As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake

As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake
As Daesh Is Crushed, Future Of Middle East At Stake

The future of the Middle East is currently being determined, in a process that is almost entirely hidden from view. In recent weeks, the gaze of the world has been fixed on the fight against Daesh (aka ISIL), as the end of its occupation in Mosul, Iraq, and the breaching of its defenses in Raqqa,…

US Should Stand Off In Syria; Not A Core Interest

US Should Stand Off In Syria; Not A Core Interest
US Should Stand Off In Syria; Not A Core Interest

After a U.S. F-18 shot down a Syrian fighter-bomber last week, Assad’s ally, Russia, declared that it would consider shooting down any U.S. aircraft west of the Euphrates river. The White House defiantly declared the US would defend itself if attacked. Risking a war with a nuclear power over a Syrian policy that does not advance core…

CJCS Dunford Talks Turkey, Iran, Afghan Troop Numbers & Daesh

CJCS Dunford Talks Turkey, Iran, Afghan Troop Numbers & Daesh
CJCS Dunford Talks Turkey, Iran, Afghan Troop Numbers & Daesh

Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield spoke with Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during Dunford’s swing through Japan, Singapore, Australia, Wake Island, and Hawaii. BD readers know that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised Sen. John McCain yesterday that America would get a new Afghan strategy by mid-July. In this second part of Kitfield’s interview,…

Will Daesh 3.0 Rise From Mosul’s Ashes?

Will Daesh 3.0 Rise From Mosul’s Ashes?
Will Daesh 3.0 Rise From Mosul’s Ashes?

They’re surrounded, targeted by constant bombardments and slowly strangled of supplies and reinforcements for months so fighters for Daesh (aka ISIS) might reasonably have abandoned Mosul and tried to slink off into the night. That’s what happened last June in the battle to recapture Fallujah, when Daesh fighters were relatively quickly routed, and hundreds were killed by U.S.…

Ash Carter Walks Tightrope On Trump Transition

Ash Carter Walks Tightrope On Trump Transition
Ash Carter Walks Tightrope On Trump Transition

WASHINGTON: There’s still no sign of Donald Trump’s transition team at the Pentagon yet, but they’ll probably come this week, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said this morning. In the meantime, the secretary is walking a tightrope trying to defend his policies on the Islamic State, NATO, and Russia without explicitly disagreeing with a President-elect who…

Thornberry Fears Bureaucracy Hamstrings Cyber Vs. Daesh

Thornberry Fears Bureaucracy Hamstrings Cyber Vs. Daesh
Thornberry Fears Bureaucracy Hamstrings Cyber Vs. Daesh

WASHINGTON: Why does the internet still work in Raqqa? That simple question about the Syrian capital of Daesh, the self-proclaimed Islamic State, posed today by retired fighter pilot Rep. Martha McSally, goes to the heart of how the military will use — or refrain from using — cyber weapons. It goes to deep suspicions that…

Trench Warfare With Wings: Can ISIL Airstrikes Go Beyond Attrition?

Trench Warfare With Wings: Can ISIL Airstrikes Go Beyond Attrition?
Trench Warfare With Wings: Can ISIL Airstrikes Go Beyond Attrition?

Airpower sounds swift and surgical, but sometimes it’s really closer to trench warfare with wings. Earlier this week, with the smoke still rising from the retaken Iraqi city of Tikrit, Central Command released detailed data on air strikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State. We’ve crunched the numbers, and it’s clear the eight-month-old campaign is becoming…