The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook

PART I A GLOBAL THREAT EMERGES How Hezbollah turned to trafficking cocaine and laundering money through used cars to finance its expansion. In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling […]

Coalition-backed Syrian troops kill 20 ISIS fighters at Tanf

U.S.-led coalition and its Syrian partners killed more than 20 Islamic State fighters and captured 17 others Wednesday in fighting outside U.S. base at Tanf, the coalition said Thursday. It was the second combat action around that key US base and coalition officials took issue with what they described as ISIS has been able to […]

US Air Force F-22 Raptors Intercept a Pair of Russian Jets in Syria

US Air Force F-22 Raptors sent a strong signal to a couple of Russian jets in the skies above Syria, passing in front of them and releasing flares. A pair of U.S. Air Force stealth fighter jets intercepted two Russian attack jets in Syria, an area off-limits to Russian jets based on a long-standing mutual […]

Coalition-Backed Syrian Troops Kill 20 ISIS Fighters at Tanf

U.S.-led coalition and its Syrian partners killed more than 20 Islamic State fighters and captured 17 others Wednesday in fighting outside U.S. base at Tanf, the coalition said Thursday. It was the second combat action around that key US base and coalition officials took issue with what they described as ISIS has been able to […]

Russia lied about an F-22, Su-35 intercept, then a real one happened…

The same day news broke that Russia apparently fabricated an interaction between a single U.S. F-22 and three Russian jets over Syria, the Russia Air Force found themselves face-to-face with the real thing: and it didn’t play out quite like they’d imagined. While CENTCOM was issuing a statement debunking Russia’s account of the first ever […]

Southern Syria faces more uncertainty as US pulls funding for anti-Assad militias

AMMAN – In the coming weeks, between 10,000 and 20,000 men in southern Syria will get their last month’s pay from the US government. The men are part of the Southern Front, a loose collaboration of dozens of anti-Assad, Western-vetted militias operating in Daraa and Quneitra provinces. For close to four years, they have been paid, […]

Russia claims first interaction between F-22 and Su-35… CENTCOM calls it a fairy tale

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a barrage of statements to state-owned media outlets this week, claiming that an American F-22 fighter was chased away from Russian bombing runs in Syria by the Kremlin’s advanced Su-35s fighter.  There’s just one problem: according to U.S. officials in CENTCOM, this first interaction between these two storied fighters […]

Pentagon Doubts Russian Withdrawal From Syria Claim

The Pentagon isn’t buying into the claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian are pulling a “significant part” of their troops from Syria after their mission in the war-torn country has been completed. Putin visited the country on Monday and it is estimated to have 10,000 active duty troops and private contractors currently […]

Putin confirms permanent Russian air and naval bases in Syria

Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia would maintain a permanent air base and naval facility in Syria after announcing plans to withdraw some troops from the country. The Russian president’s announcement came during a visit to the Khmeimim base in Latakia, where Putin told Russian troops they would be “returning” to their homes “victorious.” The visit […]

Iraqi Prime Minister declares victory over ISIS

Three years after militants from the Islamic State captured nearly a third of the nation, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared final victory over ISIS in a televised address to his nation on Saturday. Haider al-Abadi’s speech comes two days after Russia announced victory over the same terrorist organization in Syria, where their military […]

Former LafargeHolcim CEO charged with Syria terrorism funding

Former LafargeHolcim Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Eric Olsen was placed under formal investigation and charged with funding terrorist groups as part of a French probe into the cement maker’s operations in war-torn Syria. Olsen, who resigned from the company in April, was also charged late Thursday with putting someone else’s life in danger and placed under judicial supervision, said an […]