Travis Allen

About the author

is a former US Army Infantry Officer. While a Platoon Leader in Afghanistan, he was part of a joint Special Forces/Infantry team conducting Village Stability Operations in Kandahar Province. Travis graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 2010.

Tensions high in Europe leading up to a pivotal election in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Erdogan caused controversy this weekend by likening the Netherlands and Germany to modern Nazism in the run-up to an important Turkish referendum election. The comment was instigated after authorities in the Netherlands barred Turkish politicians from participating in a number of pro-Erdogan political rallies being held inside the country. The Dutch government […]

Belgium passes controversial anti-terrorism law

Belgium has passed a counter terrorism law that is drawing condemnation from civil rights groups who say it unfairly targets immigrants and minorities for deportation without any legal recourse, the New York Times has reported. The law gives the government the power to deport legal residents from Belgium on the suspicion of terrorist activities without […]

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces prepared to assault Raqqa with American help

As the multitude of Syrian opposition forces converge for the offensive on Raqqa, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claim they are prepared to take the ISIS stronghold with the help of their American supporters. The SDF made these statements as conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Kurdish contingent of the SDF continues to grow. Turkey’s […]

Nude photo scandal widens across entire U.S. military

A scandal involving predatory behavior among active and veteran Marines has widened to include all branches of the military. Paul Szoldra from Business Insider broke the story yesterday of a website called AnonIB, where service members from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard were sharing nude photos and other media of […]

U.S. looks to resume sale of precision weapons to Saudi Arabia

The Trump administration is positioning itself to renew sales of precision guided weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, a move originally shelved by the Obama administration. The State Department has left a proposal for the arms sale with the White House for approval. The measure is seen as another form of the Trump administration taking a […]

U.S. general says Russia has violated a landmark arms control treaty

The Russians have reneged on a historic arms control treaty signed between the United States and Russia, an Air Force General said yesterday. The treaty, the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, was a critical aspect in ending the Cold War. It explicitly bans the testing, production, and possession of intermediate-range missiles fired from land-based […]

Iranian official: Thousands of Iranian fighters have been killed in Syria and Iraq

Approximately 2,100 Iranian sponsored troops have died while fighting in Iraq and Syria over the past few years, according to Iranian state-run media. The head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs told the Islamic Republic News Agency that “some 2,100 martyrs have been martyred so far in Iraq or other places defending the […]

Violence in Myanmar as rebel groups attack authorities in border region

Rebels dressed as police officers attacked a number of military and police outposts in Myanmar’s restive Kokang region on Monday, killing as many as 30. The rebels reportedly belong to the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Armies (MNDAA), a collection of armed groups waging a sustained military campaign against the government. The MNDAA claimed responsibility for the […]

U.S. support for YPG fighters frustrates Turkey, who calls them terrorists

The American campaign to remove the Islamic State from northern Syria continues to be complicated by the various armed groups and allegiances on the ground. Turkey, a critical ally for the United States in counter-terrorism operations in the region, has expressed great concern over American support for the Kurdish YPG, an armed group fighting against […]

Retired Filipino cop says he was part of a police ‘death squad’

A retired police officer in the Philippines has come forward to testify that he took part in over 300 sanctioned killings, including 200 killings as part of a police ‘death squad.’ The officer has previously lied in his testimony before a Senate inquiry around extrajudicial killings linked to President Rodrigo Duterte and his ‘war on […]