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"The campaign for Idlib, the opposition's only remaining stronghold in the country and now a refuge for over one million displaced Syrians, is likely to be the last major theater of battle after seven years of brutal civil war. It is also potentially the most dangerous."

"Syrian government forces are preparing a phased offensive in the northwestern province of Idlib and surrounding areas, the last big rebel enclave, a source close to Damascus said on Wednesday."

For over a decade, the USAWC has published the Key Strategic Issues List to inform students, faculty, and external research associates of strategic topics requiring research and analysis. A subset of these topics, designated as Chief of Staff of the Army special interest topics, consists of those which demand special attention.

"Following last year’s massive Russian military exercise on the western border, the country is headed into the largest military drills in nearly four decades on its eastern flank. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced this week that the Vostok-2018 exercise from Sept. 11-15 would involve as many as 300,000 troops, 1,000 aircraft and 900 tanks with units from China and Mongolia also participating."

"Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the military will modify how special operations forces are prepared for missions in Africa because of a deadly ambush by extremists last year in Niger that revealed a lack of training for troops heading into hot spots."

A top U.S. military official is pushing back against the Pentagon's own estimates which suggest the Islamic State terror group has retained significant capabilities in Iraq and Syria, and is "well-positioned" to rebuild its lost caliphate. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, challenged recent estimates from both the U.S. Defense Department and a United Nations report.

In March, President Donald Trump said that “very soon” he would bring U.S. troops home from Syria. Today, his defense secretary suggested any such drawdown remains far off. On Afghanistan, Secretary Mattis insisted the President's strategy is drawing the insurgents to the negotiating table and, ultimately, will allow the U.S. to bring an end to the country’s longest war.

U.S. operations in Afghanistan, now in their 17th year, should not be seen as a permanent U.S. presence there, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford said Tuesday. But Mattis said he wasn’t sure U.S. forces would be gone five years from now, either. Airstrikes are reaching historically high numbers. For July, strike metrics saw highs across the board as the result of a surge in operations post-ceasefire, according to AFCENT.

Defense Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday shot down recently recirculated plans to privatize combat efforts in Afghanistan. He also said that Washington’s support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is “not unconditional,” following several high-profile attacks by Saudi jets that left dozens of civilians dead, including children.

"orture, rape, and the use of child soldiers are among the litany of war crimes that have been committed in Yemen, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates appear to be responsible for many abuses, United Nations experts said in a report issued on Tuesday."

Over the past five years, there has been a significant amount of discussion on the propaganda created and disseminated by the Islamic State. This discourse, which mainly relies on what the group creates for external publication, has been unable to answer questions regarding the structure, policies, and management of the group's media arm. This Combating Terrorism Center report draws on 13 internal documents that discuss the Islamic State's media organization in great detail.

“Four years after announcing its cross-border 'caliphate' in Iraq and Syria, a stinging string of defeats has pushed the Islamic State jihadist group to reorganise and change strategy to survive. Having lost all urban centres under its control in Iraq and pinned down to its last desert holdouts in Syria, IS has changed its administrative structure and shifted its focus away from operating the state-like apparatus it once ran.”

On Monday, Rick Davis, Sen. John McCain’s former presidential campaign manager and a family spokesman, read a farewell statement from Senator McCain at a press conference at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Continue on for the full transcript.

“The abrupt resignation of President Ashraf Ghani’s national security adviser and reports of turmoil involving three other top officials have exposed deep conflict and confusion in the U.S.-backed government over how to protect the country and deal with an insurgency that might be seeking to end the 17-year conflict. The shake-up this past weekend deepened concern about the government’s solidity and Ghani’s increasing isolation.”

"A year after reversing course on a key campaign pledge and announcing that U.S. troops would stay in Afghanistan with a tweaked strategy, President Trump is faced with a war that has seen little progress since. Pentagon officials insist the strategy adopted by the Trump administration last summer is working, pointing to a three-day ceasefire earlier this year and back channel talks with elements of the Taliban."

"As Russian and American forces have settled into Syria, analysts and experts have noticed a clear pattern from the Russian forces. Moscow is using Syria as both a test bed for its newest capabilities and as an opportunity to see American equipment such as the F-22 fighter jet up close. It’s a development that has raised concerns that Moscow may be gaining a military edge over the U.S. from its experiences in the region."

"he top American air commander in the Middle East is urging the Saudi-led coalition of Arab nations to be more forthcoming about an investigation into an airstrike in northern Yemen earlier this month that struck a school bus, killing more than 40 children."

"Often proxy war promises to hit the political sweet spot between doing too little and too high a cost. In reality, however, it is an imperfect form of warfare."

"While there are good reasons to focus U.S. national security on balancing against global and regional state adversaries, it would be a mistake to assume that most future conflict will be conventional or even nuclear. It won’t."

Melissa Block speaks with William Hennigan, national security correspondent for 'Time' magazine, who embedded with U.S. forces during a battle over the Afghan city of Ghazni.

“The U.S. Air Force is months away from completing the construction of an air base in Niger for armed drones that will target militant groups operating in the region, a U.S military official told VOA.”

“A drone strike has killed the leader of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abdu Saad Erhabi, along with his nine commanders. The overnight missile attack occurred in the Khogyani district of the troubled eastern Nangarhar province where the terrorist group, locally known as ISK-P, is headquartered.”

“To some, Russia’s offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities.”

"Islamic State has lost most of the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq. It is vying for survival with other, sometimes stronger, extremist groups. But one sphere where Islamic State still reigns supreme among terrorists is in cyberspace."

“Two senior security officials and the ministers of defense and interior have resigned over disagreements on a range of policy issues. The resignations will not help Afghanistan's rapidly deteriorating security situation.”