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"Syrian forces backed by Russian airstrikes intensified an assault on the city of Daraa on Wednesday, expanding their campaign to retake opposition strongholds in Syria’s southwest as the U.S. backed away from enforcing a cease-fire."

"The Afghan air force has grown in capacity and proficiency as it continues to successfully target the Taliban across Afghanistan, the deputy air commander of NATO’s Resolute Support mission said today."

“The U.S. military is considering adding a new warfighting domain to U.S. military doctrine: the underground realm, said the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Tunnels and subterranean infrastructure demand high-level attention, training, and technology, the military’s intelligence chief says.”

“Aside from this southern pocket, the only other significant patches of Syria left outside of government hands are the rebel stronghold of Idlib, Turkish-backed rebel areas surrounding Afrin and the Kurdish region - held by sometimes Assad-allied Kurdish forces backed by the US.”

"The U.S. Army has plans to extend Basic Combat Training for its young infantrymen by two months. The reason: Military officials want to ensure a better “baseline” infantryman arrives at each duty station."

"The Afghan Ministry of Defense said current combat operations are limited to self-defense and protecting civilians against attacks by the Taliban and other groups. General Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesperson for the Afghan Defense Minister, told VOA that Afghan security forces are abiding by the current cease-fire."

“The overlapping, temporary ceasefires announced by the Afghan government, U.S.-led NATO forces, and the Taliban show there is still hope for a political end to the conflict.”

The latest issue of the U.S. Army War College's 'Parameters' is now online. Continue on for links to all the articles.

“The Army’s latest security force assistance effort hit two big milestones in June: The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade marked its first anniversary, as well as 100 days on the ground in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, back home, a second SFAB is training for future missions and three more are recruiting and readying to stand up - while lawmakers are raising questions about whether the Army should really be in the security force assistance business at all.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he sees encouraging signs for substantive talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban after 17 years of war.

"Syrian government troops advanced on rebel-held areas in the country's southwestern region amid intense clashes Saturday, state media and opposition activists said, in a widening offensive that has shattered a U.S.-backed truce."

“U.S. Army leaders say the next war will be fought in mega-cities, but the service has embarked on an ambitious effort to prepare most of its combat brigades to fight, not inside, but beneath them.”

"The US has warned Syrian rebels in the south-west of the country they should not expect military support to help them resist a major government offensive."

"For three extraordinary days this month, the 17-year Afghan conflict took its first formal break, generating a spontaneous outpouring of emotion on all sides and leaving indelible images of Taliban fighters eating at ice cream stands, hugging tearful Afghan soldiers and praying alongside their longtime enemies."

"On month four of their first deployment, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade’s soldiers are sitting down with the Army’s top civilian to tell the top brass how it’s going."

"The recent fighting in Afghanistan has shown all too clearly that the Taliban was sincere in announcing in late April that it was rejecting participation in a peace progress and starting a new spring offensive. It has only had limited success so far, but has taken more districts. In spite of a brief Ramadan ceasefire, peace seems no closer now than it has at any point in the past."

"Taliban gunmen killed seven as they stormed an election registration site in Nimroz province Thursday, in a new round of attacks on Afghanistan’s hopes for safe elections this October following the end of a short cease-fire."

"U.S. and Afghan special-operations troops pushed Islamic State fighters out of the district that the militants had aspired to make the capital of their local territory, the military said."

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia threw its weight behind the Afghan government’s attempts to kindle a peace process with the Taliban this week, reflecting growing international pressure to bring Afghanistan’s long war to a negotiated end."

“Taliban fighters killed dozens of government soldiers in overnight attacks on two security checkpoints in northwestern Afghanistan, authorities and medical personnel said Wednesday, in the insurgent group’s first major assault since refusing to extend an unprecedented three-day cease-fire.”

Somalia’s most dangerous terror group is likely not getting any stronger despite a series of deadly attacks, including one that claimed the life of a U.S. special operations soldier earlier this month.

Today, SIGAR released a review of the construction of a 233-kilometer segment of Afghanistan's Ring Road between Qeysar and Laman. Since 2006, the project has been funded by five separate grants from the Asian Development Bank totaling $721 million.

Our Air Force allowed us to go from air superiority to air dominance. In order to maintain it, we need to go higher. From that higher level, we can protect the vital assets that allow our modern high-tech society to function.

The U.S. Army general nominated to head U.S. military operations in Afghanistan says Washington must be careful not to withdraw too quickly, otherwise terror groups will regroup and plunge the country into deeper conflict.

Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva told the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition that DoD has learned lessons from past disasters such as the earthquake in Pakistan, the tsunami in South Asia, the Haitian earthquake, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the earthquake/tsunami that hit Japan. In humanitarian crises occurring today, with most caused by war, 66 million people are displaced in the Middle East, Asia, South and Central America and the Arabian Peninsula.