Israel-Hamas war: How quickly can Hamas recover from Gaza defeat?
Hamas units in northern Gaza have been surrounded. They have been pushed out of numerous neighborhoods such as Sheikh Ijlin, Shait, Beit Hanoun, Rimal, parts of Zaytun and Jabalya.
Tal Afar
This Memorial Day, remember those killed in this century’s wars
To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones.
Op-eds
Take Two at the NSC
It has been a tumultuous start for President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, to put it gently. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser less than a...
Op-eds
Three Immediate Priorities for McMaster
In 2005, Colonel Herbert McMaster prioritized victory above promotion. Attempting to secure Tal Afar, a city in northern Iraq, McMaster faced a big problem: He was witnessing an insurgency that w...
Op-eds
Ankara’s Turkmen House of Cards
The Mosul operation has made the predominantly Turkmen city of Tal Afar the latest focus of Turkey a...
Op-eds
In the Battle for Mosul and Iraq’s Future, U.S. Must Heed the Iranian Threat
With the battle for Mosul underway, and Iraqi, Kurdish, Turkish, American, and Shiite militia&...
Policy Briefs
How Many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?
Estimates of the number of fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are extraordinarily wide-ranging. On the low end of things, CNN’s Barbara Starr recently...
Op-eds
ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum
Evidence suggests that the Islamic State's power has been declining for months
Op-eds
Suicide Assault Team Kills Mosul Emergency Police Chief
A team of al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers stormed a police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul today and killed a senior police officer who has targeted al Qaeda's top leaders....
Op-eds
Current State of Afghan War Mirrors Iraq Circa 2005-2006
This morning I had the opportunity to listen in on a panel called "Will Pakistan be Democratic in 2020?" that was hosted by The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (full disclosure, I am a...
Op-eds
Released Guantanamo detainee behind March suicide truck bombing at Combat Outpost Inman in Mosul
Al Qaeda in Iraq, through its puppet organization the Islamic State of Iraq, released its latest propaganda video on June 23. The video contains a montage of attacks throughout Iraq, and fe...
Op-eds
Duty, Honor, Country
Thursday’s interim progress report on the surge in Iraq ran into a long-expected cold shower: Nobody wants to hear it. Bad news out of Iraq is what the market wants. Signs of progress cause...
Op-eds
Get Zarqawi
For a moment, focus on the present. Right now, there are three reasons the United States needs to be in Iraq. The most important: to fight al-Qaeda, the leader of the global Militant Islamist mov...
Op-eds
Our Troops Must Stay
I have just returned from my fourth trip to Iraq in the last 17 months and can report real progress there. More work needs to be done, of course, but the Iraqi people are in reach of a watershed...
Op-eds
The Anti-Fascist
Jalal Talabani doesn't look much like Che Guevara. With his ample girth, white moustache and bemused smile, he more resembles a favorite uncle who can be counted on to buy ice cream and disp...