ISIS forces in Iraq
It has been nearly three years since the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) captured Mosul and advanced rapidly through a number of major population centers in northern Iraq, triggering a major U.S.-led internationalization of the conflict between the jihadist group and the myriad opponents to its attempt to establish territorial supremacy in Iraq and Syria. Read More
Allied forces practice amphibious assault near Ustka, northern Poland, on 17 June 2015 as part of BALTOPS 2015. NATO Photo
Summer is exercise season in the Baltic Sea region, and one of the largest ones is BALTOPS 16, which runs between June 3 and June 18, and ranges across a considerable portion of the Baltic Sea. Read More
The Indian Navy guided-missile destroyer INS Ranvir (DDG-54), left, the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JDS Kurama (DDH-144) are underway during Exercise Malabar 2009, an annual exercise led by the Indian Navy. US Navy photo.
The strong economic ties the United States and India maintain with China inhibit Washington and New Delhi from taking “hard actions” when Beijing acts provocatively in the South China Sea or the Indian Ocean, one of India’s leading conservative strategic analysts said Wednesday. Read More
Civil service mariners from USNS Sacagawea train with Marines by connecting a HUMVEE to a MV-22 Osprey in the Philippines in 2013. US Navy Photo
Over the weekend, the United States and the Philippines concluded their Sixth Annual Bilateral Security Dialogue session in Washington, D.C. At that forum, one of the first fruits of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) came to bear: the announcement of five bases where the United States could rotate troops and pre-position facilities and materials in support of the U.S. Pacific Pivot. Read More
As a number of congressional panels review the nuclear accord with Iran this week, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Tehran remains “a threshold nuclear power” and even some Democrats who supported the deal are having “buyers’ remorse.” Read More
Domestic economic growth and new terrorist attacks on American soil likely will dominate the 2016 presidential campaign; but China’s continuing cybertheft, its building islands for military use out of reefs or sliding the world into global recession through mishandling of its own economy—coupled with North Korea’s nuclear weapons testing—are international issues that could surface as the race heats up. Read More
The following is the Nov. 18, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Coalition Contributions to Countering the Islamic State. Read More
The following is the recently released 2015 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to Congress. Read More
French fighters leave for strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Nov. 15, 2015. French Ministry of Defense Photo
The desire for some expressive use of military power to release pent-up anger in France and the Western world in response to the latest terrorist attack in Paris is reaching a new level. France responded with strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS, ISIL and also called Daesh) targets over the weekend. Read More
Screen grab from Syrian State Television
The deployment of a major Russian expeditionary force to Syria in late September resulted in a flurry of public attention and heated rumors. Read More
