Iraq

The Turkish military conducted several airstrikes across the Iraqi Kurdistan region yesterday and has claimed to have eliminated 12 PKK targets. Kurdish officials that have oversight of the areas targeted deny that there were any casualties nor was there a real damage to infrastructure. According to the Turkish military, the airstrikes were an attempt to […]

A squad of Islamic State militants kidnapped five Iraqi citizens in the Kirkuk region last week, one of the men abducted was a Kakai religious leader. The men were taken near Zanqar village according to Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Jamal Shakur. He added that, “The name of one of the abductees is Farhad, […]

Recently I have been speaking with many of the Kurds I had previously served alongside in the Kurdish Peshmerga military forces. Many have moved on to veteran status and found civilian jobs. Many feel disenfranchised with the Peshmerga because it is surrounded by family hookups and back door deals. Corruption is common practice among the […]

When I was living in the world’s more chaotic corners, my exact daily carry of items often varied widely depending on circumstances. Typically, it centered around some key aspects that were pretty consistent though. These central components could change too — things were often situation dependent when abroad. I generally base an everyday carry (EDC) […]

Representatives from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) are predicting intense clashes with Turkish military forces in the near future. PKK official Bahoz “The Doctor” Erdal told local media that, “Of course, we are in a state of war against the Turkish army. The escalation is in the upcoming days. We can say we are expecting […]

Ah, those ethical do-gooders over at Google. Don’t you just love the perks the millennials receive for working there? Slides, laundry service, free meals and on-site gyms with free exercise classes, free massages for those stressed out workers make it one of the best places to work in terms of job satisfaction. And the company […]

The top UK Royal Air Force general has defended the RAF’s bombing of Islamic State targets calling ISIS “really wicked and evil enemy that used civilians as human shields.” Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach said the RAF had carried out “the most carefully planned air campaign in history” and was “meticulous” in trying to […]

In 2006, Iraq was a very dangerous place to be. Civil war wracked the country, the casualty rates for U.S. troops was the highest it had been since the United States had invaded. It had a lot to do with the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. From 2005 until his death in 2006, Abu Musab […]

Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal’s is famous Marine Corps wide for his heroic actions in the battle of Fallujah, Iraq. As a young Marine Corps recruit I was told about his heroism by my Drill Instructors. They told us that this was the Corps’ legacy and that this was the stuff Marines were made of. The […]

Special Operations Forces in Africa could be slashed heavily under sweeping Pentagon proposals to retask and reorganize SOF towards more pressing needs facing the rising threats of Russia and China. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had ordered a review of all Special Operations Forces missions as Mattis, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph […]

More than a third of all injuries sustained by U.S. military troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are sustained in non-battlefield conditions a recent DOD study found. By far, the most prevalent type of non-battle injuries consisted of falls or vehicle crashes. And they also accounted for about 10 percent of the deaths of troops there. […]

Muqtada al-Sadr has been a long-time enemy of the U.S., particularly during the occupation of Iraq during Operation Iraqi freedom (OIF) when Sadr led the Mahdi Army. Now Sadr has been elected to Iraqi parliament, his Sayriun Alliance partnered with the Communist Party to pull a sweeping victory out of the elections. Together, the Sayriun Alliance […]