News & Briefings

In southern Lebanon, amid escalating tensions since the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent “Northern Arrow” military operation, Hezbollah has urgently reshaped its information warfare doctrine. Formerly a dominant political actor in Lebanon, the Shiite organization has seen its digital capabilities crippled and its propaganda networks disrupted as its political influence and combat power have waned. Now facing pressure on multiple fronts, including an intensive psychological and cyber campaign from Israel, Hezbollah’s cyber-combatants are pursuing a determined effort to modernize: leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), foreign alliances, and digital influence campaigns to regain control of the narrative in a war that is increasingly fought online as much as on the battlefield.

The Second Front: PRC Micro-Occupation in the Philippines Part 2a described the salami-slicing of features within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines and throughout the West Philippine Sea. We presented a framework for assessing and developing operational concepts to mitigate the threat of continued PRC extraterritorial seizure of the Philippines’ territory, based on the PRC’s actions throughout the West Philippine Sea and in the Himalaya Mountains along the Line of Control with India, and the PRC’s stated objectives regarding Taiwan.

This article examines the implications of Just War Theory, an ethical framework governing the use of lethal force by governments, for the use of information warfare in the 21st century. The author posits that ethical considerations demand a robust, integrated approach to information operations, both as a means of averting armed conflict and for accomplishing strategic objectives with minimal human harm or suffering. Classical ethics theories are applied to the requirement for and application of information warfare in the modern context.

“If we carry out the cabbage strategy, you will not be able to send food and drinking water onto the islands. Without the supply for one or two weeks, the troopers stationed there will leave the islands on their own. Once they have left, they will never be able to come back.” — Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, People’s Liberation Army, May 2013 “If sliced thinly enough, no one action will be dramatic enough to justify starting a war. How will a policymaker in Washington justify drawing a red line in front of a CNOOC oil rig anchoring inside Vietnam’s EEZ, or a Chinese frigate chasing off a Philippines survey ship over Reed Bank, or a Chinese infantry platoon appearing on a pile of rocks near the Spratly Islands?” — Foreign Policy, “Salami Slicing in the South China Sea,” 2012

Consider the power to dictate who is perceived as “right” or “wrong” in conflicts like the Russia–Ukraine War or Israeli–Gazan conflict, or to reshape the outcome of a nation’s election in the minds of its citizens. Imagine the U.S. and its allies not merely swaying opinions but reconstructing the very reality in which adversaries like North Korea, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Iran, or violent extremists make judgments, aligning their perceptions with U.S. strategic objectives.