Special Forces as Military Observers in Modern Combat

Special Forces as Military Observers in Modern Combat

An Army Special Forces Officer, having been embedded with a Ukrainian infantry company only days earlier, arrives at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, to give a presentation to a conventional Army brigade preparing for a rotation to Europe. He lectures on the latest anti-tank tactics and counter-drone techniques being used against Russian […]

NYPD investigates a second device after an explosion in Manhattan

NYPD investigates a second device after an explosion in Manhattan

Earlier today there was an explosion in New York City that according to Mayor De Blasio was an intentional act. 29 people are injured, and officials believe it to be an ‘intentional act.’ Many of those injured have been hospitalized. The explosion took place in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Officials have uncovered […]

US SOF in Syria are now working with Turkish forces for the first time- Pentagon

US SOF in Syria are now working with Turkish forces for the first time- Pentagon

Northern Syria has always been the more difficult and violent section of Syria in the civil war. Aleppo and other cities have seen the most devastation. They’ve also witnessed the most fluid situation of occupants running the gamut of groups in Syria. According to Barbara Starr, who tweeted “US Special Operations Forces in Northern Syria […]

News organizations sue FBI for details on San Bernardino iPhone exploit

News organizations sue FBI for details on San Bernardino iPhone exploit

The Associated Press, Vice Media and Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, sued the FBI today in an attempt to uncover information about how the law enforcement agency was able to unlock an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters. The Justice Department initially sought to force Apple to create custom […]

The CIA and the Turkish Coup

The CIA and the Turkish Coup

The American ambassador interrupted a Turkish cabinet meeting. He was there to prevent them from deciding to militarily intervene in Syria. He told the Turkish leader that Washington “would not like to see the Turks go beyond their borders. To do so would be a great disservice.” The prime minister nodded his head and said […]

Post-Sistani Iraq, Iran, and the Future of Shia Islam

Post-Sistani Iraq, Iran, and the Future of Shia Islam

During a recent trip to my hometown of Najaf in southern Iraq, I stumbled across a book titled My Leader Khamenei in the personal library of a cleric studying in the Islamic seminary known as the Hawza. He had picked it up at a bookstore near the shrine of Imam Ali, where the first Shia Imam is buried. […]

At least four freed Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism this year

At least four freed Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism this year

The US government has confirmed that at least two Guantanamo Bay detainees released by President Barack Obama’s administration, and at least two more released by George W. Bush’s administration, “returned to terrorist activities” in the first six months of 2016. That’s according to a so-called “recidivism report” released Wednesday by the Office of the Director […]

This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks

This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks

In June 2013, The Guardian reported the first leak based on top-secret documents that then 29-year-old Edward Snowden stole from the National Security Agency. At the time, Snowden worked as an intelligence contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton in Hawaii. That leak would certainly not be the last. In the years since, journalists have released more than 7,000 […]