Tag Archives: ISIS

Russia Suspends Air Space Deconfliction Agreement With U.S. After Chemical Weapons Retaliation Strikes

Russia Suspends Air Space Deconfliction Agreement With U.S. After Chemical Weapons Retaliation Strikes

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet flies off the wing of a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iraq after refuel Sept. 28, 2016. US Air Force Photo

THE PENTAGON — Russia said it suspended an airspace deconfliction agreement with U.S. forces operating in and around Syria, in a statement deriding the U.S. for its Thursday night attack on a Syrian airfield with 59 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from two destroyers operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, but senior U.S. military officials said the deconfliction hotline is still open and Russians are answering their calls. Read More

Russia Sends Frigate to Mediterranean Following U.S. Retaliation Strike; U.S. Destroyers Remain On Station

Russia Sends Frigate to Mediterranean Following U.S. Retaliation Strike; U.S. Destroyers Remain On Station

Russian Admiral Grigorovich frigate leaving the Black Sea on April 7, 2017 following US Tomahawk strikes in Syria. Photo by Alper Böler used with permission

The Russian Navy has sent its most advanced Black Sea frigate into the Eastern Mediterranean on Friday following a U.S. missile strike on a Syrian airfield, according to ship spotters in Turkey. Read More

UPDATED: Marines with 11th MEU Join the Ground Fight in Syria

UPDATED: Marines with 11th MEU Join the Ground Fight in Syria

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

USS George H.W. Bush Launches Anti-ISIS Strikes from Mediterranean

USS George H.W. Bush Launches Anti-ISIS Strikes from Mediterranean

An F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to the Black Lions of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve on Feb. 13, 2017. US Navy Photo

An F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to the Black Lions of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve on Feb. 13, 2017. US Navy Photo

After a two-month gap, the U.S. Navy is again launching carrier-based strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria from the Mediterranean, the service announced on Monday. Read More

Trump Calls for Plan to Defeat ISIS, Requirements Mirror Obama Admin Approach

Trump Calls for Plan to Defeat ISIS, Requirements Mirror Obama Admin Approach

Image from a propaganda video released on March 17, 2014 by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) via AFP.

Image from a propaganda video released on March 17, 2014 by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) via AFP.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a strategy to defeat the Islamic State, bringing in multiple federal departments and agencies with requirements that closely mirror how the Obama Administration had approached the problem. Read More

Opinion: The Strategic Impact of Trump’s Executive Orders and Actions

Opinion: The Strategic Impact of Trump’s Executive Orders and Actions

ISIS forces in Iraq

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