Gen. John Allen

Air Warfare

Should Pentagon Let Robots Kill Humans? Maybe

Imagine battles unfolding faster than the human mind can handle, with artificial intelligences choosing their tactics and targets largely on their own. The former four-star commander in Afghanistan, John Allen, and an artificial intelligence entrepreneur, Amir Husain, have teamed up to develop a concept for what they call “hyperwar,” rolled out in the July issue […]

Air Warfare

Proxy War Protocols: How To Make Syrian Opposition Work

If the United States arms the so-called “moderate Syrian opposition” to try and overthrow both ISIL and Bashar al Assad, president of Syria, will it work? A close look at the United States’ long and checkered history backing proxy forces reveals a very mixed record when we arm surrogates. The ledger includes historic fiascos such as the […]

Brass Attack: Light & Lean Marines Get 5th Four-Star

UPDATED: Krepinevich Says Marines Boast Lots Of Good Senior Leaders The Marine Corps, which always prides itself on being the leanest of the U.S. armed services and having the lowest officer-to-enlisted ratio, now has five four-star generals, the nation’s highest military rank. That is quite a load of brass for a service that never had […]

Air Warfare

Would the Taliban Have Hit an Osprey?

Washington: The loss of 38 American soldiers, including members of SEAL Team Six, this week is spawning more questions than answers as DoD begins to piece together what happened that night in eastern Afghanistan. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also […]