At least 15 Afghans killed as multiple blasts target funeral for protester in Kabul

KABUL — At least 15 Afghans were killed when three back-to-back explosions ripped through a funeral Saturday held for one of the demonstrators killed during anti-government protests Friday, authorities said. About 700 mourners at a hillside cemetery in the northern part of Kabul were in the middle of the funeral prayers for a prominent politician’s […]

Nuristan: Kipling and American Valor

It took him half an hour to fall. -Peachy Carnehan, “The Man Who Would Be King” On June 24, I published Nuristan Province: Conflict, Reconciliation, and Development at Foreign Intrigue that examined the consequences for diminished application of  aid and development resources in the eastern Afghanistan province of Nuristan. This article is a companion piece to “Nuristan […]

Will the US Policy of Annihilation and Humiliation Work?

The United States has shifted its focus from a war of attrition against ISIS and radical Islamism to one of annihilation and humiliation. Secretary of Defense James Mattis outlined the plan recently and he believes that this is a plan that the US and its allies can win. But the big question is, will this […]

Large truck bomb near the foreign embassies in Kabul kills at least 80

A water tank truck loaded with explosives detonated in the diplomatic area in Kabul, which is surrounded by foreign embassies including the US Embassy. The large truck bomb claimed the lives of at least 80 and wounded more than 350 people as embassy workers and staff were headed to work. According to the Washington Post, the […]

Massive Suicide Car Bomb Explosion Rocks Kabul, Scores Killed

Kabul, Afghanistan was rocked by a huge car bomb explosion in the diplomatic security area of the capital on Wednesday morning. According to Afghani Ministry of Health sources, at least 80 were dead and 350 wounded with the majority of those being women and children. It was the worst terrorist incident in the country since […]

Australia promises 30 more troops for NATO’s Afghanistan mission

Australia will send an additional 30 troops to join the NATO-led training and assistance mission in Afghanistan, bringing its total deployment there to 300, Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Monday. NATO requested more troops last month as U.S. President Donald Trump considers whether to expand the operation by several thousand, 16 years into the […]

U.S. Special Operations Forces face growing demands and increased risks

Touching down before dawn, Somali “Lightning” commandos climbed out of U.S. military helicopters and carefully advanced in the dark toward a ramshackle compound tucked into muddy farmland dotted by banana trees. U.S. surveillance had monitored the site for days after an intelligence tip signaled the location of Moalin Osman Abdi Badil, the suspected leader of […]

USASOC Honors Gold Star Families in Ceremony

The Army’s Special Operations Command Memorial Wall added seven new names to their list of honored fallen soldiers in a solemn ceremony at Ft. Bragg, NC. After each name was read the toll of a bell was heard to honor the sacrifice of the troops. The command honored Maj. Andrew Byers, Sgt. 1st Class Ryan […]

The big lie we are being sold about ISIS in the Philippines and Manchester

Once upon a time you needed to be Al Qaeda to get the US government’s attention.  Today it is ISIS that has the brand recognition that Jihadists crave.  If you are an unemployed teenager living in squalor, and perhaps influenced by an Islamist ideology in your neighborhood, the one thing you really want is to […]

Special Operations Painful Coming of Age After 9/11

Mark Moyer’s recent book on the US Special Operations Forces (Oppose Any Foe) is an excellent history of the birth of Special Operations and into the huge command of over 70,000 troops today. He tells it all, with the triumphs, the mistakes and the clashes with the conventional military establishment. In his latest piece for […]