The Captain Crozier case: Something is seriously wrong with Navy

Notice: This essay contains no disparaging remarks about China… I’m just kidding — of course there are some in there! Remember that time the American Navy intercepted the Japanese navy at Midway? And they wrecked it so bad the Japanese commander felt his guts were better off on the ship’s deck he retreated until his […]

Coronavirus & the 2021 defense budget

With the coronavirus on a rampage around the world, how could this impact our national security in the future? What is the real cost of COVID-19, and how can we afford next year’s budget? The president has proposed a $45.8 billion government-wide funding package that will provide DoD with $8.3 billion to assist in dealing […]

Turkish troops attack Syrian forces outside of Aleppo

The fighting in Syria between Turkish Syrian government troops has once again reignited. Turkish military forces have launched a new attack against the Syrian Army in the northern area outside of Aleppo. Meanwhile, Syrian troops are massing in the Jabal Al-Zawiya area as they seem to be preparing to resume offensive operations. According to a […]

US military finally moves Patriot missile batteries in Iraq

The United States is finally moving some air defense systems into place in Iraq after bases that house U.S. troops have been attacked with rocket and missile fire for months. The Pentagon didn’t specify which bases the air defense systems will be deployed to.  However, Al Jazeera reported that according to Iraqi and U.S. military […]

Lebanon: The next Middle East powder keg waiting to explode

Lebanon isn’t in the news much these days but has the potential to blow up into a major conflict.  The country is facing a couple of big problems right now Firstly, Lebanon is going through one of the deepest economic crises in the world today — a crisis that puts it in the precipice of […]

Israeli Air Force strikes Syrian airbase believed to house Iranian troops

The Israeli Air Force conducted another airstrike inside Syria, at the al-Shayrat airbase located in Homs. The Syrian state-run television channel, SANA, reported that their air defense systems fired on what they identified as Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanese airspace.  SANA media, quoting an Army official said that “the air defenses shot down a number […]

Robert Levinson: Former FBI agent and CIA asset dies in captivity in Iran

Robert Levinson, a former FBI special agent and undercover CIA asset, has died while in captivity in Iran, according to a statement by his family. Levinson’s story is complicated, to say the least. The former FBI special agent retired from the Bureau in 1998. He then proceeded to work as a private investigator. In 2007, […]

Yemeni Civil War: Saudis hit Iranian troops at missile sites

Saudi Arabia and its coalitions fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in neighboring Yemen announced that they conducted airstrikes targeting rebel missile sites and Iranian military personnel stationed at these sites. On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition launched several of these airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, which is occupied by the Houthi rebels. This comes just two days […]

Treading carefully: How American troops are protecting Kurdish oil fields

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 […]

Iran refuses American Coronavirus aid, claims US conspiracy

With Iran being wracked by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and many high government officials having been infected –including a vice-president and an advisor to Khamenei — Iran’s Supreme Leader refused U.S. assistance stating that the virus was made by the American government. Khamenei’s comments, made on Sunday, parroted the conspiracy claims of the Chinese government, that […]

US withdrawal from Afghanistan is getting complicated

Since the U.S. and Taliban leaders signed a peace deal on Feb 29, the world has been unraveling due to the spread of the Coronavirus. As a part of the deal, the U.S. agreed to decrease the number of troops in Afghanistan from 13,000 to 8,600 in the coming months and to have all troops […]

Bezos phone hack shows it’s high time to dump the Saudi Crown Prince

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, this article seeks to engage the reader in thoughtful discourse over the current state of U.S.- Middle East affairs, particularly as they pertain to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Falling oil prices, recent reports of several additional senior members of the Saudi royal family being detained, and other concerns over Saudi Crown […]