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"Turkey’s president threatened Wednesday to use force against Syrian government forces if they don’t pull back to an earlier cease-fire line in northern Syria by the end of the month."

"The Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in operations against the Islamic State group, two senior Iraqi military officials said, amid a crisis of mistrust between Washington and Baghdad after an American strike killed a top Iranian general and an Iraqi militia commander."

"President Donald Trump hailed the U.S. military as “unmatched anywhere in the world” and vowed to use it to pursue terrorists worldwide in his annual State of the Union speech Tuesday night, but also vowed to end America’s wars in the Middle East because of the strain they have put on military families."

U.S. defense and intelligence officials say the special forces operation that killed former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria last October has done little to hinder the terror group. Instead, the Defense Intelligence Agency warns the organization’s command and control structure, as well as many of its clandestine networks remain intact, and recent turmoil in the region due to Turkey’s incursion into northeastern has played to its advantage.

"The head of U.S. counterintelligence said the government would unveil a new strategy to combat insider threats that have afflicted the spy world."

"The Defense Intelligence Agency said that ISIS took advantage of Turkey’s October 2019 invasion of northern Syria and increased attacks by nearly 20 percent, according to an inspector general report."

Analysis by SWJ El Centro Fellow Paul Rexton Kan at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague.

"Turkey will not let Syria's government gain more ground in the opposition stronghold of Idlib province, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says."

Rights groups and experts say a leading commander of a Syrian Islamist armed group who was recently arrested in France was involved in torture and war crimes against civilians in Syria.

"By recognizing how Krulak’s ideas have been distorted, we can begin to chart the ways in which the strategic-corporal developmental philosophy is still relevant on the modern battlefield as a means of addressing war’s increasing complexity."

Yahoo News UK: "The killers responsible for the 2017 attack all wore the vests, and their tactics seem to have influenced the later incidents…"

"Turkey has launched ground and air attacks on Syrian troops after eight military personnel were shelled and killed in the north of the war-torn country, jeopardizing the Turkish leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fragile security pact with Syria’s main ally, Russia."

"The endless slog of peace talks to shutter the 18-year long war has precipitated a tit-for-tat escalation in violence between Taliban and U.S. and Afghan forces resulting in one of the bloodiest years of the conflict."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has demanded "demonstrable evidence" from the Taliban that it will lower the violence level in Afghanistan before signing a deal that would lead to peace talks and a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

"It was one of the most shocking episodes of recent fighting in Libya, and the United Nations seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. A 13-page report published last week described in stark detail the bombing in July of a detention center in the town of Tajoura, near Tripoli, which killed 53 people, mostly African migrants."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce Monday "fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offenses" following a stabbing incident in London.

"Nearly a month after Iran launched a rare direct military attack against United States forces in Iraq, an uneasy quiet has settled across the Mideast."

"British police Sunday said they shot dead a man after two people were stabbed in south London in what U.K. authorities described as a terrorism-related attack."

"In late December, President Trump’s aides had a decision to make about his long-delayed Middle East peace plan. Israel was headed for an unprecedented third set of elections, leaving an interim government running the country—and no consensus leader to serve as Washington’s partner on its peace plan."

"Combatant commanders for Africa and Latin America made the case Thursday for more U.S. military, diplomatic and economic involvement in their regions, even as the Defense Department mulls troop drawdowns."

"The New York Times, citing three current and former American officials, reported that the administration is confident that the al Qaeda leader, Qassim al-Rimi, was killed in a January airstrike in Yemen but has not yet confirmed the death."

"Turkey’s deployment of troops to war-torn Libya to head off the threat of private Russian military contractors threatens a significant escalation in the months-long conflict, the top US military officer in Africa said today."

"Iraq’s president on Saturday appointed a former communications minister as the country’s new premier after months of political deadlock, drawing a backlash from protesters who see him as little different from the predecessor they forced to resign."

Arab foreign ministers pledged support Saturday for the Palestinian cause at an extraordinary summit in Cairo, criticizing the Trump administration's peace plan but taking no concrete action to oppose it.

"European leaders have expressed sadness at the UK leaving the EU, with France's Emmanuel Macron emphasising Britain's 'unrivalled ties' with the French."