Blog Posts

"U.S. trimming the 90,000 troops across the region as Iran, ravaged by the new coronavirus, hasn’t posed as large a threat as U.S. officials once feared."

"The pace of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab in Somalia this year is nearly on par with the number of strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria."

"Afghanistan has descended into a full-blown political crisis after the two main contenders in a bitterly disputed presidential election -- each claiming victory -- were sworn in as president in rival ceremonies."

"American troops have begun leaving Afghanistan for the initial troop withdrawal required in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, a U.S. official said on Monday, amid political chaos in Kabul that threatens the deal."

"Two U.S. Special Operations personnel were killed in northern Iraq on Sunday during an operation against Islamic State fighters there, military officials said Monday, marking the first combat deaths of 2020 in the nearly six-year long American campaign against the terrorist group."

"Just a few minutes and a thin wall apart, both President Ashraf Ghani and his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah, took the oath of office as the president of Afghanistan on Monday, plunging the fragile country into a new crisis during sensitive peace talks."

"The Trump administration has announced a long-awaited peace deal with the Taliban and a phased, 'conditions-based' total withdrawal from Afghanistan. Yet as these words are being typed, the U.S. military confirms it has conducted airstrikes against Taliban fighters. The reason: Our Taliban partners in peace carried out 43 attacks—on a single day—against Afghan security forces in Helmand Province. This is an indication of where Afghanistan is headed—and a reminder of where we’ve been."

"The Taliban says talks scheduled this week with Afghanistan’s government are unlikely to take place on time because of plans by two rivals for the Afghan presidency to conduct parallel swearing-in ceremonies."

"Confusion reigned early on March 9 over the parallel inaugurations planned by Afghanistan’s rival claimants to the presidency after challenger Abdullah Abdullah’s spokesman said he was postponing his ceremony."

'Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, a senior al-Shabab leader suspected of involvement in the attack on U.S. and Kenyan forces in Manda Bay, Kenya, was killed in a late February airstrike in Somalia, U.S. Africa Command officials said Sunday."

"Afghan women fear their hard-won rights could be bargained away when government negotiators meet with the Taliban to map out the future of the country, female students at an American-backed university said Sunday."

"The Taliban have read the secret annexes of the recently signed peace deal. But most Americans haven’t, nor have many of their elected representatives."

Via The New Humanitarian - "Conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is escalating, while severe humanitarian restrictions and a sweeping internet blackout are squeezing both aid and information to a trickle, local groups warn."

"The U.S. military has confirmed to VOA that one of al-Shabab’s top leaders was likely killed in a drone strike last month."

"The death last month of China’s whistleblowing doctor Li Wenliang, weeks after he warned of a new, unnamed coronavirus in an online chatroom, triggered an outpouring of calls for free speech in the world’s most populous authoritarian country."

Yahoo News - "On the surface, one winner in the peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban on Saturday is Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan, which has been a longtime supporter of the Islamist group that may now be in a position to regain at least a share of power in the Afghan government. But the deal also poses long-term risks to Pakistan, whose intelligence service has spent years empowering militants that may no longer be under its control."

"The Taliban says its peace pact with the United States does not alter the status of the insurgent group’s supreme leader as the 'lawful ruler' of Afghanistan, saying he is duty-bound by religion to establish an 'Islamic government' after foreign 'occupation' troops exit the country."

"A truce between Russia and Turkey in Syria’s Idlib Province appears to be holding, according to the Turkish defense minister."

"With less than four days to go before peace talks are to begin in Afghanistan between that nation's authorities and the Taliban insurgency, things are not looking promising."

"Volodymyr Yelchenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, said there are many reasons the U.S. should care about the conflict in Ukraine. There are 'plenty of military lessons' for the U.S. in Ukraine, which is now into its sixth year of a Russian invasion that has cost more than 14.000 Ukrainian lives and displaced millions, Yelchenko said in an exclusive interview with Military Times."

"Officials in Afghanistan say at least 32 people were killed and around 60 injured Friday when gunmen opened fire on a gathering in Kabul, with high-profile opposition politicians in attendance."

"The Taliban are happily talking with Trump and standing down against U.S. troops, but they say they are 'still at war' with Afghan national security forces."

"Afghanistan’s peace deal went ugly early. It took just a few days for the Taliban to renege on the peace agreement they signed on the last day of February. By the time U.S. forces appropriately retaliated with airstrikes, the Taliban had conducted 30 attacks, causing fatalities among civilians and Afghan security forces."

"Gunmen killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 55 others in Afghanistan’s capital on Friday at a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader, officials said."

"The presidents of Russia and Turkey said they reached agreements on a cease-fire to take effect at midnight Thursday in northwestern Syria, where escalating fighting had threatened to put forces from the two countries into a direct military conflict."