Middle East

The Iraqi army’s recent triumph in Ramadi made it clear that its soldiers aren’t cut from the same cloth as those who ditched their gear and fled in terror from the Islamic State group in 2014 — and Marines have been a pivotal part of that transformation. Hundreds of Marines have been quietly deploying over the past 16 […]

Watch as Iraqi rolling airframe missiles (IRAM) are launched by Badr forces against ISIS positions in Salah Ad-Din.

(CNN) – Saudi Arabia launched a massive military exercise that will include troops from 20 nations, state media reported Monday. The drill, dubbed North Thunder, involves Arab and Muslim countries, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It’s taking place in King Khalid Military City in northeastern Saudi Arabia. The news agency did not provide much […]

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor, Matthew Holehouse in Brussels and Louisa Loveluck in Gaziantep Russia warned of “a new world war” starting in Syria on Thursday after a dramatic day in which Gulf states threatened to send in ground forces. Foreign and defence ministers of the leading international states backing different factions in the war-torn country met in […]

Turkey is a NATO member — and so, by treaty, an American ally. Yet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sure didn’t sound like one on during a Thursday: He blamed the United States for, among other things, turning the Middle East into “a sea of blood.” This all comes back to a big disagreement over one […]

Here, thousands of Syrian refugees try to enter Turkey from rebel-controlled Syria.

From Reuters Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday held out the possibility of sending Saudi special forces into Syria as part of a U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. “There is a discussion with regard to a ground force contingent, or a special forces contingent, to operate in Syria by this international U.S.-led coalition […]

Washington (CNN) – The top U.S. commander for the fight against ISIS on Monday slammed the idea of “carpet bombing” the terror group. Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, who directs the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, provided the most detailed military criticism to date about the concept and detailed why it’s militarily unacceptable. […]

Caliphates, dictatorships, and monarchies have been successful forms of government within the Middle East and Arab culture for centuries because they are designed around the basic patron and client relationship. If the patron and client relationship becomes unbalanced, a coup or revolution will occur resulting in a shift for power. If the new government is not prepared to assume the role of patron and it will ultimately fail.`

The terror group ISIS has created a whole “industry” out of the production of fake passports, a high-level French official said today. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that through ISIS’s operations in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the group has acquired blank passports and has now set up a “real fake document industry.” Cazeneuve […]

The current number of Guantanamo detainees is now down to 93 – and counting. With the recent release of 10 detainees it brings the occupancy levels down to the lowest in almost fourteen years. Even without a plan approved by Congressional lawmakers to officially close the facility, President Obama seems intent on overseeing the reduction […]

Within the guide’s pages, one sees an evolution in the tactics, techniques, and procedures commonly deployed by terrorist organizations similar to ISIS.