CENTCOM

American troops stationed in eastern Syria have the difficult and dangerous job of guarding the very oil-rich Kurdish-held land. And everyone — the Syrian government, the Russians, the Turks, and ISIS — wants to control it.  The area is developing into a very dangerous place for the American troops: They’ve come under attack from a […]

My personal experiences from Afghanistan have taught me that the Afghanis are resilient people, capable of overcoming natural disasters, political turmoil, and complex insurgencies. Afghanistan’s economic development has been stifled considerably by war and poverty; climate change will only add another hindrance to the list. However, there is a deep desire amongst the Afghan population […]

Last year, a gunship crew from an Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) squadron helped turned the tide in a fierce engagement against ISIS fighters in Afghanistan. The nine-hour operation took place last April in Nangarhar Province. An AC-130U aircraft from the 4th Special Operations Squadron was proving overhead support to a Special Forces assault […]

Two rockets struck a training base south of Baghdad where U.S.-led coalition troops and NATO trainers are present, Iraq’s military said in a statement on Tuesday. The rockets hit the Basmaya base outside of Baghdad on Monday evening. They impacted near a factory and what was described as agricultural land, but not where any troops […]

Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies have been battering al-Qaeda terrorists wherever they have found them. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, everywhere. What used to be safe havens have now become graveyards. But other bastions have emerged in the meanwhile.  Somalia and Yemen are two of them. Al-Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate was bolstered […]

The Iraqi base that houses American and Coalition troops in Taji was rocked with another rocket attack on Saturday morning. Just three days ago, on Wednesday, another attack at the same base killed two Americans and a British soldier at Taji. Three coalition troops and two Iraqis were wounded in the rocket attack, Coalition spokesperson […]

The United States launched multiple airstrikes against Iranian-led Shia militias across Iraq in response to the latest rocket attack on the base at Taji that houses coalition troops. In the Taji attack, two U.S. and one U.K medical specialist were killed, with 12 wounded, five of them seriously.  The American airstrikes began at 1:00 a.m. […]

In response to the deadly rockets against a Coalition base in Iraq, the U.S. military conducted targeted strikes against an Iranian-backed militia believed to be behind the attack. According to the Department of Defense (DoD), the airstrikes targeted five weapon storage facilities of the Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), a Shia paramilitary terror group. KH is believed […]

The United States has begun the initial, gradual withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in keeping with the peace agreement signed with the Taliban on Feb. 29. The Pentagon confirmed this despite the political chaos surrounding the Kabul government. Under the peace agreement, U.S. forces will be reduced from 13,000 to 8,600 over the next 135 […]

The Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) has identified the two Marine Raiders, who were killed in action, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, March 8. The two Critical Skills Operators killed in action are Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, a critical skills operator from Simi Valley, Calif., and Capt. Moises A. Navas, a special operations officer […]

The United Nations is calling for all parties in the fighting in Yemen to suspend operations as the civilian toll on lives lost and people displaced continues to grow.  Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s Special Envoy, is trying to get the peace efforts restarted between the Saudi-led coalition that is supporting the Yemeni government and the […]

The most recent ceasefire in Syria, which was initiated by the Russians and Turks, has temporarily (at least) stopped the bloodshed and the massive humanitarian wave of refugees streaming for the Turkish border. But that ceasefire, while beneficial to both the Turks and Russians, isn’t so for the Iranians, while it leaves the Syrian regime […]