Blog Posts

"Afghanistan’s fourth presidential election is underway, a vote that many fear will be marred by violence and fraud. At thousands of polling centers across the country Saturday, Afghans lined up and cast ballots under heavy security."

Via IPI Global Observatory - "Since the emergence of protection of civilian (POC) mandates twenty years ago, there has been significant growth in the number of police deployed in United Nations peace operations. During this time, their tasks have become more complex and their work more central to mission exit strategies."

"A recent UN report claims that commercial and military night vision devices are being supplied to the Taliban in increasing numbers."

"Saudi Arabia has agreed to a limited cease-fire in several areas of Yemen including the capital Sana’a, which is controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, as part of broader efforts to end a four-year conflict that has threatened to escalate into regional war."

"A 400-page document by Peru’s Shining Path guerrillas details the group’s elaborate plans to increase drug trafficking operations and attacks on the military, which may be possible in the group’s limited stronghold. But its long-held ultimate goal — to overthrow Peru’s government — is farfetched."

A U.S. airstrike in Libya has killed at least 10 Islamic State fighters, an official has told VOA. It is the third U.S. strike this month against the terror group in the southwestern Libyan town of Murzuq.

"The collapse of peace talks in Afghanistan has left the U.S. with few military options as intense fighting resumes, while the near complete lack of public and political support for an influx of ground troops means the Trump administration must search for new ways to put pressure back onto the Taliban."

"A bipartisan report is calling on the U.S. to halt its withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, or risk a resurgence of ISIS fighters and entrenchment of Iranian forces in the region."

"A response to ISIS required a new kind of warfare, and so the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command created a secret task force, a special mission, and an operation that would become one of the largest and longest offensive cyber operations in U.S. military history."

The Pentagon is sending a Patriot missile battery, four radar systems and about 200 troops to Saudi Arabia to boost the kingdom's air defenses against further attacks.

"Ukraine has asked the U.S. to provide military supplies to support their fight against the Russians, but the White House has delayed it."

"Syrian government forces carried out a chlorine attack in May, the first confirmed violation of the international accord banning chemical weapons since President Trump authorized a U.S. military strike on Syria in 2018 over its alleged use of poison gas, a new U.S. intelligence assessment says."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says his country needs "one president, not two," telling RFE/RL that if he wins a presidential election on September 28 he won't accept another national unity government.

U.S. efforts to have European countries immediately take back men and women who left to fight with the Islamic State terror group in Syria are meeting with unexpected resistance from U.S.-backed forces on the ground.

As Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections on Saturday, the Taliban is again threatening to disrupt the polling, while the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has urged the insurgents to refrain from attacking civilians exercising their democratic right.

"Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs has said all options, including a military response, are open after attacks on two oil facilities, which it has blamed on Iran."

A bitter, fraud-marred presidential election in 2014 pushed Afghanistan to the brink of civil war before a power-sharing deal was reached between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who became president and chief executive officer.

Omar Mohammed set up "Mosul Eye" to expose the atrocities and failings of IS fighters, but at great personal risk. Omar tells Witness History how he posted news from Mosul to the outside world from right under the noses of the "Islamic State" group.

"Libya's Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj will be representing only part of the country when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. His government has been battling for months to keep control of the capital, Tripoli, amid an offensive by forces aligned with a rival authority based in the country's eastern portion."

"The ongoing conflict in Yemen , which has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis, is among the thorniest issues facing world leaders this week as they meet at the United Nations."

"President cites his efforts to talk to anyone, including the leaders of North Korea, Iran and other nations that have long been at odds with the U.S."

"The highly classified map shows a Colombian guerrilla camp on the southern bank of a hydroelectric plant in the picturesque foothills of the Venezuelan Andes. Allegedly led by a leftist fighter known as 'Commander Lenin,' it’s one of several heavily armed outposts of combatants said to be fighting against the Colombian government while engaging in extortion, kidnapping, assassinations and drug trafficking from bases in Venezuela."

"President Donald Trump took center stage at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to deliver a strong defense of nationalism while exhorting the world to act against Iran's "bloodlust" and rising aggression."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has opened the annual UN General Assembly debate in New York, painting a grim picture of a deeply divided and anxious planet facing a climate crisis, spreading terrorism, rising inequality, and "the alarming possibility" of a conflict in the Persian Gulf.

“Britain, France and Germany say it is time for Tehran to start talks on a new, long-term pact dealing with its nuclear, regional and missile activities.”