ASIA AFGHANISTAN One NATO soldier was killed on Thursday evening when his convoy was attacked by the Taliban just north of Kabul. In Helmand province, 40 Taliban fighters were reportedly killed during a 12 hour battle with Afghan forces on Thursday and Friday. And in Paktia province, the Afghans were able to retake the Jani … Continue reading Asia/Australia/Africa update: August 3-4 2017

IRAQ There's been a bit of ISIS activity in Ninewa province over the past couple of days--for example, ISIS forces in Tal Afar unsuccessfully attacked a couple of villages outside that city, undoubtedly an attempt to forestall the coming Iraqi operation there. The Tal Afar operation should begin fairly soon and is unlikely to be … Continue reading Middle East update: August 3-4 2017

EUROPE RUSSIA As expected--he really didn't have much choice considering Congress could've and would've overridden his veto--President Trump signed into law a bill levying sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korean on Wednesday. While I would argue that the bill has greater ramifications with respect to Iran--it designates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: August 2 2017

ASIA TURKMENISTAN Here in America we're just getting used to having a man-child president who likes to play with cool toys and do real manly stuff to show what a big boy he is. This kind of thing: https://twitter.com/deadspin/status/845010027551244288 Needless to say, though, on this score we're way behind a number of other nations in … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: August 2 2017

IRAQ The main issue in Mosul and the rest of Ninewa province continues to be security. ISIS no longer controls any part of Mosul but it still has cells throughout the province, and of course there are other criminal matters (reprisal killings, for example) that require a stable police force of some kind. But Baghdad … Continue reading Middle East update: August 2 2017

You may have noticed that I've been away for a couple of weeks. While I'm absolutely not going to try to catch you up on everything that's happened while I've been away, I will be interspersing the usual daily news with a few stories that developed over that time. EUROPE RUSSIA On Sunday, Russian President … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: August 1 2017

You may have noticed that I've been away for a couple of weeks. While I'm absolutely not going to try to catch you up on everything that's happened while I've been away, I will be interspersing the usual daily news with a few stories that developed over that time. ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least 29 people … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: August 1 2017

You may have noticed that I've been away for a couple of weeks. While I'm absolutely not going to try to catch you up on everything that's happened while I've been away, I will be interspersing the usual daily news with a few stories that developed over that time. IRAQ Combat operations in western Mosul … Continue reading Middle East update: August 1 2017