On the night of July 21st, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant assaulted the prisons at Taji and Abu Ghraib, freeing a confirmed 500 prisoners from the latter. Suicide bombers drove vehicles packed with explosives up to the gates of Abu Ghraib and detonated them. This opened the way for assault forces moving into […]
“Allah is our objective; the Quran our constitution; the Prophet is our leader; struggle is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.” In 1924, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey and the ascension of Ataturk to the leadership of a new secular government, ended the […]
Jimmie Earl Howard enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1950 at the age of 21. He graduated from boot camp in January, 1951 and was promoted to PFC. He then stayed on MCRD San Diego as a drill instructor until December, 1951. (The Marine Corps operated a little differently then.) In February, 1952, he was […]
The Jaysh al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (The Army of Emigrants and Helpers) was officially formed at the end of March, 2013. It began as three different groups, including the Kataeb al-Muhajireen (The Brigade of Emigrants), the Kataeb al Khattab (The Brigade of Khattab), and the Jaysh Muhammad (Army of Muhammad). The latter two were Syrian groups, while […]
While Marine Recon got its start in World War II, with the Raiders and the 1st Marine Division’s Amphibious Reconnaissance Company, much of what Recon is today is thanks to Marine Test Unit 1. After the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, most of the US military started trying to shift their doctrine to a […]
With AQI and its Syrian affiliate/rival Al Nusra increasingly in the news, here is a brief rundown of AQI’s history. Al Qaeda in Iraq got its start in 2003, originally called Jama’at al Tawhid wal Jihad (The Group for Monotheism and Jihad). It was founded by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a would-be mujahid who got […]
Egypt’s unrest isn’t over. In fact, it’s starting up again. After the January, 2011 revolution overthrew Mubarak, Muhammad Morsi was elected president in June, 2012. A long-time member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi quickly showed his colors as a die-hard Islamist as well as something of an autocrat. On November 22, 2012, he issued decrees […]
I originally intended to get this post up before the Insubordination post. Here is the background and context of the dispute between ISI and the Al Nusra Front. On June 9th, Al Jazeera published a letter, purportedly from Ayman al Zawahiri, addressed to the Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of the Islamic State of […]
Okay, now you’re thinking this Nealen guy has gone completely over the edge. “What the hell do Ewoks have to do with anything?” Bear with me. John McCain agitating to get the US involved in Syria is old news, it is emblematic of a trend I have noticed in American thought for quite a while […]
The command dispute between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Al Nusra Front isn’t going away. After the May 23rd letter from Ayman al Zawahiri, Al Nusra pulled back their own propaganda, apparently waiting to see how things were going to settle out, as Abu Khalid al Suri was appointed by the emir of […]
Okay, a few of you were already aware of this, but the book is out on Amazon, as of Jun 6. It’s been accepted in to the Smashwords Premium Catalog, which means it’s only a matter of time before the ebook is up on B&N and Apple. The Link: Hunting in the Shadows And for […]
Lt. Col. Earl Hancock “Pete” Ellis is considered by many to be the “First Reconnaissance Marine,” due to his daring escapade in the Pacific in 1921, over two decades before what was to become 1st Recon Battalion was even formed. A military genius and a careful planner, he was responsible for much of the war […]
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