Missy Ryan
Friday, December 18, 2015 - 06:38
American-led airstrikes killed at least 180 Islamic State fighters as local Kurdish forces scrambled to repel a bold, multi-pronged assault by the militants, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday. At least four coordinated attacks by more than 300 heavily armed militants kicked off the most intense fighting that northern Iraq has seen this year, illustrating the extremist group’s continued potency despite a year-long air campaign by the United States and its allies.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - 06:34
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Tuesday visited a Turkish air base near the Syrian border that has become a hub for operations against the Islamic State, as the Obama administration presses Turkey and other allied nations to step up their military response to the extremist group.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - 06:06
President Obama’s most senior national security advisers have recommended measures that would move U.S. troops closer to the front lines in Iraq and Syria, officials said, a sign of mounting White House dissatisfaction with progress against the Islamic State and a renewed Pentagon push to expand military involvement in long-running conflicts overseas.
Thursday, October 15, 2015 - 07:02
President Obama is expected to announce a plan Thursday to keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan into 2017, ending his ambitions to bring home most American forces from that war-torn country before he leaves office.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - 05:56
With the offensive to reclaim territory from the Islamic State largely stalled in Iraq, the Obama administration is laying plans for a more aggressive military campaign in Syria, where U.S.-backed Kurdish forces have made surprising gains in recent months.
Thursday, August 6, 2015 - 07:21
Undermined by insecurity and political divisions there, the flagship assistance program revealed not only the hollowness of Libyan institutions but also how different parts of the U.S. government worked at cross-purposes, dooming a project that Obama selected as a personal priority.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015 - 07:01
The U.S. military has begun flying armed aircraft over Syria from Turkey, the Pentagon said Monday, a move that could expand its ability to carry out airstrikes to protect U.S.-trained rebels in northern Syria.
Friday, July 24, 2015 - 06:04
U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers are preparing for an offensive against the Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, defense officials said Thursday, in a key test of the Obama administration’s strategy for defeating the militant group.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 - 05:53
Defense Sec. Ashton B. Carter met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday in the first high-level U.S. encounter with the Israeli leader since world powers struck a nuclear agreement with Iran, which Israel warns is a dangerous mistake.
Monday, July 20, 2015 - 05:21
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter began a tour Sunday of Middle Eastern nations whose alliances with the United States have been strained by President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran.