CENTCOM’s new mission statement: Truth is an option

Last week, the Daily Beast reported, fifty CENTCOM intelligence analysts filed a formal complaint with the inspector general after they felt like their reports were being altered by senior officials in order to downplay the strength and capabilities of ISIS and al Qaeda. The article alleges, that the senior officials, to include the director of intelligence and […]

Peshmerga launch operation to clear villages east of Mosul

Iraqi Kurdish forces say they have retaken five villages east of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul in an operation launched early Sunday. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces known as peshmerga aim to “clear several more villages” in “one of many shaping operations” that will increase pressure on the extremist group, the Kurdish region’s Security Council said […]

Troubling finds within the House probe of ‘Distorted’ intel on Daesh ‘ISIS’

CENTCOM established an intelligence “fusion center,” a specially equipped JIC facility staffed around-the-clock, to serve as a “focal point” for Daesh-related intelligence. Interviewees recalled only informal communications noting the center’s establishment, and some were also uncertain about the center’s organizational structure, responsibilities, and how it was determined which JIC analysts would participate.

Russia and Turkey make nice while the West watches

Putin plans to lift the sanctions bit by bit while resuming trade talks involving a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline. While the West has cringed from the actions of Erdogan during the aftermath of the Turkish military coup, Russia has stayed silent on the issues of crushing dissenters and demanding extradition of clerics.

Why you should (and shouldn’t) join SOF

The most important thing is to be able to laugh at yourself and accept your new position as the lowest of the low. The guys barking orders at you? They’ve been in your shoes.

IS supporter dead after anti-terrorism operation in small Canadian town

A man believed to be a supporter of the Islamic State was killed during a police standoff in a small Ontario town Wednesday evening, after Canadian federal police said they received “credible information of a potential terrorist threat.” CTV News first reported that 23-year-old Aaron Driver was killed inside a home in Strathroy, Ontario. Driver made headlines […]

They hate Daesh, so let’s just agree to call them that

When I deployed to the Middle East in 2014, Daesh was just starting to really get America‘s full attention. I was fascinated with getting the opportunity to meet them in battle, and wanted to know everything I could about them. But first, I wanted to know what to call them. ISIS, IS, ISIL? So I […]