For years, the military assumed that only powerful nations could pull off synchronized, high-impact missions. Recent events prove otherwise: groups like the Islamic State, cartels, and violent cults now conduct strategic strikes mirroring elite state operations. Craig Whiteside from the U.S. Naval War College joins host Darrell Driver to discuss this shift: the rise of non-state special operations. From the Tet Offensive’s embassy attack to emerging space-based threats, they explore why identifying an adversary’s true motives is now critical for managing risk.
For more on this discussion please see Non-state Special Operations Capabilities and Effects by Ian Rice and Craig Whiteside
Most of these non-state special operations are based off of their opponent’s failures of imagination.
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Craig Whiteside is Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College resident program at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He recently co-authored Non-state Special Operations Capabilities and Effects (Routledge, 2026) as well as The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement (Hurst Publishers/Oxford University Press, 2020). He is the 2022 winner of the U.S. Naval War College Excellence in Research Award. A West Point graduate, Whiteside earned a doctorate in Political Science from Washington State University and is a former U.S. Army officer with combat experience in Iraq.
Darrell Driver is Professor in the Department of Military, Strategy, Planning and Operations at the U.S. Army War College.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of War.
Photo Credit: Created by Gemini
