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"The Pentagon awarded Microsoft Corp. a hotly contested and controversial contract to build a large cloud-computing system for the U.S. military in a major setback to rival Amazon.com Inc., which was widely seen as the front-runner."

The United States will bolster its forces currently protecting oil fields and facilities in eastern Syria from the Islamic State terror group, even as most of its troops are being pulled from the country.

"After capitulating to U.S. demands for years, Syrian Kurdish leader Ilham Ahmed has some conditions of her own."

"Kurdish forces yesterday accused Turkish-backed fighters of violating the ceasefire in northeast Syria with a “vast” new ground offensive and pleaded with the US “to intervene immediately” to stop the assault."

"The Saudi-backed Yemeni government signed a power-sharing deal with a local group seeking a separate state in the south, an agreement designed to keep the country from fracturing and pave the way for broader talks to end its five-year-old war, people familiar with the talks said."

"The White House is considering options for leaving about 500 U.S. troops in northeast Syria and for sending dozens of battle tanks and other equipment, officials said Thursday, the latest in an array of scenarios following President Trump’s decision this month to remove all troops there."

"Russian aircraft carried out strikes on the last rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria early Thursday, according to a monitoring group and rescue workers, raising fears of an all-out Syrian regime offensive to retake the area following a Moscow-brokered border deal with Turkey."

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says Turkey's offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria was "unwarranted" and Ankara is "heading in the wrong direction" after its agreement with Russia to jointly patrol a "safe zone" in the region.

"U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to focus on Turkey’s offensive into Syria and the fight against Islamic State when he meets NATO partners in Brussels this week, but he has limited options for both issues."

"After spending four tumultuous days engulfed in the chaotic ramifications of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper lashed out Thursday at Turkey for its military assault across the border on Syrian Kurdish fighters."

"Turkish forces suspended their offensive in northern Syria and Russian security forces began patrolling nearby, under an agreement that gives Kurdish fighters 150 hours to leave what Ankara calls a safe zone in the war-torn country’s north."

A negotiated political agreement among Afghans is the best path to a peaceful government in their country, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said during a visit to Afghanistan's capital of Kabul.

Fears that Turkey’s offensive in northeastern Syria allowed untold numbers of captured Islamic State terror group fighters to escape may be overblown, according to U.S. officials.

"President Vladimir Putin’s new pact with Turkey expands Moscow’s role as a power broker in the Middle East, again showing his skill at building up Russia’s sway while weakening U.S. influence."

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will be lifting sanctions on Turkey, saying he has been informed by Ankara that its ceasefire in an offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria will be permanent.

"The Turkish incursion into Syria and the US retreat have huge implications for both Syria itself and the region at large. Some of the impact is immediate and some potentially long-term."

"The US Army’s Mosul Study Group released a report—What the Battle of Mosul Teaches the Force—in September 2017, a mere month and a half after the Islamic State was ejected from the city. The report purported to provide lessons derived from the battle. However, the short time that passed between the end of the battle and the report’s publication raises questions about the report and the group’s research methods."

Turkey's incursion into northeastern Syria appears to be giving Islamic State new life, but U.S. counterterrorism officials caution the terror group's next moves are far from certain.

"Russian forces have begun to deploy towards the Turkey-Syria border, as part of deal to remove Kurdish troops. Units were seen crossing the Euphrates and heading towards the city of Kobane."

"The rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria, which included U.S. forces bombing their own equipment at the bases they hastily left behind, is a vivid example of how the U.S. military is being forced to cope with national security and foreign policy decisions announced at the speed of a tweet."

"Russia agreed to help Turkey drive out Kurdish militias from a “safe zone” in northeastern Syria, highlighting Moscow’s flourishing ties with a NATO member and a rebalance of power in war-torn Syria as U.S. troops leave."

"Russia and Turkey reached an agreement Tuesday that would cement their power in Syria, deploying their forces across nearly its entire northeastern border to fill the void left by President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces."

"A fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks will be held in China next week, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Tuesday, raising hopes for renewed negotiations, even as violence surges in Afghanistan's 18-year war."

"Defense Secretary Mark Esper met Tuesday with the king of Saudi Arabia during a tour of the kingdom’s military facilities as the U.S. pursues its biggest Middle East troop buildup of the Trump administration."

"President Donald Trump has made several incorrect or misleading statements about the five-year battle against the Islamic State group as he seeks to end what he calls "endless wars" and explain an abrupt abandonment of America's Kurdish partners in the face of a Turkish offensive."