The resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq … in Iraq, and Syria, and Jordan, and Libya and …
US and Iraqi failure to press the advantage against a diminished al Qaeda in Iraq is having regional consequences in the turmoil of ‘the Arab Spring.’
Author Archives: Bill Ardolino
Iraqi politicians backed into a corner on a Status of Forces Agreement?
The Obama administration’s insistence on a parliamentary debate may have doomed negotiations for a residual US force.
‘Why the violence … declined in Iraq,’ 5 years later
A recent analysis of the improvement in Iraq’s security in 2007 argues for the impact of the Surge and the Awakening.
Afghanistan – now what?
With the surge of US forces in Afghanistan over and a pause in partnered operations, American policy is in disarray.
General Dempsey phones Terry Jones
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asks a rabblerousing Gainesville, Fla. pastor to moderate his speech.
17 people beheaded near Musa Qala
The atrocity is the latest in a series of incidents that show the volatility of the security situation in northern Helmand province.
‘Koka’ critically injured
The sidelining of Musa Qala’s police chief could create a leadership vacuum in the once-volatile district.
Spinning progress on RC East
Unnamed Obama Administration officials assert “Afghan good enough” in RC East.
The cartoon jihad continues
Jihadi “artists” publish the latest cartoon that promotes jihad against the West.
Death squads and underresourced COIN in Khost
Insurgent intimidation remains strong in eastern Afghanistan.
USMC Major General Toolan: Marines to be cut in Helmand
Forces “could” draw down to nearly a quarter of current levels within a year.
Bare bones COIN in the Afghan east
An analysis of the state of counterinsurgency doctrine in Khost province.
Ominous: al Qaeda in Libya
The black flag of Al Qaeda is sighted over a Benghazi courthouse.
More jihadist comics
Radical mujahideen fanboys paint themselves into Hell, Part Two.
Army snipers hunt bomb planters in Sabari
A US Army sniper team ambushes an insurgent IED cell in the volatile Sabari district of Khost province, Afghanistan.
Scenes from a Sabari bunker
US troops discuss Army scandals and detainee procedures after a mortar attack, as an English-speaking detainee listens in.
‘They come from ISI’ – Afghan colonel on insurgent threat
Lieutenant Colonel Nasratullah Nasrat, the commander of Afghan forces in Sabari district in Khost, said that Pakistan’s intelligence service fuels the insurgency. He also believes US forces will not withdraw by the 2014 deadline.
US troops weather rockets, recoilless rifles, and grenades in Sabari
A US patrol hunts insurgents in the village of Majiles in Sabari district. The aftermath of a grenade attack, which wounded six US troops, highlights the difficulty of partnered operations with Afghan forces.
In Pictures: US troops search for insurgent recoilless rifle team
Embedded in Afghanistan: The search in Sabari district, Khost province, ended in a grenade attack that wounded six US soldiers.
Grenades, Molotovs, and mystery mortars in Sabari
A brief rundown on security in the Haqqani Network-influenced district in Khost province, Afghanistan.
Haqqani Network is ‘enemy number one’ in Afghan east: General Allyn
An interview with Major General Daniel Allyn, the Commanding General of Regional Command East.
AQAP fanboy paints himself into Hell
A budding al Qaeda cartoonist’s creation violates strict Islamic principles.
Counterproductive restraint
The British Ministry of Defense acknowledges that UK troops are not permitted to fire on insurgents emplacing IEDs.
The case of the missing $6.6 billion
US and Iraqi investigators fail to account for a massive sum of lost money.
Back to Anbar: ‘Senator’s Son: An Iraq War Novel’
An effective piece of historical fiction documents hard lessons from Iraq.
Real progress in Afghanistan … but to what end?
Significant forward momentum is imperiled by holes in US strategy and policy.
Aggressive Marine tactics thin enemy ranks, alter Taliban tactics
“Marines run toward our bullets,” complains Taliban fighter in violent district in Helmand.
Bad linguists shape outcomes, raise blood pressure
Click the image to watch. Earlier today I linked a video shot by a Guardian reporter covering soldiers with the 173rd Airborne as they attempt counterinsurgency in a difficult area of Afghanistan. The reporter’s narration is a bit overwrought, as are the snippets of Hopalong Cassidy background music littering the edit. But the video ably […]
Unrest a virus?
New protests in Iraq offer more context around Maliki’s recent statements advocating a constitutional amendment that would limit the prime minister to two terms: Hundreds of lawyers took to the streets across Iraq on Thursday to protest against widespread corruption and unemployment in demonstrations inspired by anti-government uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. The demonstrations in […]
No 3rd term for Maliki?
Various news outlets have reported on recent comments by Nouri al-Maliki stipulating that he will not seek a third term as Iraq’s prime minister. From The Washington Post: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that he will not seek a third term in office, in a sign that even Iraq’s newly installed and democratically elected […]