Tag Archives: war on terror

U.S. intelligence agencies have told the Biden administration that the Taliban could overrun most of Afghanistan within two to three years if U.S. troops leave before a power-sharing deal is reached between the warring sides, a news report said on Friday. Such a takeover potentially would allow al Qaeda to …

The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a US government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of …

It may seem counter-intuitive and head-scratchingly odd, but Congress nearly always approves defense spending bills before the armed services committees — which actually oversee the Pentagon — vote on how the money will be spent. Not this year. The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 …

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike, an Afghan official said Friday. Mullah Fazlullah Khorasani was Pakistan’s most-wanted militant and blamed for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was later awarded …

A Southern California teacher who was recorded bashing the U.S. military in a profane classroom rant was fired Tuesday evening. Board of Education President Aurora Villon said the El Rancho Unified School District reached a unanimous decision to fire Gregory Salcido, a history teacher at El Rancho High School and …

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief visited Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said, at a time when tension between the neighbors is simmering over accusations that Pakistan offers a safe haven for Taliban militants. The visit comes amid anger in Afghanistan over an attack on a luxury hotel and a car bomb in the …

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s prolific Twitter feed was yielding valuable intelligence. “I’ve actually seen it help us,” Pompeo told the audience at The Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, when asked whether Trump’s Twitter activity was making his job harder. “I have seen things the President …

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he would draw up a list of extremist organizations to convey to Saudi Arabia after its crown prince pledged to cut their funding. Saudi Arabia finances groups overseen by the Mecca-based Muslim World League, which for decades was charged with spreading the strict …

Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince is considering a Republican primary challenge to Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a senior member of the Senate GOP leadership team, in a race that could pit the party’s establishment against insurgents fueled by allies of President Donald Trump. Prince was in Wyoming this weekend to …

By Sara Safa “International sanctions” is a new term in international politics and a new strategy or political instrument that came more operational in the early 1970’s after US withdrawal from the Vietnam war amid several challenges and a real economic pressure that the US had to face especially after …

The Pentagon is considering a plan that allows the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes on ISIS in the Philippines, two defense officials told NBC News. The authority to strike ISIS targets as part of collective self-defense could be granted as part of an official military operation that may be named …

France’s armed forces chief resigned on Wednesday in a dispute with Emmanuel Macron over defense budget cuts, an early test of the newly elected president’s mettle and the tough presidential style he is cultivating. In a statement, 60 year-old Pierre de Villiers said he had tried to keep the armed …

DUBAI: US Secretary of defense Jim Mattis and his Qatari counterpart Khalid al-Attiyah signed a letter of agreement for a $12-billion sale of US-manufactured F-15 fighters, the Pentagon said. The sale comes amid a simmering crisis in the Gulf after Qatar‘s neighbours accused it of supporting terrorism and cut diplomatic …

THE LEVANT – US military action against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria began on a small scale three months ago but has steadily expanded in size and scope, raising the stakes for Washington, experts say. The mission has morphed from protecting religious minorities in Iraq to a vow …

THE LEVANT – US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday it would have been “irresponsible” not to help Kurdish fighters battling jihadists for the Syrian border town of Kobane after Washington made its first arms drop to them. “It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very …

THE LEVANT – The father of James Foley, the US reporter beheaded at the hands of Islamic State militants in August, said Friday he believed governments would have to negotiate with the extremists “eventually”. The father of James Foley, the US reporter beheaded at the hands of Islamic State militants …

THE LEVANT – By Patrick Cockburn – Isis is close to capturing the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, just a short distance from the Turkish border, after a three-week siege in which US air strikes turned out to be ineffective in preventing Isis winning an important victory. With Isis fighters …

THE LEVANT – The White House welcomed Friday the Australian government’s deployment of fighter aircraft to participate in airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq as well as its intention to deploy Special Forces to Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces. According to a White House statement, “With these deployments, …

THE LEVANT – Turkey’s parliament Thursday authorised military action against the Islamic State jihadist group, whose fighters have battled their way to the doorstep of a key town across the border in Syria. The move allows the deployment of armed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as the transit …

THE LEVANT – Kurdish troops backed by warplanes battled the Islamic State group on three fronts in northern Iraq Tuesday, clawing back land lost to the jihadists in recent months. The peshmerga struck before dawn against the town of Rabia on the Syrian border, north of the jihadist-controlled second city …

THE LEVANT – US warplanes launched multiple strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, seeking to turn up the heat on jihadists as Britain carried out its first air raids against the group. IS militants closing in on a key town near the Turkish border were …

THE LEVANT – Powerful Al-Qaeda branches in Yemen and North Africa called Tuesday for jihadists in Iraq and Syria to unite against the common threat from a US-led coalition. Powerful Al-Qaeda branches in Yemen and North Africa issued an unprecedented joint statement Tuesday calling for jihadists in Iraq and Syria …

THE LEVANT – The Iraqi parliament voted down Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s nominees for defence and interior minister Tuesday, leaving the key positions unfilled as the country battles to regain ground from militants. Parliament approved Abadi’s partial cabinet on August 8, ushering in his term as premier, but he asked …

THE LEVANT – The Syrian government and mainstream opposition must seek a compromise to end three and half years of bloody civil war and block the rise of murderous jihadists, UN investigators said Tuesday. “The rise of (Islamic State fighters) has emphasised the need for the government and mainstream opposition …

THE LEVANT – The “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) has been attempting to burnish its image on social networking sites by spreading false news of its victories and issuing threats to journalists who report the truth, security officials and experts told Mawtani. Iraqi forces recently arrested a seven-member …

THE LEVANT – At the heart of President Barack Obama’s quandary over the Islamic State militants is their haven in Syria. The president may continue helping Iraqi forces try to reverse the group’s land grabs in northern Iraq by providing more arms and American military advisers and by using U.S. …

Hacktivist group Anonymous is said to be planning a series of cyber attacks against countries it accuses of arming and abetting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militant jihadist group. According to Forbes, the Anonymous campaign will be called Operation NO2ISIS. The hackers will attempt to subdue three countries …