The Washington Post
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - 06:45
Russia has severe budgetary constraints, and the United Nations is pressuring both sides to respect the peace settlement. So why is Moscow reheating the frozen conflict in Ukraine?
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - 06:16
This month, the United States delivered the first batch of 762 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to Egypt free of charge. That’s on top of the $1.3 billion in military aid the Obama administration has allocated to the regime of Abdel Fatah al-Sissi this year. The White House refuses to condition these gifts on an improvement in Egypt’s horrendous human rights record.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 - 06:49
THE OBAMA administration says the killing of Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a U.S. drone strike “eliminates one roadblock to peace in Afghanistan,” as Defense Secretary Ash Carter put it in a statement. While that may be true — Mansour was said to have resisted negotiations with the Afghan government — the Taliban chief was not the only nor even the most important block to an Afghan settlement. Unless and until President Obama addresses some of the others, including his own reluctance to provide adequate support to the Afghan military, Saturday’s strike can’t be expected to much improve a deteriorating situation.
Monday, May 23, 2016 - 06:37
The U.S. drone strike that killed Taliban chief Akhtar Mohammad Mansour represents another escalation in U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan by trying to cripple an insurgent group that has for years found refuge on Pakistani soil.
Monday, May 23, 2016 - 06:13
The raw Sunni recruits in crisp camouflage uniforms, popping off rounds at the firing range at a U.S. training camp here, illustrate the dilemma for the United States as it seeks to form a strong military force to drive the Islamic State from its capital, Raqqah.
Friday, May 20, 2016 - 06:15
The U.S. military’s top general said Thursday that the Libyan government is in a “period of intense dialogue” that could soon lead to an agreement in which U.S. military advisers will be deployed there to assist in the fight against the Islamic State.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 06:15
The top U.S. general overseeing American military operations in Africa said Tuesday that while Washington is considering sending weapons to Libya to fight the Islamic State, doing so will require taking cues from a fledgling unity government that is still struggling to establish support at home.
Monday, May 16, 2016 - 08:44
The five post-Soviet countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) are secular states with a majority Sunni Muslim population — and each has a Shiite minority population. Sunni-Shiite tensions in other countries have escalated into violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Iran and elsewhere. So what’s the story on Central Asia’s Shiite groups?
Monday, May 16, 2016 - 07:08
Senegal and its neighbors are facing a new threat from extremists moving far from their traditional strongholds in northwest Africa. Since November, militant groups have killed dozens of people in assaults on hotels, cafes and a beachside resort in West Africa, passing through porous borders with impunity.
Friday, May 13, 2016 - 06:16
American Special Operations troops have been stationed at two outposts in eastern and western Libya since late 2015, tasked with lining up local partners in advance of a possible offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.