Gray Matter

ASCF REPORT, February 4, 2020

News reports that U.S. soldiers are stealing cars in Lithuania. Unmarked Russian troops flooding into Ukraine. Iran sending aid and weaponry to proxies in Iraq. Russia jamming GPS signals of NATO units in the field. China turning atolls in international waters into armed redoubts. Russian hackers penetrating U.S. political parties to steal and leak compromising information. Chinese fishing trawlers and coast guard vessels swarming the East and South China Seas. Instagram messages warning deployed U.S. troops that their families are in danger. Hamas setting fire to Israeli croplands. Russia deploying anti-aircraft missiles in Kaliningrad. China deploying anti-ship missiles in the Spratly Islands. These are examples of what’s known as “gray zone conflict”—a form of asymmetric warfare that has left America and its allies scrambling for ways to respond…