All Security Watch
- The Israeli-Palestinian revenge cycle, take two
Hatred, anger, and desires for revenge are being driven ever higher by the dynamic of unequal violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
- Kerry warns Afghans on power grabs as Abdullah cries foul on presidential runoff
Abdullah Abdullah rejected as fraudulent preliminary results released Monday that showed him trailing behind his rival in last month's election. The US is the biggest aid provider to Afghanistan.
- Afghanistan's presidential election results are in and the trouble may be about to start
Preliminary results for Afghanistan's presidential election appear to show Ashraf Ghani won in a landslide. But his defeated opponent is unlikely to accept the result.
- Israel strikes Gaza targets amid political fallout at home
Israeli airstrikes killed seven Hamas members and two civilians. In Israel, three of six suspects in the killing of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khudeir reportedly confessed.
- The Kurdish push for independence is a big problem for Baghdad
Iraqi Kurdistan is moving ahead with independence plans. With Kurds also holding an important swing vote in Iraq's parliament, this is a problem. A big one.
- What did $7 billion spent on opium eradication in Afghanistan buy? More opium.
Opium production and heroin addiction are soaring in Afghanistan.
- Tensions spike along Gaza border amid airstrikes as Israeli troops deploy
Israeli airstrikes targeted 15 sites in Gaza overnight, while Hamas shot some 30 rockets into southern Israel. The funeral of a murdered Palestinian teen has been delayed.
- A self-declared Iraqi 'caliph' wants to rule the world. Can he?
Almost certainly not, as a look at recent writing on the question shows.
- The Iraqi army the US spent billions building is a disaster
And if a small fortune spent over nearly 10 years, along with tens of thousands of American military trainers, didn't work, what can a few hundred advisers hope to do?
- India recoils at reported NSA spying on its Hindu nationalist party
The revelation could cast a cloud over US-Indian trade and defense diplomacy. Last December the two countries had a bilateral spat over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York.
- Ukrainian forces attack separatists in east as cease-fire ends
President Petro Poroshenko defended his decision to resume military action, saying it was crucial to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity after a 10-day cease-fire failed to quell violence.
- After three Israeli teens found dead will the revenge cycle be ratcheted up?
Israel holds most of the cards now and the killers are not yet known. But if the past is any indication, things are due to get a lot hotter in Israel and Palestine.
- Jihadis in Iraq and Syria declare a caliphate? Why that's good.
The wars in Iraq and Syria will rage on. But the declaration by ISIS, the biggest jihadi army fighting in Syria and Iraq, that it's now a 'caliphate' should accelerate the group's inevitable failure.
- Baghdad's battle to drive Islamic militants from Tikrit stalls as caliphate declared
Ongoing fighting in Tikrit appears not to have dislodged Sunni Islamic rebels, including fighters from a militant group whose leader has declared himself the caliph of a splinter state.
- Ukraine signs historic trade pact with EU as Moscow warns of consequences
The EU-Ukraine trade pact that helped lead to the current crisis was signed today. Russia, antagonistic over the idea of closer Ukraine integration with Europe, warned of consequences.
- Iraq to convene parliament as Maliki confirms Syrian airstrikes on ISIS
In a BBC interview, Maliki said Iraq welcomed Syrian airstrikes on militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which operates on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border.
- Maliki rejects call for unity government as militants attack Iraqi air base
The prime minister said a unity government, which the US has urged to reduce Sunni support for the insurgency in Iraq, would be a 'coup against the constitution.'
- Kerry's message of unity may be a tough sell to Iraq's Kurds
Secretary of State John Kerry visited the semi-autonomous region today and urged the Kurds not to give up on Baghdad. But the Kurdish president told Kerry that 'We are facing a new reality and a new Iraq.'
- Kerry seeks 'inclusive' leadership from Iraqi PM as ISIS insurgency spreads
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad after stops in Jordan and Egypt amid accusations by Iran's supreme leader that the US was meddling in Iraqi politics.
- People who are making sense about Iraq
It's worth listening to those who've devoted their lives to studying war and the region.