The American invasion of Iraq began six years ago, and a lot has happened: the nation descended into a civil war, 4,259 American soldiers were killed, over 1.3 million Iraqis are estimated to have died, and victory has been declared countless times. But while the war...
Barak Says Labor Should ‘Seriously Consider’ Offer
Israel's Prime Minister Designate Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to form a government any day now, but his right-far right coalition still hasn't given up courting a broader membership. The target right now is the center-left Labor Party led by Defense Minister Ehud...
Gates: Army Aims to Mostly Phase Out ‘Stop Loss’ in 2011
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced today that the army will phase out the so-called "stop-loss" program, which is being used to keep around 13,000 people in the military against their will, by 2011. "To hold them against their will ... is just not the right...
Russia Confirms S-300 Contract With Iran
A top Russian defense official today confirmed that a contract has existed for two years to supply the high-end S-300 surface to air defensive missile system to Iran, something which has long been rumored to be the case. Russian spokesmen would not discuss the...
Obama Urged to Widen Drone Strikes
In the months since he took power, President Barack Obama has escalated the number and severity of drone attacks in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) dramatically. Officials are reportedly no longer satisfied, however, apparently one can only kill...
Russia Plans ‘Large-Scale Rearming’
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced today that his nation would begin a "large-scale" rearmament campaign for both its army and navy starting in 2011 in response to persisting threats to the nation's security. Pointing to NATO's continued expansion and the...
Iraqi Ruling Party Dismisses Seriousness of Drone Incursion
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell tried to play up the seriousness of the alleged Iranian drone shot down by US forces inside Iraqi airspace, declaring it to be one of "multiple methods of destabilizing the government in Iraq, of providing extremist groups with the...
Israel to Worsen Prisoner Conditions to ‘Pressure Hamas’
Talks between Israel's outgoing Kadima government and Hamas appear to have fallen through, and there will be no prisoner swap to free jailed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in return for hundreds of Hamas detainees. Official rhetoric which emphasized the enormous value...
Report: Military Ultimatum Forced Resolution to Pakistan Crisis
The reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftkhar Muhammad Chaudhry yesterday brought an end to the government's imposition of emergency rule over much of the nation and turned massive protests into celebrations in short order. But what Pakistani officials have been...
US Missile Shield in Europe Would Cost Billions, Probably Wouldn’t Work
Despite the growing harm being done to US-Russian relations by the proposed US missile defense system in Poland, Obama Administration officials maintain that it is vital to defend against the Iranian "threat." But in addition to having cost over $144 billion since...