Hybrid Warfare

Exploration of hybrid warfare, grey-zone conflict, cyber operations, information warfare, psychological operations, and multi-domain competition.

USA vs Iran: Why Defeating Iran Is Easier Said Than Done | Maj Gen Dr S B Asthana

The US–Iran confrontation is not merely a contest between two militaries. It is a contest between conventional military superiority and asymmetric strategic resilience.

The United States has enormous advantages in airpower, naval power, intelligence, surveillance, precision strike and global military reach. Iran, however, brings a very different set of strategic variables to the contest—geography, depth, dispersed capabilities, missiles and drones, asymmetric warfare, regional networks and, critically, the ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.

This raises a fundamental question: Does overwhelming military superiority automatically translate into strategic victory?

In this episode of TAMS 292, Major General Dr S B Asthana discusses the US–Iran confrontation and examines why the proposition of simply "defeating Iran" may be considerably more complicated than the balance of conventional military power suggests.

The discussion also connects with several themes developed in Asthana Writes, including the limits of military power, the importance of political end-states, asymmetric warfare and the strategic significance of Hormuz.

Is Pakistan Imploding? Can US and China Afford to Let It Fail?

Pakistan is not collapsing overnight—it is imploding in slow motion.

Despite economic bankruptcy, insurgencies, political repression and institutional decay, Islamabad continues to attract extraordinary support from Washington, Beijing and Gulf capitals.

Why?

Because Pakistan has mastered the art of remaining strategically indispensable even while becoming economically unsustainable.

Pakistan presents one of the greatest strategic paradoxes of modern geopolitics. A state battling insurgencies, mounting debt, shrinking democratic space and deep economic distress continues to command disproportionate global attention. This article analyses why the United States, China and Gulf states continue investing in Pakistan's survival, why these interventions cannot reform its structural weaknesses, and what India's long-term strategic response should be.

This analysis explains why the world's major powers keep rescuing Pakistan, why those rescues cannot solve its structural problems, and what lessons India must draw from Pakistan's paradox.

Cartographic Warfare: China’s Silent Offensive to Redraw Borders Without Fighting

China's repeated publication of official maps claiming Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin, Taiwan and the South China Sea is far more than diplomatic posturing. It is part of a long-term strategy of Cartographic Warfare—integrating legal warfare, psychological warfare and narrative dominance within Beijing's doctrine of Active Defence. This article examines how maps have become instruments of grey-zone conflict, why Nepal and Bangladesh illustrate the regional spread of cartographic politics, and what India must do to counter this evolving challenge. As geopolitical competition increasingly shifts into the cognitive battlespace, India must respond not merely with diplomatic protests but through an integrated strategy combining military preparedness, legal documentation, strategic communication and international partnerships.

Maps are no longer passive representations of geography—they have become active instruments of geopolitical competition. China's repeated cartographic claims since 2023 demonstrate a carefully calibrated strategy aimed at manufacturing legal legitimacy, shaping public perception and gradually altering the status quo without conventional conflict. This article explores how cartography has evolved into an integral component of China's Three Warfares strategy and assesses the implications for India, the Indo-Pacific and the future of grey-zone competition.

Pakistan Paradox, An Imperfect Partition : A Nuclear State at War with its Neighbours, its Periphery and Itself

Seventy-nine years after Partition, Pakistan remains trapped in a cycle of geopolitical confrontation, domestic instability and economic dependence. While headlines focus on Taliban attacks, unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, Baloch insurgency or repeated IMF bailouts, these are symptoms rather than causes.

This article argues that Pakistan's enduring instability originates in the hurried colonial partition of 1947, compounded by decades of military dominance, proxy warfare and great-power patronage. It analyses the evolution of Pakistan's security doctrine, its changing relationship with the Taliban, internal fault lines, Cold War legacies and the country's strategic relevance in an emerging multipolar world.

Rather than viewing these crises separately, this article presents them as interconnected outcomes of a state whose foundational contradictions remain unresolved.

From Blitzkrieg Dreams to Industrial‑Age Attrition:Why the Russia–Ukraine War Has Become a Contest of Endurance?

The Russia–Ukraine war has moved far beyond its initial framing as a limited “special military operation” or a territorial dispute over Donbas and Crimea. It has become the world’s longest major conventional war of the twenty‑first century, a grinding contest of endurance in which political will, industrial capacity, energy infrastructure and nuclear thresholds all shape the battlefield more than any single offensive. In this analysis, Major General Dr S B Asthana examines how the conflict has evolved into an industrial‑age war of attrition fought with twenty‑first century tools—and explores how a war stretched between proxy dynamics, industrial capacity and nuclear deterrence might eventually end. Sharing my latest analysis as on first week July 2026 as an analytical article in below.

The Iran Deal Mirage: From Switzerland and Beyond!

The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2026 and subsequent negotiations in Switzerland have generated cautious optimism. However, beneath the diplomatic headlines lies a deeper strategic reality. In this analysis, Major General (Dr.) S B Asthana examines why the fundamental objectives of Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran remain irreconcilable, making any future agreement inherently fragile. Drawing upon military strategy, geopolitical realities and regional dynamics, the article explores the JCPOA-plus paradox, the role of Hormuz, the Lebanon fault line, and the implications for India. Sharing the latest analysis from the author.

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