ISIS

Looking back, I didn’t have a clue what being Special Operations actually meant. I started my career in the Canadian Forces as a combat engineer. Out of all the careers I could have chosen, I chose to enlist as a human mine detector. Frankly, I settled for this trade because infantry seemed too hardcore at […]

Last week, Mufti Abu Abdul Bari, also known as Shifa al-Nima, was captured by Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) during an operation in Mosul, Iraq. According to Iraqi media reports, the Islamic State cleric weighs approximately an astounding 254 kilograms (560 pounds) — anyone working on his deadlift PR, here’s your chance. The Iraqi commandos […]

The United States military has resumed some offensive operations with Iraqi military units against Islamic State targets. The U.S. will also shortly resume the training of Iraqi units. (The two sides are currently trying to work out the details — we don’t currently know who the U.S. negotiators are.) This resumption of operations comes just […]

The Iranian government is facing mounting protests at home, where Iranian security forces are reportedly using live ammunition on Iranian citizens. The citizens were protesting the government shooting down an airliner that took off from Tehran. All 176 onboard, including 82 Iranians died in the shootdown. The government admitted that it “lied to the people” […]

Unidentified aircraft pounded Iranian-backed militias on Friday in Syria, near the border with Iraq. Eight militiamen were killed by the strikes, Iraqi officials reported.  The targets were two trucks carrying ballistic missiles. This latest attack comes at a time when tensions between the United States and Iran are very high after a series of escalating […]

Special Forces soldiers from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) received dozens of combat medals, among them three Silver Stars, the nation’s third-highest award for valor under fire, for their actions during a single deployment to Afghanistan. In addition to the three Silver Stars, during the six-month deployment, the 2nd Battalion, 7th SFG operators received […]

Unfortunately, if we had such a talented general or leader, it would be difficult to identify him or her, because we have a system that is institutional in nature. But it works better than any other.

After the Iranian missile attack on the joint U.S./Iraqi bases, many are wondering what happens next. And then, will the U.S. still be forced to leave Iraq, after Iraqi lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution to kick out American troops from the country?  First of all, some of what will transpire will have to do with […]

Well, in an earlier piece, I tried to tell you that open war with Iran is a really, really remote possibility. Now we’ll flip-flop it a bit (that’s the beauty of the internet) and assume that war between the United States and Iran isn’t only possible, but we will attempt to outline how it might […]

In an emergency session following the death of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel all American troops from their country. While the vote is non-binding, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has voiced his support for the move. Expressing his thanks for American aid in the fight against the Islamic State, Abdul-Mahdi said […]

As tensions with Iran remain high, the Pentagon and NATO have paused the training of Iraqi police and military units over concerns of insider attacks. Military officials are concerned that fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), Shia militant groups and Iranian proxies, might have infiltrated the ranks of the Iraqi police and military. (Historically, […]

The United States conducted an airstrike that not only took out the Iranian Quds Force (also known as Qods) commander General Qassem Soleimani, but also Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). President Trump said that the United States decided to order the drone strike after they learned […]