Lebanon and Hezbollah launch simultaneous but separate battles against ISIS

The U.S.-backed Lebanese army launched a long-awaited offensive on Saturday against Islamic State militants holed up in a remote stretch of northeastern Lebanon, just as a separate offensive by the Hezbollah militia and the Syrian army got underway right across the border in Syria. The offensive is the biggest military operation launched by the Lebanese […]

Iranian Guard commander threatens U.S. bases in region with missile strikes

After the Trump administration announced a new set of sanctions to be imposed on Iran over its ballistic missile program and “malign activities” in the Middle East, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a veiled threat directed at U.S. installations in the region. If the United States wants to pursue sanctions against Iran’s defenses […]

What Gertrude Bell can teach us about the Middle East 100 years later

By K. J. WETHERHOLT A recent and much-celebrated documentary, Letters from Baghdad, produced by Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl, depicts an essential figure from World War I and its aftermath: an explorer, archaeologist, mountain climber, and an intelligence officer for the British who became a modern nation-builder in the Middle East. She was a woman whose influence would […]

With ISIS Defeat Looming in Syria, Iraq, US Strategy Has to Define Next Step

American-backed ground forces are poised to recapture Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, the Islamic State’s de facto capitals. But while U.S. commanders are confident they soon will vanquish the militant group from its self-declared caliphate after three years of fighting, Washington has not defined a strategy in the next step for stabilizing the region. The […]

All parties involved draw new red lines in Syria amid rising tensions

After the United States shot down a Syrian military SU-22 over Syria on Sunday, the United States, Russia, and Iran have begun establishing “red lines” for one another, or borders within the nation each respective state’s military assets cannot cross without being engaged as a hostile. While the establishment of red lines is not a […]

In Syria the 75th Ranger Regiment is used as a political action force

The 75th Ranger Regiment describes itself as America’s premier raid force, with the missions of direct action, special reconnaissance, and forced entry operations such as airfield seizures.  However, the Ranger mission in Syria has taken a very different turn, one in which the Regiment is deployed as a political force to build rapport with allies […]

Watch: The real, ‘ISIS Hunting Club’ – More than a trendy patch

The ISIS Hunting Club: Kurds Hunting Daesh Taking Daesh (ISIS,) down in the Middle East means less attacks on Western soil. If they control less territory, then they have less income. Which means less funds for terrorist attacks abroad. After battles like Kobane, a lot of their capable fighters have died and there are more and more […]

Trump and Mattis meet with UAE crown prince to finalize new defense partnership

American Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates at the White House on Monday to formally finalize a new mutual defense agreement between the two nations. This new agreement is set to replace a previous one established in 1994, and is intended to better […]

Air Combat Command’s Gen. Hawk Carlisle says the F-35 is Combat Ready but…

General Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia said Friday the F-35A will deploy to Europe this ‘spring to summertime’ but don’t look for the aircraft to participate in the fight against ISIS anytime soon. “The plan is a few years out. It’s not going to happen this year,” Air […]

Mattis won’t rule out putting troops on the ground in Syria

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis downplayed reports that the Pentagon was considering deploying US ground combat troops to Iraq and Syria, but he didn’t rule it out. Asked about a CNN report that the Pentagon might propose sending US troops to expedite the fight against ISIS, Mattis said he was not “comfortable answering on my own […]

Trump’s foreign network

Donald Trump will enter the White House with a network of un­or­tho­dox foreign contacts — some of them high-living risk-takers, some with past trouble with the law — who have done business with him in nations from Latin America to the Middle East to Asia. Several of Trump’s foreign business partners have been investigated for […]