Pete Nealen

“You know,” Black said as I walked into his small room/cell, “if you’d taken me along it could have worked out a lot simpler. I could have gotten us in as Project contractors, then we could have either started schwacking ‘em from the inside, or walked out if it was too hot. You guys keep […]

“We’re going to bring everybody back.” How often have you heard a commander say that? How often have you heard comparisons of casualty counts between OEF/OIF and Vietnam? In about the same timeframe, we’ve suffered 5,312 combat deaths and 1,434 non-combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, as compared to 58,300 combat and non-combat deaths […]

Nick swung the HiLux around the corner and gunned it, accelerating rapidly toward the target building. As he did, I heard the snap of shots overhead even over the roar of the engine, and three dim figures in the street dropped. A fourth tried to run, but a flurry of gunfire cut him down, sending […]

This subject has been touched on before, many times, but with recent news about heat problems and onboard fires involving the massively delayed and over-budget F-35, and the news that DoD is now contracting Hollywood special effects artists to attempt to design the 400-lb TALOS “Iron Man” Suit, it bears repeating. The common belief in […]

We’ve gotten a few messages here at SOFREP wondering if ISIS (or IS, if you prefer their new designation) will end up as Iran’s client, thus presenting the Western world with a unified Islamist empire/threat.  The question is not only deeply ignorant of the present (and historical) situation in the Middle East, it is unlikely […]

Jim and I were waiting at the RV point, two blocks from the target house. We were both dressed like locals. Jim had gone more traditional, wearing a light dishdasha and a brown coat. I was wearing jeans, shoes, and a t-shirt with a leather coat. I was still a little big for a local, […]

“That’s him.” Amos Black was sitting in the center back seat of the black HiLux, with Bryan and Hassan crowding him on each side. Bryan was there to quietly kill Black as soon as he showed any sign of treachery. Hassan was there to help coordinate with the team of Hussein Ali’s finest that was […]

The news (well, some of it, anyway) is hopping with the report that the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham has declared it is now simply the Islamic State, and that its Emir, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, is now Khalifah Ibrahim, the new Caliph, the successor of Mohammed. An excerpt from the ISIS announcement, courtesy […]

Several sources have reported a new merger between Syria’s Jabhaat al Nusra (Al Nusra Front) and the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS).  This is significant news, considering the recent falling out between Al Nusra and ISIS last year, when Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of ISIS, claimed overall command over both […]

While the swift seizure of Mosul, Tikrit, and Bayji by ISIS threw a lot of people into panic, the situation in Iraq now appears to be settling into a longer, more drawn-out struggle along sectarian and territorial lines.  From several reports, many of ISIS’ initial lightning successes were definitely facilitated by Iraqi Army commanders in […]

Questions have arisen as to just how ISIS could take Mosul, Tikrit, and Bayji, and now Taji as well, according to Rudaw, while hardly firing a shot. While conspiracy-mongering is par for the course in the Middle East, making Maliki’s claims of betrayal sound initially suspect, names are beginning to come up that make the […]

Following the fall of Mosul on Tuesday, the ISIS offensive has seized more territory, as the Iraqi Army continues to fold like a cheap suit. On June 10, a 60+ vehicle convoy rolled into Bayji, set fire to government buildings and police headquarters, and besieged the Bayji oil refinery, which is the largest refinery in […]