Blog Posts

"More than four years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation appealed to the public to help identify the narrator in one of the Islamic State’s best-known videos, showing captured Syrian soldiers digging their own graves and then being shot in the head."

"President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to release hundreds of Islamic State fighters being held in Syria if allies in Europe don’t agree to take custody of the militants."

"The general overseeing U.S. forces in the Middle East flew into Iraq on Sunday for talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials expected to focus on ensuring that Islamic State cannot stage a resurgence after U.S. troops withdraw from neighboring Syria."

"Vice President Mike Pence gave a report card on the Trump administration’s security policy two years after telling European leaders that 'America first, did not mean America alone'. The vice president delivered his remarks at the annual Munich Security Conference, yesterday."

"Amid plans to withdraw 1,000 or more American troops from Afghanistan, several key U.S. lawmakers, after meeting with President Ashaf Ghani on Saturday, warned against a wider drawdown like the one President Donald Trump has planned for Syria."

"Human rights observers and officials with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say IS followers have been pushed out of the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz and taken refuge in what they describe as a collection of tents. Various officials have described the size of the camps as covering less than one square kilometer. But efforts by the SDF to deal a final defeat to the terror group's self-declared caliphate have been slowed due to the presence of the civilians, and efforts to negotiate a surrender have also gone nowhere."

"The attack has India rattled — and pointing fingers at Pakistan. This is troubling, because India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars over Kashmir besides engaging in intermittent skirmishes along the border. Will the Pampore incident spark a new and dangerous phase in the enduring rivalry between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan? Here’s what you need to know."

"More than 200 tons of U.S. humanitarian aid intended for Venezuela is scheduled to begin arriving just across the border in Colombia Saturday, delivered by U.S. military cargo planes."

"A suicide bomber drove a vehicle filled with explosives into an Indian paramilitary convoy in Pulwama, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, on February 14. The death toll is at least 40, making it the largest attack in Kashmir in three decades. A Pakistan-based terrorist group, Jaish-e-Muhammad, claimed responsibility through a video released shortly after."

Does the U.S. withdrawal from North Syria spell conflict between the Syria’s Kurds and Turkey, or can more bloodshed be avoided? CSIS’s Turkey Project director Bulent Aliriza explains what’s happening in North Syria.

"The top U.S. commander in the Middle East said he is moving forward with plans to pull American forces out of Syria, but said the military has the flexibility to leave some troops there if President Trump decides to reverse himself and maintain an American presence in Syria as a counter to Iran."

"The head of MI6 has warned that the Islamic State group is reorganising for more attacks despite its military defeat in Syria."

"President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency along the U.S-Mexico border, part of an overall effort that uses roughly $6 billion in military funds and personnel to build a wall to curtail illegal immigration."

"Nearly everyone addresses Ms. Haidari, 39, as “Nana,” or “Mom,” and her supporters describe her as the “mother of a thousand children,” after the number of Afghan addicts she has reportedly saved. Now, Ms. Haidari plans to start a popular uprising against the continuing peace talks with the Taliban."

"Special Rep. Khalilzad emphasizes centrality of intra-Afghan dialogue to achieving inclusive peace."

"India has said it will ensure the "complete isolation" of Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 46 soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir."

Via C4ISRNET - "UAVs have grown from a niche intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to “a favored tool of the non-state actor, initially for ISR, but increasingly for weapons delivery,” according to a newly released assessment of military capabilities and defense economics by the International Institute for Strategic Studies."

"Acting U.S. defense chief Patrick Shanahan on Friday called on allies to expand efforts against the Islamic State globally, even as the U.S. plans to withdraw its troops from Syria."

"Senators from both political parties on Thursday praised the military’s cyber force for helping secure last year’s midterm elections, with one suggesting it was largely due to U.S. Cyber Command that the Russians failed to affect the 2018 vote."

"The militias have transformed themselves into a potent government institution, political entity and economic player whose strong ties to Iran are likely to complicate U.S. foreign policy in the region."

The Islamic State’s physical territory has dwindled to a ramshackle camp only a few square kilometers wide in eastern Syria’s Deir Ez Zor province. But as the so-called caliphate’s end nears, questions remain about what will become of the roughly 1,000 ISIS fighters who have been detained by U.S. troops and local allies.

Tensions appear to be surfacing between Russia and Turkey just hours into a three-way summit on the Syrian conflict being hosted in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. According to Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Russia has told Turkey it lacked authorization to create a "safe zone" inside Syria without the express consent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"President Trump plans to sign the spending bill that Congress was set to pass later Thursday and will then declare a national emergency to get more funding for border barriers, the White House said."

"A massive bomb exploded on a highway in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday, killing more than 30 Indian security personnel, according to police. The death toll makes it the worst militant attack in the restive region since the conflict began in 1989."

"Hundreds of people have trudged out of the Islamic State’s last stronghold since Tuesday, surrendering to U.S.-backed forces before their final assault to capture the only village still in the militants’ hands.