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"The Pentagon's top general said recently that the U.S. Army's 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) will face a tough operating environment when it deploys to Africa, one that's much more austere than it faced in Afghanistan."

"The only place in the world where fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are cooperating is in West Africa’s sprawling Sahel region, giving the extremists greater depth as they push into new areas, according to the commander of the U.S. military’s special operations forces in Africa."

"At least 29 Turkish soldiers were killed in the Syrian province of Idlib today in an escalating confrontation between Russian-backed Syrian forces on one side and Turkish forces and their Sunni rebel allies on the other, marking the highest number of Turkish losses in a single day since the start of the civil conflict in Syria nine years ago."

"The Islamic State’s Afghanistan branch has lost more than half its fighters due to Afghan and U.S. airstrikes, and ground operations conducted by Taliban fighters, according to a recent inspector general report."

"The upcoming 2021 defense policy bill will likely restrict the Pentagon from reducing its footprint in Africa, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Thursday."

Continue on for links to all the latest articles in the February 2020 edition of CTC's "Sentinel".

"It is the final days before a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban insurgency is expected to be signed, and the partial cease-fire that was set as a precondition seems to be holding. The police on this remote, southern battlefield suddenly have time for questions they once hardly imagined asking: Could there really be peace? What would that be like?"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington "does not and will not ever recognize" Moscow's claim to Ukraine's Crimea region, which it seized in 2014 and annexed. Pompeo said that "February 27 will mark the sixth anniversary of Russia's attempted annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and the United States reaffirms: Crimea is Ukraine."

"Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters Thursday retook a strategic northwestern town in Syria that was recently captured by government forces, and cut the highway linking the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo days after the government reopened it for the first time since 2012."

"Afghanistan has averted a full-blown political crisis after the two main contenders in a bitterly disputed presidential election -- each claiming victory -- agreed to back down from their escalating feud."

"Facing skepticism from members of Congress about plans to alter force posture in Africa, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told members of the House Armed Services Committee that he remains committed to keeping U.S. forces on the continent."

"A bombing in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Wednesday injured at least nine civilians, the first significant incident of violence during the weeklong reduced fighting period agreed to between U.S.-backed Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents."

"Nearly 17 years after U.S. troops largely pulled up stakes from the kingdom, the U.S. is now back in force."

"Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper is reviewing the combatant commands' force posture to ensure the forces have the right mix of personnel and resources to meet the National Defense Strategy's priorities, a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon."

"Pressure appears to be building on the White House and U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify some information and brief the public on possible Russian attempts to meddle in the upcoming presidential election."

Via C4ISRNET - "For military planners who fear future conflicts in megacities, Elma, Washington, provides a near ideal testing ground: an urban environment without the difficulties of an inhabited urban space."

"Governments increasingly order telecoms to turn off web access in neighborhoods, regions or whole countries, sometimes for months."

"The top U.S. commander in Europe is warning of daunting amounts of Chinese investment in European seaports and increases in Russian submarine activity outside of Europe."

"U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration is moving closer to a peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying a week-long nationwide 'reduction in violence' truce with the insurgent group is holding up 'so far, so good.'"

"The week-long reduction in violence deal hashed out between the Taliban and the U.S. appears to be holding up. Attacks have so far been significantly reduced, potentially leading to the signing of a long-term peace deal on Feb. 29 and the withdrawal of American troops."

"The senior al-Shabab leader who plotted the attack against U.S. and Kenyan forces in Manda Bay, Kenya is dead — following a series of airstrikes in Somalia over the weekend, U.S. Africa Command announced Tuesday."

"Turkish forces have suffered more casualties in the latest round of fighting in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. But despite Russia backing Syrian government forces in the ongoing attacks on Turkish forces, Ankara has refrained from confronting Moscow — a sign, analysts suggest, of the considerable economic leverage Russia retains over Turkey."

"Afghan officials say at least six people have been killed in a Taliban attack in the northern Balkh Province, amid a weeklong 'reduction of violence' agreed between the United States and the Taliban."

"Battles with characteristics of near-peer combat are raging in Africa — especially in Libya, where high-tech precision strike weapons are flooding the battlefield. And at a time when the U.S. is considering drawing down troops, the conflict in Libya is providing Pentagon planners with an opportunity to better prepare for any future conflict with China or Russia."

"Julian Assange put lives in danger when he published a decade ago thousands of classified documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a lawyer representing the U.S. government said at the opening day of a court hearing to determine whether the WikiLeaks founder should be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial."