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"Since its official formation in January 2015, the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan has risen to prominence as one of its most dangerous affiliates, making it one of the world’s top four deadliest militant organizations in 2018. Islamic State Khorasan’s (ISK) ascendency, however, has not come without heavy costs."

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Afghanistan on Monday without saying whether he was able to broker an agreement between the country's squabbling political leaders."

"It was once a sideshow to the American military in Afghanistan and later became one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. Now, as the United States Embassy in Kabul transitions to its newest role, its future is tied to a fragile peace process, one that will withdraw American troops even as violence continues."

"Balancing coronavirus concerns with fears that a painstakingly negotiated peace deal could fall apart, Afghan government officials met by videoconference on Sunday with Taliban delegates to discuss technical details of a prisoner release that is a part of the deal, officials said."

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit Monday to Kabul where he is expected to push both for advancing Afghan peace talks and for a resolution to a political crisis following the country’s presidential election."

"President Donald Trump is directing the federal government to cover the costs of coronavirus relief efforts carried out by National Guard troops that are activated under the control of state governors."

"The Marine Corps is undertaking its most sweeping transformation in decades, pivoting from a focus on fighting insurgents in the Middle East to developing the ability to hop from island to island in the western Pacific to bottle up the Chinese fleet."

"Iran's supreme leader refused U.S. assistance Sunday to fight the new coronavirus, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory that the virus could be man-made by America."

"President Trump was getting ready to declare the coronavirus a 'national emergency,' but inside the White House last Thursday, a tense debate erupted among the president and his top advisers on a far different subject: whether the United States should escalate military action against Iran, a longtime American rival that has been devastated by the epidemic."

"A Pakistani doctor employed as a research coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group."

"Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, the terrorist group’s largest and most active global affiliate, has issued specific new threats against Americans in East Africa and even the United States, U.S. commandos, counterterrorism officials and intelligence analysts say."

"U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this week killed more than 15 al-Shabab terrorists who were battling African Union and Somali forces, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokesman Major Karl Wiest told VOA on Friday."

"Russia is very likely behind a disinformation campaign on coronavirus in the Western media, intended to fuel panic and discord among allies, experts tell VOA."

The Smith Richardson Foundation is pleased to announce its annual Strategy and Policy Fellows grant competition to support young scholars and policy thinkers on American foreign policy, international relations, international security, military policy, and diplomatic and military history. Applicants must have a Ph.D to apply.

"The goal of toppling Saddam Hussein's regime seemed so worthy but it was actually grandiose."

"As U.S. President Donald Trump and government leaders across the country turn to the military to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Pentagon is short several highly important leadership positions that are being filled with temporary appointments of 'acting' brass."

"The race to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States is placing an unprecedented burden on the country’s cyber infrastructure, potentially making it as vulnerable as it has ever been."

"The U.S. has an opportunity in Idlib to exploit the largest rift between Turkey and Russia in Syria to date while addressing a grave and dangerous humanitarian crisis, which will worsen in coming months without a robust international response. Turkey’s intervention in Idlib Province changed the military balance in northwest Syria and created an opportunity for the U.S. and Europe to engage at relatively low cost."

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Syrian oil revenues should be used to rebuild the war-torn country, raising concerns among Kurdish forces — which control most of the oil fields in eastern Syria — that such Turkish plans could threaten their own presence."

Via OPB / NPR - "The fragile peace deal taking shape in Afghanistan could spell the end of an era of for the U.S. military, one marked by efforts at nation-building and winning hearts and minds."

"The U.S. military announced Tuesday it had handed over a strategic outpost near the Iraq-Syria border to Iraqi forces in a region known to host an Iran-backed militia responsible for more than a dozen rocket attacks targeting coalition troops."

"The demise of Future Forward, the country’s second-biggest opposition party, removes a challenge in the parliament for the military-backed government and armed forces, and has a knock-on effect to the U.S.-Thai relationship. It tests the ability of the U.S. to thread a delicate line between strengthening military ties with its oldest ally in Asia and advocating for democracy in a region where strongman rulers including Cambodia’s Hun Sen and Thailand’s General Prayut Chan-o-cha emerged triumphant from elections regarded as flawed by international observers."

"Cyber attacks on Defense Department networks increased over the weekend as teleworking employees put 'unprecedented' loads on the military’s computer networks."

"For the last five years, President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan’s former chief executive officer, had teamed up as uneasy allies in an unity government presiding over a fractured country. Now they operate out of adjacent palaces, vying for influence and international legitimacy in a power struggle that threatens to torpedo the U.S.’s efforts to extricate itself from a long and costly-war in Afghanistan."

"The US army is pulling out of al-Qaim and two other key military bases in Iraq in the coming weeks. The decision to leave three of its eight bases in Iraq is a sign the US is looking to dramatically reduce its footprint in the country."