In early 2007 the United States began a military surge into Iraq, adding some 38,000 troops to the force and increasing their focus on major Iraqi cities. Nearly two years later, with the troop level still not back to pre-surge levels they are preparing a reverse in...
Barzani Warns of Civil War as Cabinet Vote on Pact Looms
Iraqi Finance Minister Baqer Jabr Solagh says that the Iraqi Cabinet will vote on the controversial Status of Forces Agreement with the United States sometime this weekend. The current draft appears to be the final one, with only a month left to ratify the SOFA and...
Military Experts Say ‘New’ Iranian Missile Is Just an Old One With a Different Name
Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar announced today that his government had successfully test-fired the next generation of their long range surface-to-surface missiles, dubbed the Sajjil. Minister Najjar touted the missile as having "extraordinary high...
Iraqi-US Soldiers’ Argument Leads to Deadly Shoot-Out
This afternoon, a US military patrol stopped to inspect an Iraqi military checkpoint in a Sunni neighborhood in western Mosul. According to Iraqi personnel and witnesses, an argument broke out during which one of the American soldiers cursed Iraqi soldier Barzan...
Minute Uranium Traces Complicate Syria Investigation
The media has been abuzz with reports from diplomats that the IAEA discovered minute traces of processed uranium in samples taken from the suspected Syrian nuclear installation destroyed by Israel last September. IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei seems irked by attempts to...
Israeli Vice Premier Eyes Destruction of Gaza Villages
Last week's Israeli raid on a house in the Gaza Strip led to a barrage of missiles and retaliatory strikes from both sides. The situation seems to have calmed down since then, though a rocket yesterday fired from the strip did hit Israel: causing no damage and no...
Taliban’s Khyber Pass Hijacking Threatens NATO Supply Route
Without firing a shot, dozens of militants along the Khyber Pass border between Pakistan and Afghanistan managed to hijack a convoy of trucks bound for NATO forces in Afghanistan. One of the trucks was carrying Humvees, which the militants proudly took photos in front...
Obama Mulls Keeping Gates on Board
As Obama's aides continue to try to stifle hopes for the radical policy changes that were a cornerstone of his sweeping electoral victory, the surest sign thus far that little is going to change after the January 20 inauguration is swirling reports that he may ask...
Israel to Resume Limited Fuel Supplies Amid Gaza Blackouts
With more than half of the Gaza Strip's 1,500,000 residents without power, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has decided to allow "limited" amounts of industrial diesel into the strip. The Israelis sealed off the strip last week after a series of clashes tested the...
Not So Fast: Aides Warn Obama’s Quick Closure of Gitmo Will Be Anything But
Though newspapers have been reporting all day that President-elect Barack Obama intends to move swiftly to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay as soon as he takes office, sending detainees to face criminal trials in the US, his aides are suggesting...