on the Rocks_ For years, the Chinese military’s own newspaper has been making a promise it may no longer be able to keep. Whenever the People’s Liberation Army Daily (Jiefangjun Bao), the official newspaper of China’s Central Military Commission, discusses artificial intelligence and command, it returns to the same reassurance: Machines may sort sensor data, draft options, and compress the time between… ## [Inside Iran’s Wartime Regime](https://warontherocks.com/inside-irans-wartime-regime/) _2026-08-19 · Afshon Ostovar · War on the Rocks_ Afshon Ostovar, one of the leading experts on Iran and the host of the members-only podcast The Iran Reckoning, is joined by War on the Rocks membership editor Kerry Anderson for a state-of-play conversation on the conflict between the United States and Iran. They consider why the fighting has settled into a stalemate and dig into which figures in the Iranian regime have influence over Iran’s… ## [Contested Logistics and the “Last Unmanned Mile”](https://warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/contested-logistics-and-the-last-unmanned-mile/) _2026-08-19 · Tom Garvey · War on the Rocks_ In a Pacific war, the U.S. military cannot assume uncontested access to its depots and supply lines for munitions, spare parts, food, water, and energy. Jonathan is joined by David Tuttle (Rune Technologies), Paul Lwin (HavocAI), and Tom Garvey (CACI) to discuss sustaining a dispersed force that’s facing enemy fire and lacks stable, secure communications. They debate autonomy versus automation,… ## [Managed Instability: Why the Wars Against Iran and Ukraine Can Go On and On and On…](https://warontherocks.com/managed-instability-why-the-wars-against-iran-and-ukraine-can-go-on-and-on-and-on/) _2026-08-19 · Alex Kolbin · War on the Rocks_ The Iran war is beginning to resemble the Ukraine war in one important way. Operationally, the wars themselves are still very different — Ukraine is a large-scale ground invasion, while the Iran war is not there just yet. But their political logic after a failure to achieve a quick result is starting to look very similar. In both cases, a larger power expected its overwhelming military force to… ## [Proving the Negative: Three Warnings from Arms Control for the Age of AI](https://warontherocks.com/proving-the-negative-three-warnings-from-arms-control-for-the-age-of-ai/) _2026-08-19 · Mark Daley · War on the Rocks_ In early 1963, a single number characterized the difference in the positions of the United States and the Soviet Union on a comprehensive nuclear test ban. Nikita Khrushchev had proposed three on-site inspections each year. Washington was asking for seven. Other differences remained, including inspection procedures and treaty language. But the difference mattered: Seismology could not always… ## [How Feasible Is a European Nuclear Deterrent Without Washington?](https://warontherocks.com/how-feasible-is-a-european-nuclear-deterrent-without-washington/) _2026-08-18 · James Cameron · War on the Rocks_ In 2025, James Cameron wrote, “Eurodeterrent: A Vision for an Anglo-French Nuclear Force,” where he argued the United Kingdom and France should cooperate to develop a nuclear deterrent umbrella for Europe, independent of Washington. A year later, after French President Emmanuel Macron’s landmark nuclear speech, we asked him to revisit his argument. Image: SAC Rob Bourne/MODIn your 2025 article,… ## [AI and the Risks of Tearing Down an Old System](https://warontherocks.com/ai-and-the-risks-of-tearing-down-an-old-system/) _2026-08-18 · Jordan Kane · War on the Rocks_ Operation Epic Fury made clear that AI is now at the heart of American warfighting. Central Command used Claude through Palantir’s Maven Smart System platform to generate and prioritize roughly 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours of the campaign, at an operational tempo that more than doubled the opening phase of the 2003 Iraq invasion. Over 38 days, the campaign reached 13,000 total strikes,… ## [Inside Brazil’s 3D-Printed Gun Supply Chain](https://warontherocks.com/inside-brazils-3d-printed-gun-supply-chain/) _2026-08-18 · Carlos Eduardo da Silva · War on the Rocks_ On June 26, 2026, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, through its specialized firearms, ammunition, and explosives unit, raided a clandestine workshop in Rio das Pedras, on the city’s west side. Investigators said the group used a 3D printer seized at the scene to produce pistol frames and structural rifle parts in polymer and then completed them with metal parts. Early reports described those… ## [Ship everywhere from one CLI (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/QSdHULMEkaAn) _2026-08-18 · **Sponsored**_ One codebase, hosted runners, encrypted credentials, and automated submissions across stores ## [The Tension Between Collectivism and Individualism in Ukraine](https://warontherocks.com/the-tension-between-collectivism-and-individualism-in-ukraine/) _2026-08-17 · WOTR Staff · War on the Rocks_ Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum, only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces…