Blog Posts

"The top civilian over low-intensity conflicts, a long-held SOF specialty, and the new head of U.S. Special Operations Command told lawmakers this week that special operators will see the fight flip from how they’ve experienced the past two decades of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency warfare."

"The Iranian government has used the Guard Corps internationally to create, train, arm and sometimes plot strategy for paramilitary forces and nonstate actors in other countries."

"With renegade eastern commander Khalifa Hifter at the gates of the Libyan capital, the United Nations and Western and Arab governments have called for a halt to the fighting — to no avail."

"A northern Texas sheriff says his county has seen a big uptick in methamphetamine and heroin seizures since October, saying Mexican drug smugglers are using large groups of migrants to divert Border Patrol’s attention while they run narcotics over the border in nearby areas."

"Abuse behind bars and a record high rate of detainment are a recipe for disaster."

"The territorial defeat of ISIS is not the end of the U.S. mission in Syria, where today some 2,000 American troops help the SDF administer and control the northeastern third of the country. The question now is how Washington can use this residual presence to secure its long-term interests in the country."

"Labeling the IRGC a terrorist organization is simple truth-telling."

"Decision marks first time an element of a foreign state has been officially designated terrorist entity."

"President Trump moved to clear out the senior ranks of the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, a day after forcing the resignation of its secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, as he accelerated a purge of the nation’s immigration and security leadership."

"Three American service members and a contractor were killed in a car-bomb attack in Afghanistan on Monday, the U.S. military said. The bomber struck as military personnel were conducting a security patrol near Bagram air base, a major air hub for foreign forces in Afghanistan."

"Forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar carried out an airstrike against the Libyan capital’s only functioning airport, as the rogue military commander defied U.S. calls to halt an assault on Tripoli."

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has established a new leadership council comprising government officials, opposition politicians and civil society representatives that will manage national peace efforts and put together an "effective" team of negotiators for possible talks with the Taliban insurgency.

"The U.S. military said it pulled a small contingent of American forces from Libya as the country teetered on the brink of full-scale civil war, with fighting continuing around the capital Tripoli."

"How to square this kind of deep loyalty to the armed forces and high public support with a long record of failures?"

"A renegade militia seeking to storm its way into Libya’s capital battled for control of the international airport Saturday in a showdown that threatened to spill into bloody urban combat in the streets of Tripoli."

"Mountain Home Air Force Base’s use of nine southern Idaho cities for urban close-air support training has run into a stumbling block. Seems some Idaho residents don’t like it at all."

"Mindfulness — the practice of using breathing techniques, similar to those in meditation, to gain focus and reduce distraction — is inching into the military in the United States and those of a handful of other nations."

"The United States is expected to designate Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps a foreign terrorist organization, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has labeled another country’s military a terrorist group."

"Fighter jets for Libya’s U.N.-backed government targeted forces of a renegade commander Saturday in attempts to stop his advance on the Libyan capital in a showdown that threatened to spill into bloody urban combat."

"World powers and the United Nations have condemned fresh fighting in Libya as rebel forces from the east of the country march on the capital."

"When is the United States on the sidelines, and when is it at war? That question is at the heart of the debate over an unprecedented congressional challenge to the Trump administration’s support of Persian Gulf nations mired in Yemen’s civil war."

From the staff at Geopolitical Futures - "The Syrian civil war brought tunnel technologies to Bashar Assad’s forces. It’s something Israel may want to keep in mind as it pushes a 'safe zone' farther into Syrian territory."

"Officials say it's time to shift diplomatic resources to countering China and Russia."

"Coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State dropped off considerably in February, as the campaign to oust the militant group from its last strongholds in Syria reached its final stages."

"Soldiers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) will case their colors and deploy to Ukraine within days."