Blog Posts

"The Taliban has killed dozens of government forces in its latest battlefield attacks in Afghanistan as the insurgent group opens a new round of peace negotiations with the United States in Qatar to discuss a political settlement to the deadly Afghan war."

"Two suspected Muslim militant suicide attackers detonated bombs in an army camp in the southern Philippines on Friday, killing three soldiers, two civilians and themselves, military officials said."

"Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been called many things by his critics at home — arrogant and impatient, isolated and out of touch with ordinary people. But he surely deserves points for diplomatic perseverance."

"American officials have warned Iraq not to allow Iran-aligned groups to launch attacks from its territory."

"Afghan and Western officials say that if the Taliban express willingness to finally go to the negotiating table with the Afghan government, American diplomats might be willing to play their main negotiating card this time: offering some sort of provisional schedule for the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan."

"Photos of the fight for Tripoli between forces loyal to a rogue Libyan general and the U.N.-backed government paint a picture of brutality and bloodshed."

"In an exclusive interview, Amb. Jim Jeffrey also confirmed a breakthrough agreement that could restart the Geneva peace process."

"An emerging U.S. plan for deterring attacks on tankers that Washington blames on Iran calls for ships from Arab, Asian and other foreign nations to stand watch in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman while maritime patrol planes fly overhead, U.S. officials said."

"The Senate passed a $750 billion defense bill Thursday without resolving whether it will seek to restrain President Trump from going to war with Iran, the most politically divisive element of the debate over the legislation."

“There is clear evidence of Venezuelan support for terrorist and separatist movements,” says Ramon Peralta, a senior law professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, who believes that there are ideological ties between extremist groups and the Venezuelan government, which provides them key assistance.

"Iran’s downing of a U.S. surveillance drone has not slowed the U.S. Air Force’s flight operations in the Middle East, its top general said Wednesday."

"The most striking feature of the Trump administration’s conference showcasing the economic side of its Middle East peace plan was what was largely absent: Criticism of Israeli policy toward the Palestinian territories."

"President Donald Trump said a conflict would Iran 'wouldn’t last very long' because of American military might but also ruled out sending large numbers of ground troops into the region."

"The National Security Agency collected records about U.S. calls and text messages that it wasn’t authorized to obtain last year, in a second such incident, renewing privacy concerns surrounding the agency’s maligned phone-surveillance program, according to government documents and people familiar with the matter."

"It will recover much faster and to a much more dangerous level from the far larger force it still has today."

Ukraine's armed forces have begun to pull back from the town of Stanytsia Luhanska in the Luhansk region, one of only six civilian crossing points along the 450-kilometer line of contact in the Donbas war zone.

"Four men with suspected ties to the Islamic State (IS) group were arrested in Nicaragua after crossing illegally from Costa Rica, officials say."

"A raid on June 3 used U.S. intelligence to seize group’s leaders and weapons."

"In an unannounced visit to the Afghan capital for talks with Afghan officials, Mr. Pompeo said on Tuesday that progress has been made in reaching a comprehensive settlement of the nearly 18-year war and that neighboring Pakistan has an important role to play. 'I hope we have a peace deal before Sept. 1,' Mr. Pompeo said."

"President Trump and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran shifted back to a sharply confrontational footing on Tuesday, trading accusations while U.S. officials and international leaders worked toward expected talks aimed at defusing the conflict at a global summit at the end of the week."

"War is often filled with its share of mistakes and errors in judgment. It’s the nature of this lethal business. Some are the result of changing circumstances on the ground, while others are more systemic. The United States has committed more than a few during its 18 years in Afghanistan."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hopes for a peace deal with the Taliban "before September 1,” as he spoke to reporters in Kabul during an unannounced visit to the Afghan capital on June 25. Pompeo met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other high-level Afghan officials as well as General Scott Miller, who leads NATO's Resolute Support Mission and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan.

Iran and the United States have traded insults, with Tehran accusing Washington of "lying" about its willingness to hold talks to steer the two nations away from military conflict, a statement President Donald Trump called “very ignorant and insulting.”

"The U.S. is prepared to wipe out areas of Iran if the country decides to attack ‘anything American,' President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday morning on Twitter."

"Experts said that the operation signals U.S. government leaders are becoming increasingly comfortable with cyberwarfare as a tool in the arsenal and, in some cases, now view cyber operations as a half-step removed from a kinetic conflict."