Blog Posts

"The U.S. military is bracing for a months-long struggle against the coronavirus, looking for novel ways to maintain a defensive crouch that sustains troops' health without breaking their morale - while still protecting the nation."

"German authorities say police have arrested four suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who were planning an attack on American military facilities."

"The people of Afghanistan, who have suffered for decades, are investing great hopes in these talks to settle the differences between the warring sides and achieve a permanent peace acceptable to all."

"US President Donald Trump says he has instructed his administration to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO)."

"Despite the new challenges posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak, Turkey is pressing ahead with military deployments in Syria’s Idlib and maintaining its tight grip east of the Euphrates River."

"U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has met in Qatar with senior Taliban representatives to discuss what the U.S. State Department described as 'current challenges' in implementing a peace deal signed in February by the United States and the Taliban."

"Israel’s unacknowledged military campaign against Iranian targets in Syria could provide a model for the United States as it struggles to contain Tehran’s network of armed proxies across the Middle East, according to a new report."

"In Afghanistan, the Taliban has dispatched health teams to far-flung provinces to confront the coronavirus. In Mexico, drug cartels are offering aid packages to those feeling its economic impact. In Brazil and El Salvador, gangs enforce curfews to prevent its spread."

"One year after an offensive was launched against the Libyan capital Tripoli, Libya's war is intensifying, and hundreds of thousands of civilians are besieged amid increased shelling and massive water and electricity cuts."

"The Islamic State is seeking to take advantage of Iraq's preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic and the global coalition's suspension there of military operations against IS."

"After a Russian military contingent with medical equipment arrived in Rome last month, the Kremlin's English-language media outlets RT and Sputnik found video gold."

"They were a small part of Operation Barkhane — France’s mission to fight a terrorist insurgency in the vast stretch of land south of the Sahara known as the Sahel — in the belly of a tank-like infantry fighting vehicle."

"MI5 is aware of more than 43,000 people who pose a potential terrorist threat to the UK, according to a government report - almost twice the number of terror suspects previously disclosed."

"The Taliban released 20 prisoners Sunday - the first public release of detainees by the militant group since it signed an agreement with the U.S. in February. The move breathes new life into a peace process that has stumbled from the outset."

"The Afghan government has released 100 more Taliban prisoners, the Afghan National Security Council (NSC) said on April 12."

"The military medical facilities inside Manhattan's Javits Center convention hall and aboard the Navy hospital ship Comfort were touted as relief valves for New York hospitals overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, but both are operating well below capacity, and the city's beleaguered health-care workers have grown exasperated with the pace at which each has taken on patients."

"The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has met with leaders of the Taliban insurgency under their bilateral peace-building agreement to discuss ways to reduce violence in the war-torn country, both sides said Saturday."

"Aid agencies have expressed alarm after the first virus case was confirmed in Yemen, where years of civil war have devastated health systems."

"The U.S.’s top commander in Afghanistan flew to Qatar to hold talks with the Taliban on Friday amid mounting concerns over the country’s faltering peace process, officials said."

"The Islamic State (IS) is seeking to take advantage of Iraq's preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic and the global coalition's suspension there of military operations against IS."

"Extreme right-wing organizations and radical Islamist groups are seizing on the turmoil and panic created by the coronavirus pandemic to advance their violent agendas, often using similar tactics and the same messaging apps, security officials and experts say."

"New air defense systems are now protecting American and allied forces at military bases in Iraq where troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed insurgents in recent months, according to U.S. officials."

"Afghanistan's government says it will not hand over a captured Islamic State (IS) militant leader to Pakistan because there is no formal extradition treaty between Kabul and Islamabad."

"The Pentagon's top leaders said Thursday they can see a 'light at the end of the tunnel' of the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that the U.S. military remains a force in readiness, with fewer than 2,000 cases out of more than two million troops available to support contingency operations."

"The Afghan government has vowed to move forward with the release of dozens of Taliban militants it is holding behind bars, even though a swap between the two sides appears to have collapsed."