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- NewsletterThe politics of war
Lawrence Freedman
Emeritus professor of war studies at King's College London; wrote Strategy: A History and Command, and writes about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as they happen.
Lawrence Freedman did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
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What they believe
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When AI-assisted targeting goes wrong the failure lies in the strategic concept it is serving, not in the technology.
The problem again was not reliance upon AI but that it was supporting a model of warfare with which the United States had been working for some decades, one that prioritized the rapid elimination of enemy capabilities.
samf.substack.comSaid 17 Aug 2026This on korrents
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The West is not doing Ukraine a favour by helping it resist Russia; Ukraine is doing the West a favour.
The West is not doing Ukraine a favour by helping it resist aggression; it is Ukraine doing the West a favour.
samf.substack.comSaid 10 Oct 2025This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
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As its own page →Hiding
30 October
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- Bluesky
- NewsletterUkraine: With or Without Trump
17 October
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- NewsletterTrump’s Gulf chaos
11 October
- Bluesky
- NewsletterWatch the gap
4 October
- Bluesky
- NewsletterOperation Vivaldi: the four seasons
29 September
- Bluesky
- NewsletterThe Sudan War: is there any way out?
27 September
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 14 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
When AI-assisted targeting goes wrong the failure lies in the strategic concept it is serving, not in the technology.
The problem again was not reliance upon AI but that it was supporting a model of warfare with which the United States had been working for some decades, one that prioritized the rapid elimination of enemy capabilities.
AI and the New Fog of War Said 17 Aug 2026
Better battlefield information pushes commanders towards the strategies that can exploit that clarity, even when those are not the strategies that meet the political objective.
The greater the confidence in a clear view of the battlespace, the greater the reliance on military strategies that could benefit from that clarity, even though they might not be the best ones to meet political objectives.
AI and the New Fog of War Said 17 Aug 2026
The scale of civilian deaths in Gaza followed from Israeli leaders' strategic choices, not from the AI used to pick the targets.
The high levels of Palestinian civilian casualties reflected the strategic choices made by the Israeli leadership.
AI and the New Fog of War Said 17 Aug 2026
Show 11 more
The fog of war has changed form: a shortage of reliable information has been replaced by information that is plentiful but contradictory, dated and manipulated.
In Clausewitz’s time, the problem was a scarcity of reliable information; now the information is plentiful, but it can be contradictory, dated, manipulated, and excessive.
AI and the New Fog of War Said 17 Aug 2026
Enemy manipulation of a whole society's information environment is unlikely ever to be decisive in a war, because shaping another society's perceptions is genuinely hard.
This is not to be complacent about the risks, but it is to urge caution when assuming that shifting the perceptions of other societies will ever be straightforward.
AI and the New Fog of War Said 17 Aug 2026
The West is not doing Ukraine a favour by helping it resist Russia; Ukraine is doing the West a favour.
The West is not doing Ukraine a favour by helping it resist aggression; it is Ukraine doing the West a favour.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
NATO enlargement was driven by the demand of the countries that wanted in, not by an alliance pushing east.
Enlargement was demand and not supply led.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
NATO's Article 5 carries no automatic obligation to fight, and it is still the gold standard for a security guarantee.
Despite its lack of automaticity this remains the gold standard for security guarantees.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
What makes a security guarantee credible is an alliance that is active in peacetime, not the wording of the treaty.
It works because it is an active alliance, and not left dormant until an emergency arises.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
The 'coalition of the willing' for Ukraine is not a security guarantee and should stop being described as one.
In all of this what may have been missed is that the plan now connected with a coalition of the willing is not a security guarantee.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
Ukraine is becoming a de facto member of NATO without ever formally joining it.
Ukraine is becoming a de facto member of NATO.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
Ukraine is defending Europe's borders, not only its own.
When the Ukrainians say that they are defending Europe’s borders they are correct.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
Putin set out to demilitarise Ukraine and has achieved the opposite.
Recall that one of Putin’s objectives in 2022 was to ‘demilitarise’ Ukraine. He has achieved the opposite.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting.
As a formula ‘as long as it takes’ lacks urgency. It is an option for the allies precisely because they are not doing the fighting.
'As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security? Said 10 Oct 2025
What is a korrent?
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 1 thing — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Liked The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States
Lawrence: First congratulations on your new book, which is, as expected, extremely interesting and timely.
samf.substack.com 21 Dec 2025
Where they publish
Newsletter Comment is Freed The newsletter he writes with his son Sam Freedman. Has a feed; the card shows only his own posts.
He writes the strategy and war pieces, Sam Freedman the British politics ones; the Recent list here is the subset bylined to him.
Recent
- The politics of war 30 Oct 2026 A tale of two elections
- “Whitehall is slower than everywhere else” 27 Oct 2026 Part two of our interview with Admiral Tony Radakin
- “When Russia attacked, it felt like a political tsunami” 26 Oct 2026 An interview with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
Show 5 more
- Ukraine: With or Without Trump 24 Oct 2026 It would be so much better if we could address the challenge of defending Ukraine against Russian aggression without also having to deal with Donald Trump and the psychodramas surrounding him.
- Trump’s Gulf chaos 17 Oct 2026 The Saudi strategic dilemma
- Watch the gap 11 Oct 2026 How Kaliningrad could become the flashpoint for a wider war with Russia
- Operation Vivaldi: the four seasons 4 Oct 2026 Surprise, deception, and operation security - lessons from Ukrainian success
- The Sudan War: is there any way out? 29 Sept 2026 Since April 2023 Sudan has been consumed by a vicious war that gets far too little attention in the West.
Link verified 20 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Bluesky @ldfreedman.bsky.social Their Bluesky account.
Recent
- After the inconclusive Israeli elections and before the US midterms, this post looks at the role the Iran War played in both elections. Israelis backed the war; Americans didn’t. Now Netanyahu wants another iteration. Trump dithers but watch Vance.(£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/the-politi...? 30 Oct 2026
- Delighted to publish first part of our interview with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, former Chief of Defence Staff. Part One considers UK’s support for Ukraine,managing escalation with Russia, and lessons. Part Two is about MoD budget and procurement (£/free trial), samf.substack.com/p/when-russi...? 26 Oct 2026
- My latest post attempts to make sense of a difficult time in US-Ukraine relations, in which the dysfunctions of the Trump administration were on full display. Trump’s claims that Putin was ready to make concessions was shown again to be make-believe. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/ukraine-wi...? 24 Oct 2026
Show 5 more
- Latest post looks at the consequences of Trump’s disastrous war with Iran. Not only is Iran keeping oil prices high, but Saudi Arabia now faces a strategic predicament as it struggles to cope with the resurgent Houthis without much help from the US. (£/free trial), samf.substack.com/p/trumps-gul...? 17 Oct 2026
- My latest post looks at how the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, stuck between Poland and Lithuania, has become a flashpoint in relations between Russian and Europe, a reminder of Russia’s vulnerabilities at a time when it seeks to project strength. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/watch-the-...? 11 Oct 2026
- In this post I return again to Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi and what it can tell us about current tactics and technologies, and in particular the importance of information security and deception. (£/free trial). samf.substack.com/p/operation-...? 4 Oct 2026
- Latest post considers the ‘forgotten war’ of Sudan. I consider the state of the fighting, the humanitarian crisis, and the logic of partition. This is another example of the difficulty of extracting a good peace from a bad war. (This one is free). samf.substack.com/p/the-sudan-...? 29 Sept 2026
- If a 'Blue Wave' comes in the midterms, leaving Dems in control of both House and Senate, how will they use their new power and how with Trump react? In his new post @samfr considers the possibilities. (£/free trial) 27 Sept 2026 samf.substack.com
Link verified 23 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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