Syria

While most of the commentary on the recent ISIS push in Fallujah and Ramadi has focused on Obama’s culpability and how all the men who died there died for nothing, a lot has gotten lost in the noise.  Nothing in warfare, least of all 4GW, is that simple. ISIS has had a rocky year.  From […]

Earlier this month (the exact date is unclear) the leader of the Tawhid Brigade, Abdelqader Saleh, was killed in an airstrike in Aleppo.  Saleh had been with the uprising from the beginning.  He was involved with the initial demonstrations against the Assad government, then took up arms when matters became violent.  Even in recent years, […]

This map is, of course, not 100% accurate.  In the fluid environment of an irregular war it is practically impossible to have 100% accuracy, particularly when the information is being collected from various electronic sources on the ground.  However, I thought that in a general sense it would provide a visual aid for at least […]

The Syrian Civil War appears to be becoming increasingly three-way (four-way if you count the Kurds).  The Islamic State of Iraq and as Sham assassinated Ahrar al Sham’s chief humanitarian aid worker on Sept. 11, apparently in keeping with an operational strategy voiced by Ayman al Zawahiri the next day.  On Sept. 12, Zawahiri issued […]

I’ve been seeing quite a bit of lionization of Vladimir Putin lately, by a lot of the same people who were up in arms last year about Obama’s hot mic comment to Dmitri Medvedev that he’d have “more flexibility” as regards to giving the Russians what they want (re: missile defense for our allies in […]

One of the more standout actions of the Islamist rebel group Ahrar al Sham has been their civilian outreach programs.  They have made a concerted effort to get food, medical supplies, and other aid to the civilians in the war-torn areas of Syria, and have widely publicized their efforts.  It’s an effective “Information Operation,” especially […]

Face it, whatever decision is made by U.S. Congress concerning action to be or not to be taken in Syria, it will not be embraced whole heartedly by the American public. Obviously no decision like this one has ever been fully embraced–not even the invasion of Afghanistan after the attacks of 9/11. Really, I recall […]

With the current front page news of Assad’s use of Sarin and a potential US military response, there’s been an Everest mountain’s worth of discussion over why we shouldn’t do anything.  Conspicuously absent is an honest questioning of the reasons to not intervene, well-explained reasons to intervene and analysis of the results of inaction. SOFREP is […]

Every day I see that the stage on which we each play our roles is changing the repertoire. I mean comedies are fine but this is starting to turn into a tragicomedy… and a very poor one for that matter. When we speak of this comedy it instantly reminds me of a quote from a […]

Over the last several days, Assad’s forces have been bombarding the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, as well as the cities of Zamalka, Saqba, Jisreen, and Al-Mleiha.  The areas of Ain Tarma and Jobar have also been mentioned.  Syrian activists claim the bombardment has been primarily mortars and multiple rocket launchers, and the Syrian Observatory for […]

I’m not entirely sure why this is such a difficult topic to write about, but here it goes. I think it might have to do with the fact that there are hundreds of Syrian people dying every day, and there are over 1.5 million refugees since the Syrian civil war began. Or it could be […]

The Jaysh al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (The Army of Emigrants and Helpers) was officially formed at the end of March, 2013.  It began as three different groups, including the Kataeb al-Muhajireen (The Brigade of Emigrants), the Kataeb al Khattab (The Brigade of Khattab), and the Jaysh Muhammad (Army of Muhammad).  The latter two were Syrian groups, while […]