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Stephen D. Cook

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Latest from Stephen D. Cook

Military Strategy

October 12, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

Military Strategy

September 30, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense
Iran War

Iran

September 24, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

China

September 17, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

Military Strategy

September 14, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense
Flight 93 Memorial Wreckage

Military History

September 3, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense
Yemen Attack

Military Strategy

September 2, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

Iran

August 28, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

Military Strategy

August 26, 2026

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...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

Russo-Ukraine War

August 17, 2026

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)...

Stephen D. Cook • RealClearDefense

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