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"Shortly after Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, the Tehran-backed Lebanese organization Hezbollah urgently met with Iraqi militia leaders, seeking to unite them in the face of a huge void left by their powerful mentor’s death."

"With clear marching orders from the Defense Department to turn focus to competitors like China and Russia, the U.S. special operations community is at an inflection point."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday not to accept a peace proposal put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump, but left the door open to negotiations with Israel.

"With an eye on Russia, U.S. will form a new command post to coordinate with Europeans."

"U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday he is looking to NATO allies for more help countering the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and in bolstering U.S. defense efforts in the Middle East more broadly."

"President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said Tuesday he is cautiously optimistic that there could be a U.S. agreement with the Taliban over the next days or weeks, but a withdrawal of American forces is not 'imminent.'"

"The Donald Trump administration is again set to slash funding for the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in a new budget request unveiled today, as Iraq’s leaders have publicly demanded an end to the US-led combat mission."

"NATO countries are preparing to move more than 200 trainers working with the international force fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq to the military alliance’s own mission there helping to build up the Iraqi army in response to President Donald Trump's demand that U.S. allies do more in the Middle East, senior officials said Tuesday."

This important U.S. strategic studies work seeks to develop a cyber deterrence strategy by drawing upon the hard-learned lessons of the past-specifically from Cold War deterrence theory and Cold War missile defense.

"The Philippines told the U.S. it would scrap an agreement considered a cornerstone of the two countries’ military alliance, a move the U.S. State Department said would have serious implications for the relationship."

Afghan officials say a suicide blast near a military academy in Kabul early Tuesday killed at least six people, including four soldiers. The bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at a checkpoint near the entrance to the capital city’s Marshal Fahim Military Academy.

Today, SIGAR released its latest special projects report - The Human Cost of Reconstruction in Afghanistan. Continue on for key points and a link to the full report.

"A major exercise involves 40,000 troops, of which more than three-quarters come from the U.S."

"A crisis within the world's greatest humanitarian emergency could be reaching breaking point over the control of lifesaving aid millions of Yemenis need to survive."

"Five soldiers die in fighting with Syrian forces; Ankara pledges to keep supporting rebels targeted by government offensive."

"The number of US troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) after an Iranian attack on a US base in Iraq in January has risen to 109, according to US officials."

"An assertion on Friday that it had defeated U.S. drones in the region was met with incredulity by analysts, but it appears to indicate broader concerns in Tehran."

The United States military has begun building a new base in northeast Syria, according to local reports. The new U.S. military base reportedly is located in the city of Hasakah, one of the largest cities in Syria’s northeast.

"The annual African Union summit opened Sunday with leaders vowing that the AU would play a more prominent role in resolving conflicts proliferating across the continent."

"Iran isn’t the only flashpoint in the Middle East. Less noticed are tensions between Egypt and Turkey over the fate of Libya, where a messy civil war has been raging since 2014. This antagonism could further destabilize the Middle East, which could set off another refugee crisis in Europe. The fight may also disrupt maritime commerce in the Mediterranean and lead to a resurgence of ISIS in Libya."

"Syria’s military vowed on Sunday to keep up its campaign to regain control of the whole country, days after capturing large chunks of territory from the last rebel holdout in northwestern Syria."

The U.S. Department of Defense has released the names of the two U.S. soldiers who were killed in a shootout early Sunday in the Sherzad district of eastern Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. They are Sgt. Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, 28; and Sgt. Antonio Rey Rodriguez, 28.

"The U.S. ambassador to Israel warned that any unilateral move by Israel to annex territory in the West Bank could jeopardize future U.S. recognition of Israel’s sovereignty in the occupied areas."

The U.S. military in Afghanistan confirmed Sunday at least two of its soldiers were killed and six others wounded when an Afghan partner turned his gun on them.

"Turkey reinforced its military presence in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Saturday as Turkish and Russian officials held talks about the Syrian government offensive there, which has displaced more than half a million people in two months."