state

US/SDF lead Kurdish border guard receives backlash

As we see the Islamic State‘s caliphate collapsing in the Middle East, the US-led coalition is planning to improve border security in northern Syria. The plan as of now is to equip the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) for this role, a Kurdish-led umbrella force for an alliance of sub groups in the region. Because the […]

Attack on prison transfer thwarted by Kurdish counter-terror unit

An attack on a prisoner transferring transport occurred in Chamchamal, Kurdistan Monday night (1/15/2018) around 0230. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) counter-terror unit responded and swiftly neutralized the attempted hijackers. As a result, three of the gunmen were injured and the 4th killed by direct fire. This was a coordinated and well-planned attack; this […]

ISIS groups arrested in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan

Recently two cells of Islamic State operatives were arrested in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan. While both groups had direct ties to the Islamic state, one consisted of all females and was tasked with social media outreach along with propaganda. The other was an all male group dedicated to direct action based terror attacks to be carried out in […]

American mercs hold off ISIS attack in Kirkuk

I had been in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, for about a whole two weeks and was probably as “green” as I could possibly be. The region was still engaged in a heated conflict with IS and attacks of all kinds were occurring daily. I had just arrived at the Peshmerga‘s 9th Brigade, one of the only […]

Iraqi para military forces begin massive anti ISIS operation

A major military operation has begun by the Iraqi government to hunt down and finish off the last remnants of the Islamic State in the Kirkuk region. Elements of air force and Iraqi armored divisions were deployed alongside Iranian-funded para military Hashd Al-Shabi units. The PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces) were named specifically in the tasking […]

Disinformation campaign in full effect for Iraqi Kurdistan

Since the start of Iraq and its proxies occupation of Kirkuk, a city in southern Kurdistan or northern Iraq depending how you look at it, there has been an increasing number of falsified anti-Kurdish sentiments. It’s happening in the form of forged documents, false reports often based on rumors and sensationalism from local media outlets. […]

Politics here have a real impact abroad

The Saudis took extreme exception to the U.S. and the President’s decision to not take military action against the Syrian regime. They vowed to go it alone.

Turkey coup attempt raises fears over safety of US nuclear stockpile

There are thought to be a total of 180 B61 bombs in Europe, in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as Turkey. The tactical weapons are legacies of the cold war and largely seen as militarily obsolete. However, in the absence of a NATO consensus on removing them, they remain in place as tokens of US commitment to Europe’s defense.

Medical marijuana for veterans, rejected by ‘Old Guard’

“It’s outrageous that it was removed” from the annual VA budget bill, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Jeff Merkley, said in a joint statement Friday. “To add insult to injury, the legislation was released in the middle of the night, not even giving members of the House an opportunity to review the language before voting on it.”