Blog Posts

"The Taliban is hoping ongoing negotiations with the United States will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, allowing Afghans themselves to peacefully negotiate an end to years of hostilities, a senior member of the group says."

"U.S.-backed Syrian forces on Friday resumed military operations to liberate the last piece of territory held by the Islamic state group in Syria after evacuating thousands of civilians and hostages who have been besieged inside, a spokesman said."

"Afghan forces repelled a Taliban attack at deadly cost after the militants assaulted a large military base in the southern province of Helmand late on February 28."

"Mexican officials are carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration agenda across widespread stretches of the border, undercutting the Mexican government’s promises to defend migrants and support their search for a better life."

"Islamic State militants are being as vicious at the end as they were at the start when they rolled out their caliphate."

"Early Friday morning Taliban fighters attempted to storm a major Afghan military base in southern Afghanistan that houses Afghan forces and U.S. Marine advisers, according to military officials."

"President Trump has ordered most American troops to withdraw from Syria. He wants to bring home thousands more from Afghanistan. Now hundreds of United States commandos and other forces are leaving West Africa — despite an onslaught of attacks from an increasingly deadly matrix of Islamist fighters."

"U.S.-backed forces in Syria moved to retake the very last patch the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate in Syria, advancing on the terror group’s remaining fighters late Friday."

"President Donald Trump asserted on Thursday that the Islamic State group has lost 100 percent of the territory it once controlled in Syria, but U.S. officials in Washington and accounts from people in Syria said a sliver of land remains contested."

"Mexico’s Congress on Thursday approved the creation of a 60,000-member National Guard to tackle the nation’s public security crisis, a force that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made a cornerstone of his plan to confront organized crime and curb soaring violence."

"The United States is offering a reward of up to $1m (£750,000) for information about the son of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Hamza."

"The conclusions reached in a new think-tank study by the Rand Corp. looking at competitiveness between the services and how their culture succeeds or fails in beating out the other services for resources."

"Special operations is an intense career, and with the lucrative civilian job market looking for the experience and security clearances that go with it, the incentives to leave active duty can be strong."

"All American troops would withdraw from Afghanistan over the next three to five years under a new Pentagon plan being offered in peace negotiations that could lead to a government in Kabul that shares power with the Taliban."

"The U.S. and North Korea blamed each other for their failure to reach an agreement at their second summit aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons program, leaving an uncertain path for one of President Trump’s signature foreign-policy issues."

"The magic 8-ball that is the Trump Administration’s foreign policy sent Washington and world leaders on another whipsaw last week, this time announcing the U.S. would leave 200 troops in Syria. Not even two months ago, President Trump announced the military mission to liberate ISIS-held territory was (nearly) complete and that it was time to bring American forces home."

"President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to reach an agreement at a second summit aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, with Washington saying Pyongyang sought sanctions relief without offering enough in return."

"American and Afghan Taliban officials have temporally paused ongoing peace talks in Qatar to consult with their respective leaderships before returning to the table on Saturday."

"Two nuclear-armed siblings with a long history of armed conflict. Two prime ministers facing public pressure for military action. And a snowy, mountainous region that both nations have coveted — and occupied with troops — for more than 70 years."

"Despite the dueling accounts, one thing was certain: For the first time in almost half a century, Indian aircraft ventured beyond the Line of Control separating the two countries to hit targets on Pakistani soil. The act marked a potentially grave escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In a statement, the Pakistani government said on Tuesday that it would “respond at the time and place of its choosing.”"

"The United States, European Union, China, and Russia have expressed growing concerns that the worst crisis in years between bitter nuclear rivals India and Pakistan could spiral out of control."

Continue on to read the 26 February update to CRS' "Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy Brief".

"Tensions escalated between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan Wednesday amid claims and counter claims of shooting down each other's fighter planes. Pakistan said it downed two Indian planes after they crossed over to its side of the Line of Control, the de-facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, following Pakistan's airstrikes into an "open space" on the Indian side designed to send a message. Pakistan said it captured one Indian pilot."

"In an effort to reduce the burden of Islamic State foreign fighters, U.S.-backed Syrian forces have recently handed over more than 300 IS militants, who have been captured in Syria, to the Iraqi government, which will reportedly try them for their actions against Iraqi civilians and security forces."

"Pakistan said it shot down two Indian aircraft over its territory Wednesday and launched strikes inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, one day after Indian jets bombed targets in Pakistan for the first time since 1971 in retaliation for a recent terrorist attack in India’s portion of Kashmir."