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"To win over locals in this relatively peaceful corner of a shattered country, Saudi Arabia has funded schools, expanded medical facilities and promised new boats for fishermen."

"Clashes among rival Syrian rebel factions have spread across northwest Syria, rebels and residents said Thursday, in the latest bout of tit-for-tat fighting between opponents of President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Infighting has long plagued Syria's armed opposition since the uprising against Assad began in 2011."

"Four years ago, just before President Barack Obama appointed me his special envoy to the coalition fighting the so-called Islamic State, I laid out a set of ideas for how to defeat and ultimately destroy the terrorist group. Because the Islamic State was a regional and global problem, posing an imminent threat to the United States, it was clear that its defeat would require an international coalition."

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized U.S. generals for not defeating the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan after 19 years of involvement. Speaking to reporters at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the generals were given "all the money they wanted" and "didn't do such a great job in Afghanistan." The president questioned justification for the expense in a country thousands of miles away from the United States. Continue on for the video.

'Smithsonian Magazine’s' special January/February issue – 'America at War' brings into focus who is fighting and the why, where, and what they’ve left behind. Continue on for summaries and links to all the articles.

Small Wars Journal, owned by the non-profit Small Wars Foundation, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Homeland Security Today to facilitate cooperation and collaboration on future content.

"U.S. President Donald Trump has said U.S. forces will withdraw from Syria "over a period of time," insisting he wants to protect U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State extremist group."

"This report seeks to better understand why the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been more successful than its predecessor organization, al Qaeda, in recruiting individuals within the United States. The authors consider whether the demographic profile of individuals drawn to foreign terrorist organizations has changed over time or whether new groups are more successful appealing to the same segment of the population.'

"At least 21 Afghan police officers were killed in three simultaneous Taliban assaults Monday night in northern Afghanistan. Although civilians were nearby, security forces fired artillery rounds to repel the militant advances."

"In 2017, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on a powerful Yemeni Islamist warlord, accusing him of being a “prominent military instructor” and fundraiser for al-Qaeda who had also at one point 'served with' the Islamic State and financed its forces. But Abu al-Abbas is not on the run. He is not even in hiding."

"A U.S. program begun in mid-2013 provided weapons including ATGM missiles to rebels fighting the Assad regime in Syria. Mr. Trump later canceled the program, saying in a 2017 interview with The Wall Street Journal that it allowed weapons to fall into al Qaeda hands."

"The decision by President Trump to withdraw 7,000 of the roughly 14,000 American troops left in Afghanistan, possibly by summer, has raised new concerns about his impulsive behavior, especially given his nearly simultaneous decision to pull out all American forces from Syria against the advice of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. But the downsizing of the Afghan mission was probably inevitable. Indeed, it may soon be time for the United States to get out of the country altogether."

"The United Nations says 85 former FARC rebels have been killed in Colombia since the group signed a peace accord with the government two years ago. Most of the murders were by illegal armed groups and drug gangs fighting over former FARC territories."

"In Yemen’s war, a Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States has been vilified for killing thousands of civilians with airstrikes, waging an economic war that has driven millions to the precipice of starvation, and allegedly torturing foes and critics in secret prisons. The criticism has gained more traction since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in October focused attention on Riyadh’s behavior and the coalition’s conduct in Yemen."

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' farewell message to all Department of Defense personnel, dated 31 December 2018.

"At a time when the conventional Afghan military and police forces are being killed in record numbers across the country, the regional forces overseen by the CIA have managed to hold the line against the most brutal militant groups, including the Haqqani wing of the Taliban and also Islamic State loyalists."

U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Islamic State have killed over 1,000 civilians in Iraq and Syria since 2014. In a monthly civilian casualty report, the Coalition detailed confirmed deaths of 1,139 civilians in airstrikes conducted since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve between August 2014 and November 2018.

"Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a vocal Republican critic of President Trump’s plan for a 30-day troop withdrawal of American troops from Syria, suggested on Sunday that the pullout had been slowed and that he felt “a lot better” about it after a lunch with the president."

"When the United Arab Emirates began drawing up new plans earlier this year to launch a risky operation to seize Yemen’s most-important port from Iran-aligned fighters, it turned to the U.S. military for help. The response wasn’t what Emirati leaders were hoping for."

"President Trump is re-evaluating a rapid pullout of U.S. troops from Syria, an influential Republican senator said Sunday, signaling White House concerns that a withdrawal could allow Islamic State militants to regain a foothold in the country."

"With U.S. troops set to leave after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw them, residents fear others will rush to fill the vacuum, causing more upheaval: Syrian government forces have deployed nearby while Turkey is threatening its own assault on the city."

'Al Jazeera' - "The Taliban has rejected Kabul's offer of talks next month in Saudi Arabia where the armed group, fighting to restore strict Islamic law in Afghanistan, will meet the United States officials to further peace efforts, a Taliban leader said."

"The Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen has armed and financed local militias, including some with alleged links to Islamic extremists, that are now turning on one another in a competition for territory, wealth and control over the country’s future."

"The challenges in sustaining the country’s police force, underscore some of Afghanistan’s deep dependencies on its foreign backers. Some analysts say it could take decades before the country’s defense and security forces can operate without substantial support from abroad."

Turkey and Russia have agreed to coordinate "on the ground" in Syria following a planned U.S. troop withdrawal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said following a meeting with Turkish officials in Moscow.