Commentary and Analysis
Professional Articles from UWI
“As the Border Wall Goes Up, the Underground Threat Will Grow,” Washington Post, January 22, 2025
“Don’t Blame Israel - It’s Hamas That Has Put Every Gaza Hospital in Danger,” The Hill, January 10, 2025
“The Dogs of (Urban) War: Lessons from Oketz, The Israel Defense Forces’ Specialized Canine Unit,” Modern War Institute, January 1, 2025
“Stopping ‘Endless Wars’ Is Easier Said Than Done,” Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2024
“Israel’s New Approach to Tunnels: A Paradigm Shift in Underground Warfare,” Modern War Institute, December 2, 2024
“What Yayha Sinwar’s Death Revealed About Hamas’s Waning Capabilities,” Newsweek, October 20, 2024
“Israel’s Campaign against Hezbollah and the fight for Southern Lebanon’s Tunnels,” Modern War Institute, October 2, 2024
“The Law of Exploding Pagers,” The Daily Wire, September 24, 2024
“Israel's Precision Attack Against Hezbollah Was Humane—and Legal,” Newsweek, September 20, 2024
“Israel is Winning,” Foreign Affairs, August 21, 2024
“Israel Reestablished Deterrence. It Should be Praised, Not Admonished,” Newsweek, August 2, 2024
“Vilifying Israel's Use of 2,000-Pound Bombs Only Ends Up Costing More Lives,” Newsweek, July 19, 2024
“What the ICC gets wrong about Israel,” Jewish News Syndicate, July 17, 2024
“It's Time to Start Using the Term 'Palestinian Civilian' Correctly,” Newsweek, June 17, 2024
“The ICC is flirting with disaster with threatened warrants against Israel,” The Hill, May 3, 2024
“Antony Blinken’s Ahistorical Advice for Israel,” Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2024
“Israel Defense Forces work to protect civilians — not kill them,” New York Post, April 4, 2024
“Ultimately, Hamas Owns Every Death in Gaza—Civilians Included,” Newsweek, April 4, 2024
“Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It?” Newsweek, March 26, 2024
“The Road to Ceasefire Leads Through the Rafah Offensive.” Newsweek, March 11, 2024
“I Have Delivered Aid in War Zones. They Were the Missions We Feared Most,” Newsweek, March 7, 2024
“Hospitals Are Protected Under International Law. But They Cannot be 'Off Limits',” Newsweek, February 20, 2024
“The Untold Story of the Ukrainian Helicopter Rescue Missions During the Mariupol Siege,” Time, February 15, 2024
“Memo to the 'Experts': Stop Comparing Israel's War in Gaza to Anything. It Has No Precedent,” Newsweek, February 12, 2024
“Israel Implemented More Measures to Prevent Civilian Casualties Than Any Other Nation in History,” Newsweek, January 31, 2024
“A Lesson on Human Suffering from a Kibbutz,” Time Magazine, January 12, 2024
“Gaza’s Underground: Hamas’s Entire Politico-Military Strategy Rests on Its Tunnels,” Modern War Institute, January 18, 2024
“‘You Cannot Unsee the Evil’: A Report on the Graphic Hamas Terror Video, From Combat Veteran John Spencer” Soldiers of Fortune Magazine, December 8, 2023
“Underground Nightmare: Hamas Tunnels and the Wicked Problem Facing the IDF,” Modern War Institute, October 17, 2023
“These are the Challenges Awaiting Israeli Ground Forces in Gaza,” Modern War Institute, October 11, 2023
“The 2023 Urban Experts’ Christmas Wish List,” Modern War Institute, December 13, 2023
“Rebuilding Resiliency: Kyiv’s Opportunity to Bolster Its Defense,” War on the Rocks, December 12, 2023
“Opinion: I’m an expert in urban warfare. Israel is upholding the laws of war,” CNN Opinion, November 7, 2023
“The Battle of Hostomel Airport: A Key Moment in Russia’s Defeat in Kyiv,” War on the Rocks, August 10, 2023
“Hydraulic warfare is here to stay. NATO should plan for it,” Defense News, June 14, 2023
“Twelve Months of War in Ukraine Have Four Fundamental Lessons on Urban Warfare,” Modern War Institute, February 23, 2023
“The Second Battle of Fallujah: American Forces at War Inside a Hotbed of Insurgency,” Soldiers of Fortune Magazine, October 20, 2022
“In Ukraine, Two US Army Veterans See the New Face of War,” Soldiers of Fortune Magazine, August 16, 2022
“How volunteers can help defeat great powers,” Military Times, July 5, 2022
“Waterworld: How Ukraine Flooded Three Rivers to Help Save Kyiv,” Modern War Institute, July 1, 2022
“Why Russia likely won’t win the fight in Ukraine’s cities,” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2022
“Ukrainians should be on the lookout for a new battlefield enemy: Disease,” Washington Post, April 5, 2022
“Crafting a Humanitarian Surge to Respond to the War on Ukraine,” Homeland Security Today, March 24, 2022
“Russia’s Humanitarian Corridors in Ukraine Endanger Human Life,” Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2022
“Defending the City: An Overview of Defensive Tactics From the Modern History of Urban Warfare,” Modern War Institute, February 14, 2022
“Assessing Urban Terrain Features for Dense Urban Environments,” Homeland Security Today, February 11, 2022
“Enter and Clear a Room: The History of Battle Drill 6, and Why the Army Needs More Tactical Training Like It—Not Less,” Modern War Institute, July 21, 2021
“The Battle of Shusha City and The Missed Lessons of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.” Modern War Institute, July 14, 2021
“A Status Check on the Army’s Preparation for the Next War,” Modern War Institute, July 6, 2021
“The Vampire Fallacy: Virtual Reality vs Needs Based Strategies,” Wavell Room, June 17, 2021
“Square Peg, Round Hole: Maneuver Warfare and the Urban Battlefield,” Modern War Institute, March 11, 2021
“The Eight Rules of Urban Warfare and Why We Must Work to Change Them,” Modern War Institute, January 12, 2021
“The Twelve Days of Urban Warfare Christmas,” Modern War Institute, December 21, 2020
“The Pentagon thinks urban warfare is obsolete. That’s wrong.” Washington Post, November 20, 2020
“Four Transformational Steps The US Army Should Take To Get Serious About Urban Operations,” Modern War Institute, July 21, 2020
“Want police reforms? Then, ask the hard questions,” Newsday, July 13, 2020
“The City is Not Neutral: Why Urban Warfare is So Hard,” Modern War Institute, March 4, 2020
“War Books: Preparing for Underground Warfare,” Modern War Institute, February 12, 2020
“Gangs of Baghdad,” Modern War Institute, January 21, 2020
“The Return of Tunnel Bombs: A Medieval Tactic on the Modern Battlefield,” Modern War Institute, December 30, 2019
“Difficult Megacity Fight Seen in Mumbai” Army Magazine, November 1, 2019
“The Dangers of Distracted Fighting,” Wired Magazine, October 9, 2019
“Facing Our Underground Nightmares: Casting Light On the Subterranean,” Army Magazine, August 20, 2019
“Every City is Different. That’s Why a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Urban Operations Won’t Work,” Modern War Institute, May 30, 2019
“The Destructive Age of Urban Warfare; Or, How to Kill A City and How to Protect It,” Modern War Institute, March 28, 2019
“My Underground Warfare Wish List,” Modern War Institute, February 19, 2019
“Stealing the Enemy’s Urban Advantage: The Battle of Sadr City,” Modern War Institute, January 21, 2019
“Why Militaries Must Destroy Cities to Save Them,” Modern War Institute, November 8, 2018
“Crossing the Street: Addressing on of Urban Warfare’s Greatest Challenges” Modern War Institute, October 30, 2018
“Getting Beyond Door Kicking: Four Tasks for Urban Warriors,” Modern War Institute, September 18, 2018
“While the North Korean Nuclear Button Cools, The Threat of The Underground Lingers,” Modern War Institute, August 31, 2018
“Investing in understanding cities is investing in national security,” The Hill, August 6, 2018
“The missing link to preparing for military operations in megacities and dense urban areas,” Army Times, July 20, 2018
“Prepare the Army for the Future Urban Battlefield,” Army Magazine, May 16, 2018
“War Books: Preparing for Urban Warfare,” Modern War Institute, April 30, 2018
“The Era of Urban Warfare is Already Here,” Foreign Policy Research Institute, March 21, 2018
“Sticker Shock: The World Just Got the Bill for Rebuilding War-Ravaged Cities in Iraq,” Modern War Institute, February 21, 2018
“Even Realistic Videogames like Call of Duty Won’t Help Us Win Wars,” Wired Magazine, January 5, 2018
“A Soldier’s Urban Warfare Christmas Wish List,” Modern War Institute, December 19, 2017
“How drone swarms could change urban warfare,” C4ISRNET, December 11, 2017
“America’s Mumbai,” Modern War Institute, October 17, 2017
“Giving military equipment to police will not lead to safer streets,” The Hill, September 20, 2017
“A Better Approach to Urban Operations: Treat Cities like Human Bodies,” Modern War Institute, September 13, 2017
“Why America Is Destroying Iraqi Cities to Save Them,” The National Interest, August 23, 2017
“The City Is the Battlefield of the Future,” Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2017
“Three ‘War Hacks’ for Urban Combat,” Modern War Institute, July 03, 2017
“So You Think the Army Can Avoid Fighting in Megacities,” Modern War Institute, May 16, 2017
“The Army Needs an Urban Warfare School and it Needs it Soon,” Modern War Institute, April 05, 2017
“What an Army Megacities Unit Would Look Like,” Modern War Institute, March 08, 2017
“It’s time to Create a Megacities Combat Unit,” Modern War Institute, January 31, 2017
“Grenade Launchers and Bed Sheets: An Invisibility Kit for Urban Combat,” Modern War Institute, December 12, 2016
“The Most Effective Weapon on the Modern Battlefield is Concrete,” Modern War Institute, November 14, 2016
“Narco-Cities: Mexico and Beyond,” Small Wars Journal, March 31, 2014
“The ‘New’ Playbook? Urban Siege in Nairobi,” Small Wars Journal, November 24, 2013
“The Strategic Challenge of Riots: Riot Action and. Crowd Power,” Small Wars Journal, February 13, 2012
“Integrating feral cities and third phase cartels/third generation gangs research: the rise of criminal (narco) city networks and BlackFor,” Small Wars & Insurgencies, November 29, 2011
“Command of the Cities: Towards a Theory of Urban Strategy,” Small Wars Journal, September 29, 2011
“Preventing Another Mumbai,” CTC Sentinel, June 2009
“Postcard from Mumbai: Modern Urban Siege,” Small Wars Journal, February 16, 2009