Dave Johnson

Principal Researcher @RANDCorporation. Strategy, mil doctrine, history, innovation, civ-mil relations. Former @USArmy Colonel. Opinions mine; RT ≠ endorsement.

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

A very thoughtful and insightful article about al-Qaeda succession by my brilliant RAND colleague Sara Harmouch. Excellent argument, based on thorough research and analysis. Not who most expect.https://t.co/mF6BBrGMq1

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

@warrenstapleto5 Thanks!!

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

As I note in my War on the Rocks article on the ascendance of the defense we are seeing that a successful defense exhausts the initial aggressor and sets the conditions for a successful counteroffensive against a weakened adversary. Can it be sustained? https://t.co/aEu05dTwdN

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

Another great article by Mick Ryan. His points about adaptation in the Russo-Ukrainian War bear close examination by other militaries trying to understand the implications of this war for the future of their militaries: https://t.co/vbAFbKVuJ8

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

The Ukraine war is demonstrating the ascendance of the defense and why the United States needs to change its approach to developing warfighting concepts and capabilities to deter China and Russia. Part II of “Ending the Ideology of the Offense” https://t.co/aEu05dTwdN

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

@RealAtlasTitan @paul_scharre No, in this case it means I tie the argument together in Part II, that should de out shortly

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

The U.S. military must change its offense-based warfighting concepts to recognize that the war in Ukraine is showing the return of the defense as the strongest form of war. Defense-based deterrence by denial is the way to deal with China and Russia. At: https://t.co/MbyNRWNfIc

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

@RealAtlasTitan @paul_scharre Not what I am arguing—stay tuned for Part II

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

We conclude our alternative history of AirLand Battle and its implications for U.S. learning from the current war in Ukraine. We can learn, if we let ourselves. At: https://t.co/njJRVakHPO

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

My latest on the ever contentious issue of anti-personnel landmines: "Is the Virtue in the Weapon or the Cause?" Does their effectiveness against aggression outweigh what many consider their moral hazard? At: https://t.co/wDnBGtVczo

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

Important insights and, as always, sound advice from Mick Ryan on the Australian Defense Review: https://t.co/hmC6169HRt

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

What if the U.S. Army had modernized in the 1970s using lessons learned from the 1967 Six Day War, rather than the 1973 Yom Kippur War? What does it mean for learning from Ukraine? Part I of my latest on War on the Rocks: https://t.co/QpRAjqJsK3

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

Is the American Way of War sustainable in a war like we are witnessing in Ukraine? My latest in War on the Rocks: https://t.co/HVpXLPGkOR

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

The war in Ukraine is showing that anti-personnel landmines, as horrible as they can be if used illegally, are an important weapon in defending against aggression. My new op-ed in Breaking Defense: https://t.co/r4DISFlMkl

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

A keen assessment by Mick Ryan of Ukrainian tactical repositioning in Sievierodonetsk: “This week's events have shown again that losing territory is bad for a country at war, but losing your army is fatal.” At: https://t.co/jICwNwafnz

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

What better way to use the American arsenal of democracy than to support Ukraine? My thoughts in Real Clear Defense: https://t.co/uNy5ejwvuQ

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

"The way you deal with Russian artillery is: you kill it. . . . Anything that enables [the Ukrainians] to stay competitive in the artillery fight…prevents the Russians from doing what they are trying to do, which is take ground." My Politico interview: https://t.co/FxIydCPnxe

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

A sobering discussion with Vazha Tavberidze of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on the agonizing, grinding war of attrition in Ukraine. https://t.co/JDdv3DBJf5

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

An important, well-reasoned article by Alex Vershinin, published by RUSI, on the ammunition consumption/industrial base implications of the war in Ukraine. Link: https://t.co/VmAKh7cSHi

[Dave Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC]

Would the U.S. Army be able to prevail in a war like the one in Ukraine, were it to realize its vision of multi-domain operations? Could the other U.S. military services? That is the question I ask in my new commentary in War on the Rocks at: https://t.co/q9G5UtlSxy