PSA: This may very well be my last update until Monday. I'm traveling for the rest of the week and while ideally I would like to find time to pump out a little content while I'm doing so, realistically I don't think it's going to be possible. EUROPE RUSSIA In response to Russia's decision to … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: August 21-22 2017

PSA: This may very well be my last update until Monday. I'm traveling for the rest of the week and while ideally I would like to find time to pump out a little content while I'm doing so, realistically I don't think it's going to be possible. AFGHANISTAN Well, Donald Trump announced his Big New … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: August 21-22 2017

PSA: This may very well be my last update until Monday. I'm traveling for the rest of the week and while ideally I would like to find time to pump out a little content while I'm doing so, realistically I don't think it's going to be possible. ISIS According to the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism … Continue reading Middle East update: August 21-22 2017

SINGAPORE This is breaking now: Ten U.S. Navy sailors are missing and five have been injured after the USS John S. McCain destroyer collided with an oil tanker near Singapore early Monday morning. This is the second time in two months that a Navy destroyer based at the 7th Fleet’s home port of Yokosuka, Japan, … Continue reading World update: August 19-20 2017

IRAQ So I think that the Iraqi government just tried a little misdirection in the fight against ISIS. After saying for several days that it could be weeks before they started a ground offensive to liberate Tal Afar, the Iraqis started that offensive on Saturday. Donald Trump must be so happy that they didn't telegraph … Continue reading Middle East update: August 19-20 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN One US soldier was killed late Wednesday in fighting with ISIS in Nangarhar province. On Friday, seven people were killed in two incidents in Herat province--one involving a roadside bomb, the other fighting between rival Taliban gangs. The influential governor of Balkh province, Atta Mohammad Noor, has been accused (along with his sons) … Continue reading World update: August 17-18 2017

I'm posting this early because we're supposed to get a major thunderstorm tonight and our electricity tends to go out during those. I may update later if something warrants it. I'll try to post a world update later if nature and the electrical grid allow it. IRAQ Reuters has published another story on the imminent … Continue reading Middle East update: August 17-18 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Former US ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann writes that, outward appearances to the contrary I guess, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is reforming the country, starting with its top military brass. The issue, Neumann says, is that the country is so corrupt that Ghani can't tackle all the challenges at once and progress will … Continue reading World update: August 16 2017

IRAQ Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the air campaign against Tal Afar continues to ratchet up in advance of the ground offensive that will begin...well, someday. Probably someday soon but I don't want to overpromise. Anonymous Iraqi sources are still talking about weeks before the ground attack really begins. There's less … Continue reading Middle East update: August 16 2017

EUROPE RUSSIA The FSB said Tuesday that it had detained a "Ukrainian intelligence agent" in Crimea, where he was allegedly planning acts of sabotage. NORWAY Norway is having a general election on September 11, and on Tuesday a new poll gave some good news to the country's center-left: The survey of voters by the Kantar … Continue reading Europe/Americas: August 14-15 2017