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The Era of Shadow Wars

The assassination of Iranian scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was not the first death in the unofficial state of conflict between Iran and Israel yet its methods fit into a wider global strategic shift in the nature of war and peace that it might come to symbolise.
This shift was set out well in an important speech that hasn’t perhaps had the attention it deserved by the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, in September of this year. Speaking at “Policy Exchange” General Carter launched the Integrated Operating Concept. As the most senior official in the UK military his was not a academic description of the world but rather the framing by which one of the world’s largest militaries plans to operate in future.
He set out how the era of war and peace is no more. This is largely due to the huge cost of conventional conflict and the unlikelihood of success certainly for smaller states facing military behemoths like the USA. As General Carter explained; “none of our rivals can afford to go to war as we define it. They want to win below that threshold”.
So if war is never to be declared, militaries such as the UK have to be prepared – via the integrated operating concept – of adopting what General Carter cited as a posture of “competition” as an addition to “the traditional deterrence model of comprehension, credibility, capability and communication”.
Moving from a policy of deterrence where States focus on building up military capabilities of even game changing weapons like nuclear missiles, to accepting that conflict may occur in a perpetual sense at a level of competition brings us back to the killing of Fakhrizadeh.
Whilst there has been no official acknowledgment of who committed the assassination analysts point to a State actor. Indeed, reports emerged some days after the incident that was originally reported as gunmen ambushing the vehicle to the attack being conducted by a satellite-controlled machine-gun with "artificial intelligence" according to a Revolutionary Guards commander.
If, and it is a big ‘if’, it is true that AI killed Fakhrizadeh it would fit into a pattern of increased reliance of standoff weaponry by the larger global military actors to pursue their national security strategies. The rise and rise of the armed drone is a case in point and whilst there is debate about the legality of the US using drones to kill its enemies anywhere across the globe it is increasingly a reality.
Great military powers justifying to themselves an embrace of ‘shadow wars’ or lethal competition below the level of official conflict comes with a host of consequences. It is of course a challenge to international law and norms. If states don’t even acknowledge that they conducted lethal action, then who is accountable to any collateral damage that occurs in the attack? If civilians are killed by mistake or due to their proximity to a military target, what methods of redress do their families have?
Using AI would appear to take tactics around remote warfare to a whole new level. At least armed drones have pilots who make the decision to fire a missile and take a life. Human beings are accountable for those actions/ Are we nearing a point in which AI and algorithms could replace them and what would that mean for our global security architecture.
Also is General Carter in a sense admitting that we are entering an era of ‘forever wars’ in which there will never be a conclusion or an end but rather is a never-ending struggle? This changes the way we see the narrative of war and peace – as a historical view - versus a world of endless competition.
It raises lots of questions about consistency. Many have speculated about what would have happened in Iran was linked to an AI assassination of an Israeli scientist inside Israel. We still await a sense as to if Iran will respond to the attack and if so how. In a sense the lack of predictability makes the world more dangerous and the lack of clear rules as to what constitutes conflict or what definitions of acceptable versus unacceptable competitive acts are. In a sense we are writing a new unofficial rule book as we go and the Fakhrizadeh killing may represent a significant chapter in the story of ‘Shadow Wars’ in and of itself.
by: James Denseiow
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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