Blog Posts

"Afghanistan’s dwindling prospects for peace took another downward turn Tuesday when both Afghan officials and Taliban leaders issued sharply bellicose messages."

“Journalists wrongly portrayed the Tet Offensive as a U.S. defeat and never corrected the record.”

"In coming months, the total number of American troops in Afghanistan will grow to an estimated 15,000. Nearly a third of them will have been sent under Trump’s new war strategy."

"Indicators being kept secret include size of Afghan army and police force and number of civilian airstrike casualties."

A new report paints a bleak picture of U.S. efforts to secure Afghanistan, more than 16 years after the United States invaded.

"Ending the conflict with the ELN, most here agree, will most likely prove to be even more of a challenge than ending the one with the FARC was."

Kurd officials say Ankara wants to re-shape the demographics of the borderlands in a bid to establish a “corridor of stability” populated by fewer Kurds, with Sunni Arab refugees taking their place.

Continue on for a link to this Defense One special report on the war in Yemen.

Taliban attacks on two consecutive weekends in Kabul have occurred in the midst of stepped-up efforts by the Trump administration to find a way out of the 16-year-old war.

"Erdogan is now claiming that Afrin and surrounding towns are majority Arab, although reliable local sources indicate a significant Kurdish majority."

"The Global Heat Map, published by the GPS tracking company Strava, uses satellite information to map the location and movements of subscribers."

"Now, some of those fighting alongside the Kurds are vowing to fight against Turkey."

A defiant Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday that he’s prepared to risk confrontation with the United States.

"Turkey’s assault against Kurdish militants in Syria has exposed the limitations of the Trump administration’s new Syria policy."

“Can new specialized units succeed in training Afghan forces where others have failed?”

"They are being heralded as a key part of President Trump’s new strategy to resolve the nearly 17-year war in Afghanistan."

An Iranian official has announced the allocation of $2.5 billion more for the country's military to increase what it terms the country's "military capabilities."

“This week alone, the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and the offices of Save the Children in Jalalabad came under fire. Dozens died, including Americans.”

The U.S. is urging Turkey to de-escalate tensions over its military operations in Syria and focus on the fight to defeat the Islamic State.

"To get through a war with a near-peer competitor like China or Russia, Marines will need to master basics in communication and navigation, said the Marine Corps commandant."

'The Trump administration is pressing Turkey and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces to pull back from a deepening military conflict in Syria."

"Kurdish authorities are meting out justice in ad hoc courts, but the region is still part of Syria, and Kurdish control is not internationally recognized."

"Simmering tensions between Turkey and the United States spilled into the open on Wednesday."

"The agency in charge of U.S. foreign aid has put Rex Tillerson on notice about rising frustration over his State Department redesign."

Continue on for an issue overview and links to individual articles for the latest edition of the CTC's "Sentinel"