Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. US Intelligence Shows Flawed China Missiles Led Xi to Purge Army
2. China to sanction 5 US manufacturers over arms sales to Taiwan - ministry
3. Analysis: China feels the country isn’t patriotic enough. A new law aims to change that
4. Opinion | Where have all the American China experts gone?
5. Pentagon’s Ukraine Coffers Run Dry, Threatening Kyiv’s Grip on Its Territory
6. Lloyd Austin Owes Americans an Explanation
7. Russia, China and the Threat to the North Pole
8. Today's Crises, Here and Abroad, Echo the Disasters of the Past | Opinion
9. Israel Signals It Has Wrapped Up Major Combat in Northern Gaza as War Enters Fourth Month
10. Myanmar says an ethnic alliance has seized a key city bordering China
11. Assessing and Addressing the Houthi Threat
12. Japanese Company’s Bid for U.S. Steel Tests Biden’s Industrial Policy
13. Is Israel Winning the War on the Tunnels in Gaza?
14. What It’s Actually Like Being a Woman in the CIA
15. Iraq moving to remove US-led military coalition, prime minister says
16. Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S.
 

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korea stages artillery drills off western coast for 3rd day: S. Korean military
2.  North Korea again fires near the sea border with the South, as its leader's sister mocks Seoul
3. Axis of Missiles: Russia Is Using Missiles from North Korea to Attack Ukraine
4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N.K. nuke program, note China's 'unlawful' South China Sea claims
5. The Woman Shaking Up the $50 Billion Instant-Ramen Industry
6. Caution is needed against N. Korea’s ploy of escalating military conflicts
7. South Korea, U.S., Japan hold first trilateral Indo-Pacific talks
8. N. Korea's sympathy message to Japan meant to weaken trilateral ties: experts
9. South Korea’s inevitable security trade-offs
10. Will ‘Beyond Utopia’ get an Oscar in March?

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Special Warfare Magazine - January 2024 (PSYWAR School and Irregular Warfare Academy)

2. Defense Primer: What Is Irregular Warfare?

3. ‘Women are the best snipers’: the elite soldier hunting naive Russians

4. Investigation Reveals Tragic Details of Hamas’s Sexual Violence

5. How social media platforms shaped our initial understanding of the Israel-Hamas conflict

6. Denied Care, Deaths in Japan Result from Lack of Emergency Medical Services for American Personnel

7. Don’t Bring a Patriot to a Drone Fight—Bring Fighter UAVs Instead

8. China-Taiwan Weekly Update, January 4, 2024

9. The World’s Biggest Risks for 2024 Are More Than Trump

10. Xi’s latest purge targets the military. Why did powerful generals fall out of favor?

11. Overstretched and undersupplied: Can the US afford its global security blanket?

12.  5 Myths About the U.S. Military That Need to Go Away

13. Preventive Priorities Survey 2024

14. Attrition: Medical Care in the Combat Zone (Russia v. Ukraine)

15. The Unpredictable But Entirely Possible Events That Could Throw 2024 Into Turmoil

Korean News Content:

1. Power and Perception: A Review of Sung-Yoon Lee’s “The Sister”

2. South Korea says US troops won’t be cut even if Trump wins presidency

3. North Korea Factor Fades Amid Seoul’s Trilateral Engagement

4. Kim Jong Un Shows Off Daughter After Reports She's His Presumptive Successor

5. N.K. leader taking offensive policy on S. Korea to divert public attention from internal woes: unification minister

6. N. Korea fires artillery shells from western coast for 2nd day: S. Korean military

7. N. Korean leader sends condolence message to Japanese PM over recent earthquake

8. 2.4 magnitude earthquake hits off southwestern coast: weather agency

9. US validates N. Korean SRBM usage in Russian assault on Ukraine

10. SpectralBlur: New macOS Backdoor Threat from North Korean Hackers

11. North Korea may surprise world with big nuclear moves

12.  South Korea tells Russia to stop getting arms from North Korea

13. U.S. officials, experts pick N.K.-triggered crisis among plausible top-tier contingencies in 2024

14. Pentagon stresses 'main focus' on regional stability amid N. Korea's bellicose rhetoric

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it.
2. The Pentagon is Trying to Rebuild the Arsenal of Democracy
3. Why America fell out of love with its Army
4. China Has New Full-Scale Target Of America's Ford Supercarrier
5. Russia fires missiles supplied by North Korea into Ukraine, says U.S. intelligence
6. Marine Corps using exercises to mature new Information Command
7. Special Operations Command's commando aircraft are in jeopardy
8. L3Harris secures near half a billion-dollar USSOCOM contract for tactical radios - Army Technology
9. The Hamas 'CEO' who payrolled October 7 rapists and murderers
10. Survivor of Hamas Oct. 7 Music Festival Slaughter Recounts Horrific Rape, Murder of Female Attendee
11. Israel's Plans for Post-War Gaza Begin to Come Into View
12. Water increasingly at the center of conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East
13. Houthis have attacked ships in the Red Sea 25 times since November
14. U.S., Partners Committed to Defensive Operations in Red Sea
15.  A Ukrainian Saboteur Traveled 900 Miles to A Snowy Russian Airfield And, In The Dead Of Night, Lit A Russian Sukhoi Fighter-Bomber On Fire
16. China’s Attempt To Increase Regional Influence
17. How Far-Right Terrorists Learned to Stop Worrying and Leave the Bomb
18. U.S. Special Ops Team Pioneers Donation Initiative in Thailand
19. Arms and Influencers: Leveraging the Social Media Stars in the US Military’s Ranks
20.  The Ukraine-Taiwan Tradeoff
21. Why America’s National Security Establishment Keeps Falling Short
22. The U.S. Military’s Personnel Crisis
23. Shooting down Russia's overhyped missiles with Patriots is a win for more than just Ukraine. The war is an 'intelligence bonanza' for the West.
24. 3 Steps to Take Instead of Complaining about Gen Z’s Fragile Mental Health
25. GRAND STRATEGY: A SHORT GUIDE FOR MILITARY STRATEGISTS
26. Russia issues no comment over rumours Putin's top war commander General Valery Gerasimov has been killed in Ukrainian missile strike on Crimea

Korean News Content:

1.  N. Korea fires some 200 artillery shells off western coast: S. Korean military
2. N. Korea rebuilds destroyed guard posts inside DMZ with concrete
3. North Korea Fires Artillery Barrage Toward Border Islands in the South
4. Russia fires missiles supplied by North Korea into Ukraine, says U.S. intelligence
5. N. Korean leader inspects factory producing launchers for solid-fuel ICBMs
6. Kim Ju-ae likely heir to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, says South’s spy agency
7. KPA General Staff Issues Report (nK live fire in NLL area)
8. North Korea fires 200 shells into sea off western coast
9. Korean shipbuilder’s submarine designs leaked to Taiwan
10. South Korea fires 400 artillery shells in response to North's provocation
11. Japan firm Hitachi Zosen accused of ‘betrayal’ for Korean forced labour payout
12. US designates NK for religious freedom violation for 22nd straight year
13. ‘The gap in the U.S. North Korean human rights law’ is the longest in history… “It’s disappointing that there is a lack of leadership in Congress.”
14. Pyongyang labor brigades face the music after engaging in “non-socialist” songs and dances
15. Why Kim has skipped his New Year’s speech
16. Tensions escalate as North Korea fires artillery shells off west coast
17. ROK Navy commissions 1st female submariners
18. Russia hit Ukraine with NK-made missiles: Kyiv
 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RETIRED GEN. GORDON SULLIVAN DIES
2. High-end sex ring in Boston and D.C. areas was 'honeypot' scheme by Russia, China, South Korea or even Israel - to ensnare US officials, intelligence experts believe
3. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 3, 2024
4. Israel–Hamas War (Iran) Update, January 3, 2024
5. US, allies promise larger military response if Red Sea attacks persist
6. Pompeo claims Biden administration has ‘accelerated the rate of decay’ in US deterrence
7. Deadly blast in Iran looks like 'a terrorist attack,' possibly ISIS -senior US official
8. Iran vows revenge after biggest attack since 1979 revolution
9. Taiwan reports China sent 4 suspected spy balloons over the island
10. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles
11. A Better Cyber Service
12. Learning from Failure: Afghanistan as a Microcosm for Strategic Competition
13. Can the Palestinian Authority Govern Gaza?
14. Defending the Year of Democracy
15. China to play starring role in coming US election chaos
16. Add it to the list: Three more considerations for AUKUS
17. Cut Off the Head of the Snake in the Red Sea | Opinion
18. Hit the Houthis — and Iran — Where It Counts
19. Dealing With the Unprecedented Military Threats Facing the United States
20. A restless Gen Z is reshaping the Chinese Dream
21. Overcoming data analytics inertia in defense to win future wars
22. Voter Beware: Unveiling China's AI Propaganda in the 2024 American Elections

1. ‘Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!’ (north Korea)
2. Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong
3. N. Korea warns of 'highest' risk of clashes in 2024
4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold 1st Indo-Pacific dialogue meeting this week: official
5. Unification ministry to dissolve foundation handling affairs of Kaesong complex
6. South Korea, US conduct week-long firing drills near North Korea border
7. In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South
8. Polish PM flags wrinkle in multibillion-dollar arms buy from SKorea
9. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles
10. S Korean spy agency sees Kim Jong Un’s daughter as ‘probable successor’
11. N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China
12. New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor
13. North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong blames S. Korean President for instability
14. Ex-Secretary Pompeo mentions NK while accusing Biden of 'decay of deterrence'
15. Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy
16. Self-reliance and Self-development Is Way to Prosperity: Rodong Sinmun
17. Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns
 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Creating Light at Tunnel’s End: Ukraine’s Post-war Urban Recovery
2. Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis: Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance,’ Explained
3. Hamas Leader Killed in Beirut Was Linchpin of Relations With Iran, Hezbollah
4. Houthi terrorists meet Iranian officials, coordinate Middle East policy
5. The West Badly Needs More Missiles—but the Wait to Buy Them Is Years Long
6. UK special forces could destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea
7. Army to open applications for new recruiting warrant officer field
8. Gen. Jim Slife sworn in as Air Force vice chief of staff
9. US intel confident militant groups used largest Gaza hospital in campaign against Israel: AP source
10. China’s unsafe interceptions of US military aircraft have dropped off, defense officials say
11. US quietly reaches agreement with Qatar to keep operating largest military base in Middle East
12. Military technology is outpacing our diplomatic capacity
13. A Research Visit to Israel: Part 1: Observations on the Lead Up to 7 October by Mick Ryan
14. A Grenade-Armed Ukrainian Drone Spotted Two Russian Soldiers. One Russian Lit A Smoke, And Asked The Drone-Operator To Kill His Comrade First.
15. Ukraine’s special forces adjust HIMARS fire to hit Russian Buk system in Donetsk region
16. Myanmar's 'watermelons': Soldier on the outside, rebel inside
17. Forging Mastery in the Unpredictable Realm of Irregular Warfare
18. Written in Black and Red: Asymmetric Threats and Affordable Unmanned Surface Vessels
19. Artificial Intelligence’s Threat to Democracy
20. The War in Ukraine Is Not a Stalemate
21. Justice Dept. accuses 2 political operatives of hiding foreign lobbying during Trump administration
 

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech
2. Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea's president but praises his predecessor
3. Kim Jong Un orders end to communist diplomacy to reunify Korean Peninsula
4. Ex-US envoy stresses need to step up allied drills against NK threats
5. Army stages live-fire drills amid NK threats
6. N. Korea likely aims to raise military tensions to secure nuclear power status: expert
7. Korea to encourage new defense research with revised evaluation system
8. North Korea: The Problem Joe Biden Wants to Avoid?
9. K2 Black Panther: The Most Expensive Tank on Earth
10. Nicaraguan ambassador to N. Korea to take up post amid signs of Pyongyang resuming diplomacy with selected countries
11. Editorial: Political terrorism in Korea must end
12. N Korea vows military strength expansion in message to S Korean President
13. YouTube on verge of becoming most-used mobile platform in S. Korea: data
14. North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘radical improvement’ in farm machine sector

Small Wars Journal–El Centro Top 10 Articles for 2023

These articles represent the best of SWJ–El Centro for 2023. These articles were selected by the SWJ–El Centro Senior Fellows. This list includes nine peer reviewed research articles and one strategic research note. All SWJ–El Centro content is available at https://smallwarsjournal.com/elcentro.

Tire Shop Sign. Photo by Tomás Andres Michael Carvallo

1. Raúl Benítez Manaut and Josué González, “The Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación: The Most Significant Security Challenge in the Mexico-United States Relationship,” Small Wars Journal, 30 September 2023.[1]
2. Tomás Andres Michael Carvahlo, “Why Tire Repair Workshops Are the Target of a Wave of Violence in Guanajuato, Mexico,” Small Wars Journal, 19 January 2023.
3. Sean Fiorella, Tony Payan, Daniel Potter, and Rodrigo Montes de Oca Arboleya. “Crime and COVID-19 in Mexico: Some Counterintuitive Results,” Small Wars Journal, 23 July 2023.
4. Howard Campbell, “Changing Faces of Immigrants Crossing through Ciudad Juárez and into the United States: Reflections on Migrants, Culture, and Crime,” Small Wars Journal, 24 March 2023.
5. Russell W. Glenn, “Monterrey, 1846: Still Offering Urban Combat Lessons after All These Years,” Small Wars Journal, 6 March 2023.
6. Pamela Ruiz, “Security at the Expense of Constitutional Guarantees: The Case of Honduras,” Small Wars Journal, 6 February 2023.
7. Mahmut Cengiz and Camilo Pardo-Herrera, “Hezbollah’s Global Networks and Latin American Cocaine Trade,” Small Wars Journal, 25 April 2023.
8. Diego Ramírez Sánchez, “Organized Crime in Chile: The Challenge Ahead,” Small Wars Journal, 4 May 2023.
9. Girisanker SB, “Demystifying the Synthetic Drug Menace: India’s Struggles and Strategies,” Small Wars Journal, 11 September 2023.
10. Daniel Weisz Argomedo, John P. Sullivan, and Robert J. Bunker. “Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 35: Mexican Security Forces Arrest Ovidio Guzmán,” Small Wars Journal, 17 January 2023.[2] 

The SWJ–El Centro Senior Fellows thank all of our contributors and peer reviewers for their support in contributing to the literature needed to build a comprehensive understanding of crime wars, criminal insurgency, criminal governance, corruption, conflict, and state transition. We look forward to next year’s articles.

Endnotes

[1] This article is also available in the original Spanish Version, “El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación: El mayor reto de seguridad en la relación México-Estados Unidos,” Small Wars Journal, 30 September 2023. 

[2] For an in-depth treatment of this subject see:  Daniel Weisz Argomedo, Nathan P. Jones, and John P. Sullivan, “Virtual Urban Siege: Modern Urban Siege and Swarming in Culiacán 2019 & 2023,” Journal of Strategic Security. Vol. 16, no. 3 (Fall 2023): pp. 30–52, https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.16.3.2172.