Blog Posts

A summary look at the long list of current crises and conflicts on the continent raises the question of the effectiveness of the AU to prevent and protect peace and stability in Africa.

“The 25th anniversary of America’s victory in Operation Desert Storm passed without much fanfare on Sunday, February 28.”

"It was a grisly start to the new era... The dictator was dragged from the sewer pipe where he was hiding, tossed around by rebel soldiers, beaten bloody and sodomized with a bayonet."

"Several mass executions by the IS in Syria and Iraq suggest the terror group is encountering more dissent or at least fears losing its grip on the territory it controls."

This is Major Nguyen Hiep. He was my counterpart in the 52d Ranger Battalion 67-68. I hold him in great regard.

“The President was wary. The Secretary of State was persuasive. But the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi left Libya a failed state and a terrorist haven.”

Defense officials' hopes for sweeping personnel reforms were crushed by Senate Republicans on Thursday who attacked the ideas as “an outrageous waste of time”.

"The cease-fire in Syria that began Saturday has mostly held, but there have been some incidents of violence."

“The U.S. requires new approaches for exerting influence between the limitations of distant strike and the costly, indefinite commitment of conventional forces.”

President Obama says although the U.S.-led effort to combat Islamic State has made progress, the fight “remains difficult” and he has instructed his security team to ramp up efforts.

“The situation in Syria and Iraq is one of the most complex the world has seen in recent times. ISIL is entrenched…”

Video of 24 February IISS discussion meeting featuring Daniel Byman and Bruce Hoffman. Chaired by Donald Daniel.

“Americans won’t close a terror prison when the terror threat is rising.”

Modern War Institute Podcast: Are We Headed for Limited War? With Dr. Jakub Grygiel.

VOA explains who is fighting in the Syria conflict, who the outside influencers are and what their allegiances are.

CNAS commentary - what the Center calls a “a tall order”.

“It is not by crude force alone that Russia twists events to its advantage… Mr. Putin has managed... to “weaponize” information.”

Includes aircraft, air and missile defense, communications and electronics, ground systems, missiles and munitions, nuclear forces, shipbuilding, and space systems.

"Syrian rebel commanders acknowledge they are in an existential, make-or-break moment of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad."

“Little noticed amid the daily news bulletins about the Islamic State and Syria, the Pentagon has begun a push for exotic new weapons that can deter Russia and China.”

Continue on for the President’s statement.

Continue on for links to the February 2016 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

"Is it still a useful or even relevant way for junior officers to think about the U.S. Army as a global force prepared to win in an increasing complex world?"

This is the sixth in a series of analyses of the candidates’ national security positions based primarily on information gleaned from their web sites.

“The United States and Britain fly U.S.-made armed drones and Israel builds its own. Three newcomers — Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq — all took advantage of China's growing exports.”