Small Wars Journal

Blog Posts

SWJ Blog is a multi-author blog publishing news and commentary on the various goings on across the broad community of practice.  We gladly accept guest posts from serious voices in the community.

by The New York Times | Sun, 09/08/2019 - 1:15pm | 0 comments
"Even as President Trump blamed a recent Taliban attack for his decision to call off nearly yearlong negotiations with the insurgents, officials suggested on Sunday it had more to do with the Taliban’s resistance to the American terms for a peace deal, and a rushed plan for a Camp David summit meeting."
by Voice of America | Sun, 09/08/2019 - 11:55am | 0 comments
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that President Donald Trump "made the right decision" to call off peace talks with Taliban leaders at his presidential retreat because of the terrorist group's on-going attacks in Afghanistan.
by The New York Times | Sun, 09/08/2019 - 10:15am | 0 comments
"Days after Sudanese soldiers massacred pro-democracy demonstrators in Khartoum in June, an obscure digital marketing company in Cairo began deploying keyboard warriors to a second front: a covert operation to praise Sudan’s military on social media."
by The Wall Street Journal | Sun, 09/08/2019 - 12:55am | 0 comments
"President Trump said Saturday he called off a planned Camp David summit with Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul killed an American soldier."
by Voice of America | Sat, 09/07/2019 - 11:36am | 0 comments
Officials in Afghanistan Saturday announced that security forces have recaptured a key northeastern district from the Taliban after five years, as heavy clashes raged in provinces elsewhere in Afghanistan.
by The Wall Street Journal | Sat, 09/07/2019 - 5:56am | 0 comments
"Prospective trip by President Ghani represents government’s latest effort to shape the draft withdrawal agreement."
by InSight Crime | Fri, 09/06/2019 - 12:09pm | 0 comments
"The announcement in late August that three important former leaders of the demobilized FARC were returning to war did not only threaten the fragile Colombian peace agreement but raised questions about the power the ex-FARC Mafia have in neighboring Venezuela."
by Associated Press | Fri, 09/06/2019 - 2:12am | 0 comments
"Relentless, deadly attacks by the Taliban, including a car bombing Thursday that killed a U.S. service member, are testing President Donald Trump’s resolve to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and end what he has called America’s 'endless' war."
by The New York Times | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 6:15pm | 0 comments
"The Afghan government is pushing back against American diplomats on the eve of a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban, concerned that the proposed agreement lacks assurances that the insurgents will honor their promises once American troops leave."
by Voice of America | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 4:35pm | 0 comments
NATO-led military alliance says an American soldier and a Romanian soldier were killed “in action” Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan, raising the number of U.S. military fatalities to 16 this year.
by Foreign Policy | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 3:44pm | 0 comments
"The United States came up with 'maximum pressure'—but the Israeli government is the only one carrying it out."
by Time Magazine | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 9:43am | 0 comments
"The U.S. is closing in on a deal with the Taliban that is designed to wind down America’s 18-year war in Afghanistan, but the best indication of how risky the pact may be is this: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is declining to sign it, according to senior U.S., Afghan and European officials."
by Military.com | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 9:12am | 0 comments
"Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is not talking about President Donald Trump in his new memoir "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead," written with military author Bing West and released Monday."
by Associated Press | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:57am | 0 comments
"The creation of a so-called “safe zone” in northeastern Syria has gotten off to good start, with U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces pulling back from a small, initial area along the Turkish border, a Syrian Kurdish official said — but calm can only prevail if Turkey also removes its troops."
by Voice of America | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:25am | 0 comments
Since the beginning of 2018, more than 5,000 bodies have been uncovered in and around Raqqa, all believed to be dumped in mass graves by Islamic State militants. But without the resources for DNA or forensic testing, most remains have not yet been identified.
by Associated Press | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:21am | 0 comments
"U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he’s not ready to publicly discuss how a U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin under a peace deal with the Taliban."
by Voice of America | Thu, 09/05/2019 - 12:12am | 0 comments
Pakistan warned Wednesday that India was "sowing the seeds" of another war in the region through its controversial actions in Kashmir, a disputed territory that has long been a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed rivals.
| Wed, 09/04/2019 - 8:46pm | 0 comments
A U.S. citizen who allegedly joined the Islamic State terror group as a sniper and eventually rose to the rank of emir is facing new charges and the possibility of life behind bars.
by Military Times | Wed, 09/04/2019 - 11:23am | 0 comments
"The more personal data people voluntarily broadcast on the internet, the easier it becomes to track and analyze it. That’s the premise behind a line of research of interest to U.S. Special Operations Command."
by Reuters | Wed, 09/04/2019 - 9:55am | 0 comments
"The Afghan government has concerns about the draft peace agreement reached between U.S. and Taliban negotiators and wants further clarification, President Ashraf Ghani’s main spokesman said on Wednesday."
by Fox News | Wed, 09/04/2019 - 9:42am | 0 comments
"Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, in stark terms, lambasts Barack Obama and Joe Biden for faulty leadership in his new book, and suggests their naivete and ignorance of reality contributed to the rise of ISIS in Iraq, according to excerpts reviewed by The Washington Examiner."
by Associated Press | Wed, 09/04/2019 - 12:39am | 0 comments
"The Taliban on Tuesday defended their suicide bombing against an international compound in the Afghan capital that killed at least 16 people and wounded 119, almost all local civilians, just hours after a U.S. envoy said he and the militant group had reached a deal “in principle” to end America’s longest war."
by Voice of America | Tue, 09/03/2019 - 8:00pm | 0 comments
Thousands of jihadis are set to seek sanctuary in Turkey with Damascus' forces laying siege to Idlib, the last Syrian rebel enclave. With Damascus determined to take control of all of Syria, analysts warn it's only a matter of time before Turkey faces an exodus of not only refugees, but also the arrival of extremist fighters, posing a significant security threat to the country.
by The British Broadcasting Corporation | Tue, 09/03/2019 - 7:02pm | 0 comments
"The UK, US, France and Iran may be complicit in possible war crimes in Yemen over their support for parties to the conflict there, UN experts say. A new report warns the countries they could be held responsible for aiding or assisting the commission of violations."
by Center for Strategic & International Studies | Tue, 09/03/2019 - 6:41pm | 0 comments
"The U.S., its European allies, and its Strategic Partners in the Middle East achieved a significant victory in breaking up the ISIS protostate – or “caliphate” – in Syria and Iraq. This break up has sharply reduced the fighting against ISIS in Iraq, and in Eastern Syria."