Trump Wants to Get Out of Syria, But Military Advisors Say Not Yet

President Trump says it is the time to get all of the U.S. military troops out of Syria, which they entered the civil war to deter ISIS, but have since been embroiled in other fighting. The president’s comments appear to contradict U.S. military and national security advisors, who were speaking simultaneously at the U.S. Institute […]

Hashd al-Shaabi raid ISIS terror cells

An Iraqi Federal Police anti-terror unit conducted a raid along side Hashd al-Shaabi forces last week against Islamic State sleeper cells in several villages near the city of Kirkuk. During the raid, one ISIS collaborator (a shepherd) was killed and  5 ISIS militants were arrested. The operation was executed at night. According to reports, Hashd al-Shaabi fighters went […]

Iraq plans to enter Syria to “fight terrorism”

Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s Prime Minister, has confirmed that the Iraqi military is forming plans to cross it’s border with Syria in an effort to combat terrorism. The move comes in the wake of Turkish military aggression on Iraq’s northern border while Turkey simultaneously has conquered the formerly Kurdish controlled Canton of Afrin in northern Syria. […]

Peshmerga look to conduct joint security operations with Iraqi forces

The Peshmerga are prepared to conduct joint security operations alongside Iraqi counter parts according to officials with the Kurdish security forces. The move to unify their forces comes during the aftermath of the Islamic State conflict. Now that the caliphate has collapsed, ISIS forces are reverting to sleeper cells and insugency based tactics. A series […]

German private sector contributes to Kurdistan’s schools

Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is a private humanitarian aid and development group out of Germany that has recently begun renovating schools in Iraqi Kurdistan. The organization, through its cooperation with the Rwanga Foundation, has been doing similar work for over two years in the region though. The Consul General for German, Kurt Georg Stockl-Stillfried, informed […]

The hero of the Republique

What is a hero? By the literal meaning of the word,  a hero is the protector or defender; by the ancient Greek definition it is the one who lives and dies in the pursuit of honor. Today we apply the word way too often and undeservedly, diluting its meaning. But we do indeed have different […]

Watch: ISIS-K commander killed in US SOF raid

The DOD recently released footage of U.S. Special Operations Forces conducting a raid against ISIS-K in Mughul, Darzab district, Jowzjan province, Afghanistan. What appears to be a platoon of U.S. Army Rangers, they can be seen loading up onto the MH-47, landing on target, followed by several explosions. It is difficult to discern exactly what the […]

Two Coalition Troops Killed in Syria By IED, Five Wounded

Reports from U.S. military personnel in Syria say that two coalition personnel have been killed and five were wounded by a roadside bombing in Syria on Friday. IEDs attacks, while common in Iraq have been rare since the U.S-led coalition sent troops into Syria’s war-torn country. The military did not say where the incident occurred […]

Coalition forces support establishing a modern Peshmerga

Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan’s Prime Minister, held a meeting with a delegation of British civilian and military officials this week to discuss the modernization of Iraqi Kurdistan’s military forces, specifically the Peshmerga. The meeting was attended by several KRG officials to include deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. A statement released […]

The private sector and the rebuilding of the Middle East after ISIS

The U.S. Department of State is advocating the use of the private sector in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Syrian and Iraqi infrastructure in the wake of the war with the Islamic State. Rather than nation building as a government, they believe that privatizing the reformation process will be a far more feasible solution to […]

Kirkuk citizens flee their homes in fear of continued ISIS presence

Residents of Kirkuk’s southern territories have been abandoning their homes for fear of Islamic State attacks and kidnappings. They say that Iraqi security forces only maintain a presence within the main city and larger villages; that Hashdt al-Shaabi is not an acceptable anti-terrorism element and has not performed as a security force well. A resident […]

Islamic State Regrouping in Iraqi, Kurdish Territories

The Islamic State has regrouped in Iraq and is conducting increasingly deadly attacks in territories across northern Iraq, taking advantage of the hostility between the central government and the Kurdish people, according to both Iraqi and Kurdish officials. The Iraqi government declared a final victory over IS last December after Iraqi forces drove its last […]