All Security Watch
- More fighting in east Ukraine, as Kiev says Moscow giving military aid to rebels
A peace plan announced by Ukraine's president earlier this week may not get off the ground, as fighting continued with pro-Russian separatists in parts of the country's east.
- Obama isn't the problem in Iraq. It's Maliki – and Iraqi politics
Iraqi politicians have proven for a decade now that they're pursuing their own interests – not American ones.
- Fighting erupts as pro-Russian rebels reject Ukrainian president's cease-fire
Ukraine's new president is promoting a peace plan to end the rebellion in the Russia-leaning east, but fresh fighting underscores the challenge to making it stick.
- ISIS and government forces battle for control of Iraq's largest oil refinery
The loss of the refinery, which is the country's largest and supplies the domestic market, would be a significant blow to the Maliki government.
- Israel steps up arrests amid search for kidnapped teens
Israeli forces have detained more than 200 Palestinians, mostly Hamas activists, in their biggest crackdown on the militant group in years. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnappings last week.
- ISIS seizes another Iraqi city amid claims it massacred Iraqi troops
Tal Afar, near Mosul, fell after heavy fighting between ISIS militants and Iraqi troops. ISIS has instituted brutal law in the areas of the north it now dominates.
- Iran, US scramble to respond as prospect of Iraq breakup looms
Can Iraq's central government regain control of its lost territory?
- Iraq's crisis: Who's involved and what can they do about it?
Sunni Arab militants, with a jihadi group in the lead, have dealt a stunning series of defeats to the Iraqi central government in recent days.
- ISIS advances in Iraq: How will US respond?
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant shocked many with its swift capture of Iraqi cities. Despite US vows of a lighter military footprint, other countries still seem to expect it to step in.
- Iraq's Mosul crisis creates strange bedfellows
ISIS victories in Iraq could put Saudi Arabia and the US onside with the Syrian regime.
- Does ISIS's rapid advance point to local Iraqi support?
Al Qaeda offshoot ISIS, which overran the Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, is already moving on to its next target. Its rapid progress indicates some local backing among Sunnis.
- Why Mosul's fall is a signature moment in Iraq
The city's takeover by Al Qaeda insurgents is a devastating military setback for the Maliki government – and a measure of the political failure of post-Saddam Iraq.
- As Mosul falls to ISIS militants, doubts over US-trained Iraqi security forces
Militants from ISIS, an al Qaeda offshoot, now control much of Iraq's largest city in the north, underscoring the group's growing strength and the failure of Iraqi troops to repel insurgents.
- Why not call the Las Vegas attack an act of domestic terrorism?
'Terrorism' is an overused word that tends to obscure more than it reveals. But the reluctance to use it to describe the Las Vegas attackers is troubling.
- In Bergdahl, a projection of our views on America's long and inconclusive wars
A look behind the attacks and counterattacks on a US soldier who spent five years in Taliban captivity.
- Taliban assault on Karachi airport may torpedo Pakistan PM's peace overtures
Pakistani officials repelled a bloody assault on Karachi's international airport that left at least 28 dead. The Taliban have claimed responsibility and said it was revenge for a US drone strike.
- Iraqi militants target Kurds amid surge in sectarian killings
Sunni militants have stepped up attacks in central and northern Iraq, raising fears of a wider conflict. Today's suicide bombing in Diyala province killed at least 18 people.
- Afghanistan presidential frontrunner narrowly escapes assassination attempt
The suicide bombing in Kabul left at least seven people dead and raises concern over the safety of the presidential run-off election on June 14.
- Why closure of Kyrgyzstan air base is point of no return for Afghan war
Manas base was crucial for the transit of NATO soldiers and supplies into Afghanistan. The closure Tuesday – little remarked on by the US press – short circuits debate on more troops for Afghanistan.
- Rogue Libyan general's 'coup' against Islamists unleashes wave of violence
Khalifa Haftar survived a suicide bomb attack Wednesday. He is battling Islamist militias backed by allies in Libya's parliament. Meanwhile, a Red Cross official was shot dead in Sirte.