U.S. Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire an M777 Howitzer during a fire mission in northern Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve on Mar. 24, 2017. US Marine Corps Photo
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The Marine Corps touts its ship-based Marine expeditionary unit deployments as its go-to, “911” force when needed. The Navy highlights its amphibious ready groups for the forward presence and “power projection” it gives overseas combatant commanders. Read More
USS Stark (FFG-31) on May 18, 1987. US Navy
On May 17, 1987, the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Stark (FFG-31) was on patrol when it was struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War. Read More
The following is the April 28, 2017 Congressional Research Service report, Department of Defense Contractor and Troop Levels in Iraq and Afghanistan: 2007-2017. Read More
H. E. Paolo Gentiloni in New York in 2015. Photo by Luca Marfe’
Italy’s Prime Minster backed President Donald Trump’s retaliatory Tomahawk cruise missiles strike in response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons and said on Thursday action could provide “new momentum to foster a political solution.” Read More
An infantry Marine with 3rd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, walks across a field during a security patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 20, 2014. US Marine Corps Photo
To get around spending caps, Congress and the Pentagon have increasingly turned to a warfighting account to pay for items that would normally be in its base budget, and it’s a practice that will likely continue even with a request for a $54 billion increase in defense spending for the coming year. Read More
Marines with Alpha Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 4th Marines, conduct an M777 Howitzer live-fire night fire mission during Exercise Alligator Dagger in Djibouti on Dec. 18, 2016. US Marine Corps Photo
The following post has been updated with a statement from U.S. Central Command.
An undisclosed number of Marines assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in Syria recently to join U.S. forces and local forces poised to push Islamic State militants out of the city of Raqqa, according to a report in The Washington Post. Read More
The following is the Feb. 7, 2017 Congressional Research Service report, Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: Background and Status. Read More
The following is the Feb. 2, 2017 Congressional Research Service report, The Islamic State and U.S. Policy. Read More
ISIS forces in Iraq
CORRECTION: The following piece was mislabeled as an analysis piece rather than opinion.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Syria from entering the United States for 90 days, suspends refugee admission programs for 120 days and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees. Many questions have been raised about this controversial executive action. Since this action is characterized as a national security measure, this analysis will examine two questions: first, will such a policy measurably contribute to U.S. national security interests at home and abroad? And second, why the sudden change in strategy? Read More
The following is the Jan. 18, 2017 Congressional Research Service report, The Islamic State and U.S. Policy. Read More
