Blog Posts

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has released its forty-third Quarterly Report to Congress, continue on for the report’s key points and a link to the full document.

"Houthi rebels in Yemen ramp up pilotless attacks; U.N. suspects input from Iran."

"True peace in Yemen will remain elusive unless both sides accept that they have nothing to gain from more fighting. We are not there yet."

"The next generation of violent extremists will almost certainly be inspired by the rubble left behind by the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State."

"The Baltic States don’t have a chance in a conventional war with Russia. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania could be conquered in less than three days, according to some estimates. But a guerrilla army just might make the Baltics so indigestible as to deter Moscow from invading, according to a study by U.S. thinktank RAND Corp."

"No longer burdened by territory and administration, Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi outlined the new path forward for his group: Widen your reach, connect with far-flung militant groups and exhaust your enemies with a 'war of attrition.'"

"An April 19 U.S. airstrike in Somalia killed the al-Shabaab militant believed responsible for an American soldier’s death last year in an attack on an isolated outpost, according to the U.S. military."

"More than a week after devastating bombings in Sri Lanka, a government minister and a U.S. diplomat warned that the group that carried out the attacks could launch further strikes."

"The war in Afghanistan is getting harder to track for the American public, as U.S. military officials there have decided to no longer report how much of the country is controlled or influenced by the Taliban or other insurgent forces, according to oversight officials."

"Islamic State remains a potent threat around the world despite reduced capabilities, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday, adding its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had made his latest video appearance in a 'remote area'."

"Opposition leader Juan Guaidó brought thousands of demonstrators into the streets of the Venezuelan capital to confront tear-gas firing security forces Wednesday as the opposition sought to regroup and regain momentum in the campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro after a failed effort to ignite a military uprising a day earlier."

"Defense Department officials don’t know when — or if — the military’s deployment to the U.S. southern border will end. In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said he is pressing Department of Homeland Security officials for more information on their personnel shortfalls, with an eye towards when the military missions on the border might end."

"The White House sent Congress a $4.5 billion emergency spending request for the border on Wednesday, citing an unfolding 'humanitarian and security crisis' as record numbers of Central American families seek entrance into the United States."

"An Instruction Guide for Leveraging Syria’s Fragmentation to Achieve U.S. Policy Objectives" - Continue on for an excerpt from the Executive Study and links to the full report.

"Venezuela's self-declared president Juan Guaido is calling for another day of massive street protests Wednesday to try and convince Nicolas Maduro that he must go. Guaido said late Tuesday night that Maduro’s claim that he still has the respect and support of the Venezuelan military is false."

"The National Security Agency revealed the identities of many more citizens, permanent residents and corporations who were mentioned in intelligence reports last year, in a process known as 'unmasking' that has been a source of controversy for President Trump and his allies in Congress."

"Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó appeared Tuesday with troops at a Caracas military base to announce a 'final phase' to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office."

"This is the first in a new series of posts about developments in Justice Department efforts to combat transnational organized criminal groups."

"How this oft-forgotten conflict unleashed our hyper-powered American exceptionalism and birthed an era of forever war."

"Erik Prince - the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater and a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump - has been pushing a plan to deploy a private army to help topple Venezuela’s socialist president."

"The U.S. military’s biggest successes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria involved uprooting the militants first from Mosul, Iraq, and then Raqqa, Syria. But those operations are also catching the most flak for what many human rights groups and international organizations viewed as a callous use of artillery and air power that killed too many civilians."

"More than 3,200 Afghans gathered here Monday to seek a consensus on peace talks with the Taliban, but hopes for success were dampened by the recent cancellation of first-ever talks between Afghan and insurgent representatives in Qatar, and by the refusal of numerous Afghan political figures to attend the current meeting."

"At least one suicide bomber in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka trained with Islamic State in Syria, people with knowledge of the investigations said, reflecting the extremist group’s continued reach after the collapse of its self-declared caliphate."

"The Islamic State lost control of eastern Syria, but a visit there found cities in shambles, an uncertain future and ISIS still carrying out deadly attacks."

"A Reseda man planned to detonate improvised explosive devices at several Southern California locations to cause 'mass casualties' in a terror plot thwarted by law enforcement officials, authorities said Monday."