Blog Posts

Op-Ed by Steve Balestrieri at Special Operations.com - "There are certainly times when one is forced to scratch his own head. And others where you are just forced to throw up your hands and utter WTF! Today would be more of the latter than the former."

"The Pentagon’s pick for the next commander of U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday the high casualty rate of Afghan security forces would not be sustainable even with the stalemate in the fight against Taliban militants."

“A day after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday called for the international community to help end the war in Afghanistan, the incoming head of U.S. Central Command reluctantly acknowledged to lawmakers on Tuesday that he has no idea when U.S. troops may fully withdraw from Afghanistan.”

"Stabilization programs in Syria long outlived their original political rationale, but bureaucratic factors, analytic biases, and an imperative to deliver services kept them going."

"The insurgents reacted with the same dismissive scorn several days ago when U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told a conference in California that the Trump administration wanted to solve the conflict without agreeing to withdraw troops."

“The IDF operation, launched on Tuesday to uncover and destroy cross-border attack tunnels Hezbollah has dug into Israel, is just one of the reasons for the rise in tensions in recent weeks along Israel’s northern border.”

"Zalmay Khalilzad, the diplomat heading America’s peace efforts in Afghanistan, left Monday for an eight-country tour to discuss ways of bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table."

"In a war which has claimed the lives of over 10,000 people, Russia’s increasing maritime presence in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov has quickly transformed the region into one of the main strategic bridgeheads in the conflict."

A secret biography suggests that Abu Ali al-Anbari defined the group’s radical approach more than any other person.

U.S. President Donald Trump in a letter to Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has sought Islamabad’s cooperation in bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiating peace in Afghanistan.

"It was the deadliest incident involving U.S. troops in Afghanistan this year: An armored U.S. military vehicle struck a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban outside the city of Ghazni on Tuesday, killing three service members."

“Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he is focused on finding an end to the war in Afghanistan, but that doesn’t involve withdrawing U.S. military forces from the country soon.”

“Islamic extremists in Nigeria have begun using drones, the country’s president says, opening a worrying new front in the region’s nearly decade-long fight against Boko Haram and an offshoot linked to the Islamic State.”

“Our Army has a long history of combat advising, and today’s ceremony highlights another step in building capacity for this critical and enduring mission,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in a tweet following the ceremony.

"The Trump administration on Thursday accused Iran of stepping up violations of a U.N. ban on arms exports by sending rockets and other weaponry to rebels in Afghanistan and Yemen."

A senior U.S. diplomat has called on the Taliban to seize a "moment of opportunity" to open formal peace talks with the Western-backed Afghan government and negotiate an end to the 17-year conflict.

Iran’s missiles and other weapons being exported to proxies pose a “clear and present danger” to civilians and regional stability, the special representative for Iran and senior policy advisor to the secretary of state said today.

"Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a barrage of missiles into Saudi Arabia, the armed group said, strikes that could threaten to derail the U.S.-backed peace efforts that have raised fresh hopes to end a catastrophic, nearly four-year war."

Chicago Tribune Editorial - "So why is America still in Afghanistan? Because the terror groups operating there would have the unfettered ability to again thrive if the U.S. were to withdraw the last of its troops. That answer won’t mollify critics of U.S. policy in Afghanistan during three presidencies. But remember, each of those presidents came to understand the terrible risks a U.S. pullout would create."

"Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani laid out the government’s conditions for peace with the Taliban, and not surprisingly, its demands are completely at odds with those of the Taliban. Ghani called for negotiations that are driven by Afghans, which is the opposite of what is actually occurring today."

"The Senate on Wednesday voted to move a legislative measure forward that could end the U.S. military role in Yemen and its support of the Saudi-led coalition there, effectively rebuking pleas from White House officials to dismiss the plan."

"While coverage of Yemen’s civil war has focused on the devastating physical destruction—tens of thousands dead and a looming famine—another conflict has been playing out in the background: a war for control of the country’s internet."

"Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was slated to tell senators in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that the U.S. military should continue its support of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, according to remarks released by Pentagon officials."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says his government has formed a 12-strong negotiating team to seek a peace agreement with the Taliban, as he laid out what he called a "roadmap" for the talks.

"A rash of American combat deaths in Afghanistan is putting a spotlight on a stalemated 17-year war that is testing President Donald Trump’s commitment to pursuing peace with the Taliban."