Stephen D. Cook
About this Author
Latest from Stephen D. Cook

Military Strategy
Why an Autonomous Combatant Command Hinders Lethality
War Secretary Pete Hegseth recently announced an aggressive and necessary plan to fundamentally reshape the senior leadership of the United States...

Military Strategy
Why Vague AI Regulation Threatens Our Strategic Edge Against China
In the demanding world of military procurement, there is an unyielding rule known as the iron triangle of acquisition. This rule dictates that program...

Iran
Why America Must Arm the Iranian Resistance
The United States has embarked on an unprecedented campaign of maritime and financial isolation against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Following the...

China
From Tehran to Tokyo: How American Standoff Warfare Validates China's Taiwan Quarantine
Six months into Operation Epic Fury, the United States has executed a telling strategic pivot in the Middle East. While the American military has...

Military Strategy
From Tehran to Tokyo: How American Standoff Warfare Validates China's Taiwan Quarantine
Six months into Operation Epic Fury, the United States has executed a telling strategic pivot in the Middle East. While the American military has...

Military History
When Memory Fades, So Does the Superpower
I am a member of Generation X. In grade school, middle school, and high school I wrote paper after paper on Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the Battle of the...

Military Strategy
Killing the Archer: Why the Red Sea Crisis Demands an Offensive Counter-Strike Architecture
Across the expanse of modern military history, from the insurgent mortar belts of the Euphrates River Valley to the heavily contested maritime...

Iran
Why the Iran Campaign Fails the Powell Doctrine
Let me be unequivocally clear from the outset: I fully support taking proactive military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran. For over four...

Military Strategy
Why Standoff Fires Won't Save Taiwan Without an Armed Underground
For those of us who spent decades inside the Special Forces operational community, studying the anatomy of conflict across rugged mountains, isolated...

Russo-Ukraine War
The Ukrainian Drone Temptation Meets the Generating Force's Clock
The media narrative is familiar and seductive. Ukraine has become a battle laboratory for inexpensive, rapidly iterated drones—FPV (first-person-view)...

Innovation Alone Won’t Prepare the U.S. for the Future Battlefield
By Joshua Segal • RealClearDefenseThe sUAS Tactical Trifecta
By Bryan T. Woody • RealClearDefense
The Revolutionary War: When Strategic Options Share the Same Weakness
By Henry Yep • RealClearDefense
The Houthis Are Testing the Limits of Collective Defense
By Saima Afzal • RealClearDefense
Radio Frequencies in the Intelligence Ecosystem
By Craig Brower • RealClearDefense

Who Shoots Down the Drone Over the Shipyard?
By John Ferrari & Dillon Prochnicki • RealClearDefense
Northrop Grumman Breaks Out the Big Guns at AUSA
By Daniel Terrill, Defense News
Army Pursuing Diverse Array of New Anti-Air Interceptors
By Trevithick, The WarZone
Who Shoots Down the Drone Over the Shipyard?
By John Ferrari & Dillon Prochnicki, RCD
F-35C Lands for the First Time on a Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier
By The Aviationist
Defense Morning Recon
Featuring the latest news
RCP Today
Top stories on RealClearPolitics
The Takeaway
Polling intelligence and analysis delivered to your inbox
Investigations Today
Latest investigations news
