Morning Brief: Deadly Shooting at Brown, Gabbard’s Afghanistan Vetting Warning, Bangladesh Peacekeepers Killed in Abyei, and Gaza Power Struggles After Ceasefire

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.

Israel’s Sayeret Matkal

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’

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.

Col. (Ret.) Nate Slate: Shia Country

Col. (Ret.) Nate Slate: Shia Country

After the winter rains, the Shia south unfurled like a green flag—desert lakes flashing in the morning sun, children in new clothes racing our convoys, vendors offering kabobs, and every smile saying the same thing: Saddam is gone.