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Via C4ISRNET - “At approximately 10 a.m. local time, the amphibious ship USS Boxer was in international waters conducting a planned inbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz,” read the statement from Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesperson. “A fixed wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) approached [USS] Boxer and closed within a threatening range. The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew”

"Iran said Friday that it had seized a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, and the tanker’s owner said it had lost contact with the vessel as it appeared to be heading toward Iran. The British government said it was urgently seeking information about the incident."

"A U.S. warship on Thursday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, President Donald Trump said. The incident marked a new escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone in the same waterway and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike."

"Guzmán may be gone, but the cartels are not. Gladys McCormick, an expert in Mexico’s political violence at Syracuse University, told Today’s WorldView in an email that while there are no longer any major drug lords to focus media or political attention on, cartels have shifted to a horizontal leadership akin to multinational corporations."

"Iranian state television said Thursday forces from the country's Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign tanker accused of smuggling oil. The report said the vessel was intercepted Sunday in a section of the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran's Larak Island with 12 crew members on board."

"BREAKING: President Trump said the drone came very close to the USS Boxer and ignored multiple calls to stand down."

"The U.S. poured more than $50 million into drug treatment programs in Afghanistan between 2013 to 2018 — but it’s unclear if the programs are making a difference, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction."

Continue on for links to the articles in the July 2019 issue of the 'Sentinel'.

"As talks with the Taliban proceed, soldiers and police officers reflect on the pain of making peace with a deadly nemesis."

"The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri provinces a public health emergency of international concern."

"Suspected nation-state hackers from Russia, Iran and elsewhere have launched nearly 800 cyberattacks against political organizations over the past year that have been detected by Microsoft Corp. , with the vast majority of the attempts targeting groups based in the U.S."

This CSIS report addresses the options for staying in Afghanistan, for reaching a cosmetic or real form of peace, and for some form of unilateral withdrawal.

"A few years after Bogotá struck a deal with the FARC, challenges to the agreement risk undermining it."

"The Army’s 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade is activating Tuesday during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, as it prepares for overseas missions in the Middle East."

"The thoughts and feelings that most veterans have about the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are much more complex than a simple “yes” or “no” response to a survey question. And to oversimplify those thoughts misrepresents the opinions of the veteran community, and may lead the American public to draw the wrong conclusion."

"To counter Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East, the U.S. must maintain a strong diplomatic and military presence in neighboring Iraq, experts from the State Department and the Pentagon said at the first Senate hearing on Near East subcommittee Tuesday."

"A third brigade tasked with training forces in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan to provide better security in those nations was activated Tuesday during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas."

"Today, the U.S. is engaged with the Taliban through its envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad is a Pashtun, as are the overwhelming majority of the Taliban. He is a long-time associate of the Taliban, dating back to the days of the UNACOL negotiations in 1996."

"Cities give anyone with minimal weapons and determined fighters the ability to contest and, in many cases, tactically defeat a more powerful force. Urban terrain gives the defender the advantage of turning every building into either a sniper attack position, ambush site, or death trap."

"President Trump officially nominated Mark T. Esper to become the nation’s next defense secretary on Monday afternoon, prompting the retired Army officer to step down as acting defense secretary and hand over his duties to Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer for the duration of the confirmation process."

"His police chief in Nangarhar Province needed more heavy weapons. His police chief in Paktia Province needed more radios. And Brig. Gen. Khoshal Sadat needed the two men to stop reading directly from their PowerPoint slides as they rattled off the security situation in their districts during their video conference.}

"The most recent retaliatory strike window looks set to close with more US sanctions being placed on Iran. A short term conclusion to what was very nearly a military strike. Large scale military action against Iran has been touted repeatedly since the start of the War on Terror."

"When he resigned as defense secretary last December, Jim Mattis thought it might take two months to install a successor. That seemed terribly long at the time."

"The guerrillas of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, have been battling Colombian governments for half a century, but a new advantage is helping them thrive as never before: sanctuary and open support in Venezuela."

"The convergence of foreign jihadists in the country, encouraging violent extremism particularly in Sulu, is part of the Islamic State (IS)’s plan to reestablish a caliphate in Mindanao, an Army official said."