Book Review: ARISEN Operators 1, Fall of the Third Temple
Yaël Sion does not survive the apocalypse by hoping harder; she survives it the way a cutting tool survives steel, by biting down and refusing to let go.
Middle East
Evening Brief: US Strikes ISIS in Syria, Russia Hits Odesa, Bellevue OIS
After a deadly ambush near Palmyra, US forces hit more than 70 ISIS targets across central Syria in a heavy retaliation strike meant to keep ISIS cells from regrouping. Russia is pounding Odesa while massing forces near Pokrovsk, and back home a Bellevue officer-involved shooting is under review by King County’s independent investigators as both the officer and suspect recover.
Operation Hawkeye Strike: U.S. Bombs Islamic State Strongholds in Syria
For ISIS, December 19 was the moment the desert learned, again, that America keeps receipts and collects its debts from the sky.
Morning Brief: Deadly Shooting at Brown, Gabbard’s Afghanistan Vetting Warning, Bangladesh Peacekeepers Killed in Abyei, and Gaza Power Struggles After Ceasefire
From Kabul evac fallout to a deadly ambush in Abyei and the mess of armed factions in Gaza, these stories all point to the same truth: rushed decisions and fragile ceasefires always get paid for by people standing post. Whether it’s Guard troops at home, peacekeepers abroad, or IDF units hunting bomb-makers, the work is still dirty, dangerous, and done without applause.
ISIS Kills Two US Soldiers and an American Interpreter in Syria
Gunfire cracked a routine engagement into chaos outside Palmyra, killing two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter and proving that even stripped of territory, ISIS still knows how to reach out and draw blood.
Evening Brief: Ukraine Pressures Russia, Russia Hits Ukrainian Cities, U.S. Cops Stop a Lone Bomber
From the Black Sea to Krasnodar and Kyiv, Ukraine and Russia are trading long‑range blows. Inside the U.S., an Afghan evacuee now charged over an alleged TikTok bomb plot in Texas.
Col. (Ret) Nate Slate: Solomon’s Temple – Departing Iraq
Back home I kept checking my watch as if Iraq still owned my hours, wrestling to set down anger and pride so I could ask the only question that matters: what moral ground must we stand on before we spend blood again.
Trump Threatens US Force in Gaza While Ceasefire on Life Support
Trump rattled the saber then slid it back in the scabbard, as a disputed breach strains Gaza’s shaky ceasefire and one careless trigger pull could light the whole map.
Clear as Mud: Israeli-Palestine Ceasefire Is in Effect – For Now
Amid a fragile ceasefire and aid stacked at the gates, Mansour spoke at length yet never said whether Hamas will disarm, the only answer that could turn a pause into peace.
Israel’s Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is Israel’s most elite special operations unit. It has been setting special operations standards since its creation.
Col. (Ret) Nate Slate: Iraqi Love Poem or Ode to my ‘Layla’
Thousands of miles from home like sand in the wind, I moved through Iraq’s villages learning the hearts of its people as Majnun once wandered, yet the constant guiding me through rain and dust was my Leila, the radiant beacon calling me home.
Phase One: Israel and Hamas Say Yes To A Gaza Ceasefire — What’s In It, What’s Next, And Whether It Sticks
Phase One feels like slapping a tourniquet on a two year hemorrhage, buying enough breath to get the hostages out, pull the troops back, and see if anyone is ready to run Gaza without the gunsmoke.
