Russia is reportedly deploying the TOS-1 Buratino multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) to Syria as part of its expanded presence in that country. It is unclear how many of the weapons have been sent to Syria, reports suggest a substantial number have been deployed. Indeed, there are videos …
Read More »What Does ‘Defeating ISIS’ Actually Look Like?
If we defeated the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), would we know victory when we saw it? We often talk about winning and losing without having any idea what these terms mean. As a new coalition of the willing gestates in the wake of Paris, before …
Read More »Syrian Forces Take Out Takfiri Militant Positions, Make Gains in Northwest
The past 24 hours have seen a series of anti-terror operations by the Syrian army across the country, which left dozens of militants dead and wounded. Supported by Russian air strikes, the Syrian Arab Army and National Defense Forces have managed to destroy terrorist positions in throughout the country’s northwest, making …
Read More »Time to Resign? Evidence Mounts of Erdogan’s Involvement in Oil
Recep Erdogan is an international outlaw, US author Stephen Lendman deems, referring to the Turkish president’s alleged involvement in Daesh’s illicit oil smuggling, refining and sales on the black market. There is no trace of doubt in Ankara’s full involvement and knowledge of the ongoing illicit trade between Turkey and Daesh (IS/ISIL), …
Read More »The End of a Russian-Turkish “Golden Age”
The downing of a Russian plane by Turkey is jeopardizing the strong business and political relationship built by Ankara and Moscow. The two countries’ clash over Syria suggests that relations will get worse before they get better. The shooting down by Turkey of a Russian warplane on November …
Read More »What Is Salafism?
ISIS and other groups have appropriated an inherently nonpolitical ideology to suit their political ambitions. In the wake of the bombing of the Russian plane in Sinai and the attacks in Paris, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (also known as ISIS) seems bent on confrontation with the West. The …
Read More »After Paris: French Voices on the Challenge of ISIS, Syria, Iraq, and Islamist Terrorism
On November 23, Gilles Kepel, Fabrice Balanche, and Olivier Decottignies addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Kepel is a professor at the Institute of Political Studies, Paris (Sciences Po), and coauthor of the forthcoming book “Terror in France: The Origin of the French Jihad,” to be …
Read More »ISIS now has a ‘colony’ in an oil-rich Libyan city just 400 miles from Italy
Despite facing a series of military setbacks throughout Iraq and Syria, ISIS is consolidating its control over a key city in Libya less than 400 miles away from the Italian island of Sicily. Over the past year, ISIS has been deepening its presence in Sirte, a city along Libya’s northwestern Mediterranean …
Read More »NATO made another big move against Russia
NATO foreign ministers invited tiny Montenegro on Wednesday to join their military alliance in its first expansion since 2009, defying Russian warnings that enlargement of the US-led bloc further into the Balkans would be a provocation. In a scripted session at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Montenegro’s foreign minister, …
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